“The New Creation” Day 9: We have the mind of Christ.

In some of Jesus’ last words to His disciples before he went to the cross, He acknowledged that there were things He wanted to tell them, but they weren’t in a position of being able to receive it.

““There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’”

‭‭John‬ ‭16‬:‭12‬-‭15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Notice, even though they couldn’t receive all that He wanted to tell them then, He assures them that when the Holy Spirit came upon them, they would be able to hear all that He wanted them to hear, and understand all that He wanted them to understand.

In another place, Jesus said that through Him, the Father could be made known to whoever He wanted to reveal the Father.

“At that time Jesus prayed this prayer: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way! “My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.””

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭11‬:‭25‬-‭27‬ ‭NLT‬‬

It is within this context that a very familiar verse is found:

“Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.””

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭11‬:‭28‬-‭30‬ ‭NLT‬‬

So, putting some of the things we know, together, it becomes clear that the knowledge otherwise unavailable, is made available to us through Jesus Christ, by way of the Holy Spirit of God. Indeed, it was by way of the Holy Spirit that now Jesus would be in us.

“If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”

‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭15‬-‭20‬ ‭NLT‬‬

We have been discussing the new creation and within that context, the importance of having a transformed mind. As we discussed last time, Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins, cleared the way for us to be able to receive His Holy Spirit. And, it is through the Holy Spirit in us, that we can understand the things of God.

“No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God—his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord. That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.””

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭2‬:‭7‬-‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Indeed, what human wisdom could not understand, is made clear to us by way of the Holy Spirit of God.

“But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭2‬:‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Yes, God’s Holy Spirit, helps us to truly know God. And not only that, makes us able to think like Him.

“No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭2‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

As the children of God, we can have His Holy Spirit in us, teaching us and guiding us, in ways that would never have been possible before the work of Jesus Christ.

“When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭2‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Ultimately—because of what Jesus did in taking away that which separated us from God—we can now have the mind of Christ. We can know His heart.

“For, “Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?” But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭2‬:‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

It is in taking advantage of the access we can have to the mind of Christ, that we can have an ever transforming mind, a mind and way of being and doing, that more and more reflects the image of Jesus Christ.

We’ll talk more about this next time.

Peace to you.

Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!