In Meditation 114
we asked ourselves: how can we overcome the power of sin in our lives if our
heart and our will are naturally so desperately corrupted by our sinfulness? We
realised that we can only overcome the power of our sinful nature if we have
received the three ‘component parts’ needed for such a major victory: (1) The
gift of God’s Spirit as a result of our conversion, (2) a God-given change of
heart to love Him and (3) a God-given change of will to obey Him.
In Meditation 115
we saw that, according to God’s Word, the heart is the centre of our inner
being and the seat of all human power and potential. Our heart needs a radical
change by God’s Spirit, and this is called ‘rebirth’.
Yet it also needs a
further Christlike transformation led by Him. Practically, it means that –
after our rebirth – all the forces and functions seated in our heart, and which
are corrupted by our sinful nature, need to be brought under the control of
God’s Spirit.
Because the heart is
the source of thought and reflection, we want to see today how God wants to
renew our mind so that we are able ‘to think about life God's way’.
“We have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:16*)
We find God’s standard for ‘a Christlike
mind’ in Jesus’ command: “Love
the Lord your God ... with all your mind...” (Mark 12:30**).
“Loving God with all
your mind”: that is the way
Jesus lived on earth and that is the mind God has given to those who are
‘reborn’ by His Spirit. Consequently, a God-given change of mind, called ‘the
mind of Christ’ is the fourth ‘component part’ needed to overcome the power of
our sinful nature.
The apostle Paul
reminds the followers of Jesus in Rome that they have received ‘the mind of
Christ’ at their rebirth: “People who aren't Christians can't understand
these truths from God's Spirit (i.e., the Gospel of Christ). It all sounds
foolish to them because only those who have the Spirit can understand what the
Spirit means. We who have the Spirit understand these things, but others can't
understand us at all. How could they? For, ‘Who can know what the Lord is
thinking? Who can give him counsel?’ But we can understand these things, for we
have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:14-16*)
Paul explains in this
passage, that if you have received God’s Spirit, you have received a Christlike
mind, and, like Christ, you are in principle able to understand what God
intends to do.
The Epistle to the
Hebrews explains that the divine gift of a new (Christlike) mind is part and
parcel of the New Covenant. God has made that covenant with all those inside
and outside Israel who are saved by the sacrifice of Jesus the Messiah:
-- “By one sacrifice
he (Jesus) has made perfect for ever those who are being made holy. The Holy
Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: ‘This is the covenant I
will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their
hearts, and I will write them on their minds.’ Then he adds: ‘Their sins and
lawless acts I will remember no more.’ And where these have been forgiven,
there is no longer any sacrifice for sin.” (Hebrews 10:14-18**)
“If your sinful nature controls your mind, there is death. But if the
Holy Spirit controls your mind, there is life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It
never did obey God's laws, and it never will.” (Romans
8:6-7*)
All God’s reborn
children have received the mind of Christ by God’s Spirit. Yet, because of our
ever-present sinful nature, we also possess until our dying day our ‘old sinful
mind’ that stands in rebellion against God. Here are some of its ‘general
characteristics’:
-- “Those who are
dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are
controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. (Romans 8:5*)
-- “When you follow
the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results:
sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry,
participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts
of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong
except those in your own little group, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and
other kinds of sin.” (Galatians 5:19-21*)
-- “Once you were
alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil
behaviour.” (Colossians 1:21**)
If you are a reborn
child of God, you have received ‘the mind of Christ’ and you need to ask
yourself daily the following questions:
-- Who controls my mind
today: my sinful nature or God’s Spirit?
-- If God has given me
a ‘Christlike mind’, how will I overcome ‘the sinful pollution’ of my old
rebellious mind?
The apostle Paul
answers that last question in his letter to the Christians in Rome. He begins
with making a condition:
“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies
to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice – the kind he will accept. When
you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask?” (Romans 12:1*)
In
this verse, Paul shows that the unconditional surrender of my life to God is a
requirement for overcoming the ‘sinful pollution’ of my old rebellious mind.
God has made such a daily surrender possible through (1) the gift of His Spirit, (2) a God-given change of my heart to love Him,
and (3) a God-given change of my will to obey Him.
In Romans 6:13* (see
Meditation 116) we saw that the apostle Paul encouraged the Christians in Rome
to surrender their lives unconditionally to God: “Do not let any part of
your body become a tool of wickedness, to be used for sinning. Instead, give
yourselves completely to God since you have been given new life. And use your
whole body as a tool to do what is right for the glory of God.”
“Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God
transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” (Romans
12:2*)
The apostle explains
that with the daily surrender of my will to God, I will allow God’s Spirit to
cleanse my mind from its sinful pollution. In Romans 13:14* Paul
writes: “Let the Lord Jesus Christ take control of you, and don't think of
ways to indulge your evil desires.”
Paul urges the
Christians in Ephesus (modern Turkey): “Throw off your old evil nature and
your former way of life, which is rotten through and through, full of lust and
deception. Instead, there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and
attitudes. You must display a new nature because you are a new
person, created in God's likeness-- righteous, holy, and true.” (Ephesians 4:22-24*)
“... Then you will know what God wants you to
do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.” (Romans 12:2*)
Here we approach the
crux of the matter! When I train myself to throw of my old evil nature and its
polluted mind by the power of God’s Spirit, I will be like a butterfly emerging
from a cocoon. My new Christlike mind will understand God’s will better and better
and my new Christlike heart will be ever more determined to obey Him.
In the same way Paul
encourages the Christians in Ephesus, saying: “Try to find out what is
pleasing to the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:10*) Such is a lifestyle
modelled by the life of Jesus Christ.
In the next meditation
we will look into some of the practicalities of having a Christlike mind, so
stay with me.
Translations: *
New Living Translation; ** New International Version
For more on ‘rebirth
by God’s Spirit’, see Meditations 27 and 44.
For more on ‘who is
the Holy Spirit’? see Meditation 28.
For more on God’s new
and eternal covenant, see Meditations 33 to 34.
For more on ‘Christlike
transformation by God’s Spirit’, see Meditations 29 to 34, 45, 49 to 56 and
105.
For more on ‘How to
overcome the power of sin in my life’, see Meditations 101-116.
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