As a Christian is transformed in his mind and is made more like Christ, he comes to approve and desire Gods will, not his own will for his life. This is part of a quote from the Bible Knowledge Commentary on 1 Corinthians 2:16 by John F. Valvoord and Roy B. Zuck, and it is why I am writing this letter to you this morning.
Our minds are the only thing standing in the way of our spiritual success as Christians. The New Testament has a lot to say about our minds and you should study it in your daily study time. Without the mind of God on any matter we are completely in the control of Gods enemy. We are such carnal beings when we need to be spiritual ones.
In 1 Corinthians 2:16 we find that it says- “ For who has known the mind of the Lord, that we may instruct him”? But we have the mind of Christ. So many well meaning preachers use the word of God incorrectly when they use Isaiah 55:8, “ Gods ways are not our ways and his thoughts are not our thoughts”, to this I say poppy cock! Paul seems to disagree with them as he penned these words to the Corinthian Church. Our minds are the front lines of this war between good and evil, and the key to winning this war is to renewal of it, by the reading the word of God daily ( Romans 12:2, Ephesians 4:23-24). We are the ones in control (Philippians 2:5), and if we don’t do it we will live defeated all our natural lives.
This scripture in 1 Corinthians 2:16 is a paraphrase quote by Paul of Isiah 40:13. He knew that he was born of God, just as we are if we are believers, and he had the mind of Christ available to him all the time. It was now part of who he was. Are we any different? You have the mind of Christ! We just don’t use it because we are not taught to by those who teach us. This is why I always say read and study the Bible for yourself just to make sure you are getting all the benefits that are yours today.
We have Gods thoughts available to us and His ways are to become our ways. Remember what I have said in the past about our family and us. We try to imitate our parents especially our dads. It is no different between us and God (Ephesians 5:1). We are privy to Gods knowledge (Bible). Our carnal minds have been programmed by the world, and as such we are enemies of God. This is the main reason Paul wrote so much about reprogramming our minds to Gods way of thinking.
Ephesians 4:23 Mr. Valvoode says this- “Believers have been made no longer futile in their thinking, darkened in their understanding and ignorant.” But being renewed in the spirit of your mind is a process and it is also a process of a continuing nature. The mind is a very pliable matter. Just watch a horror movie and see if I am not correct. Fear is produced, and it is because of something we allowed to be put in our mind. I am not telling you to go and watch horror movies as I only used it as an illustration.
What you feed on causes it to expand or grow in that area. This is why the word of God is so important to us as believers. We are causing our mind to grow wholly and not just in part. The study of it will create life and remove death, cause faith and remove doubt, change facts by the truth of Gods word. We will exchange our carnal way of thinking for Gods supernatural way of thinking. The renewing of your mind is something that will be ongoing as long as we are alive and forever.
Please remember this, we are the ones responsible for doing our part! We must read and study everyday if we want to go forward in life. If we are standing still we are losing ground. Paul said we were to press on (Philippians 3: 14) toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God.I hope this letter will be of some use to you in your own battle of the mind we all go through daily. Remember, you will make it just don’t give up.
See you next week. In His Service as Kilted Priest
The Kilted Priest 