1 Corinthians 2
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.
There is a contradiction which exists in the lives of many children of God. They live together but there is strife among them. Such a situation is not from God. If we look at the life of the Lord Jesus Christ – everything was an act of worship to God and an act of service to people around Him. The contradiction that many Christians live with, was not part of His life.
Having the mind of Christ: We are told in verse 15 that we must have the mind of Christ.
- You must live a focused life, understanding and living “God’s secret wisdom” towards His children. This wisdom is not something that the natural man has or can understand by himself. You cannot work to earn this wisdom. God’s wisdom must be revealed to you. The man without the Spirit of God does not understand God’s wisdom.
- v10b: “… to search even the deep things of God through His Spirit”. To have the mind of Christ means to go beyond just reading the Scripture and to search for the heart of God. That can only be done through the Holy Spirit of God Our Lord said to the Pharisee, “The greatest commandment is that you love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength.” Each Christian should ask himself or herself whether they love God with all their heart and soul and mind and strength. If this is so, then this contradiction found in the lives of many Christians will not exist.
Jesus also said, “The second commandment, as great as and equal to the first, is that you should love your neighbour as you love yourself”. If you claim to have the mind of Christ, then your life must show these 2 aspects above. It is easy to proclaim with the mouth that you love Christ and to go through spiritual actions (Bible study, quiet time etc), but the mind of Christ is revealed in the total commitment to Christ and that you love your neighbour as yourself. The mind of Christ is not only head knowledge but is applied in practice, in living together and being Christ to one another.
Let us look at a number of characteristics in the life of Christ:
- Christ loved every person, because He wanted to save the soul of every person with whom He had contact. He forgave each and everyone who sinned against Him. He was prepared to be the least and to serve in love rather than to rule in authority. He was prepared to give rather than to receive. He was prepared to live a life of obedience to God rather than disobedience. He was prepared to deny Himself time and again. Paul says that these things are foolishness to the world. The man without the Spirit of God cannot understand this. But we who testify that we have the Spirit of God, need to practice this. The life of Christ was an act of worship to God every moment: He lived deliberately and intentionally as God wanted Him to.
To have the mind of Christ means that you must daily choose to do what He wants, obeying the Spirit of God. If you don’t live by God’s Spirit, you won’t understand spiritual things and you will be ruled by your own spirit or the spirit of the world. There will be darkness in your life and dark moments in your relationships.
If you lose Christ and the Spirit of God, you lose everything. That is why it is so important that you must actively seek to have the mind of Christ.
Many Christians place the focus on the other person. They expect the other person to be a Christian to them. However, Jesus never expected other people to be Christian to Him – He was always Christian to them. To have the mind of Christ means that you will be willing to be Christ to the other person regardless of what they do to you.
If you are in a situation where you have a quarrelsome relationship with someone or where love is not the characteristic of the relationship, come to Christ and be changed. Don’t expect the other person to have the mind of Christ, but you have it. Don’t expect the other person to have the Spirit of Christ and bless you in all they say and do, but you have the Spirit of God and be a blessing in all you say and do. Don’t expect the other to forgive you your sins, but you forgive them, and your Father in heaven will love and forgive and exalt you, not because of your good deeds, but because He recognizes Christ in you.
You must be broken before the Lord and rid yourself of your own mind and life and spirit, and accept the new life in Christ.
Measure yourselves against the standard of God. Christ wants you to be as He is.