God's Deep Secrets

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. 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. (I Corinthians 2:10-12)

Why did God send his Spirit to indwell believers? It may have something to do with us gaining the mind of Christ - seeing what he sees, understanding his ways, and learning to lean upon that understanding more than our own. What are the advantages to having the mind of Christ? If we allow the Holy Spirit to actually fill us up with his presence, there is very little room for the fleshly desires and thought patterns to exist. Essentially, when we allow the mind of Christ to be our guidance, we are shutting out the appeal of the flesh.

The mind of Christ is what helps us have a determined focus. We desire God's will and not our own, all because the Spirit of God is at work within us changing the way we process each thought, in turn affecting each action we take. It is not being 'brainwashed' but rather like being 'brain purified'. We find ourselves rejecting sin and embracing things that don't satisfy the lusts of the flesh, lusts of the eyes, and the pride of life. In other words, our thoughts are 'reordered' to align with Christ's example. Scripture might call this being 'single-minded', but we can call it being focused. 

The mind of Christ also leads to us developing a focus outside of self. We begin to see the needs of others and look for ways that we may serve or help them. We stop focusing so much on seeking all that will meet our needs and seek out ways to encourage the well-being of others. There is no longer an intense need to compete with each other because we realize all we have been given in Christ Jesus far outweighs all the accolades and accomplishments of the flesh. 

The most amazing thing about developing the mind of Christ is the effect it has on our heart. It actually helps to create a 'pure heart' within us. An advantage to a pure heart is a peaceful mind. If our mind is in unrest, perhaps asking God to show us where our hearts have any impurity would be a great place to start. When we ask, we must be prepared for the answer! The mind of Christ will not abide impurity in the heart, so when it is uncovered, it must be confessed, allowing God to bring peace once again in our minds. Just sayin!

More than the prophets ever had

This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward. They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen. (I Peter 1:10-12)

If the prophets could have known and experienced what we now know and experience in Christ Jesus, would there have been any stopping them? They longed to know more about his coming and what he would accomplish by it. They desired to see the fulfillment of all of God's promises - in the person of Jesus Christ. What the Old Testament prophets wanted to learn and experience we already know. We see a much bigger picture of God’s plan than they did. We can learn from the life of Christ and understand in depth God’s plan for redemption. Knowledge doesn't always change a person, though. It takes much more than a knowledge 'about' Jesus to change us. It takes an engagement between the mind and the heart in order for the knowledge we have to begin to affect us.

The mind decides - the heart follows up with action. What dictates our decisions? Is it knowledge alone? No, because we have a whole lot of knowledge, but we don't necessarily take action on it. We 'know' that clouds may carry rain, but do we always carry an umbrella when there are clouds in the sky? The knowledge that clouds carry rain on occasion doesn't change our actions unless we really perceive the threat of rain as 'real'. We don't always embrace truth the first time we are exposed to it but get rained on often enough and you learn when the clouds actually threaten rain! You likely begin to act upon that knowledge the next time you see the threat of rain.

Fill the mind with the 'right stuff' and the right actions are more likely to occur. Just fill it to overflowing with superfluous stuff and you will likely be so 'muddled' in your thoughts that it is hard to know what the right actions are when you need to take them. Idle thoughts let the mind run wild - it gives the mind permission to do whatever it 'thinks' it wants to do. Scripture reminds us that every thought is to be taken 'captive' because we don't want to give ground to foolish actions as a result of foolish thought. The prophets had knowledge and acted upon that which they had. Do we act upon the knowledge we have been given? If not, maybe it is about time we turn knowledge into wise action.

The more we act upon the knowledge we are given, the more we will avoid the pitfalls afforded us through all the new problems that come against us each day. We might want to consider just how much we let idle thoughts get the best of us and then ask God's help in engaging our minds in response to the knowledge he brings. When we take the first step toward incorporating that knowledge into our actions, we begin to see the Word of God become a living thing within us. Our actions may not immediately change, but the more that knowledge is embraced, the quicker we will see that change realized. Just sayin!