Lesson 188. The Mind of Christ

The mind is the highest human ability to think, analyze, compare, and draw conclusions. Someone even coined the name Homo sapiens for people, which means ‘wise man.’ The mind distinguishes us from the animal and plant world. The highest sphere of the mind is the ability to express one’s thoughts and feelings in words, giving them logical forms and determining the meaning of what is spoken or written in order to achieve intended goals.

And in the spiritual world, a fierce struggle is now taking place between good and evil for this human faculty, with the aim of persuading people to take one side or the other, to give them freedom in Christ or subject them to the power of sin.

Love is the mind of Christ.

Even before the birth of John the Baptist, a prophecy was given through an angel that the disobedient would be given the mindset of the righteous, in order to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

The mind and will of a person are the goal that all invisible spiritual forces desire to attain. For whoever can subdue the mind and convince it that he is right will become the spiritual master of the person who possesses that mind. The mind is the battlefield between good and evil. Christ and His angels are on one side, while Satan and his angels are on the opposite side.

Whether I want it or not, my mind is the center of this spiritual war. I cannot simply leave the battlefield. I can only take someone’s side and, consciously or not, choose my commander.

God acts openly, and if I take His side, then I understand in Whom I have believed and consciously submit to Him, living in harmony with the light I receive from Him. I cannot accidentally or unknowingly enter God’s camp and take His side. I must understand Who my Commander is, know His will, carry out His orders, and meet His expectations. And at any time, if I wish, I can leave this camp and, consciously or not, go over to the side of the enemy of the human soul. God has high requirements for His warriors, yet at the same time He grants absolute freedom in choosing obedience or resistance. The Lord declares His plans and strategy and waits for voluntary submission, taking into account the abilities and strength of each warrior.

The enemy of the soul, Satan, acts secretly. By cunning and deception, he entices thoughtless people onto his territory, where he enslaves them with various kinds of addictions and lusts. Concealing his true motives and plans from them, he takes their minds captive through his influence, persuading them that they are free in sin and may live as they please. Satan bewitches the consciousness of these souls and deceives them with all kinds of sciences, knowledge, and teachings. And the poor people do not even realize whom they serve or on whose side they are fighting. Nor are they troubled by the fact that God and His servants are their sworn enemies, whom they must destroy or remove from their field of vision.

Satan accepts the worship of some people without concealing his true nature. He gives them strength, power, and his influence. The enemy gains others through deception, clothing himself in garments of goodness and light.

And he does not care whether those who fight for him understand whom they actually serve. They are his vast army, and he is their general.

And I, an ordinary person, must make my choice and be faithful to what I choose.

Whether I want it or not, every science, every teaching, and every body of knowledge that I begin to comprehend or study irreversibly changes my consciousness. I receive wisdom and understanding to comprehend what I am investigating.

For example, if I begin purposefully studying a foreign language, then after some time I will be able to speak and understand it and, by and large, will never forget it. But there are sciences that destroy my mind, ruin my soul, and make me incapable of perceiving the depths of God’s revelations. They forever close my mind to understanding the Creator’s will. Although I may voluntarily and consciously choose a destructive teaching, many good qualities of the soul that are lost in the process will be lost forever, like a severed hand or an extracted tooth.

When I stand at the edge of an abyss, I have a choice, and I can still walk away. But if I consciously jump down, then I have passed the point of no return and will no longer be able to change anything, even if after jumping I very much want to return.

For those who do not wish to study and comprehend destructive sciences, the enemy of the soul offers television, the Internet, and computer games with all kinds of entertainment, philosophies, and deceptions. A mind that becomes accustomed to indiscriminately passing all kinds of information through itself is defiled and becomes incapable of perceiving God’s light and knowing God’s will for the salvation of the soul. Christ’s sacrifice appears foolish, and the price paid for my freedom appears insignificant.

But Christ offers everyone who desires it the most beautiful science for the soul—agape love—gently offering it as a counterbalance to all other teachings. The science of the soul’s salvation from the power of sin and eternal death through Jesus Christ is God’s most precious gift to humanity. Love is God’s seal upon the forehead of those who become disciples of Christ and accept His agape love. Love is the most effective weapon for gaining victories in spiritual warfare, and it is the deepest knowledge of God through the experiences of one’s life, through personal fellowship, through studying the Lord’s will, and through obedience to His principles. None of Christ’s disciples will escape examinations; all will pass through the fire, and this flame will not scorch but will purify the Heavenly gold from impurities, illuminate the soul with a bright radiance, and unite the human mind with the Divine.

To love is to have the mind of Christ and to treat people as Christ does. It is God in me, and I in Him.

Having a mind, I can decide and analyze what I need for life. By choosing this world and its temptations, I begin to deteriorate in the spiritual sphere, and my ability to distinguish good from evil grows weaker.

By preferring love and salvation in Christ, I enter the path of spiritual development and begin to grow in Jesus, being changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Love is my soul’s consent to the personal presence of Christ in my mind and the voluntary union of my will with God’s will in order to accomplish God’s plans for me in my life. And he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

The mind of Christ in me is the union of the human and the Divine for comprehending the supernatural. Yet God takes into account my individual characteristics and abilities, my freedom of choice; He respects my decisions but always offers something better. The mind of Christ teaches me to fight and overcome in every situation and to do so as Jesus does. And in my obedience to God’s will, I become so steadfast that nothing can shake me. And in order to make me sin, it is first necessary to kill Jesus within me and then persuade me to choose evil. Unfortunately, many temptations of this world accomplish this task very successfully. Like buried mines, they are invisible to the eye but are activated when stepped upon. However, the Lord teaches me to avoid dangerous territories and heals my wounds if I stumble.

God does not give Himself to me only to reject me at my very first mistake, but patiently teaches me to love and think as He desires.

To love is wonderful.

1. What did you understand from this lesson?

2. Why is it so important to have the mind of Christ?

3. How do you understand the expression ‘the mindset of the righteous’? Luke 1:17.

4. What kinds of minds and ways of thinking do you know?

5. Do you understand in your heart what it means to have the mind of Christ?

6. How can I determine what kind of mind I have?

7. What benefit will I receive from the mindset of the righteous?

8. Please compare how Satan acts and how God acts in this struggle for souls.

9. What is distinctive about God’s treatment of His warriors?

10. Please read Luke 1:17; 1 Corinthians 2:16; Philippians 4:7; Colossians 2:1–3; 3:16; 1 John 5:20; Malachi 4:6; 3:16–18; Isaiah 55:8; Hebrews 8:10; Zechariah 4:6; Amos 3:7; John 10:10–14 in the light of our lesson.