Donut Pillow with Strawberry Frosting + The Mind of Christ

Donut Pillow with Strawberry Frosting

The Mind of Christ

For who has known or understood the mind (the counsels and purposes) of the Lord so as to guide and instruct Him and give Him knowledge? But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart.—1 Corinthians 2:16

This verse overwhelms many people. If these were not the words of the Bible, they wouldn’t believe it. As it is, most people shake their heads and ask, “How can this be?”

Paul was not saying we’re perfect or that we’ll never fail. He was telling us, as believers in Jesus, the Son of God, we are given the mind of Christ. That is, we can think spiritual thoughts because Christ is alive within us. We no longer think the way we once did. We begin to think as He did.

Another way to look at this is to point to the promise God spoke through Ezekiel: “A new heart will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall heed My ordinances and do them. And you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and you shall be My people, and I will be your God” (Ezekiel 36:26–28).

God gave that promise through the prophet when the Jews were in exile in Babylon. He wanted to show them that their present situation was not the end. They had sinned and failed Him in every conceivable way, but He would not abandon them. Instead, He would change them. He would give them a new spirit—His Holy Spirit.

When we have the Holy Spirit living and active within us, the mind of Christ is in action. The mind of Christ is given to us to direct us in the right way. If we have His mind, we will think positive thoughts. We will think about how blessed we are—how good God has been to us. I realize I’ve already written about the importance of being positive, but I’m not sure that enough can ever be said about the power of being positive.

Jesus was positive, in spite of being lied about, lonely, misunderstood, and a multitude of other negative things. He was deserted by His disciples when He needed them most, yet He remained positive—always able to offer an uplifting, encouraging word. Just being in His presence would suggest that all fear, negative thoughts, and discouraging hopelessness would evaporate into thin air.

The mind of Christ in us is positive. So when we fall for the opportunity to be negative about something, we should instantly discern that we are not operating with the mind of Christ. God wants us to be lifted up. It’s the enemy of our soul who wants us pressed down—depressed. Except for a medical reason, I do not think it is possible to be depressed without being negative. We have many opportunities to think negative thoughts, but that is not the mind of Christ at work in us. We don’t have to accept those thoughts. They are not ours!

Every situation that presents itself gives us an opportunity to make a choice. It’s obvious, of course, that we can choose the good or the bad.

What we often forget is that we choose the bad or the wrong without conscious thought. We follow old patterns—or the old mind—and not the mind of Christ. As God promised the Jews through Ezekiel’s prophecy, He will give us a new heart and a new spirit, but we still have the power to choose which mind we want to follow.    


Pray this... 
Lord, I truly want to be aware of the mind of Christ in my life, and I want to be aware of it every minute of my waking day. Help me to open myself only to Your will and to push away the old mindsets, the thinking that will lead me down the wrong path. I ask this through Jesus Christ.  Amen.


From the book Battlefield of the Mind: 100 Insights That Will Change the Way You Think by Joyce Meyer. Copyright © 2005 by Joyce Meyer. Published by FaithWords. All rights reserved.