“For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Cor 2:16)
There are times I think back to how I was as a teenager, which is usually followed by a prompting to pray for my mother and at the same time wonder how she stayed sane those years, as well as what I call my “lost years” when I moved out of the house and was instantly smarter than most adults who had ever poured into my life. It was a time in my life when I ran as far away from God as possible. Thankfully the prayers of my parents were answered when the seeds they planted deep into my finally took root.
What is it during those young years that makes us think we can tell those who are older than us how things should be done? That’s what hit me when I read the verse above this morning. When Paul was writing his first letter to the Corinthians, the church there was in a city incredibly immoral. Even by the pagan standards of its own culture, Corinth became so morally corrupt that its very name became synonymous with debauchery and moral depravity. To “corinthianize” came to represent gross immorality. Their main temple employed 1,000 temple prostitutes. Interesting enough the city was old yet new. The city had been destroyed about 146 B.C. by Roman soldiers, the males destroyed and the woman and children sold as slaves. Julius Caesar rebuilt it about 100 years later, and a large part of the population who helped reestablish the city were retired Roman soldiers, which means that by the time Paul wrote this letter in 56 A.D. the city was fairly new in terms of leaders, and it had become a wealthy city fairly quickly. The absence of an established aristocracy led to leadership that didn’t keep in check the moral center of the town. In essence it was like a teenager who suddenly (historically speaking) had a lot of money and wasn’t old enough to know how to wisely spend it!
As you can imagine the church in that town had a hard time separating itself from the culture and the worldliness around it. This letter was written to bring correction to the church, and instruct them on how to deal with members who were disobedient and unrepentant. Like sullen teenagers they didn’t like church leaders telling them what God was saying about how they should live.
When Paul wrote this verse he was actually quoting from Isaiah 40:13. Barnes Commentary says “The argument of Paul is this, “No one can understand God. No one can fully comprehend his plans, his feelings, his views, his designs. But the Christian is influenced by God. He has his Spirit. He has the mind of Christ; who had the mind of God. He sympathizes with Christ; he has his feelings, desires, purposes, and plans.”
Paul says “we have the mind of Christ.” What does that even mean? When I was a teenager if I really thought about it, I knew what my parents wanted me to do. At times I simply didn’t want to. I wanted to have my own mind rather than theirs. David Wilkerson of Times Square Church in New York City wrote: “Rebellion … is a refusal to seek His [God’s] mind in all things. We can never obtain the mind of God by relying on our own reasoning.”
But when we spend time thinking and meditating on the things of God our mind and thoughts will start to conform to His way of thinking. If we want to live like Christ, we have to strive to think like Him. This is the process of renewing our mind. (Romans 12:2) Meditating on God’s Word is actually his prescription for restoring healthy thought patterns. “My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times. Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors” (Ps. 119:20,24)
Today I seek to use my grown-up mind and attempt to align my thoughts with God’s, to seek to have the mind of Christ. In the Believer’s Bible Commentary, William MacDonald defines having the mind of Christ as “To see things as He would see them, and to respond as He would respond.”
May I respond well today to the challenges life will put in my path.
(DISCLAIMER: I read several sources, commentaries, devotionals, etc., when I study the bible. Some of what I write is heavily inspired by what I read, and some sections may not be all my own words. I try to distill and paraphrase but there are way too many great writers who know the depths of God’s Word more than I ever will. I try to give credit where possible, and I don’t want anyone to think that everything I write comes straight from my brain – it’s all inspired by God and others He has chosen to write through. I encourage you to look to those who have also studied and written about Scripture, while at the same time remembering they are only men, and the ONLY true standard is the Word of God – everything written by me or any other human MUST be measured against that standard.)
Dead Man Walking 
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