Supernatural Intelligence and the Mind of Christ

The mind-set on the flesh is death and at war with God. That is the “unrenewed” mind.

In essence, the renewed mind is the mind of Christ. It is able to demonstrate the will of God, which is best described in the prayer, “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10). The exhortation of Scripture is clear, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:5 NKJV). The renewing of the mind begins with our new identity obtained at the cross. We were once slaves of sin but are now slaves of righteousness. Our thought life must support that reality. The apostle Paul emphasized this in his letter to the church at Rome, saying, “Even so, think of yourself dead to sin” (Rom. 6:11). It’s an attitude…a way of thinking…an evidence of repentance.

The mind has a power to affect our behavior either positively or negatively. But it does not possess the power to change our nature. That alone is accomplished when we are born again. When people are born again, they are transformed from the inside out. It is not the external things that are likely to change first. God takes up residence in our hearts, transforming us, as it really is an inside job. On the other hand, religion works on the outside. While it can bring conformity, it is powerless to bring transformation.

“For as he thinks within himself, so he is” (Prov. 23:7). When we are charged to think of ourselves dead to sin, it is more than a suggestion to think positively about our conversion. It is an invitation to step into the momentum of a reality made available only through the cross. The supernatural power released in this way of thinking is what creates a lifestyle of freedom. It is able to do this because it is TRUTH. To say that I have sinned is true. To say I am free of sin is truer still. The renewed mind is necessary to more consistently taste the supernatural life. The renewed mind runs deeper than our mental or emotional quotients (I.Q. and E.Q.). The renewed mind is the mind of Christ, and the mind of Christ creates within us a spiritual intelligence. God intended this spiritual intelligence to direct and define the normal Christian life.

How God Thinks About Us

Just as the kings of the Old Testament needed the prophets, so the royal priesthood of this hour needs servants of the Lord to help complete the picture of God’s purposes in our lives. I appreciate the many times members of the Body of Christ have given me an encouraging word that

God has placed on their hearts. This is the essence of the prophetic ministry. The Holy Spirit is quick to confirm when something is actually from Him. When it is, I treasure it greatly. I write them out so I can review them whenever necessary. Most of them are on index cards that are in my briefcase all the time. Some of those words go back 20 years or more, and they still bring life to me. I can’t afford to think differently about my life than God does. Whether it’s a Scripture promise that God has highlighted for my life or a prophetic word from a recognized prophet, I review them until what is said is what I think.

Promises are like the rudder of a ship. Rudders determine the direction of that ship. And what I do with God’s promises determines the direction of my thought-life and eventually affects my reality. It is essential to understand what God thinks of me (and others) in order to step into my destiny. Regardless of circumstances, God’s word is true. “Let God be found true, though every man be found a liar” (Rom. 3:4). Again, we cannot afford to think differently about ourselves than God does.

I love to meditate on the Scriptures that speak of what Jesus accomplished for me through salvation. Below are several verses that I have found to bring me nourishment:

“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:11-12).

“They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” (Jeremiah 31:34).

“For I will pour out water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring and My blessing on your descendants; and they will spring up among the grass like poplars by streams of water. This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’; and that one will call on the name of Jacob; and another will write on his hand, ‘Belonging to the Lord,’ and will name Israel’s name with honor” (Isaiah 44:3-5).

“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6 NKJV).

“My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (John 10:29).

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

These are just a few of the thoughts that God has toward us that must become a part of what and how we think. Make your own list and change your mind.

The Best-Kept Secret

“God will not share His glory with another” (Isa. 42:8). The most common understanding of this verse is that God is glorious and we are not. In reality we are not “another.” Why do you think He made us individual members of His body? The lowest (the least) member of His body is superior to the highest principality and power of darkness. The original target in the creation of man was for us to live and dwell in His glory. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). The cross removes the obstacle to His purposes and restores us to His original intent. The religious heart is unwilling to recognize that we really have been made in His image and that being born again restores us to a place of absolute purity.

Jesus added to this in His priestly prayer, “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one” (John 17:22). It is recorded in Proverbs that wisdom will bring to us a crown of glory. Even our bodies were designed to live in His glory. As we become more and more accustomed to the presence of His glory, even our bodies hunger for God’s glorious presence. The sons of Korah, who had spent considerable time in the actual glory of God and had seen the effect on their physical being, sang, “My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God” (Ps. 84:2 NKJV).

When God’s royalty touches our lives, we discover we are designed to live in God’s glory. We no longer live in the bondages of our past— performance and comparison in our daily lives, but we know our worth in simply loving Him. For out of that springs living water and revelation for those who have not found the truth in the nations of the earth!