In this chapter we go on to consider the renewing of the mind. In the previous chapters we saw that in our Christian life we are transformed gradually into the Lord’s image (2 Cor. 3:18). We were made in God’s image (Gen. 1:26). God has a mind, emotion, and will (cf. Eph. 1:11; Rom. 9:13; Rev. 4:11), and because He created us in His image, He also gave us a mind, emotion, and will. The image of God in which we were created, however, is simply outward and is not the image which Paul refers to in 2 Corinthians 3:18. Until we have been regenerated by the Lord coming into our spirit to be our life, the image we share with God remains superficial. Before we are regenerated, although we may bear the outward image of God, He is not our inward content. Only when we are regenerated does the Lord come into our spirit and begin to spread into every part of our being to become the content of our entire being, particularly our soul. When He comes into our spirit, our spirit is immediately transformed into His image. Then as the Lord dwells within us, He gradually transforms us by becoming the content of our inward being, particularly our mind, emotion, and will. Today God is waiting for a chance to spread into every part of our entire being so that we may be transformed into His image in a full way. We must cooperate with God’s desire by practicing to give Him a free way to spread Himself into every part of our being.
In our daily life the mind is the controlling part of our being. Regardless of its condition, the mind controls our life and being. In the fourth chapter of Ephesians, Paul speaks of the Gentiles, who “walk in the vanity of their mind” (v. 17). For us to walk in the vanity of the mind is to allow the vanity of the mind to control us. To walk in the vanity of the mind is to be under the rule, direction, and control of a mind that is full of vanity. People who have such a mind love the world, money, and other vain things. Such persons’ daily lives are under the control of the mind of vanity. We must realize that it is possible for us to remain under the control of the old man even after we have been regenerated. Although our spirit was renewed and became a new creation at the time we were regenerated, it is quite possible that we are still old in our mind. If this is our case, that is a sign that our mind has not yet been transformed or renewed.
In this chapter we want to consider the question, “How can our mind be renewed?” The answer to this question is critical, because the renewing of the mind affects the entire Christian life. For example, most Christians desire to overcome their sins. Yet they may not realize that overcoming sin is closely linked with the renewing of the mind. If we neglect the experience of the renewing of the mind, it will be difficult for us to overcome sins. On the other hand, if we experience the renewing of the mind and are transformed into the Lord’s image, it will be easy for us to overcome all kinds of sins. If we will simply be renewed in our mind and transformed into the Lord’s image, so many things in our Christian life will become easy to us. Hence, the kind of Christian life we have depends largely upon whether our mind is being renewed day by day.
When we love a person with the deepest love, we eventually walk, act, and think like that person. After a husband and wife have loved each other for an extended period of time, they are of the same mind, attitude, and desire. This is an indication that real love causes two people to be of one mind. If a wife truly loves her husband, that love will constrain her to think as her husband thinks, act as her husband acts, and do things as her husband does. If she never thinks, acts, and does things as he does, that is a sign that the love she has for him is probably not real. This illustration, however, is limited, for no matter how much the husband loves his wife and she loves him, they cannot actually enter into each other as the Lord has entered into us. The Lord has entered into us and is now in us (2 Cor. 13:5). We are joined to the Lord, and He and we are one spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). Our indwelling Lord is waiting for us to be renewed, transformed, into His image by Himself with His resurrection life. We must come to the realization that nothing is as important as the renewing of our mind. If we are going to have a real Christian life—a life in which we easily overcome all negative things and follow the Lord to do His will—we must be renewed in the mind, in the emotion, and in the will. Because the mind is the leading part of our soul, it is especially important that we be renewed in the mind.
Galatians 4:19 says, “My children, with whom I travail again in birth until Christ is formed in you.” To have Christ formed in us is to have our mind, emotion, and will renewed. When our entire soul is renewed in this way, we will not only have the mind of Christ to think as He thinks; Christ Himself will be the one who thinks in us. When Christ is formed in us, at the very moment we think about something, He spreads from our spirit into and through our mind to become the content of our mind. Then, as He spreads, He becomes the one who thinks within us. Apparently, we are the ones thinking; actually, Christ is the One who is thinking within us. It will be the same with our emotion. When we love something or someone, we will not be loving alone; Christ within us will also be loving. Regarding our will, when we decide to do something, it will not be just we ourselves who decide; Christ within us will decide. If we experience Christ being formed in us, we will be “double people.” Although we will still be ourselves, within us another person, Christ, will be in the process of being formed within us. As this person is formed in us, He will spread into every part of our inner being. Consequently, when we think, we will have the mind of Christ, when we love, we will have the love of Christ, and when we decide, we will have the will of Christ. Christ will be not only in our spirit; He will have spread into our mind, will, and emotion. As Christ is formed within us, we are gradually transformed into His image.