Did you know you have the mind of Christ?
What if you could pray like Jesus did? What if you could love the way Jesus did? Does that even seem possible? Well, what keeps us from doing that? Remember, you have the mind of Christ.
Sometimes you might think there’s no way you could be like Jesus and that it’s not even worth trying. Or maybe you’re afraid to love as much as he did. It’s just too much to commit to.
But Jesus wanted and expected everyone who believed in him to follow his example of living and loving. In fact, Paul repeats this idea in a letter to the church in Corinth when he said, “We have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:16)
You have the mind of Christ
When Paul wrote to the Corinthian church and said we have the mind of Christ, was he complimenting them for the perfect job they had done as a church? Uh, no. The rest of his first letter to the Corinthians is full of admonitions and rebukes, as well as some guidance and support.
The implication was: Okay guys, look, you have the mind of Christ. But you have to use it in everything you think and say and do. Quit using your human mind trying to figure things out.
I’ve been thinking a lot about what it actually means to have the mind of Christ and how it relates to being free from sin and guilt. The more we embrace the mind of Christ as our own, the more we can think and act more like Christ, the more we’ll find freedom from the sins of the past and the guilt that has weighed us down. Paul says we have the mind of Christ. It’s not a personal possession. It’s a collective thing. It’s an awareness that God gives to all of us who accept Christ not just in word but in spirit.
What would happen if you acted like you have the mind of Christ?
Think what would happen in your life, in your church and community, and in the whole world if all Christians were collectively and exclusively using only the mind of Christ in everything they thought, spoke, and did. Things would change immediately. All of the sin that seems to have such a strong hold on you and the guilt that is a result would completely dissolve.
But it’s not really enough to just know that you have the mind of Christ. We have to embrace it as our own. We have to use the mind of Christ, think and love and pray with the mind of Christ instead of our own mind. And I know that may sound a little odd, but we need to submit to the mind of Christ. We need to give up our personal agenda and our preconceptions of how things have to work out.
We have to trust God more and trust ourselves less. We need to follow Jesus’ example of, of how to think, pray, and love.
Facets of the mind of Christ
So I thought I’d share with you a… it’s really a bullet list of things I’ve been thinking of recently as to the way Jesus thought. These are aspects or elements of Jesus’ mindset, the mind of Christ. Now, as you listen to this list, you may actually want to stop and take some time to think about each one of these and how you can have these same attitudes and mindset that Jesus did and think about how you can apply these ideas in your own life.
In other words, how can you be more like Jesus?
So here are some attitudes and ways of thinking that Jesus embodied. I want to start with the way Jesus started his ministry, and this was really one of the keys to the way Jesus thought and how we can embrace the mind of Christ.
Jesus’s mindset about heaven
- Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17) He knew that. He said, “The kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:21) He was aware of the presence of God’s kingdom of heaven right here on earth, and that it was within us, within our capabilities. So that’s something you can embrace, this presence of heaven, not just way off in the future after you die, but right here and now.
Jesus and his relationship with the Father
- Jesus knew his relationship to the Father. (John 10:30)
- He knew that God always heard his prayers.(John 11: 41, 42)
- He acted with divine authority and power instead of using his own personal abilities. He said, truly I tell you, the Son—referring to himself—can do nothing by himself. He can only do what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does, the Son does also. (John 5:19)
- He added, I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will. (John 5:30) There’s a real starting point for us: not doing your will, but doing God’s will. Jesus submitted to God’s will. He said, Not my will, but thine be done. (Luke 22:42) And we can do the same.
Jesus and his relationship with people
- Jesus had a wonderful relationship with people. It was the way he loved them. He always looked for receptive hearts to share his message with, whether they were Pharisees or social and religious outcasts, or even foreigners whom Jews were not even supposed to talk to. Jesus talked to them all if he felt like they were receptive. How can you do that when you want to share your faith, and be discerning and see who is receptive to what you have to say.
- When Jesus saw the crowds of people, he was moved with compassion. (Mark 6:34) What do you feel when you see the crowds of people? Do you just have so much love for them, you want to help them? That’s the Jesus mindset.
- Jesus walked the extra mile with his listeners and his disciples. He was so patient with them and he helped them understand his message. He spoke in parables and metaphors so people could begin to understand what he was really trying to say to them. It’s not really that he dumbed down his message, but he broke the bread of truth into bite-sized pieces so people could accept it, chew on it, and digest it. He didn’t give too much all at once. You can give a cup of cold water in Christ’s name. You don’t have to turn the fire hose on someone. That doesn’t help anyone.
- Jesus had so much love for his followers, which includes you and me. He did not leave us without help when he was no longer here personally. He said, “The Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, who the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatever I have said to you.” (John 14:26)
- Another interesting aspect of Jesus and the way he interacted with people, the way he was thinking, he didn’t usually answer a direct question. He listened for the question behind the question, and he brought out what really needed to be said. You have that ability too, that spiritual sense to let you know what really needs to be talked about.
Jesus practiced what he preached
- Another part of really getting a feel for Jesus’ mindset, the way he thought, is to look at the way he put into practice what he taught.
- The book of Hebrews says that Jesus loved righteousness and hated iniquity. (Hebrews 1:9)
- He rebuked evil and especially hypocrisy, but he was very merciful to sinners.
- He didn’t take the bait of critics and naysayers. He didn’t let people punch his buttons, and sometimes he was even silent in the face of evil’s attempts to destroy Him. He didn’t react or try to defend Himself.
- He said, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” He practiced what he preached. In everything he said, he put it into practice himself.
How Jesus prayed
- Think about the way He prayed. Jesus got up early in the morning to pray, sometimes while it was still dark, and sometimes he prayed all night. You may have done that as well. That’s embracing the mind of Christ. When something is important, you pray about it.
- He thanked God sometimes before his prayers were answered, that God would hear his prayer. You and I can have that same attitude. We can thank God before we see the answer to our prayer, that God has heard us and will answer our prayers.
- Jesus looked beyond the outward appearance of things, all the way back to the original innocence and purity of man. Jesus could see that man was originally made in the image and likeness of God. (John 9:3, John 11) And so when someone was diseased or they were sinning, He wasn’t intimidated by that. He was not impressed with that outward appearance of things. He saw that person as a child of God. That’s what you and I can do too. We can see through all those layers and see that child of God made in God’s image and likeness and love them that way.
Jesus saw things differently
- Jesus also saw the big picture of the effect His message would have in the world. He looked way into the future. He prayed not just for his immediate disciples, but for everyone who would ever believe on him through their preaching, and that includes you and me. (John 17:20)
- And Jesus knew the Scriptures. He preached the Scriptures. He taught the Scriptures. He lived the Scriptures in everything he said and did.
- And Jesus treated men and women equally with deep respect. He valued them both. He used men and women in his parables to illustrate his examples. He ministered to men and women equally.
- He brought forth the value of everyone, and He loved little children. He saw them as beautiful examples of God’s love. He said, referring to little children, “This is what the kingdom of heaven is like.” (Matthew 9:14)
You have the mind of Christ and can follow Jesus in all these ways
Now, I’m sure there are lots of other things. You can probably think of something to add to this list. This is just kind of what I’ve been thinking about recently.
I hope you’ll join me in making a sincere effort to imbibe the mind of Christ in everything you think and say and do. You can start with one or two things. Pick one or two of these things from this list and just work on that. Pray about them. Let them permeate your life, and then embrace a few more of these ideas. The more you do it, the better you’ll get at it. If you’d like to print out a list of all these things, you can copy and paste them and then print them out for deeper study and prayer.
Now, think about these things and give yourself credit for what you’re already doing, even if it seems very minor. Pick out a few areas where you can make an honest effort to be more Christly minded.
And I would love to hear how this goes. Paul promises us we have the mind of Christ. This includes you and me. You have the mind of Christ. It’s time to use it.
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James Early, the Jesus Mindset Coach, is a Bible teacher, speaker, and church mentor. He conducts Bible workshops online and in person. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by learning to think, pray, and love like Jesus. Contact him here.
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