Let That Mind Be in You Which Was Also in Christ Jesus

Learn more about how each and every one of us reflects God's infinite Mind.

By Andy Hill, Truckee, CA

The main one is the absolute reliability of Mind (with a capital M) and the unreliability of the human mind. That was a big one. My mind hadn't been that reliable. I had gotten things very wrong, which made life very difficult for me. I actually asked some psychologists if the human mind was able to be trained to be reliable and good and get things right all the time, and they couldn't answer the question.

Then I discovered that there is a Mind that is reliable, that doesn't get things wrong under any circumstance. It's the Mind which Christ Jesus expressed. Jesus affirmed, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matt 5:48). That seems like a pretty outrageous demand or instruction. But we also read, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Tim 1:7). I realized that I could claim this same "mind" for myself.

There are teachers who say that the human mind is handy and necessary – for driving a car, remembering where we live, etc. But the Mind of Christ takes care of everything. I learned that one doesn't become the other, and we "can't serve two masters" (Matt 6:24 KJV). From personal experience, I see the human or mortal mind as the source of all problems and conflict. So we have to give one up, and the one to give up is clear: "For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace" (Rom 8:6). The New American Standard Version puts it this way:

For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. (8:6-9)

I see the Spirit of God as synonymous with the Mind of God. If something conflicts with this spiritual Mind, we don't need to buy into it.

With practice, we can recognize the difference, let go of the carnal mentality, or the petty selfish human way of looking at things, and feel the peace of the spiritual Mind. When we do this, we experience what the prophet explained: "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee" (Isa 26:3 KJV). That's the Mind to live out from -- not just when it seems to matter, but all the time. That was the biggest transforming realization that I've had. It took me from a state of constant depression to true joy, peace, and fulfillment.

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