Seattle, May 18, 2005.
67. WHAT-A FANTASTIC GIFT. This one is certainly out of this world.’ The gift? It is the mind of Christ. “But we have the mind of Christ.” 1 Cor. 2:16 The mind of Christ, first of all is a spiritual mind. For to be otherwise minded can only produce death. The spiritual mind will yield life and peace. Rom. 8:6 The magnitude of the mind of Christ is so vast that it is impossible for the natural mind of man to comprehend. His is the perfect mind, knowing all, understanding all. Expressing an intelligence, that were it possible to accumulate in one place, the minds of all who have ever lived, by comparison, their comprehension would be but a drop in the bucket to His. An evidence of the sharing of His intelligence is seen in the “opening of the understanding” of those who follow Him that they might understand the scriptures. Luke 24:45
THE MIND OF CHRIST IS A CREATIVE MIND. “All things,” excluding nothing that exists, were created by Him. Aside from Christ. there was nothing brought in to being. John 1:3 The strata, the layers of life that are around about us are each dependent one on the other. This was all planned and execute by Christ. To fit every plant and animal in its proper place in the chain of life on this earth requires an intelligence far beyond that of man. Only a magnificent intelligence could master plan this universe. By comparison, to say that the universe just happened is an insult to the intelligence of mankind. If that were so, then must be said, that all the manufactured gadgets that we use day by day, just happened. No one thought of them in their mind and then created them with their hands. We are living in houses that just happened. Driving cars that just happened on roads that just happened, and so on, infinitely. Ridiculous, isn’t it.
THE HUMILITY OF CHRIST. Again, an exhortation to be like-minded with Christ. We are to have the same attitude of mind that He demonstrated. In spite of His high and holy position in relationship to the Godhead, He was willing to lay aside all eternal and His previous precious stature to become a servant. Extremity Of extremities, from the highest to the lowest. All because of His love for lost humanity. This then, is the mind of Christ which we too are to receive and exemplify. When He became a man, it was in the capacity of one who would serve. A humbling and a service which would eventually lead Him to the cross. Phil. 2:5-8 The way of the heavenly does not follow the manner of this world, in Christ, those who will humble themselves before the Lord will be exalted. Those who exalt themselves will be humbled. Just the opposite of the ways of this world. It is a proven fact that following the pattern of Christ is beneficial, both spiritually and naturally. Mt. 23:12 There is a powerful force of resistance, established by the Lord against those who would live in pride. He grants grace to those who humble themselves before Him. James 4:6.