“For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after 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, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:5-8)
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 2:5)
“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5)
When talking about the Mind of Christ versus a passive mindset, we must examine what the Scriptures say. To properly understand the word “mind” though, I want us to look at the following acrostic:
M - Memory (John 14:26) The Holy Spirit will help us to remember all things.
I - Intuition (Isaiah 11:1-3) Spiritual insights into situations. Learn to use your intuition.
N - Newness (Romans 6:4; 7:6) Newness of spirit and life are ours through the Mind of Christ
D - Decisiveness (1 John 3:8) Jesus was never indecisive. He knew what His mission was.
The Mind of Christ operating in us is what Yahweh initially intended for us to live and walk in. When he created Adam and Eve in His own likeness, He not only created them to look like Him, but also to have a pure, clean mind. After Jesus destroyed the works of the devil on the cross and the Holy Spirit descended upon this planet, we were then afforded the opportunity to revert back to God's original plan for us – to have the His mind in us! Since the, though, there has been a constant battle raging against us from the forces of evil in order to stop the Mind of Christ from operating within us. Worry, fear, anxiety, and a million other attacks against us is all done in an effort to abort the seed that has been planted within us.
By looking at the above acrostic for MIND, we can see just how the Mind of Christ works within us to help bring the victory we need in the realm of our mind. Through the power of the Mind of Christ, the Holy Spirit will help our memory. He will help us not only to remember things, but more importantly, help us to remember things from the scriptures when we are in the midst of battle. The enemy of your soul battles you in a effort to abort the seed of promise, the seed of destiny, the seed of a glorious future. He does so in a full-on attack on your mind to bring you to a point where you forget the promises of God. But, thanks be to the Lord, we have help against this!
The next area that the Mind of Christ will help us in, is in the realm of intuition. The Holy Spirit operating within you will give you spiritual insights into situations. He will help us to learn how to use our intuition. I know it may not always sound so spiritual, but have you ever had your gut to warn you about something? You know what I'm talking about; that weird uneasy feeling inside you that let's you know not to do something, or how to answer someone, or how to respond to a situation you are in. You may not know where that is coming from, but it is the Mind of Christ helping you.
The “N” in Mind of Christ stands for Newness of spirit and life that are ours through our relationship with Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. When we accept Jesus into our hearts we become NEW creations in Christ! Our old man is conquered and when Jesus comes in we receive a newness unlike anything we have ever known before. We receive a new life, a new mind, a new hope, a new joy and on and on the list goes. Thank God we have been made new!
The “D” in Mind of Christ stands for the gift of decisiveness that is given to us through our new mind in Christ. Jesus was the perfect example of this. He was never indecisive. He knew what His mission was at all times and was decisive in His actions toward fulfilling that mission.
The opposite, though, of the Mind of Christ is the “passive mind” of our flesh. Read what the word says about human understanding of the things of the Spirit:
“But the man who isn’t a Christian can’t understand and can’t accept these thoughts from God, which the Holy Spirit teaches us. They sound foolish to him because only those who have the Holy Spirit within them can understand what the Holy Spirit means. Others just can’t take it in. But the spiritual man has insight into everything, and that bothers and baffles the man of the world, who can’t understand him at all. How could he? For certainly he has never been one to know the Lord’s thoughts, or to discuss them with him, or to move the hands of God by prayer. But, strange as it seems, we Christians actually do have within us a portion of the very thoughts and mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:14-16 TLB)
We must be sure that we not only have the Mind of Christ, but also that we are operating in it, for the fleshly, idle mind is the devil’s playground. We must understand that a passive mind is an empty mind just waiting to be filled, and sadly, too many people allow the devil to fill it. Whereas the Mind of Christ offers you memory, intuition, newness and decisiveness; the passive, fleshly, carnal mind will...
The passive mind will cause a person to:
- Worry about finances
- Worry about politics
- Worry about terrorism
- Worry about our health
- Worry about who’s right about what
- Just worry about everything!
Now, I ask you, which mind would you rather have? The mind that helps you? Or the mind that causes you to worry? The mind that brings you peace? Or the mind that causes you stress? It's your decision, you know, so choose carefully. For me, my answer in crystal clear – I choose the Mind of Christ!