What is our true identity? How can we understand the mysteries of the kingdom? By taking on the mind of Christ.
The transformation of our thought life by taking on the mind of Christ [his ideas, images, information, and patterns of thinking] opens the way to deliverance of every dimension of the human self.
Phil 2:5 – “ and consider the example that Jesus, the Anointed One, has set before us.
LET HIS MINDSET BECOME YOUR MOTIVATION.
We can live in a true spiritual atmosphere of light and life and joy as we worship God; and have pushed back the darkness; we stand clothed in the armor of light; ready to discern His voice as He walks in our garden: in communion with Him.
Can we? Yes.
But we have the mind of Christ [to be guided by His thoughts and purpose I Cor 2:16
It’s all written in the Word of God, and every verse has been breathed on by the Spirit of revelation to embed a deeper meaning of practical insight and guide our steps into the life God has meant for us.
What is The mind of Christ? – the perspective of living and acting in the realm of the Spirit through
1. knowing Who He is
2. What He taught and
3. Why He came
If we are truly born again and walking in the Spirit, we will engage in the process of being TRANSFORMED by the renewing of our minds every day…to prove what is the good, the acceptable, and the perfect will of God. The spirit of Christ transforms us. Romans 12
Our mind involves at least four major areas: ideas, images, information, and our ability to think. In a sense, the greatest battlefield in the world is located between our ears, and the stakes are incredibly high. Our “mind” constitutes the intellect or understanding and includes all that is described in the word “mindset,” that is, the feelings and the will -The whole man.
Again, “let HIS mindset be your motivation.
Be completely changed: renewed!
“renew” – a restoration to freshness.
It intimates the potential of redemption’s power to reinstate features of God’s original intention for humanity. [A mystery of the kingdom]
God’s RESTORATION or renewal of us includes a recovery of many potentialities of the human mind and soul as designed before the Fall – a literal change in the form of thought or being. [a mystery of the Kingdom]
This restored relationship through the Messiah’s life breaks the curse and leads to forgiveness, healing, freedom, and eternal life.
SHALOM- GOD’S REIGN OF HOLISTIC ORDER AND WELL-BEING, WHICH IS THE OPPOSITE OF DISINTEGRATION AND DESTRUCTION.
Consider this:
If God’s majesty, grace, and power are not being exhibited in us, God holds us responsible.
In Peter:
“By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.”
To DEMONSTRATE His mind, His life, and His power.
Col 3:10 “Take another mind.” Metanoia- repent and have a transformational change of heart, a change of your way of life, a change of direction due to a spiritual conversion. CHANGE YOUR MIND.
When Jesus was alone with His disciples, He shared the truths of the parables, which explain the mysteries of the kingdom of God.
His mysteries are the whole work of redemption [the full gospel] from first to last.
Jesus told His disciples that it had been given to them to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, and He taught them what they were. Matt 13:10
We are His disciples. He is the Author and Finisher of our faith.
We have access to the mind of Christ to understand the mysteries of Christ.
Phil 2:5 “And consider the example that Jesus, the Anointed One, has set before us. LET HIS MINDSET BECOME YOUR MOTIVATION.”
Phil 2:5 “Let this same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.
Phil 2:6-11 His Way of living: His Mindset:
Emptied Himself, became a slave, became a human, Humbled Himself, was obedient. Totally dependent on the Holy Spirit of Truth.
HE WAS EXALTED AND EMPOWERED AS A RESULT
In Philippians 2:2 & 5, the Word reads: “Be of the same mind, of one mind, let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.”
In Phil 3:15, “Let those of us then who are mature be of the same mind.”
Phil 2:12-13 “ continue to make this new life fully MANIFESTED as you live in the holy awe of God – which brings you trembling into His Presence. God will continually revitalize you, implanting the passion for doing what pleases Him within you.
Manifest- [emphanidzo] revealed radiance, or
the self-revelation of Jesus to US.
Paul describes the opposite of the mind of Christ as the struggles among believers in the Philippian church- because of this kind of thinking shaping behavior – people insisting on getting their own way and not being like-minded leads to discord.
In Phil 4:2, Paul urges two women who had been disagreeing over some issue “to be of the same mind,” which is the mind of Christ
These issues continue to plague human relationships both inside and outside the church, but they don’t need to have the final word; we can change our minds about what is happening.
God’s Spirit and power will be increasingly evident in our life as we will imitate Christ’s humble, obedient service as we surrender.
Paul says this is the central defining act of the Christian faith: the attitude, the approach that all Christ-followers are to demonstrate. It may go against our human nature, it goes against the tide of popular culture, but it is the way Christians are supposed to be in having the mind of Christ.
Phil 2:5 “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,”
Col 3:2 Yes, feast on all the treasures of the heavenly realm and fill your thoughts with heavenly realities, not with the distractions of the natural realm.
It will change your life.
