The Mind of Christ
Today’s Focus: Introduction
Scripture: Philippians 2:1-8; John 4:23,24; 17:22; Genesis 1:26; Galatians 5:22,23; Romans 8:16
Greetings Kingdom Citizens
When we think about the mind of Christ, what comes to mind? Do we think about the brain of Christ being put into us? Are we thinking that it is a mindset to live by? In this series we want to clarify this subject so that we as the sons of God can truly understand what it means to have the mind of Christ.
God’s intentions for us and it has always been, is for us to worship Him. We were created for that very reason, but the unique thing is we have to be like Him to worship Him. What does it mean to be like Him? In the Garden, before the fall, God had what we desired.
Genesis 1:26: And God said, let us make man IN OUR IMAGE, AFTER OUR LIKENESS: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth on the earth.
So to be like Him, is to bare His image and have His character, ways and nature (likeness). His image is one thing. His likeness is another. There are so many people carrying the image of God but if you look at the fruit they are bearing it is hard to tell. To have His likeness is to bear the fruit of His image. His image is clearly Spirit and so we bear the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22,23). How we bear this fruit is called worship.
Worship has taken on so many meanings but to sum up worship, it is conforming to the image of the thing or person you hold in reverence. In other words, no longer do you look like yourself or resemble anything about yourself but you conform to the image and become the exact representation of the person or thing. Now I know this is different from standing in front of a congregation leading songs and we have to get back to the heart of worship. Singing songs is not going to help us make it in, but becoming the exact representation of the Father will. Look at this scripture about the true worshippers of the Father:
John 4:23,24: But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him MUST WORSHIP HIM IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH.
The only way you can worship the Lord is first in spirit. This means your spirit must be connected to Holy Spirit. Only a child of God can truly worship the Father because they know Him. Watch this scripture:
Romans 8:16: The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God
So first you must carry the Spirit of God within you and the Spirit of God testifies with your spirit. What does He testify? The truth. This is the second portion. You must know the truth. Funny, the truth is a person. Jesus said: I am the way, the truth and the life. So you must come into a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and follow His decrees and commandments. In doing this you walk in the Spirit and Truth and when you do that then the fruit of the Spirit can be visibly seen from an invisible eternal reality within you. With that said, this requires us to do two things. Deny ourselves and be obedient to the Spirit. This is the truth about worship. Yes we have so many different ways of worshipping the Lord in song but it all boils down to self-denial and obedience. If those two things are not happening then all the songs in the world are sung in vain because even in song we must worship in truth and in spirit. To understand this you must understand the concept and heart of the sons of God identity:
John 17:22: And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one.
In the next step we will start look at the process of how the sons of God should think when it comes to having the mind of Christ.
Peace, Love and Grace from the Father,
Calvin Calhoun, Jr.
