Romans 12:2 “And 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.”
Even though our minds will only be fully renewed when we go to be with the Lord Jesus at the end of our lives, nevertheless God still expects us to do something in this life about our carnal way of thinking, because as we have already seen the carnal mind is not pleasing to God. So what is the believer meant to do with their minds while on the earth? The scripture teaches us exactly what God expects us to do with our minds, for in the above quoted passage of scripture we are told to renew our minds. Therefore as long as we are in this life we are responsible for the renewing of our minds, for unlike the new birth, God will not renew our minds for us. And so when God says that we must renew our minds, He says that because our way of thinking needs to be and can be changed.
1 Corinthians 15:10 “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”
God would never instruct us to do something that we cannot do, otherwise that would make Him unjust and God is not unjust. And so when God instructs us to renew our minds to think in line with His word, then it is because we are well able to do just that. The reason we are able is because the Lord Himself gives us His grace to do that which He instructs us to do, for God’s grace is also His enabling power. In other words God is the one who gives us the ability to do what He tells us to do. In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle Paul reveals to us that the reason he could do what the Lord had called him to do, was because the Lord’s grace enabled him to do it. And so just like the apostle Paul, we all have access to the Lord’s grace by faith. In other words we must believe that the Lord has given us His ability, and when we do then we will begin to walk in His enabling power just as Paul did. And that power will enable us to renew our minds from carnal to spiritual thinking.
Romans 8:5-6 “For 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. (6) For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”
So what does the Holy Spirit mean when He says that we need to be transformed by the renewing of our minds? As we mentioned earlier, we need to transition our thinking from being carnally minded to becoming spiritually minded. And so as the kingdom of God is completely opposite to the kingdom of darkness and as life is the complete opposite of death, so becoming spiritually minded is the complete opposite to being carnally minded. This truth is confirmed to us in the above quoted passage of scripture, for the apostle Paul teaches us in this passage that we are to set our minds on the things of the spirit and no longer on the things of the flesh. And so as the carnal mind views God’s word as being foolishness (1 Corinthians 2:14), so the spiritual mind views God’s word as being life and peace, and as the carnal mind refuses to obey the word of God so the spiritual mind delights in obeying His laws.
Colossians 3:1-2 “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. (2) Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”
The spiritual mind finds it easy to walk in faith, hope, love, godliness and holiness, for not only does it understand these concepts but it also understands how the carnal mind views these concepts (1 Corinthians 2:15). Have you ever heard the statement, “he is so heavenly minded that he is no earthly good”? That statement is a classic example of carnal thinking, for it speaks directly against what God’s word says, for in the above quoted passage of scripture God instructs His saints to specifically set their minds on heavenly things and not on things on the earth. And so, one who is spiritually minded will also be heavenly minded. The spiritual mind does not love any part of this world, and seeks only to please the Father and our Lord Jesus in everything, and the spiritual mind also seeks only to serve the body of Christ.
Michael E.B. Maher
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