Having the Mind of Christ
(week 40/03)
Olubi Johnson
1 Pet 4:1-2(NIV): Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.
1 Pet 4:1-2(KJV): Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.
Here, the scripture enjoins us to arm ourselves with the mind or attitude of Christ particularly as it concerns our desires for the lusts of men: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life (1John.2.16).
The attitude we are to have in this regard is that of knowing we have greater pleasure in the will of God than in the lusts of men, so we deny ourselves indulging in the lusts of the flesh to do the will of God.
When we do the will of God rather than the lusts of the flesh, we suffer a very light and temporary inconvenience and are later rewarded with God’s blessings to enjoy all things richly in His time in this lifetime (Mark 10.29, 30, 1 Timothy. 6. 17).
For instance Joseph denied the lusts of the flesh by not committing adultery with Potiphar’s wife, but was later rewarded with becoming prime minister of Egypt and marrying a beautiful Egyptian girl who definitely would have satisfied him far better sexually than Potiphar’s wife (Genesis. 39. 7-12; 41. 41-45).
To enjoy this type of reward in our lives we must have this mind or attitude of Christ to enable us see that denying the lusts of the flesh will give a greater reward and blessing from God than what we would have gotten by not denying ourselves.
To have and to maintain this mind of Christ we need to have revelation knowledge which comes by daily prayer in the spirit, reading and meditating in God’s Word and on the love of God with an attitude of the fear of God.
1 Corinthians 2:12-16(KJV): 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. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
