The essence that we are following Jesus is to become more and more like Him, and in doing this, we must consciously build ourselves up to have the mind of Christ. This is essential for our Christian walk and journey

“Having” talks about something continuous. It means possessing, owning the mind of Christ. And the mind, according to a dictionary is the element, that part of a person that enables them to be aware of the world and their experiences, to think, and to feel; the faculty of consciousness and thought. It is a person's ability to think and reason; the intellect.

I want us to note that what goes on in our minds, will ultimately translate into actions. That’s why the place of the mind in our life and spiritual walk cannot be overlooked. How then, do we bring ourselves to be like Christ in this manner, in the way Christ is aware of the world around him, in how he thinks, feels and was conscious when he walked on earth as a man.

I want us to see a scripture that shows us what our true experience should be in having the mind of Christ. What is the original design?

2 Corinthians 5:17

¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

If we have been born again, we are a new creation. If we are a new creation, a child of God, that means that everything is new, including our mind. By virtue of our being in Christ, the bible says, all things have become new. Old things have passed away. So, all things, including our mind. We are to let go of all baggage of the past, and past lives and walk in the newness of life. Our mind is to be clean, is to be filled with the word of God. The way we see and perceive the world must change, the way we think must change, the way we perceive the experience that we go through must change. The bible says, He is a new creation. Not he will be, He is. It’s done. This is the man is now is. It is his consciousness now.

When Jesus walked the face of the earth, when matters were brought to Him, there was a perspective the people that came to Him understood things based on the state of their minds but Jesus could judge righteously, because He saw things differently based on the state of his mind.

 

So, this is the consciousness we must have about our belief and new birth in Christ. So that we can have this experience also in our minds. This is what the bible is saying to us, all things have become new.

 

While reading this scripture of old things have passed away, behold all things have become new, I began to ponder, why is it that it seems like our minds still habours the old thoughts, we still think like our old self even though we are new creations. One thing I noted is, perhaps we are not walking in the consciousness of our new creation experience. We are still stuck in the old thoughts which leads to wrong actions. We see and believe newness has happened all around us, we cut off from wrong friends, maybe stop going to the wrong places, stick to fellowshipping with the brethren but yet our thoughts, our desires are still toward the world.

Some people feel that many things have passed away but it’s like the mind stays the way it is but the word of God is telling us that all things have become new, that’s the way it should be. But many of us go around using our minds as it belongs to us, like nothing has changed.

Being a new creation means we have submitted our faculties, our entire being to the Lord to be changed. This is the way God sees us now, through Christ. But we can still remain in the bondage of using our minds how we like when we should have shifted, should have changed.

That’s why the bible says, casting down imaginations, pulling down strongholds, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of Christ. All these go on in our minds. And the things we should have let go of in our old life, we still cling to them, this then, becomes strongholds that need to be pulled down, need to be cast down. When we come to Christ, the word is meant to wash every part of us clean but when we don’t allow it easy access, allow it penetrate, and we still hold on to old ideologies, ways of thinking, ways of seeing things that are not in line with scriptures, then we may never experience that all things has beome new for us.

For the people of the world, who do not believe in God, there is a way they use their mind and its normal even though it might be evil, or wrong but it’s okay for them, it’s not a stronghold, it’s a normal thing for them but for us where our minds should be aligned with the things of God, wrong thoughts, mindsets are dwelling in the wrong place, wrong location so they must be forcefully removed if we will maximize our fruitful walk with Christ.

Another reason is that, many people believe we have liberty in Christ but that belief of liberty can be misused if we are not careful. We might feel like some things can pass in some aspects of our lives under the canopy of liberty, freedom so we are tempted to use our minds the way we like.

What does having the Mind of Christ mean?

Having the mind of Christ means that we share the plan, the purpose and the perspective of Christ, and as believers.

In line with the definition of the mind that we saw earlier, That means we are aware of the world like Christ would be, we think, and feel like Christ would, we reason like Christ.

 

We will see some expressions of the mind of Christ:

 

Phil 2:5-8

 

⁵ Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, ⁷ but ^[b]made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

Showing us that the mind of Christ being in us is a possibility. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ. You need to allow this new kind of mindset.

Apostle Paul was speaking to the Philippian church in Philippians 2, and in turn, speaking to us today on something very crucial. There is a shift in mindset that Apostle Paul was speaking about here.

Phil 2: 3 -4

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others

 

Having this mind of Christ is very different from thinking the way the world thinks. Because it’s possible to say we are in Christ, yet we do not have the mind of Christ when by design and translation to God’s kingdom this should be our walk, our experience.

This scripture showed us the kind of mind Jesus had when he was relating with God as man, there was posture His mind took. That’s why the bible says, let this mind be in you. Let this posture, this thought be in you. It was a mind of humility and obedience, from the verse. That’s one of the postures of the mind of Christ. An expression of the mind of Christ.

Matthew 9:36,

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

Matthew 9:12-13

But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

 

Matthew 23:23

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.

 

 

Another expression here, is an expression of compassion. Jesus was showing us things that were weightier. Things that should matter. That was the way Jesus thought. That was His mindset, which we must key into also.

 

1 Corinthians 2:9-16

⁹ But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” ¹⁰ But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. ¹¹ For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. ¹² Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. ¹³ These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. ¹⁴ But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. ¹⁵ But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. ¹⁶ For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

The bible says, but we have the mind of Christ. Now this mind of Christ does a lot for us, helping us understand the things that have been freely given to us by God. This mind is not  a mind of the world  but it is  a mind that can handle deep and secret things, that is in tune with the spirit of God. The mind of Christ is a mind that has been totally taken over by the Spirit if God, which gives us access to the wisdom of God, that is totally superior to the wisdom of this world.

 

What should be our disposition?

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:2).

Our minds need to be consistently renewed, moving away from the mind of the flesh and into the mind of Christ. Ultimately, all who have the mind of Christ, those who belong to God, will be sanctified, or changed.

 

Let’s note importantly that the mind of Christ is accessible by faith. Having the mind of Christ aligns us to important qualities that we should have, makes us more in tune with the Spirit of God to guide us, and aligns us to what God’s purpose for us is and helps us walk in obedience to it. We begin to perceive the world we live in differently.

 

 

 

From our beginning verse, this should be our conviction, we are new in Christ Jesus and we must walk as new creations, and use our minds to the glory of God.

 

 2 Corinthians 5:17

¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

 

Thanks for the gift of your time, I am Benedicta Apeh!

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