Mind of Christ

What does it mean to understand that we have the mind of Christ? 

For "who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?" But we have the mind of Christ.

1 Corinthians 2:16

First and foremost, having the mind of Christ tells me that in Christ I have cognitive abilities beyond my own cognition. In Christ, the Spirit of the Lord dwells in our hearts. With His Holy Spirit living in us we possess a capacity to think which surpasses normal, natural human intellect. 

This leads me to consider the question, how much cognitive abilities do I have? Well, technically I really can’t answer that question with certainty. You probably heard the saying that humans only use about ten percent of their brains. I don’t know how scientifically true that is, but I do know I lived enough “not thinking” moments out in my life to justify that statement. 

However, I also lived a good bit of well thought out moments in life as well. My life evidenced those good thinking moments a huge percentage more after I said yes to Jesus at thirty years old. 

No doubt God’s Spirit gives us a new, higher level of wisdom. His wisdom helps us make better choices which help us produce better lives. Having the mind of Christ is an amazing part of God’s gift of salvation. Think about the love of God in offering us salvation and then giving us His Spirit, i.e. His mind, to help us think and make better and best decisions. 

What If Salvation Ended With Salvation?

What if God saved us and then said, “You’re saved and you’re going to heaven.” But what if He didn’t give us His Spirit? We would still think the same way we thought before He saved us, and our lives most assuredly wouldn’t look different. The best we could do is try to will ourselves to do good and make good decisions. 

If you lived as much life as me, you know that willing ourselves to do good and make wise decisions on a good day, works about 10% of the time. Ironically, Christians often attempt to live life without seeking the wisdom and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Why we ever choose our natural thinking over God’s supernatural thinking boggles my mind. Look at Paul’s teaching in Romans 8:5-6. Notice how he contrasts the carnal mind (i.e. natural mind) and the spiritual mind. 

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit, For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Romans 8:5-6

The carnal mind equates to death. That’s it just death. The spiritual mind equates to life and peace. Not just life, but life and peace. The Greek word used here for life is such a rich word. It means so much more than existing and having breath in your body. Life in Greek is translated as zoe, one of my favorite Greek words because of the depth and richness of its meaning. 

Life And Peace Defined

• Life, or Zoe, speaks of one possessed of vitality and animate. When the term is used in relation to our “here and now” life in Christ, it speaks of the absolute fullness of life, life real and genuine, active and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed, in the portion even in this world of those who put their trust in Christ. The definition continues to look beyond our “here and now” life at life eternal promising new accessions which include a more perfect body (and all the dieters, reading this say, “Hallelujah!”) to last forever. 

• And, translates as kai in Greek. Kai is a conjunction that was included because the equivalent of the spiritual mind is not just the absolute fullness of life, blessings, and eternal promises. Kai tells us that the spiritual mind includes even more. Life and peace. 

• Peace, translates as Eirene in Greek. Eirene defines peace in various ways: national tranquility; peace between individuals; security, safety, and prosperity based on the state of peace. The definition specifically looks as peace from the aspect of what it means to the Christian, Eirene speaks of the Messiah’s peace, i.e. the way that leads to peace (salvation); the tranquil state of soul assured of its salvation through Christ, fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, whatever that is; and the blessed state of the devout and upright after death.  

Take a moment to let the richness of those definitions sink in. Think about the fact that living life according to the Spirit equates with that richness in our own lives. Why would we ever forsake that to live life from our own mental capacities when the Spirit gives us the mind of Christ? Lord, help us to seek Your Spirit in everything we do! 

Natural Vs. Supernatural

Another thing I often hear is Christians making statements declaring that they are dumb, stupid, not smart, unable to control their thinking, not able to remember, or to do certain things based on their brain capacity. I too have been guilty of this. Honestly, falling into speaking out regarding our weaknesses, inadequacies, mistakes, and bad choices comes pretty natural. But we now know that our natural mind is not the mind we want as our default. We need to change the setting and make the mind of Christ our default which means we agree with Jesus, with what He thinks and says. 

Statements like:

• I am so stupid. 

• I am not smart. 

• I can’t remember anything. 

• I can’t memorize. 

• My mind just doesn’t work good anymore.

Those statements oppose the truth of God’s word. Because God gave us His mind, we are smart. We can think beyond any physical, cognitive limitation of our own brains even though I do believe God gave us some pretty good brains from the beginning. But, with Jesus living in us, the best our brain can think, and an all-in commitment to Jesus to set our minds on the Spirit, we then think supernatural. 

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:4-5

I want to encourage you to keep the fact that God gave you His mind before you. Every time you think a thought that somehow opposes that truth. Instead of letting a negative thought regarding your level of intelligence float around in your mind and possibly pass through your lips, say out loud, “Lord, I thank You that You gave me the mind of Christ. I have the mind of Christ, therefore, I am blessed and anointed to think with supernatural wisdom.”