Having the mind of Christ means we have the same attitude as Jesus. This devotional reading begins looking at what that means.
Nuggets
- Jesus was a true Jewish man.
- Jesus believed not only in reading Scriptures, but also in putting it into practice in our lives.
- Jesus was set apart from the world.
We said that having the mind of Christ meant having the same attitude as He did. So, that begs the question: what attitude did Christ have and why is that important?
We’ll get to the what did Jesus have in a minute (and over the next several devotions). It is important to know His mind because our mind is so important. That is where our thoughts are formed, and our conclusions made.
Ingersoll explained the function of the mind in this way. He wrote, “Lastly, it is employed in a more comprehensive way, as in the text, where consecration of intellect, the aim of life, and temper of spirit are included.”
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We are to imitate Christ. To do this, we must also imitate His mind.
Let's Put It into Context
To read devotions in the Habitual Holiness of Heart and Life theme, click the button below.
Here is a running list of nuggets for the theme.
Devotions in the Commit to Grow Our Habits study
Here is a running list of nuggets for the study.
The foundation of this series in the study is from two sermons.
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Obligations of Religion
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Mt. 5: 17 ESV)
Jesus was a true Jewish man.
We know that Jesus did not give up being Jewish. He was born into a Jewish family and worshiped in the synagogue all through His life.
Scriptures tell us that Jesus went to synagogue. He not only attended, but He also was a frequent teacher in the synagogue (Lk. 4: 16-37).
Jesus celebrated at least three Passovers during His ministry. That isn’t counting the one that went awry when He was 12.
But sometimes, we have trouble with the fact that Jesus did not intend to abolish the law. The whole purpose of His coming was because we couldn’t follow it to the letter, right?
Why keep something that we can’t do?
We can keep the heart of the law. The law is applicable to everyone, regardless of class, nationality, and gender.
The law shows us the character of God. We can’t do away with the law because we can’t do away with God’s character.
God isn’t going to change. “For I the Lord do not change …” (Mal. 3: 6 ESV).
Jesus shifted the law from being a physical requirement to a spiritual fulfillment. He did this by embodying its principles.
Jesus also said He completed the law. Barrett said He did so by His teaching, obedience, and death.
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Jesus wanted to show us what really worshiping the Father meant.
View of God’s Word
“But he answered, ‘It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God”’” (Mt. 4: 4 ESV)
Jesus believed not only in reading Scriptures, but also in putting it into practice in our lives.
Spurgeon explained how Jesus used Scriptures. He wrote,
- “To defend His Sonship;
- “To defeat temptation;
- “As a direction to His way;
- “For maintaining His own Spirit.”
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At first glance, it may seem like we can only do three out of the four. However, we do become sons and daughters of God. There may be times when we have to defend that we are His children because we aren’t acting the way the world thinks God’s children should act.
To use God’s Word for protection and direction, we have to know what it says and understand it. We have to discern how to apply it to situations in our lives.
That means we have to seek God.
Searching for and Seeking God
Hearing His Word (Rom. 10: 17)
Reading His Word (Rev. 1: 3)
Praying to Him (Heb. 4: 16)
Studying His Word (Ac. 17: 11)
Meditating on His Word (Ps. 1: 1-2)
Memorizing His Word (Ps. 119: 11)
Reading the Scriptures alone isn’t going to cut it. We have to study it and meditate on it.
Spurgeon made another good comment. He noted we must follow the Scriptures regardless of the cost.
The cost of discipleship is high. We have to be willing to pay it.
We may trip on the part where it talks about living by bread alone. What? No steak? No pizza???
Chaplin explained that about which this was talking. He wrote, “It represents man as utterly subservient to material necessities. … How we live upon traditions, upon the mere say-so of other people, the current of popular conviction, instead of coming and taking the word out of the mouth of God!”
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We would have said physical rather than material. Either way, it is the opposite of spiritual.
We know life is more than just eating. But it is more than what we can see. It is more than our worldly traditions.
We live because God is from Whom the bread comes. We live by His wisdom, power, and goodness, according to Chaplin.
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What Jesus was also saying here was that our spiritual nature needs food, too. That food is the Word of God.
We have to diligently seek God in order to be fed.
View of the World
“I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world” (Jn. 17: 14-16 ESV)
Jesus was set apart from the world.
Go back to the Chaplin quote again. He wrote, “How we live upon traditions, upon the mere say-so of other people, the current of popular conviction, instead of coming and taking the word out of the mouth of God!”
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Ooo, baby. How many examples of that can we think about going on today?
The world has “evolved” to think we don’t need God anymore. As disciples, we may even try to compromise so we feel more comfortable in the lives we have made.
But Jesus’ attitude was that we aren’t of this world. We should be set apart from it.
Think about it this way. Satan offered Jesus this world.
“Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me’” (Mt. 4: 8-9 ESV).
Jesus knew this world is temporary. He knew our spiritual condition is much more important than our physical condition.
Our separation from the world has to be because we have a different moral character than non-believers. They believe self should be the main focus.
Jesus taught us that our focus has to be on God.
Remember we were talking about the cost of being a disciple. That cost translates into persecution. The world hates us because we are different from them.
Spence told us three ways in which the world hated Jesus.
- They hated His purity because it was opposite of their loose morals.
- They hated His compassion and benevolence for others because, deep down, they were selfish.
- They hated His righteousness because it showed their worldliness for what it really is.
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Sometimes, it may be difficult to understand exactly how Jesus came to save the world but really wasn’t of it. We have to look to His character, too.
We usually understand that Jesus didn’t sin. He was able to do all the do’s and not do the don’ts. He remained obedient to the Father.
But it is more than that. Jesus didn’t just not do the bad stuff. He did the good stuff.
Jesus was holy. Holy means to be set apart — because of our devotion to God — to become perfect, and morally pure while possessing all virtues and to serve and worship God.
- Perfection means we reach a state of maturity because the combination of the spiritual graces form, when all are present, spiritual wholeness or completeness — holy, sanctified, and righteous.
- Spiritual graces are worldly morals that have been submitted to God to further His kingdom instead of enhancing this world.
- Sanctified means to be set free from sin.
- Righteous means we are free from sin because we are following God’s moral laws.
- Pure means not being sinful or having the stain of sin.
- Virtues are standards of moral excellence.
Glossary
Not sinning isn’t the focus. The focus is on believing and submitting to God.
Tying It All Together
“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mk. 12: 30 ESV)
When we love God with our minds, we have to tie our hearts into it and vice versa. Dawson reminded us that only loving God in our hearts is a sin.
The flip side is true, too. We can be some big intellectual, but if we don’t love God in our hearts, we sin.
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We have to love God with all of our being.
Making the Connections
I like what Nance had to say. He wrote, “Whatever gives us most delight and heartfelt pleasure in this world is that which will give us strength in the next.”
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We have to have the mind of Christ in this world to have the mind of Christ eternally. That is why it is important to begin imitating Christ now.
I think sometimes we think that, when we get our new bodies, we are going to get new attitudes, too. We aren’t. We are still going to be us.
Hate reading the Bible now? Hate praying now? Don’t just assume it will be okay because we will have the Living Scriptures in front of so we won’t need to pray.
Spending time in the Scriptures and praying is spending time with God. You are saying you don’t want to spend time with God.
It is time to start finding a way to love communicating with God.
How Do We Apply This?
- Have faith in Jesus.
- Seek God diligently.
- Don’t loose focus on the spiritual by concentrating on the physical.
- Separate ourselves from this world.
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Father God. Lord, we want to love You with all our being. We especially want to love You with our minds. Please make our attitudes to be like Jesus’. Amen.
What do you think?
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