The Mind of Christ – New Clothes
The Mind of Christ – New Clothes.
“Who is able to understand the mind of Lord Yahweh? Who is able to be His teacher? We, however, have the mind of Christ!” (1 Corinthians 2:16).
“We have…” (Greek, “echomen”), which means ‘are having,’ ‘are keeping,’ or ‘are holding;’ to have and to keep on having, an action in progress; a process that is now taking place; the present state is a continuing state. So the literal translation is, “We, however, are having the mind of Christ.” Through the Holy Spirit, we now are new creatures who were given the capacity to learn how to think like Jesus.
… the mind of Christ.” (Greek for mind is “nous,” which means the highest knowing faculty of the soul, the spirit and understanding behind all we think and do). Through the Holy Spirit, then…
We are being given the capacity to think the thoughts of the Anointed One;
We have the growing ability to reason, to be logical, and to think things through like Jesus;
We are being infused with the ability to understand God’s wisdom;
We are being equipped with the moral intelligence of the Lord;
We are being given access to the reasoning behind the actions of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit;
We are in the process of perceiving spiritual matters as Christ perceives them;
We have an increasing ability to understand life from God’s perspective;
We will be continually inspired to develop the divine common sense and street-smart shrewdness that Jesus was known for;
We are gaining insight into what truly matters according to the thinking of God;
We have a growing ability to reflect and ponder according to the will of Christ;
We enjoy an ongoing co-mingling of our mind with Christ’s mind, until the end, when the new will have completely replaced the old, and those two minds will be indistinguishable.
“Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things, for you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God…. Take off your old self and put on your new self, which is continually being renewed in fuller and fuller knowledge, closer and closer to the image of its Creator.” (Colossians 3:2-3, 9-10).
Paul is very down-to-earth as he instructs us to set our minds on things above. It turns out that C. S. Lewis was right on target when he said that those who are the most heavenly minded actually do the most earthly good. To focus on heavenly matters is to decide here on earth to live into our new mind of Christ and choose a whole new set of spiritual clothes. Believers are to take off and put on… Take off our old set of dirty clothes and put on our new set of clean clothes. We are to be vitally aware of what we are wearing, of what we are choosing to wear. The old tattered set of spiritual clothes that we inherited from Adam is to be thrown out to the trash, and replaced by our new wardrobe designed by the Lord. We take off our old natural self and put on our new natural self in Christ. To set our minds on things above is to direct our thinking to how important it is to wear Christ here below.
Another way to put portions of Colossians 3 is, “Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life, is with Christ in God. He is your life… So you’re done with that old life. It’s like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you’ve stripped off and put in the fire. Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with His label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete.” (MSG).
Paul loved to use this idea of putting off and putting on, for in the Greek both terms refer to one’s clothing. Paul used this picture of spiritual clothing in other passages as well:
Romans 13:14, “Clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Galatians 3:27, “You are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”
Ephesians 4:22, “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
1 Thessalonians 5:8, “But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.”
Colossians 3:12, “Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”
THE CLOTHES CLOSET. Christians have a holy garment to put on. We put on Christ, we wear garments of His Presence. Faith indeed has a uniform. Following Jesus is like putting on a whole new wardrobe, a new set of clothes. We are now wearing Christ, we have a new identity, a different look, a new style that reflects our heart’s desire. Following Jesus means we are now clothed in a different line, we have a new fashion designer. We have changed wardrobe consultants, and we are now covered in a new garment, a robe of righteousness. We have put on God’s goodness as our garment, and righteousness as our covering. Our new uniform reflects a right standing with God, as well as a pursuit of what pleases God out of our response to His love. Our new wardrobe now reflects God’s nature and character as He transforms us from within. We are now clothed in Christ, displaying the very virtues of God, reflecting a state of righteousness offered through the grace of Jesus. Our uniform has an identity. We want to identify ourselves with Christ. We want our clothes to reflect our faith.
Old-School Clothing That Never Wears Out. Holiness has a uniform. HOLY: Set apart for special use; assigned to a godly purpose; sanctified; consecrated; designated for a sacred function; separated from that which is ignoble or dishonorable. To be holy is to wear a redeemed wardrobe. Isaiah talks about putting on garments of splendor (Is. 52:1). The psalmist refers to being clothed with godliness (Ps. 132:16). Job claims that he has put on righteousness and it clothed him, wearing justice like a robe (Job 29:14). Isaiah once again said that God dressed him with the clothing of salvation and draped him in a robe of righteousness (Is. 61:10).
First, Take Off. Before we put on, we have to take off. We need to strip ourselves of the old Adam as we put on the new Adam. Putting off our old garment starts with repentance, to confess our old nature to God. Our new wardrobe represents repentance, our confession, our desire to strip off the old and put on the new. God’s grace is the only power strong enough to enable us to take off and put on. When we put on our new set of clothes, we need to keep growing, making sure the outside is matching up with the inside. We need to make sure our new identity matches up with our growing faith. It’s easy to simply obey a set of rules, to simply put on holy appearances, a righteous exterior, a superficial goodness. Jesus gave some stern rebukes to those religious leaders who were hypocrites, actors wearing a stage costume of righteousness. Putting on Jesus means we have genuine character on the outside, nurtured by the Holy Spirit, which matches up with the maturing faith on the inside. A mere costume of goodness is not sufficient, because we know that “people judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7).
We choose a wardrobe, not a costume. A costume is something we wear when we want to play a part, as if we were in some religious play. A costume is put on for appearance’s sake, something we put on and take off depending on the performance. Costumes don’t reflect the person behind the appearance. Costumes don’t reflect the inner person behind the costume. Our new clothing line is intended to reflect our new identity in Christ, God’s character and nature. At the same time, while wearing the character of God, His Spirit is transforming us within. The outer behavior grows in synch with the inner heart of faith.
“So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.” (Col. 3:15-17, MSG).
So hire Jesus to be your new clothing consultant. It won’t cost a thing. Set your mind on heavenly things by asking God to give you His heavenly clothing here on earth. Wear the spiritual clothing of Christ. Only the mind of Christ in you will enable you to discern what to put on.