The Mind of Christ

“But we have the mind of Christ.” (1Cor.2:16b)
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” (Philip.2:5)

“I just don’t think he (she) has any spiritual perception at all.” This was said about someone the speaker and I both knew. “Oh, no,” I countered, “I think there’s much evidence of spiritual perception. It just isn’t working itself out in his (her) everyday life.” As far as this particular person is concerned, I may be mistaken, but I don’t think the concept is farfetched. In fact, the two verses cited above seem to bear this out.

The verse in 1 Corinthians is comparing the “natural” (unsaved) man, and the one who has been granted “spiritual” discernment (the saved man or woman). In the case of the latter, Paul says we can be sure that this person has the mind of Christ. Yet, in Philippians, the same writer admonishes us as believers to let the mind of Christ live in us. The key word here is “let,” indicating a choice. “Christ-mindedness,” if I may coin the word, is not inevitable for the child of God; but it is available.

The natural man “receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God,” but the spiritual man does. He or she “gets it”; they just don’t always do anything with it. And, if you are familiar at all with what the Bible says about rejecting light, you recognize this to be a very dangerous life style. As the saying goes, “Light rejected brings greater darkness. We can end up being like the children of Israel, who boasted of having been given the Law, while at the same time refusing to keep it (Rom.2).

You and I, as New Testament believers, have been given the mind of Christ. It us up to us, however, whether or not we choose to let this Mind live and breathe through our daily lives. This brings even greater significance to the popular saying, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.”