Now we need to consider these matters in more detail. What does it mean to mind the things of the Spirit? And what does it mean to set the mind on certain things? In these verses there are the mind, the flesh, and the spirit. Of course the flesh is something negative and very black. The spirit is very positive and very white. In between these two is the mind which is neutral and gray. The flesh could never be neutral. It is always black; it could never be gray. In like manner the spirit is always white; it could never be gray or neutral. But the mind in between these two sometimes turns to black and sometimes turns to white. It is neutral. The mind is something turning all the day long.
What is the difference between minding and setting the mind? We may consider that both of these are green: one is light green, and the other is dark green. Minding the spirit is light green, while setting the mind on the spirit is dark green. This means minding is not so strong as setting the mind. Setting the mind is much stronger.
In Romans 8 the mind is set either on the flesh or on the spirit. Where then is the neutral mind? The neutral mind is found in Romans 7:25. There Paul says, “With the mind I myself serve as a slave the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.” The mind in this verse is a kind of independent mind, subject neither to the flesh nor to the spirit. We may consider that independent mind as being in the color of gray. It is neutral. Many Christians have such a neutral mind. The neutral mind will just make you a wretched man. It will make you a miserable, pitiful man. The neutral mind in chapter seven is not bad; it serves the law. But the mind in 8:7 which is set on the flesh is against the law. In other words in 7:25 there is a gray mind, but in 8:7 there is a black mind. Now the question is: How to make your mind black? Or how to make your mind white? It all depends what you set your mind on. If you set your mind on the flesh, you make your mind black. If you set your mind on the spirit, you make your mind white. Not many can have a gray or a neutral mind. It is not so easy to keep your mind independent. How can we practice setting the mind on the spirit so that we will have a white mind? We have to realize that the beginning of the setting is the minding. First, we mind the things of the spirit, and then we set the mind on the things of the spirit.
Let us also read another verse, Ephesians 4:23: “And are being renewed in the spirit of your mind.” Here the spirit becomes the spirit of the mind. No doubt this means that the spirit becomes one with your mind. This tells us that our mind can be one with our spirit. And our spirit can be the spirit of our mind. Actually, such a mind with which the spirit is one is a mind set on the spirit. This means to set the mind on the spirit is just to have or to make your mind one with your spirit. In Ephesians 4, it speaks of the spirit of the mind for renewing, and in Romans 8 it speaks of the mind of the spirit for interceding. How can you make your mind one with the spirit? By constantly minding the spirit. In other words, how can you make the light green darker? By coloring it again and again and again. By adding more color, the light green becomes darker. By minding the spirit again and again, your mind is eventually set on the spirit. In other words, it makes your mind one with the spirit.
For many years I have been trying to practice being spiritual and to find a way or a secret to be spiritual. A number of books have been written by Christian teachers telling people how to be spiritual. After many years of experience I would say that the way to be spiritual is to set your mind on the spirit, making your mind one with the spirit. This is to be spiritual. When your mind is one with the spirit, you are spiritual. When you set your mind on the spirit, making your mind one with the spirit, it is at that time that you are really in the spirit. This can be proved by two verses on the negative side. Verse 7 speaks of “the mind set on the flesh,” and verse 8 speaks of “those who are in the flesh.” This indicates that if you set your mind on the flesh, you make yourself to be in the flesh. If you mind the flesh or set your mind upon the flesh, you are in the flesh.