Is it possible to think with the mindset of Jesus?
Yes. Paul says, “We have the mind of Christ.” (1 Cor. 2:16) That means we have the mindset of Jesus.
But how do we do it? How do we think like Jesus did?
There are so many aspects to the mindset of Jesus, there’s no way to cover them all in one podcast episode.
Two important aspects of the mindset of Jesus
The first thing to consider is what culminated in Jesus’s prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane: “Not my will but Your will be done.”
Jesus had this same attitude throughout his ministry. He said that he did not come to do his own will but the will of the Father, who sent him. (John 5:30)
Related to this he said he only said what God told him to say (John 12:49, 50) and he only did what he saw the Father do. (John 5:19)
Jesus has set the supreme example for us here. What if we only did God’s will, only said what God told us to say, only did what we saw God do? Our lives would be very different.
It’s a goal to strive for.
This gives us an insight into how to think with the mindset of Jesus.
To know what God’s will is, you have to be able to hear His voice. So perhaps, the best place to start is nurturing your relationship with God.
Kingdom of heaven is at hand
The second aspect of Jesus’s mindset I talk about in this episode is the declaration Jesus made at the very beginning of and throughout his ministry: the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
This was a radical idea. The Jews thought the kingdom of God was in the past when David and Solomon had been kings of Israel.
Or they thought the kingdom of heaven was off in the future when the Messiah would come on a white horse and deliver them from the Romans.
But Jesus wasn’t referring to a geo-political kingdom. He meant the spiritual realm where God is infinite, supreme, completely in charge and all is good, beautiful, loving, and harmonious, filling the whole universe with God’s presence.
Earth’s perspective vs. heaven’s perspective
If you look at things from earth’s perspective, there’ a terrible mix of good and evil. But in heaven there is no evil, no sickness, pain, sorrow, tears, sin, nor death.
Jesus healed and helped people by looking at things on the earth from the perspective of what is true in heaven right now.
For example, when he got to Jairus’s house and found the people mourning the death of Jairus’s daughter, Jesus said to them, “She’s not dead, shes’ only asleep.”
From earth’s perspective she was dead, but from the perspective of what is true in heaven, where there is not death, she could never die.
Jesus turned on the light
Jesus saw this spiritual truth so clearly, it was like turning on a light switch in a dark room so everyone could see.
He was the light of the world and he let his light shine brightly.
But he said we are also the light of the world. We can let our light, our awareness that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, shine brightly just as Jesus did.
We can think with the mindset of Jesus
The more we look at the earth from the perspective and through the lens of what is true right now in heaven, the more of heaven we’ll see here on earth. The more we’ll think and act like Jesus and the more healing we’ll see in our lives.
Give yourself permission to think like Jesus, to see the kingdom of heaven at hand. “We have the mind of Christ.”
What a grand adventure.
James Early is a Bible teacher, speaker, and podcaster and conducts Bible workshops online and in person. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by embracing the mindset of Christ in daily life. Contact him here.
Mentioned in this episode:
Epsiode 22: The Healing Power of God in Your Life
Photo credit:
Photo by Soviet Artefacts on Unsplash
Bible Quotes in this episode:
1 Corinthians 2:16 NKJV
16 we have the mind of Christ.
Matthew 9:36 KJV
36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
Luke 22:42 NIV
42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”
John 5:19, 30 NT, J.B. Phillips
19 Jesus therefore said to them, “I solemnly assure you that the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does the Son does the same.
30 “By myself, I can do nothing. As I hear from God, I judge, and my judgment is true because I do not live to please myself but to do the will of the Father who sent me.”
John 12:49, 50 NT, J.B. Phillips
49 For I have not spoken on my own authority: the Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to speak. And I know that what he commands means eternal life.
50 All that I say I speak only in accordance with what the Father has told me.”
Luke 17:21 NKJV
21 “For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”
Matthew 10:7 NKJV (to the 12 Apostles)
7 And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Luke 10:9 KJV (to the 70 disciples)
9 And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.
Revelation 21:4, 27 NIV
4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.
27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful,
Mark 5:22-43 NIV
22 Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet.
23 He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.”
24 So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him.
25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years.
26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.
27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak,
28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.”
29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”
32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it.
33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth.
34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
35 While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?”
36 Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
37 He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James.
38 When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly.
39 He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.”
40 But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was.
41 He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”).
42 Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished.
43 He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.
