The Mind of Christ

Bible Book: 1 Corinthians 2 : 16

Subject: Christ, Mind of; Mind of Christ

Introduction

Dr. T. W. Hunt (1929-2014) begins chapter one of The Mind of Christ as follows: “Suppose, Christ broke through the veil that separates the spiritual from the physical and audibly said to you today, ‘I am going to require you to have My mind in all its fullness. However, I want people to know what a miracle of change I can work, so I am going to reveal to your church what your mind is like right now. Next Sunday, in your church, I am going to take over the morning service and play back for all to hear every thought you had this last week.’ Would it appall you or delight you if Christ revealed your thoughts? . . . Have you ever evaluated the condition of your mind?”[1]

The Bible has a lot to say about the mind. Unlike any other book, when you read the Bible, it reads your mind (Hebrews 4:12). Genesis 6:5 reads, “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Later in Romans 1:28 we read about “a reprobate mind”. In the Bible we also discover the carnal mind (Romans 8:7), the corrupt mind (1 Timothy 6:5), and the Christ mind (1 Corinthians 2:16). Our text declares to all believers, “But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). Beware, if you do not use “the mind of Christ”, you have no advantage over “the natural man” who does not have “the mind of Christ”.

1 Corinthians 2:6-16 reads, “However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 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.’ But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 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. 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. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 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. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For ‘who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.”

Note three things about the mind of Christ.

I. Our endowment with the mind of Christ.

1 Corinthians 2:16 reads, “But we have the mind of Christ.” Dr. J. Stuart Holden (1874-1934) writes, “We have read together those familiar and always astonishing words of the Apostle Paul which are a revelation to him from God, proven and inwrought by His Spirit in his own experience and declared without a trace of unbecoming immodesty: ‘We have the mind of Christ.’ I do not know that the apostle ever makes a greater claim for himself and his fellow-believers than this. And yet how entirely justified it is. For when a man responds at first to the overtures of our Lord Jesus Christ, unites with Him by faith and appropriates His proffered pardon, cleansing and adjustment with God, when he is thus born again, this is his endowment. For ‘If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.’ [Romans 8:9b] The Spirit of Christ, the expression of Christ Himself dwelling within him, is, in fact, the authentic mark that the great transaction has been effected.”[2] Romans 8:5-9 reads, “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. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.” (Emphasis mine) 1 Corinthians 2:12 reads, “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.” (Emphasis mine)

Dr. Ken Ham writes, “Yet it wasn’t very long ago that one of the world’s greatest scientists, Johann Kepler, stated, as he was involved in his research, that he was merely thinking God's thoughts after Him. Kepler and many other great scientists were great because they started with God's Word as the foundation for their thinking. This is why our modern science was able to develop to the great heights it has.”[3] In The Remarkable Record of Job, after considering discoveries made by a host of creation scientists of the past, Dr. Henry M. Morris (1918-2006) states, “These men [Newton, Maury, Faraday, Morse, etc.] worked to carry out God’s primeval dominion mandate, thinking God’s thoughts after him.”[4]

Isaiah 55:8-9 reads, “‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.’” (Emphasis mine)

It remains to be seen what can be accomplished in and through the life of a Christian who thinks God’s thoughts after Him. The only way we can rightly think God’s thoughts after Him is to regularly meditate on His Word and live under the control of the Holy Spirit.

II. Our enforcement of the mind of Christ.

Philippians 2:5 reads, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” Remember, this is not just a self-help slogan. Paul the apostle is addressing believers who have Christ living in them. This is an exhortation to put “the mind of Christ” into effect in your life. Someone wisely said, “To pass a law means nothing; to enforce a law means everything.”

Remember the opportunity to enforce the mind of Christ in your life. Philippians 2:1-8 reads, “Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 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. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 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.” Philippians 4:8-9 reads, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Emphasis mine)

Remember the opposition to enforce the mind of Christ in your life. 2 Corinthians 10:1-6 reads, “Now I, Paul, myself am pleading with you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—who in presence am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward you. But I beg you that when I am present I may not be bold with that confidence by which I intend to be bold against some, who think of us as if we walked according to the flesh. For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 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, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.” 2 Corinthians 11:1-4 reads, “Oh, that you would bear with me in a little folly—and indeed you do bear with me. For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it!” 1 Timothy 6:3-5 reads, “If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself.” 1 Peter 1:13-16 reads, “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’” 1 Peter 3:8-12 reads, “Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. For ‘He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.’” (Emphasis mine)

III. Our enjoyment through the mind of Christ.

John 15:15 reads, “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.” This speaks of the mind of Christ. Jesus does not leave His obedient disciples in the dark. Notice the context of this verse in John 15:9-17, “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. ‘These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. These things I command you, that you love one another.” (Emphasis mine)

Isaiah 26:3 reads, “You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.” (Emphasis mine) The words “perfect peace” come from the Hebrew “shalom, shalom” and could be translated “peace, peace”. Jeremiah warned about false prophets who say, “‘Peace, peace!’ When there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:14; 8:11). Those who trust in themselves will never have perfect peace. Rev. John H. Sammis (1846-1919) shares these words in the fourth stanza of his famous hymn followed by the familiar refrain:

But we never can prove the delights of His love

Until all on the altar we lay;

For the favor He shows,

for the joy He bestows,

Are for them who will trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way

To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.[5]

How many believers genuinely enjoy the Christian life or merely endure it? If a mind is a terrible thing to waste, how much more when it comes to the mind of Christ.

Conclusion

Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe writes, “There is no substitute for Jesus Christ. Only Jesus can save us from our sins and give us the grace we need to live for Him. If you want fullness of life, you have to go to Jesus. The way we relate to the Lord determines how He will relate to us. [“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded”] (James 4:8). Apart from Jesus we can do nothing (John 15:5). It’s a tragedy for us to have an active life and then at the end discover that nothing we did would last.”[6] 1 John 2:15-17 reads, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” Romans 12:1-2 reads, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Emphasis mine)

Remember believer, according to 1 Corinthians 2:16, “we have the mind of Christ.”

[1]T. W. Hunt, The Mind of Christ (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 1995), 3-4.

[2]J. Stuart Holden, A Voice for God (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1932), 128.

[3]Kenneth Ham, “Thinking God’s Thoughts After Him”, Accessed: 12/14/15 http://www.icr.org/article/thinking-gods-thoughts-after-him/ .

[5]John H. Sammis, “Trust and Obey” (1887), Accessed: 12/16/15 http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/t/r/trstobey.htm.

[6]Warren W. Wiersbe, Jesus in the Present Tense: The I AM Statements of Christ (Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2011), 11.

Dr. Franklin L. Kirksey, pastor First Baptist Church of Spanish Fort 30775 Jay Drive Spanish Fort, Alabama 36527

Author of Don’t Miss the Revival! Messages for Revival and Spiritual Awakening from Isaiah and

Sound Biblical Preaching: Giving the Bible a Voice [Both available on Amazon.com in hardcover, paperback and eBook]