James H. Cagle
“For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2: 16). “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2: 5). “Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin” (1 Peter 4: 1).
“Mind” according to Bullinger, is “The organ of mental perception and apprehension, the organ of conscious life, the organ of the consciousness preceding the act, or recognizing and judging the facts. It is the organ of thinking and knowledge, i.e., contemplation. . . . It takes cognizance of external objects and denotes the reasoning faculty.”
A Christian is indwelt by the Spirit of Christ at the moment of salvation, but in order for the Christian to live the life of Christ they must first develop the mind of Christ. “For as he (any person) thinketh in his heart, (with the mind) so is he” (Prov. 23: 7). A person does not magically or automatically start thinking like Christ and having nothing but holy thoughts the moment they get saved. The Bible tells the Christian how to think like Christ in order to be like Christ (Phil.4: 8). The reason the Christian doesn’t live the life of Christ is they don’t have the thought life of Christ. We may not object to Christ telling us how to live but objects to Him telling us how to think. If Christ is not Lord of our thought life He is not Lord of our practical life. Our thought life is the source of our practical life. Our thoughts are the ancestors of our actions. To live like Christ we must think like Christ. If we think like the world, we’ll live like the world. It is by thinking like the world that the church becomes worldly. We cannot think one way and live another totally opposite way. The mistakes of our life are due to our mistaken thoughts about God and our not having the mind of Christ.
In order for the Christian to actually live in such a way to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world they must first possess the mind of Christ. To possess the mind of Christ the Christian must change the way they think. They must cease thinking the way they formerly did and begin thinking the way Christ would. Paul said it this way, “. . . bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10: 5b). We cannot live our practical life in obedience to Christ if our mind is not obedient to Him. The obedience seen in our practical life is a reflection of how obedient and submissive we are to God in our heart. Holiness of life is a reflection of the holiness of the heart. Sinfulness of life is a reflection of the sinfulness of the heart.
To have the mind of Christ is to know the truth and know and understand the will of God. To have the mind of Christ is to humbly submit to the Father’s will and give our complete obedience to Him, “even unto death.” To have the mind of Christ is to be mentally prepared to resist the enemy and stand for the cause of Christ. The battle has been, is now, and will always be over the mind. Whatever or whoever controls the mind controls the man.
Lord Help Me Think!
Lord, help me think.
Know and direct my ev’ry thought.
Let my meditations be
On the wonders Thou hast wrought.
Clean out the worldly clutter,
The mildew, and the mold;
Then make my mind a tabernacle
Where Your glory You unfold.
Refine my imagination
And sanctify my dreams;
Then purge my mental vision
‘Til it’s a crystal clear stream.
Awake my passive mind
So I may finally grasp
And magnify, through my life,
The life of Christ at last.
Let me rise with grander thoughts
Of your power and majesty;
Out of vain oppressive thoughts
On this world’s tapestry.
Give me back the narrow mind
Whose central thought is Thee,
And may my focus ever be
On Christ, Who set me free.
Speak clearly in my heart,
From where my thoughts arise;
Be my consuming theme,
Make me noble, pure, and wise.
O, how I must think
And meditate on Thy Word;
For the nourishment of my soul,
I must muse on truth I’ve heard.
Lord, put Your hand upon my mind,
And turn it t’ward Mt. Zion;
Then will my heart enraptured be
As I envision Judah’s Lion.
Arrest and hold my attention,
Abide in all my thoughts;
Be in ev’ry mental picture,
For a man walks after his thoughts.
James H. Cagle
