But We Have The Mind of Christ
Blessings and privileges of God’s grace abound unto us in this dispensation of grace in which we live. The “riches of God’s grace” have not only been bestowed upon us, in truth they have been lavished upon us. God has so abundantly poured out His grace upon us, because of and in Christ Jesus, that we have been ‘drenched in grace.’ Upon faith in Jesus Christ as our Saviour, according to the “riches of God’s grace,” He forgave us our sins; imputed the righteousness of Christ unto us; gave us the gift of eternal life; made us eternal possessors of peace with Him; called us “saints”; made us eternal possessors of ever-open access with Him; made us possessors of “the hope of the glory of God” and “joint-heirs with Christ”; made us the objects of His ‘much more’ love; gave us promised deliverance from the Lord’s day of wrath; sanctified us unto His service making us “servants of righteousness”; gave us the liberty of being under grace and not under the law; established us as “sons”; made our bodies habitations of the Holy Spirit and beneficiaries of His indwelling ministry; made us members of the “new creation,” the body of Christ, to name just a very few of the blessings and privileges of God’s grace we are recipients of in this present dispensation.
While in no way implying the better-ness of any one blessing over another, there is one privilege of God’s grace unto us that is amazing to consider for the sheer dignity and honour associated with it. And that is the privilege of being ones who have “the mind of Christ.” The apostle Paul refers to this in I Corinthians 2:16 where he says…
“For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? BUT WE HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST.” (I Corinthians 2:16)
When Paul said this to the Corinthian saints he was not simply relating this truth as a matter of course, but he was stating this as a truth of such amazing proportions that the magnificence of it ought to have jolted them. And it ought to do the same to us too!
In saying “we have the mind of Christ,” Paul is not referring to the natural existence of some `divine spark’ or capacity within us that we need to tap into. Nor is he referring to a `higher self’ within us which needs to be contacted and listened to. Rather, Paul is referring what he just described in the preceding verses of I Corinthians 2. He is referring to the privileged position of intelligent understanding that God has put us in today, having now made known unto us some wisdom that He had formerly kept secret. Note this.
“Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” (I Corinthians 2:6-8)
God has now made known a secret purpose that He has in Christ, which He had kept secret since the world began. Called “the mystery of Christ” it is the issue of a secret purpose and design God had in the crucifixion of Christ. Through the crucifixion of Christ God had secretly planned to provide Himself with the means to bring in this present dispensation of His grace in which we live and in which He is forming a “new creation” in Christ. This “new creation” that we are a part of, called the body of Christ, is to be used by Him for the reconciling of the heavenly places unto Himself and so result in the complete destruction of the entire Satanic plan of evil. What God has done both in formerly keeping this a secret and in providing for it all through the crucifixion of Christ is the masterstroke of His wisdom and genius. And God has now revealed it all and wants us to understand and appreciate it with Him.
In connection with God’s desire for us to understand and appreciate the wisdom of what He has done, Paul goes on to tell us that God has given us the Holy Spirit in this dispensation for the express purpose of enabling us to know these “deep things of God.”
“But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.” (I Corinthians 2:10-12)
One of the foremost ministries of the Holy Spirit to us in this dispensation is that of illuminating our minds and so providing us with the comprehension of the “wisdom of God” that has now been given unto us.
Wherefore, it is by possessing the Spirit of God, Who knows “the things of God,” and by now possessing the revelation of the “wisdom of God in a mystery,” that we have “the mind of Christ.” In view of what God has now revealed concerning His genius and wisdom in the cross of Christ; in view of having the “mystery of Christ” now made known; and in view of the Holy Spirit’s ministry in both communicating these things and illuminating our minds to understand them, we have the unprecedented honour and privilege of being taken into the whole counsel of God. We have the distinct honour of being in privy counsel with the Lord, and of being one with Him in delight and appreciation for the genius and fullness what He is doing. We have the hither-to-unheard of privilege of `knowing the mind of the Lord’; of knowing His full counsel and seeing the manifold wisdom of the fullness of what He is working out through Jesus Christ. We truly have, therefore, “the mind of Christ”; that is the ability to view things from Christ’s perspective, and to perceive, comprehend and delight in the fullness of the outworking of God’s plan and purpose, just as our Lord Himself does.
This same magnificent privilege is described by Paul in Ephesians 1:8-10, where in detailing the issue of “the riches of God’s grace” unto us, he declares…
“Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
that in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:” (Ephesians 1:8-10)
Notice that God has “ABOUNDED TOWARD US IN ALL WISDOM AND PRUDENCE; HAVING MADE KNOWN UNTO US THE MYSTERY OF HIS WILL.” Once again, we are in the privileged position of being taken into God’s privy counsel. He has made known unto us “the mystery of His will,” and in so doing He has made us mutual counsellors together with Him in the wisdom and genius of what He is accomplishing through Christ. He has given us the unparalleled distinction of being able to perceive right now with insight and appreciation the grandeur of “the dispensation of the fullness of times” and the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
To what could there be attached more dignity and honour than that of being a mutual counsellor together with God? To what higher heights of privilege could we rise than that which we already possess. For we are not only saved and seated together in heavenly places with Christ Jesus, but God having done this with us is now in essence saying to us, “Come, let Me take you into my private counsel. Let Me abound unto you in all wisdom and prudence. Let Me give you `eyes of understanding’ that are enlightened so that you can ‘see’ all that I am doing in all of its genius and glory.” What high honour and rarest of excellencies is ours to have “the mind of Christ”!
With this being the case, the pursuit of the excellency of this knowledge of God ought to be an issue of paramount importance to us. Also, it ought to carry with it a corresponding thrill in our hearts that matches the greatness of our privilege as we learn the marvellous details of God’s manifold wisdom. This is the way it was with the apostle Paul. Listen to just a few of the many occasions in our epistles in which he makes our comprehension of the “wisdom of God” the subject matter of his prayers, and exhorts us to pursue and enjoy our privileged position of privy counsel with God.
“Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,
Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers,
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, MAY GIVE UNTO YOU THE SPIRIT OF WISDOM AND REVELATION IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF HIM:
THE EYES OF YOUR UNDERSTANDING BEING ENLIGHTENED; THAT YE MAY KNOW WHAT IS THE HOPE OF HIS CALLING, AND WHAT THE RICHES OF THE GLORY OF HIS INHERITANCE IN THE SAINTS,
AND WHAT IS THE EXCEEDING GREATNESS OF HIS POWER TO US-WARD WHO BELIEVE,….” (Ephesians 1:15-19)
“….that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
May be able TO COMPREHEND WITH ALL SAINTS WHAT IS THE BREADTH, AND LENGTH, AND DEPTH, AND HEIGHT;
AND TO KNOW THE LOVE OF CHRIST, WHICH PASSETH KNOWLEDGE, THAT YE MIGHT BE FILLED WITH ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD.” (Ephesians 3:17b-19)
“For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire THAT YE MIGHT BE FILLED WITH THE KNOWLEDGE OF HIS WILL IN ALL WISDOM AND SPIRITUAL UNDERSTANDING;…” (Colossians 1:9)
“…being knit together in love, AND UNTO ALL RICHES OF THE FULL ASSURANCE OF UNDERSTANDING, TO THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE MYSTERY OF GOD, AND OF THE FATHER, AND OF CHRIST;
IN WHOM ARE HID ALL THE TREASURES OF WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE.” (Colossians 2:2-3)
“ALL THE TREASURES OF WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE.” That’s what we’ve been given the grand privilege of enjoying and delighting in with God. And that’s exactly what the “wisdom and knowledge” is to God, and what it ought to be to us — TREASURES. Therefore, we ought to likewise say with the apostle Paul,…
“Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss FOR THE EXCELLENCY OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST JESUS MY LORD:” (Philippians 3:8)
In connection with the outworking of God’s program with the nation of Israel, David admonished Solomon his son, saying,…
“For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.” (Proverbs 8:11)
How much more so should this be true with us today in this dispensation of God’s grace to whom God has “abounded unto us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of His will”! How much more should this be so with us who have “the mind of Christ”! — K.R. Blades