“But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ” ~ 1 Corinthians 2:14-16.

Here, Paul tells the reader that we have the very mind of Christ within us, available as a resource, to instruct us and help us have right thoughts and understanding within us. The Holy Spirit is God, living and active within the believer.

Have you ever had sudden comprehension of how to pray for a situation or how to respond with the wisdom or instruction needed by a friend. This is the thought of God coming to us through the Mind of Christ in the power and leading of the Spirit. It is not our own, but His.

“…when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak…” ~ John 16:13.

The Spirit speaks to us and instructs our hearts with the very will and thought of God. The Spirit hears the thoughts of God from the mind of God and brings those thoughts to us. This power and work of the Spirit was in Jesus while He walked the earth in flesh form. He was not double-minded, but He always worked out of the Mind of the Lord, in the leading of the Spirit who gives discernment for a single-minded life. This same resource from God living in us is why Paul says that we have the very mind of Christ in us.

This mind of Christ within us equips us to know the voice of God when He speaks. It helps us to remember the instruction hidden in our hearts by the work of His Spirit. This mind is the provision of God that helps us to discern when thoughts are foreign to His will, way, plan, and purpose, so we have adequate supply to take every thought captive. We see this mindset in several testimonials from Christ, revealing His own obedience in following the will of God out of the mind of God.

“…‘I have food to eat that you do not know about.’ …‘My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work’” ~ John 4:32-34.

“My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working. …Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. … I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. … But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works that I do—testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me” ~ John 5:17, 19, 30, 36.

Oh, to do the works of God with such confidence; oh, to come to the Father in prayer knowing we are on the same page with His heart. It is possible for us, because we have the mind of Christ in the work of the Spirit.

Then there are Jesus’ words to Peter when He said, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s” (Matthew 16:23). The mind of Christ helps us to live, walk, speak, and pray the very interests of God. We must learn from Peter’s experience to follow the teaching of Paul in 2 Corinthians:

“We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” ~ 2 Corinthians 10:5.

Some translations of scripture word the above passage to read that we take our thoughts captive to obey Christ. That is true, but I find greater depth of understanding in those that tell us to take our thoughts “captive to the OBEDIENCE OF CHRIST.”

The wording “obedience of Christ” says to me that we take thoughts captive, surrendering to the mind of Christ so that we may obey God as Jesus obeyed God. Christ, our example, gives us the Spirit of God so we can have the thoughts of God from the mind of God, in order that we may obey as Jesus obeyed.

I am sure you have read before the teaching of James on seeking God’s wisdom. Note here the instruction given in that oft quoted and preached passage:

“But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways” ~ James 1:5-8.

As I sought God on, getting His heart for writing this piece, my desire was and is to take us to the place of realizing, believing, trusting, and functioning by faith in the fact that we have the very mind of Christ. Once we have and function out of this faith, we can live, breath and pray, trusting that we have His thoughts available to us. As I prayed and pondered these things, God led me to this James passage. Looking at in light of our focus, these words took on deeper meaning, “For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, BEING A DOUBLE-MINDED MAN, unstable in all his ways.”

Double-minded: we are double-minded when we fail to believe, trust, live, walk, obey, and pray as one directed and dictated by the mind of Christ. Our own thoughts getting in the way, bringing doubt that destroys faith to believe and trust the understanding the Spirit gives us as He hears the Father and Son on our behalf, and speaks that to us, makes us double-minded. We must grow into the single-mindedness exemplified by Jesus.

It is vital that we learn to discern the mind of Christ working within us: our every thought, our every action, our every decision, our every prayer dictated by that one mind. It is vital that we trust Him at all cost, refusing to be swayed by competing opinions brought to us by the flesh, this world, and the demonic.