Transcript & Slides: The Mind of Christ (Part 1)

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The Mind of Christ (Part 1)
By David Feddes

The Bible says some amazing things, but I can't think of anything more amazing than a statement in 1 Corinthians 2:16: "We have the mind of Christ." That is a staggering reality—we have the mind of Jesus Christ.

Before we think about what that means, let me just read the larger passage from 1 Corinthians chapter 2:

“We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him’—but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment. ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:6–16).

When we have the mind of Christ, we have the ultimate mind. Scripture says of Jesus that he is “Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3), and “Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God” (1 Corinthians 1:30). We have the mind of Christ.

What does it mean to have the mind of Christ, the ultimate mind? Well, I'm not sure that I understand it fully—in fact, I'm pretty sure I don't—but I've given it a lot of thought and a lot of study from the Scriptures. So let's just reflect on what it means to have the mind of Christ, because that is the ultimate in intellectual fitness. When you have the mind of Christ, you have the greatest mind in the universe—the mind of God himself.

When God came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ, there were people who said, “No one ever spoke the way this man does” (John 7:46). And those were actually some people who had been sent to arrest Jesus—they were the police who were sent to arrest him. But when they heard him talk, they said, “Nobody talks the way he does.”

And when Jesus' opponents would get into arguments with him, they would try to trap him into saying something foolish, or they would try to stump him with hard questions—and it never worked. The Bible says that “no one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions” (Matthew 22:46). They were “unable to trap him in what he had said in public. And astonished by his answer, they became silent” (Luke 20:26).

That’s because Jesus had such a tremendous mind that nobody could outmaneuver him or know more than Jesus knew. Jesus was speaking, of course, as a man of great genius—but also as the Son of God. And Jesus said, “I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say” (John 12:49–50). “The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work” (John 14:10).

Jesus is speaking his Father's mind. And Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit. He said, “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth… He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you” (John 16:12–14). So when the Holy Spirit comes and lives in God's people, he is speaking the Son's mind. And the Son, in turn, is speaking the Father's mind.

Jesus said, “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers, and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say” (Luke 12:11–12). “I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict” (Luke 21:15). That’s part of having the mind of Christ—the Holy Spirit is in you, and he's teaching you what you need to say.

And when the Holy Spirit’s teaching you, Jesus says, “I am teaching you. I'm giving you words and wisdom.” And we see how that worked out in the book of Acts. In Acts chapter 4, we read about the apostles being dragged in before the authorities, and they said, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). That's what the apostles said. And they were so bold about it, so sure of it, so clear about it, that it says the authorities were “astonished at their courage and took note that these men had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13).

They knew these men had been with Jesus. What they didn't realize was that Jesus was in these men—that the mind of Jesus and the boldness of Jesus were speaking from these men.

When Stephen, the first martyr, was hauled in before the mob that eventually killed him, he was given such power and such wisdom that “they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke” (Acts 6:10). He was speaking with such power that all they could do was kill him—but they couldn't outthink him. That's because Jesus' wisdom—Jesus' mind—was at work in Stephen.

The Holy Spirit of Jesus shows us God’s mind. That’s one of the things emphasized in this passage in 1 Corinthians about having the mind of Christ. Earlier, it says that God’s way of salvation is something nobody would have guessed—Jesus Christ and him crucified. It says that the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing (1 Corinthians 1:18). God determined to frustrate the wisdom of the wise, and so he gave a way of salvation through Jesus crucified that nobody would have guessed. Nobody would have guessed that someone hanging on a cross and pouring out his blood would be the one who would save the world from its sin.

And so, trusting in Christ crucified comes through having the mind of Christ and recognizing that God does things differently and God thinks differently. When you follow Jesus, you follow the way of the cross. You need to humble yourself. You sometimes need to suffer for Christ. You sometimes need to realize that when you are weak, then you are strong (2 Corinthians 12:10)—not just when you seem to be winning.

This way of Christ crucified is something nobody would have guessed, but it becomes to us wisdom from God (1 Corinthians 1:30). The Holy Spirit gives us the mind of Christ so that we understand the cross of Christ and what it means for us.

God’s blessings in salvation are marvels that nobody could imagine. As it says in 1 Corinthians 2:9: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). But God has revealed it to us by his Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:10). The blessings of salvation—the fact that you’re a new creation, that you receive a new heart, a new spirit, that God puts a new kind of life and power in you when you come to Jesus by faith, that you were made for eternal closeness and intimacy with God, that he would live in you and with you forever—these are extraordinary realities that we cannot understand apart from the Spirit of God.

The fact that you're destined to reign with Christ forever, to sit on his throne (Revelation 3:21), to judge angels (1 Corinthians 6:3), to rule with Christ—again, these are realities we couldn’t have figured out on our own. But because Christ, as the crucified man risen again, has received this life and this authority from God, then those who belong to Christ, who are in Christ and have Christ in them, have these tremendous blessings of salvation.

That’s part of what’s involved in having the mind of Christ. You can’t even understand what Jesus does for us—what his crucifixion means, what his resurrection means—without the mind of Christ. Sure, you can understand, “Hey, somebody got killed, and his body was brought alive again.” But to understand what his death means for us, to understand that in his resurrection we are raised and glorified—these are stunning secrets of God’s mind that the Spirit reveals to his people.

Naturally, we’re dead heads. No one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 2:11). The man without the Spirit—or literally, the natural man—does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:14). The apostle is teaching us that apart from the Spirit of God, we don’t have a clue what God is up to or how he thinks. It’s only when the Spirit of God makes God’s mind known to us that we can begin to understand and accept what God is telling us.

That means people without the Spirit of God are in no position to judge the truth of God. The apostle says that he speaks not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing (1 Corinthians 2:6). None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Corinthians 2:8). The spiritual man is not subject to any man’s judgment (1 Corinthians 2:15).

You need to understand that when you have the mind of Christ, you can have confidence in what you know of Christ and in what God has shown to you. You’re not to be judged by those who don’t have the mind of Christ. Sometimes it’s easy to be intimidated by people who have lots of degrees or hold important positions and to be kind of embarrassed or ashamed about what you believe. No—the Bible says the rulers of this age didn’t understand it (1 Corinthians 2:8). And that probably refers not just to political rulers or religious authorities but also to those who stood behind them—the demonic powers, even the evil angelic beings and those under their domination. They didn’t understand what God was doing.

So we need not be intimidated when people who are in no position to understand these things look down on us. God has revealed it to us by his Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:10). No one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. We have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:11–16). Therefore, we can be confident in the knowledge that God gives us—in the truth of Christ crucified, of Christ risen, of us being saved by Jesus’ blood, of us being destined for eternal glory and intimacy with God—because we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16), and God has revealed these things by his Spirit.

Romans 8 speaks in a similar vein, using the phrase—not so much “the mind of Christ” there—but “the mind of the Spirit.” Those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires… the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace (Romans 8:5–6). Some translations say “the mind controlled by the Spirit” and things like that, but literally it’s just the mind of the Spirit. That mind of the Spirit that you have is life and peace. Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God (Romans 8:14). The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children (Romans 8:16).

When we cry out to God, “Abba, Father,” then it’s God’s Spirit—not just our own spirit—but God’s Spirit speaking with our spirit, God’s mind working within our mind, telling us that we’re God’s children. The Spirit himself intercedes for us when we pray (Romans 8:26). He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit (Romans 8:27). The mind of the Spirit is the mind of Christ. And that mind of the Spirit is life and peace. God knows the mind of the Spirit, and we know God through his Spirit within us. And God knows us through his Spirit searching our hearts and our minds.

There’s a kind of mind-meld that goes on.

So as we think about what it means to have the mind of Christ, it helps maybe just to reflect on what’s going on when you have a mind. The Greek language uses two major words—nous and phronēma—to describe the mind. I’m not going to bother with shades of difference there, but just for those of you who know Greek, those are two of the major words involved.

When we think of a mind, a big part of it is the intellect: what you think, what you believe, the ideas you have, the facts that you’re aware of, your thoughts, your knowledge, and sometimes what you do with those thoughts and that knowledge—the wisdom that you have in applying the ideas and the truths that you understand.

Another aspect of having the mind of Christ is your identity. When it comes to intellect, having the mind of Christ means that you're aware of what Christ knows—not all of it, of course—but some of what Christ knows, you know as well. So, the intellect is part of it.

But then, your identity too. Jesus has an identity—he’s the Son of God. You have an identity—you’re a child of God. Part of your mind is simply knowing who you are. “I’m David Feddes”—that’s a belief I have. That’s something in my mind. You know your own name. But it’s not just a matter of name.

When you know your identity, you see yourself a certain way. If you're in Christ and have the mind of Christ, you see yourself as a child of God, beloved of God, a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9), one of those who is destined to reign with him (2 Timothy 2:12; Revelation 5:10). And that’s your identity—you’re royalty in Christ.

You might, however, have other ideas or senses of identity. You may say, “I’m an abuse survivor,” “I’m an alcoholic,” or “I’m ugly,” or “I’m not worth very much.” And you get those ideas about identity not from the mind of Christ but from other sources.

At any rate, to have the mind of Christ is to have a sense of identity that comes from Christ—your position in Christ: that you’re a child of God, that you’re loved by him, that you’re cherished by him, that you’re important, and that you have a calling to reign with Christ.

Your identity is also the beliefs that you don’t just happen to have rattling around in your head, but the convictions that you hold—the stance that you take. What you mean when you say, “I’ve made up my mind.” When you make up your mind to do something, or you've made up your mind that this is what you’re committed to—that’s part of the mind of Christ. You’ve made up your mind to follow him. You’ve made up your mind to serve him.

The Bible says at one point, Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem, where he would be killed (Luke 9:51). He took a position. He took that stance. And he followed through on it. That was something he did with his mind—and with his identity and his calling.

Another element of the mind of Christ is your worldview—your mindset, your way of seeing things. If you have the mind of Christ, you look around and you see the flowers and you say, “God clothes the flowers” (Matthew 6:28–30). You look at the birds and say, “God feeds the birds. He’s going to clothe and feed me” (Matthew 6:26). You look at the world and say, “God made this world. He’s the great Creator and Designer.”

That’s a totally different worldview from looking around at the world and saying, “Oh, it’s all just a dead machine running by timeless, meaningless rules and laws of nature.” When you have a worldview, you have a mindset that sees things the way Jesus does. You have a viewpoint—a way of understanding the world that differs a lot from those who don’t have the mind of Christ.

And it also determines what you focus on. You focus on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God (Colossians 3:1–2). You focus on heaven. You focus on the future that God has promised—and not just on this particular moment. Part of your worldview is where your focus is and the things you care about.

Another dimension of having a mind is the attitudes you have—your outlook on life. Whether it’s positive or negative. The feelings you have—whether they’re happy feelings or feelings that you struggle with. The interests that you have—do you care about this thing that’s going on over here, or that person over there?

When you have the mind of Christ, your interests aren’t just your own—me, myself, and I—but the interests of others. Because in the mind of Christ, you love like Jesus loves. When you see things that are bad in the world, you feel sad about it, because the things that grieve the heart of Christ grieve you too.

So, having the mind of Christ means that your attitude is shaped by Jesus’ attitudes.

Another aspect of your mind is what you’re aware of—the things you see, the things that you sense are going on, the things that you’re aware of in the moment, through maybe even your sense of smell or your hearing or whatever—but whatever gives you an awareness, a sense of what’s happening.

And your insight or your intuition—your recognition of what’s going on. When you have the mind of Christ, then you have the ability to recognize what’s happening in the moment. The mind of Christ gives you, by the Holy Spirit, the ability to discern things that are going on.

And so, awareness and evaluation go together. Because when you’re aware of things going on, then you also have a gift from Christ to be able to sort through those, to test those, to sift those. Is this from God? Is this from a different source? Are these ideas and thoughts that I have in my mind coming from God? Are they coming from my bad digestion? Are they coming from my upbringing and background? Are they coming from satanic lies—or are they coming from God?

When you have the mind of Christ, your mind also has some other things cluttered in it. But the mind of Christ helps you to sort through and evaluate those.

So, those are some elements of what’s involved in having the mind of Christ. Not just the facts and ideas that your intellect holds—though that’s very important. Having the mind of Christ is having beliefs and truths that are God-given. Also, that “I’m in Christ, he’s in me. I have this position, this stance—that I take my stand with Christ.”

A worldview. A way of seeing. An attitude. An interest in others. A vibe or a feeling—that the things that grieve Christ grieve you. The things that bring Christ joy and gladness bring you joy and gladness. An awareness given by God of what is happening—maybe of what somebody’s up to.

Now, it’s not always that we have a perfect awareness, or a perfect evaluation, or a perfect intellect. In fact, when we talk about the mind of Christ, that’s one of the struggles—to really give it full weight. We have to admit that we’re quite a ways from having the fullness of this mind of Christ.

When I talk about it, I sometimes think, “Well, is that true of me? And to what degree is it true?” And maybe when you hear me talk about it, you say, “Wow, the Bible talks about that mind of Christ and all these elements of it—but that sure doesn’t sound like me. I don’t— I wonder if I have the mind of Christ at all.”

Well, the fact is that if you’re a Christian at all—if you’ve been able to see the wonder of the cross, and the glory of the resurrection, and the destiny that God has given you, and the washing away of your sins—then you have the Spirit of Christ. You have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). But it might be a baby mind. It might not yet be fully developed.

Babies have real minds, but their minds are immature. Babies focus mainly on their own wants. They want their bottle, and they want it now. They’re hungry, and they don’t even know how to express it very well. Or their diaper is dirty, and they want it changed—now. They’re focused on their own wants.

And babies aren’t very good with language yet. They can’t talk. They can’t always understand what other people are saying to them. They can understand some things—they can understand a hug, they can understand that they’re hungry—but there’s a lot that they can’t communicate or really put into words. They need to develop a lot further.

This is true not just of little babies in the physical sense or in the intellectual development of babies, but it’s true of baby Christians. The apostle Paul says, “Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ... For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly?” (1 Corinthians 3:1,3). The apostle is dealing with people in Corinth who were bickering about which preacher was the best, and who were bickering about which spiritual gift is the best. And the apostle says that’s just a sign that you’re really immature, and you’re acting really worldly.

Now, did the apostle say, “Therefore you’re not Christians; you don’t have the mind of Christ; you’re nothing”? No. Instead, he says, “We have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). And now you need to realize that and start getting in tune with that mind and start maturing in that mind of Christ.

Some people, when they read about carnal Christians, have taken it to mean that these people do not yet have the true mind of Christ—they don’t yet have the fullness of the Holy Spirit. If only they would have an experience, a blessing, maybe with an evidence of it such as speaking in tongues, then they would no longer be carnal.

Well, in 1 Corinthians, the Corinthians spoke in tongues. They had that gift already—and they were proud of it. Oh, could they speak in tongues! And the apostle says, “You’re carnal.” Now, he doesn’t say, “You don’t have the Holy Spirit at all.” But he says, “You’re acting like it.”

What they need is not the ability to speak in tongues. What they need is not, “Oh, you need the Holy Spirit to come on you.” They already had the Holy Spirit. They already had tongues. But they were babies. They were immature.

So when we think about the mind of Christ, we don’t need to say, “You need this super-deluxe experience to make you mature instantly.” When we look at a baby, do we say, “You don’t know how to talk yet, you’re not very mature, but if you had this one super-deluxe experience, you would immediately go from being a six-month-old to having the maturity of a 36-year-old”? No—we don’t expect that at all. We expect that they’re going to develop and mature.

And so it is with the mind of Christ. You’re not going to go from zero to having the full-blown, complete mind of Christ in five minutes or less with a certain experience. When you’re converted and receive the Holy Spirit, you will have your eyes opened to many amazing and wonderful things—but there’s going to be a process of maturity.

And that’s encouraging, even as it’s humbling. To be told you’re a baby isn’t always encouraging. But to be a baby is still to be alive. To be a baby is still to have a mind. And so when we look at ourselves or when we look at other Christians who aren’t very mature, let’s not be too quick to judge that they’re just totally carnal and don’t have the Spirit of Christ at all. They’re acting carnal—but that’s because they’re immature.

So we need the baby mind of Christ to grow more and more mature within us. We need to be sensitive to this reality of the Holy Spirit living within us. Christians can’t lose the Holy Spirit once they’ve received him. But we can ignore him. We can stifle his influence.

The apostle, in speaking to the Corinthians—who’ve been bickering about who has the finest gifts, who’s following the best preacher—says, “Don’t you know that God’s Spirit lives in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16). And there, he’s addressing the individual believer as well as the church together. The church together has Christ living within the whole body. And then the individual believer also has their body indwelt as a temple of the Holy Spirit: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you?” (1 Corinthians 6:19).

He’s speaking to people who already have the mind of Christ, who already have the Spirit of Christ—but they need to be reminded of that fact. They need to reckon on that fact. They need to live in light of that fact.

Don’t you know? Have you ever been in a room with somebody who just ignores you completely? You’re there, but they’re ignoring you. That’s what’s going on when we have the Spirit of God—when we have the mind of Christ—and then we don’t pay attention.

Don’t you know that God’s Spirit lives in you? You need, by faith, to believe that. To reckon on that. Just as you need to receive Christ’s sacrifice and his blood poured out for you by faith, sometimes you also need to receive this new life and be aware of it by faith. And every day, count yourself alive to God in Christ Jesus (Romans 6:11). Count yourself as someone who has the mind of Christ. And then start paying attention to what it means to have the mind of Christ.

We’ll say more about that in another talk. But don’t ignore him. And don’t grieve the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). Don’t grieve him by sin. Don’t grieve him by going against what the Spirit is leading. And don’t quench the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19) by stifling or drowning out the gifts that he gives you and the leadings that he sends into your life.

You can’t lose the Spirit when you have him. But you can stifle his influence. You can ignore him. By faith, you need to count on the reality of having the mind of Christ, of having the mind of the Spirit, and then live in that reality.

The Mind of Christ (Part 1)
By David Feddes
Slide Contents

1 Corinthians 2:6-16

⁶ We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. ⁷ No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. ⁸ None of the rulers of this age under-stood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. ⁹ However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”— ¹⁰ but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. ¹¹ For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. ¹² We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. ¹³ This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. ¹⁴ The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. ¹⁵ The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment: ¹⁶ “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

The ultimate mind

Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Colossians 2:3)

Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God… we have the mind of Christ. (1 Cor 1:30; 2:16)

Jesus the genius

No one ever spoke the way this man does. (John 7:46)

No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions. (Matt 22:46)

They were unable to trap him... And astonished by his answer, they became silent. (Luke 20:26)

Son speaks Father’s mind

I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it… So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say. (John 12:49-50)

The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. (John 14:10)

Spirit speaks Son’s mind

I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth… He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. (John 16:12-14)

Jesus’ wisdom in us

The Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say… I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. (Luke 12:12; 21:15)

They could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen was speaking. (Acts 6:10)

Stunning secrets

The Spirit shows us God’s mind.

God’s way of salvation is something nobody guessed: Christ crucified.

God’s blessings in salvation are marvels nobody could imagine: new creation, eternal intimacy with God, reigning forever: Christ arisen.

Natural dead heads

No one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. … The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Ignorant judges

… not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing… None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory… The spiritual man … is not subject to any man’s judgment.

The Mind of Christ

God has revealed it to us by his Spirit… no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God… We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us… We have the mind of Christ.

The Mind of the Spirit

Those in accord with the Spirit mind the things of the Spirit… The mind of the Spirit is life and peace… Those led by the Spirit of God are sons of God… The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children… The Spirit himself intercedes for us… He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit. (Romans 8)

The Mind of Christ
nous (νοῦς), phronema (φρόνημα)

• Intellect: thoughts, knowledge, wisdom
• Identity: position, stance, convictions
• Worldview: mindset, viewpoint, focus
• Attitude: outlook, feelings, interests
• Awareness: sense, insight, recognition
• Evaluation: discernment, test, sifting

Baby minds

Babies have real but immature minds:

• Focused on their own wants
• Unable to talk or understand others

Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly [carnal, fleshly]—mere infants in Christ… For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? (1 Cor 3:1-3)

Be sensitive to Spirit
Christians can’t lose the Spirit, but we can ignore him and stifle his influence.

Don’t you know that God’s Spirit lives in you? … Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you? (1 Cor 3:16; 6:19)

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit. (Eph 4:30)

Do not quench the Spirit. (1 Thess 5:19)