In this group of three, the second item is the things of God. Those who are according to such a mingled spirit mind the things of God. This brings in more complications. Firstly there is the complication of the mingled spirit, and now there are the things of God. We Christians have the poor habit of understanding and taking the Bible for granted. A phrase such as the things of God, we simply take for granted. What are the things of God? To understand the Bible, you must interpret every phrase according to the context. According to the context in Romans 8 the things of God do not refer to things like creation. In Romans 8 such a term is related to all the things concerning Christ.
This can also be proved by 1 Corinthians 2:10-11: “But God has revealed them to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the things of man, except the spirit of man which is in him? So also the things of God no one has known except the Spirit of God.” If the things of God referred to things like the creation, we would not need the Spirit of God to know them. But these verses indicate that the things of God are not known by man, but by the Spirit of God. To know the outward things such as the creation, we do not need the Spirit of God. To know the invisible things of God, we need the Spirit.
All the invisible things of God are embodied in Christ. Christ is the reality of all the things of God which are invisible. These are the things of God which we cannot know apart from the Spirit of God. Verse 12 says, “Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we may know the things which have been freely given to us by God.” The things freely given to us by God are not the outward things such as the heavens and the earth. The things freely given to us by God are the things concerning Christ.
Verse 14 reads, “But a soulish man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he is not able to know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” Here Paul inserts something into the phrase, the things of God. He inserts “of the Spirit.” Firstly they were things of God. When these things have been revealed to us and become our experiences, they become the things of the Spirit. So Romans 8:5 says that those who are according to the mingled spirit mind the things of God.
Again I would point out that all the things of God are things concerning Christ. These things of Christ include God’s selection, His predestination, His redemption, His justification, His reconciliation, His regeneration, His transformation, His sanctification, His conformation, and His glorification. All these items are the things of God. We need to have such a realization and appreciation of all these things of God. For example, conformation is just one item of so many things of God. According to our experience this is the Triune God wrought into our being, making us the same as Christ.
You have to learn how to mind the things of God such as how God selected you before the foundation of the world. Sometimes you need even to pray in this way, worshipping, praising, and thanking God by enumerating all these items. “O Father, thank You for Your selection. How wonderful that I was selected by You before the ages in eternity without a beginning!” Use more time to qualify your praises and your worship. After this you may pray, “Father, not only have You selected me, but You have also predestinated me in Your Son. This transpired before the foundation of the world.”
Do you want to be holy and spiritual? The way to be holy and spiritual is to worship God with these kinds of praises. If you would worship God for a period of time with this kind of praise, you would see how holy and spiritual and heavenly you would be. To go from His selection to His reconciliation might take you forty-five minutes. You shouldn’t drive your car of praise too fast. If you are going to have a good sightseeing, you cannot drive so fast. You have to drive slowly so that you can enjoy all the scenery. Spend some time to worship God by enumerating all the items which you have been enjoying of Christ. These are the things of God. To mind these things is to mind the things of God. All of these things, no doubt, bring you back to the source, that is, the Father.