61. The Holy Spirit - The Mind Of Christ Series

IN GOD'S IMAGE 61 - THE HOLY SPIRIT - THE MIND OF CHRIST

This message is part of a series of 90 sermons based on the title, “In God’s Image – God’s Purpose for humanity.” This series of free sermons or the equivalent free book format is designed to take the reader through an amazing process beginning with God in prehistory and finishing with humanity joining God in eternity as His loving sons and daughters. It is at times, a painful yet fascinating story, not only for humanity, but also for God. As the sermons follow a chronological view of the story of salvation, it is highly recommend they be presented in numerical order rather than jumping to the more “interesting” or “controversial” subjects as the material builds on what is presented earlier. We also recommend reading the introduction prior to using the material. The free book version along with any graphics or figures mentioned in this series can be downloaded at www.ingodsimage.site - Gary Regazzoli

We have been looking at the role of the Holy Spirit in teaching us to become God’s holy people.

• Last time we looked at the role the Spirit plays in the second aspect of the sanctification process, and that is teaching the newly adopted child to live their new life according to the Spirit.

• God is about more than just offering salvation. He is creating a community of people, His holy people who reflect His divine nature and character within whom He can dwell.

• It is a nature already at work in the community that is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God has His being in community, and the glue that binds this holy family together is the love that God is.

• He is in effect teaching us as His adopted sons to live as God’s children.

We finished up last time by talking about the transformation that has taken place in our lives as a result of our being “born of the Spirit.”

• The major life-changing event that has happened to us is the coming of God in the form of the Holy Spirit to live in us.

• He not only gives us a new life, but also a new nature, one that wants to cooperate with the Spirit as He moulds us into God’s holy people.

• And crucially, in this process of sanctification, this new nature is governed by the “mind of Christ.”

• 1 Corinthians 2:15-16 The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, 16 for, …we have the mind of Christ.

Today we are going to look at what it means to have the “mind of Christ.”

• As we begin to look at this very important subject, I need to make a disclaimer.

• I don’t pretend to know the perfect mind of Christ. Like Paul we have to admit we only see through a glass darkly (1 Corinthians 13:12).

• Plus, it would be the height of arrogance to pretend to know how Christ would act in each circumstance.

• After all, it was precisely His unexpected reactions to the various situations He faced during His incarnation that so baffled his listeners.

• One had to smile not so many years ago when the wristband, WWJD (What Would Jesus Do), was scooped up by well-intentioned young people claiming to know how Jesus would act in any given situation.

• Fortunately, children of God have been given better resources than just wristbands so we can mature and be conformed to the image of His son (Romans 8:29).

What exactly are those resources God has provided for us so we can come to know the mind of Christ?

• Well as we have already discovered, although we don’t have the physical Jesus here to instruct us personally, having returned to heaven, He has not left us spiritual orphans as He has sent the Spirit to instruct us in the ways of God.

• John 14:18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

• Notice, it is through the Spirit that Jesus returns to us to carry on the work He began while physically amongst us.

• In Galatians 4 the Holy Spirit is called the “Spirit of Christ” showing the unity of mind that exists within the Trinity.

• Galatians 4: 4-6 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. 6 Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”

• Not only does the Spirit bring us the mind of Christ but another important resource as well, a changed heart.