The Mind of Christ (3)

But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him. 1 John 2.27

Not a chance?
Some years ago my friend Chris Watson began to push me to start a website. Now I had just begun to develop some skills with email and the Internet at this point: I’d learned about downloading and uploading and other, you know, real sophisticated stuff.

Chris would go on and on about how a website would be so much fun and how I’d be able to get my thoughts out more consistently to more readers. I would nod in assent, knowing that this was never going to be something I’d ever be able to understand. There wasn’t a chance of me having a website.

But over the past several years the Lord has put people in my life who have helped me to understand how to use a website and how to keep one going. Whereas just a few years ago a website was merely something I was aware of, now I’m websited about as much as I can be, contributing to my own website, and discovering new potential for maximizing our website for our Kingdom-and-glory calling (1 Thess. 2.12).

I just didn’t realize how much potential was there, right at my fingertips, until I began learning about this technology and experimenting with how I could use it for the Lord.

Anointed?
The Apostle John says that we have received from God an anointing – the Holy Spirit – and that He dwells in us and we may abide in Him. As we do, as we allow the Spirit to guide us into all truth and to teach us the mysteries of divine revelation coming at us from the Word and the world, there isn’t anything we can’t learn. We have the mind of Christ, and that, together with the presence of God’s Spirit, is a cart blanche to learn as much as we can, and to use what we’re learning for the Kingdom and glory of God.

Every believer in Christ has tremendous potential to learn new things, develop new interests, sustain new habits of study, and acquire new skills because we have the mind of Christ, and with that mind, the anointing of God’s Spirit. The Spirit of God is the primary Instructor in the divine economy, and He can bring us into the truth of God in ways we would never have dared to ask or think before we acquired the mind of Christ. The Holy Spirit compares spiritual things with spiritual things, searching the Scripture and illuminating the glory of God in the world, as He works to transform us increasingly into the image of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 2.12, 13; 2 Cor. 3.12-18).

We who believe in Jesus Christ are called disciples. The word means learners. If you profess faith in Jesus Christ, you are called to be a learner. We are learners of Christ and God, students of His Spirit, Word, and world, and we are called to exercise dominion for God’s glory and our neighbors’ benefit in every aspect of our lives. We are blessed with the gift of God’s presence, so that we might be a blessing to the people to whom God sends us every day.

Clearly, we have much to learn.

Learning without limits
And there is no limit to what we can learn, only holy constraints on what we might study, and no bottom to the profound mysteries we might plumb as we abide in the Spirit and study to unpack the mind of Christ.

But learning new things doesn’t come easily. Learning is hard work. It takes time, time we’re probably already using in ways that aren’t helping us learn like disciples, but which keep our old mind fat and happy.

But we have the mind of Christ, and we have been anointed with the Spirit of Christ! We need to respond in faith and obedience to His anointing, and become more focused and diligent about tapping into the mind of Christ.

Start with the basics: Spend more time in the Scriptures; do more reading and study in new subjects; try to gain some new skills for serving the Lord; study to understand contemporary worldviews, the varieties of cultural experience and expression, and the subtle beauties of the created order. So you’ve never been much of a student. There’s no time like the present to remedy that. A world of understanding awaits you, whereby you can become better equipped to know, love, enjoy, obey, and serve the Lord Who has given you His mind and indwells you by His Spirit.

Our discipleship requires that we learn as much as we can, using the mind of Christ to prepare for serving Him day by day. The Spirit can teach us everything we need to know the Lord more completely and serve Him more effectively. But we must take the step of faith and become students of divine instruction wherever He might want to teach us and by whatever means it may please Him to employ.

For reflection
1.  How are you presently involved as a learner in following Christ? Is what you are learning helping you to love God and your neighbor more effectively?

2.  Have you mapped out your Personal Mission Field? What are you studying – in Scripture and otherwise – to help you in seeking the Kingdom and glory of God there?

3.  What can you do to gain more time for studying the life of discipleship? How would you fill the time you gain?

Next steps – Conversation: What is your present plan for growing in the mind of Christ – for becoming a true learner and disciple? Is it adequate to equip you for every good work? Talk with some Christian friends about this question, and encourage one another in developing better discipleship disciplines.

T. M. Moore

This is part 1 of a multi-part series on the Christian mind. To download this week’s study as a free PDF, click here.

How’s your Christian worldview? Are you stretching your mind to think about life and the world as Jesus does? Our free online course, One in Twelve: Introduction to Christian Worldview, can provide the categories, terms, and framework for you to begin nurturing a more expansive Christian mind. For more information and to register, click here.

The mind of Christ is set for the Kingdom of God. Is yours? Our book, The Kingdom Turn, provides a concise and practical overview of what it means to live for Christ from within the framework of His Kingdom. Order your copy by clicking here.

The Lord uses your prayers and gifts to help us in this ministry. Add us to your regular prayer list, and seek the Lord concerning whether He would have you share with us. You can contribute to The Fellowship of Ailbe by using the contribute button at the website, or send your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Drive, Essex Junction, VT 05452.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.