October 25, 2024
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in Numbers and 1 Corinthians? Here’s today’s reading:
1 Corinthians 2 (NIV)
1 And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling.……Continue Reading
When I think about the idea of the “mind of man” I think it is our basic human needs shelter, food, drink, companionship and then i think how our human nature easily corrupts all those needs through pride, greed, self satisfaction. The mind of man is easily clouded with emotion and and the feels good do it mentality. The “mind of Christ” is a mind that recognizes those basic needs, however, keeps things in perspective to a bigger picture, purpose, and plan. It recognizes need for need and want for want. Paul said “But we have the mind of Christ.” so we have the ability to fight the normal state of man and live with that eternal perspective. Certainly it is a daily battle but one that we don’t fight alone as the Holy Spirit is with us giving us the power, wisdom, and discernment to make the right choices.
1 Corinthians 2
It is fascinating that we can have an understanding of God through the Holy Spirit. Before the cross and the indwelling of the Spirit man did not “understand” God’s wisdom. We live in a blessed age that God can dwell within us, and we can understand his wisdom and feel his power. We don’t need a priest to intercede for us and we don’t need a tabernacle for God to dwell within, we have direct and personal fellowship with him through the Holy Spirit! What an amazing concept!!!
1 Corinthians 2
Well said Kelly. Now let’s adopt it.
Once again Paul expresses his approach to evangelism, presenting the knowledge of Jesus and Him crucified. In that message is spiritual power to bring about salvation. Now once saved though, there is much wisdom for us to learn, but it is God’s wisdom based in His standards and principles and not like the world’s wisdom. What a benefit we have as believers to know that wisdom and allow our person and our lives to be transformed by it. And what we have in the church age is even greater because now every believer has God’s Spirit within them. Now we can’t be surprised that people of the world who do not have that wisdom, or even believers away from the Spirit’s influence, will disagree with us and even criticize us for the wisdom that we have. See, we can make judgements about many things when we have God’s wisdom, and we then don’t need to listen to judgements that are outside of God’s wisdom. As I sometimes say, “We cannot bear the scrutiny of someone not influenced and empowered by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit.” Because if they are not subjected to the Spirit, then they are subjected to another power and kingdom that loves to discourage and anger those in the kingdom of God. Paul says here, that we don’t need to let that happen. May we increasingly have the mind of Christ!
Reading Paul`s account in this chapter as he was lead to preaching Christ and the gospel made me think of what we just read about Moses. God couldn`t really use Moses until he was fully reliant on God for everything. He first had to be emptied of himself and all that he learned in human wisdom. Now Paul is proclaiming to the believers that he did not come before them in eloquence of speech or human wisdom. Also not with enticing words but in demonstration of the Holy Spirit and of power. vs 1-4. He had be to be made weak so God`s power would come through. His self reliance would had made God`s work void and God therefore would had prepared someone else to do the work. Being able to use God giving abilities is great but without God in the midst of it; it is useless. God wants that fully surrendered person whether they have great abilities or not. That is the person that God will use for HIS GLORY. Paul goes on to say that the natural man {unbeliever} received, not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. When we become believers the Holy Spirit comes and indwells us and instructs us in God ways. He also makes it possible to understand God`s word. Then we can have the mind of Christ. But He still wants us to study His word and pray to Him. vs 12-16. God bless you all.
There is an old hymn that God has been bringing to mind since we were in Colossians. The hymn is: ” May the Mind of Christ My Savior” Written by Kate B. Wilkinson and put to music by A. Cyril Barham-Gould. Tune to ST. Leonards. It is a wonderful hymn. It`s in my hymnbook at home. It is titled Praise Our Songs and Hymns. Put out by Singspiration, a Division of The Zondervan Corporation. Copy righted 1979. I wrote the hymn out with all six lines but realized that this might not be legal so I deleted it. It spoke of having the mind of Christ and walking in such away. I may have shared it at a Wednesday night meeting years ago. God bless you all as we walk in Him.
”But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, Neither have entered into the heart of man, The things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.“
We have the Spirit within us, so we can understand the aspects of God. And we have access to the wisdom and discernment that only God can give. We also have the mind of Christ. We can let our mind think the thoughts of Christ or we can let our mind wander so that it is misled into all sorts of destructive thinking. The choice is ours alone to make, so let us be intentional about our thoughts and redirect them when we are on the wrong track.
1 CORINTHIANS2