Listen, brother or sister in Christ—I need to tell you something. And this very important that I tell you this. Because I wish somebody would've told me this. If somebody had told me this, we wouldn't need to be dealing with this right now. Right?
If we don't renew our mind, we don't really know God for real.
Now listen, don't get offended and click off because I know how y'all do. Don't get in your feelings. Just chill. Like, ignore your flesh for a second and get into what I'm saying. I'm about to make it make sense. Alright?
So You Know We Have Our Natural Mind and Brain
So you know we have our natural mind and brain. Right? Which is 2 different things. Just so we clear, the brain is the organ that houses the mind. Hello? Okay.
But the mind of Christ—let this mind be in you, the mind of Christ. That is the word of God. Hello. The mind is made up of words. Your mind is made up of your words. The mind of God is made up of his words.
And listen, this is deep right here. The Hebrew word they use for what we call "mind" is leb, but they usually translate it as "heart." But here's what's crazy—in ALL the Hebrew and ancient languages, leb actually means mind! It's your thoughts, your emotions, your will, everything all wrapped up together. The Hebrews understood that when you got a heart, you got the ability to think through all the noise and figure out what really matters.
Then when the New Testament writers wrote in Greek, they got real specific. They used nous for when you can perceive God's truth, phronema for what you're actually focusing your mind on, and noema for the thoughts themselves. And the Latin gave us mens, which is literally where we get our word "mind" from. Hello?
This Is What It Means to Know God
And in order for our mind to be renewed, we need the words of God to renew our mind which then makes it the mind of Christ. And so, listen. When we don't go through the process, of taking on the mind of God, then we don't really know God. Because to know God is to be in sync with him, is to be in step with him, and it is to be in thought, belief, and understanding with him.
Check this out: Scripture asks "For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?" But then Paul says, "But we have the mind of Christ." Y'all see that? WE can have the mind of Christ!
And we can only do that if we are in his mind and if his mind is in us. This is what it means to be locked in Christ. And I'm not even saying that just because I wanna get my slogan on even though it does fit perfectly right there, don't it? You know that was cute what I did.
#LOCKEDINCHRIST
But Listen, This Is the Source of So Many of Our Problems
Like, I'm telling you, the mind of Christ is what produces the behavior of Christ, because so a man thinketh, so is he. And so, if we are thinking the way that God thinks by his words in our mind to think his words, we then shall behave the way he behaves because the mind is what produces the behavior of the body.
And so, it literally is not possible to behave like Christ without the mind of Christ. The 2 works together. The behavior of Christ is a byproduct of the mind of Christ. The behavior of Christ is the fruit of the mind of Christ.
Paul breaks it down when he says those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. That Greek word phronema he uses? That's talking about what's occupying your mental focus. What you thinking bout all day!
But Let's Just Keep It Real
The harvest that we keep bearing forth is not really the harvest of Christ. It's the harvest of our flesh. Look, Scripture tells us about all that mess—adultery, hatred, jealousy, all that drama? That's flesh fruit right there.
But without the mind of Christ within us, we have the mind of this flesh in us that produces the behavior of this flesh, which is what gives us all harvest of fruit of the flesh. I'm telling you; this is the answer to a lot of our problems.
But when we got the mind of Christ? Scripture tells us we get love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. That's the good fruit right there!
All We Gotta Do Is Simply Meditate on the Word of God Day and Night
Hold on. Wait a minute. Scripture says this Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
And check this out: his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season. Y'all see that? Meditation equals fruit!
Let me just go ahead and say this. One verse a day causes the renewing of the mind to be delayed. Not that it's not happening, but maybe it's happening at a very, very slow rate. A chapter a day is more so where we wanna be. I just think that y'all should know this because if I had known it, it wouldn't have taken me so long.
That Hebrew word for meditation? Hagah. It means to mutter, to speak, to keep saying it over and over. It's not some quiet, mystical thing. You speaking God's words over your life!
We Literally Gotta Swap Out Our Mind for the Mind of Christ
Scripture says do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
It tells us let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.
And it breaks down what we supposed to be thinking about: whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.
That's it. But look, from the Hebrew leb to the Greek nous to the Latin mens—all these languages pointing to the same truth: transformation starts in the mind.
And so, I'm gonna do drop after drop after drop after drop of content to really walk us down this understanding. Just to show you how much easier life is when we are behaving out the thoughts of Christ by letting the mind of Christ be in us.
Pick up what I've laid down here, and let's move forward in this understanding together.