Isn’t it great!! We have the Mind of Christ !! And we can get more of this Mind of Christ if we seek more from the Word of God which is “inspired” by God.- ie Inspired by His Mind and Spirit! And when we have the Mind of Christ we are “born again” into the family of God. God is our Father, and like any living father He instructs His Children to be like Him, with His mind and character so that we are not rebellious any longer.
So how did we get this mind of Christ ?? How and why did ” Yaweh ” deposit this tremendous gift to us ?
How has God continued to communicate with us , ” His People ” , whom He promised never to abandon , through the ages ?
Moses wrote the first five books of the Old Testament . By God’s divine plan Moses had received the highest education possible ; having been a royal prince of civilized Egypt . After fleeing Egypt he then received the traditions and writings of his Jewish ancestry from his prosperous father – in law in the foot- hills of the desert ** ( incidentally critics say – as an objection to his authorship – that he could not write about his own funeral : but many people still plan their own funerals , such as actress Elizabeth Taylor writing hers for example ). Then it was by divine revelation from God through the writing of the O T scriptures . This included his mainly – ridiculed spokesmen the prophets , to Jesus . Jesus was “the Logos – the word ” John 1:1- from eternity expressed in human form. Then Jesus inspired the apostles and New Testament writings .
Consider Paul ( after his ” Damascus – Road” incident ) telling the Galatians in ” Ch. 1: 1 – 2″ – ” I want you to know , brothers , this Gospel I preached is not something that man made up ,…I was not taught it. Rather I received it “by revelation from Jesus Christ.”
In the Old Testament , the transmission of God’s mind includes when the Lord said to His prophet Jeremiah ( whose ministry began in 626 BC and finished in 586 BC ) in ” Ch. 31: 33 – 34″ ” This is the ( new ) covenant I will make with the House of Israel... I will put my Law in their minds
and write it on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people…they- ie ” we ” – will all know Him , from the least of us to the greatest .” Doesn’t this sound like you and me right now??
The Lord spoke to Ezekiel ( part of the Babylonian Exile in 596 BC when Jerusalem was destroyed ) ” Ezekiel 35: 37 ” I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and ( to) be careful to keep my Laws “ .
More communication from God occurs in the N.T. when in John , Chapter 14 , Jesus comforts His disciples , promising the personal counseling of the in- dwelling Holy Spirit – v :16 ” I will ask the father and He will give you another counselor to be with you for – ever – the Spirit of Truth .” Prophecy from God fulfilled in us now .
Again in verse 26 ” But the counselor , the Holy Spirit , whom the father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”
But more importantly these simple verses ensures the divine power and light of Jesus is never extinguished through – out the history of man – kind . This powerful statement is seen in action when Peter asks in Acts 19:2 ” Have they received the Holy Spirit ? Then he went to the new believers , placed his hands on their shoulders and said ” receive the Holy Spirit ” .
This ensured the transmission of the Spirit by the placing on of hands to new believers right up to our present time . This is evidenced by the huge ” Miracle Crusades ” that have empowered and healed ordinary people all over the world up to today . ” Halleluiah ! The Lord has come ! “
In John Ch. 16 – “the work of the Holy Spirit” , verse 13 says ” But when He , the Spirit of Truth comes , He will guide you into all Truth . He will not speak on His Own : He will only speak what He hears , and He will tell you what is to come.”
This is an interesting exciting truth ! Remember John 14 : 18 Jesus promised us He would never leave us as orphans !
This shows that the Holy Spirit passes on to us believers only What he hears from Jesus. This is not His separate teaching. ” Eph. 1: 20 ” says ” God…raised Him from the dead and seated Him on His Right hand in the Heavenly Realms , far above all rule and authority,…”. Jesus , now exalted and enthroned , is sitting with His Father On High , and acts an intermediary between God the Father and us – right now .
I Tim. 2: 5 says ” For there is one God and one mediator between God and men , the man Christ Jesus who gave Him – self as a ransom for all men – the testimony given in its proper time. ” The ” proper time ” meant ” the time in recorded prophesy in the O T of Isaiah ( 730 BC approx. ) ” of a virgin..in Bethlehem … in a manger “, etc. His testimony was to bridge the gap between man and God by our faith when He conquered sin and death .
So yes we are now communicating with God the father , but with Jesus speaking to us thru the Holy Spirit . The book of John , Ch’s. 14 thru 16 , in particular , describes this relationship wonderfully .
There is then Heb 7 : 24 – 25 ; ” but because Jesus lives forever He has a permanent priesthood ( that’s us people ! ) Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him , because He always lives to intercede for them ( us !). ” And we have the Mind of God as we are His priesthood on earth now.
The book of ” Rev. 12 : 9 ” says ” satin has deceived the whole world” . Continuously , and as now , the anti – Christ has demonically undone the work of Jesus by using man”s fallen nature. During the ” Middle Ages of Europe ,- called ” the Dark Ages ‘ because the light of ” The word of God” to man ie ” cleanliness is next to Godliness ” was fiercely snuffed out ( as what happened to Jesus ) where – ever it flickered into flame . This was by the religious Pharisees of their day who wanted to keep their ultimate power as the divine agent of God on earth.
** ( The middle ages is mostly renown for its disease – infectious filth . The ” Black Plague ” was spread by bacteria – infested rats which prospered in the garbage – laden streets of Europe in the 14 th century . The doctors , using the best academically acceptable practice of their times , secluded both healthy and dying members of a family in their homes . This multiplied the mortality rate . It was only the church which used the ” Ordained by God ” health practices of the Old Testament and separated the sick and ” un clean ” victims from the remaining populace . It is estimated a 30 % mortality rate decimated Europe . Then there are the strongly christian Scientists ” Pasteur ” and ” Lister “ which against persecution and derision , again , brought the light of ” cleanliness next to God – lines ” – John Wesley ‘ s words . They championed the fact that infection and bacteria came not from inside the food or open wound itself , for instance , but from the filthy environment around these items . No longer were dirty blood – encrusted bandages used to bind soldiers wounds )**
“ Heavenly – inspired ” Martyrs led the fight for the closed book to be opened to common man in our common tongue . These included the persecuted Thomas Wycliffe of the 1380’s ( whose bones were exhumed and burnt ) and John Hess who refused to recant that scripture was a greater authority than the church and was burnt at the stake in 1415 . Thousands of other un- known ( except to God ) Saints led to the Great Reformation with Martin Luther . Finally ” The Word Of God ” , greatly assisted by the printing press invention , was at the center stage of history and allowed to ” re – new the mind “ and illuminate the dark souls of un – washed man.
Jesus is also revealed in and by ” His creation . Col 1:16 ” For by Him all things were created…V:17 …and in Him all things hold together ” . There is peace and order – no chaos . Psalm 97 : v 6 ” The heavens proclaim His righteousness , and all the people see His Glory . ” For example the wondrous beauty , design , order and sufficiency of the rain – forests . As Genesis states ” All producing after its’ kind ” . ” He holds all things together in the palm of His hand ” .
1 Cor. 2 : 12 – 14 ” We have received.. the Spirit who is from God , that we may understand what has been freely given us...because they are spiritually discerned ” . The natural carnal mind cannot receive the things of the Spirit . Only the sanctified mind – ” sanctified by the Word of Truth that we ( now ) hear ” – and the sanctifying work of the Spirit allows us into the presence and majesty now of God .
Let us Remember , brothers and sisters – ” we have not been given a Spirit of fear, but a Spirit of love , of power , and of a sound mind “. 2 Tim 1: 9 .
Pretty Good