THE MIND BEING RENEWED AND TRANSFORMED

God created our mind. The mind is a part of the heart. Our mind is the organ with which we think, understand, and remember. Some brothers and sisters have a sound spirit and a good heart, but the condition of their mind is not keen. In their view Romans 8 is the same as Matthew 8. In their view the two chapters are about the same. Consider Romans 11:36, which says, “Out from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” Some believers are confused by the three occurrences of Him in this verse. They cannot differentiate between from Him, through Him, and to Him. We are all from Him, because all things are created by Him. Hence, “from Him” is the beginning, “through Him” is the process, and “to Him” is the result. “From Him” was in the past, “through Him” is in the present, and “to Him” refers to the future. In order to comprehend these distinctions, our mind must be sober to understand, comprehend, and remember.

When we read the Bible, we must use our spirit, our heart, and our mind. Some believers do not exercise their mind when they read the Bible. As a result, they forget what they read. We must exercise our heart to treasure the Bible and to love what we read, and we must also exercise our mind. For example, after reading Romans 11:36, we can say, “Lord, I love You! How wonderful You are. All things are out from You, through You, and to You.” If our spirit is strong, our mind is sober, and our heart is exercised, this verse will become ours.

Perhaps some may respond by saying that I have not emphasized our need to pray-read for the sake of mere understanding. This is true. However, this does not mean that we should not use our mind. John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word.” Do you understand this verse? I do not fully understand it, but this sentence is very clear to me. Even when I sleep at night, I can say, “In the beginning was the Word.” Although I do not fully understand it, I am clear. We have a problem if we are still confused after pray-reading John 1:1 [133] ten times. It is wrong to say that we should not use our mind. Pray-reading the Word without using our mind can be compared to not eating breakfast. Therefore, our mind must be sober, and we must use our mind. When we pray-read with an exercised mind, we are not seeking understanding but rather nourishment; nevertheless, something enables us to understand. Such an understanding comes from the spirit and becomes a supply to us.

Therefore, we need to train these three organs: the spirit, the heart, and the mind. Ephesians 1:7-10 says, “His grace, which He caused to abound to us in all wisdom and prudence, making known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself, unto the economy of the fullness of the times, to head up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in Him.” We must exercise our mind in order to read these verses. Verses 8 through 10 speak of the issue of the grace that God has caused to abound to us, and according to the context of verses 6 and 7, the riches of His grace, including the forgiveness of offenses, produce glory. God has caused this grace to abound to us in all wisdom and prudence.

Wisdom is deep within, and prudence is the application of wisdom. Wisdom is related to planning and purposing, and prudence is related to the execution of the plan. Instead of saying, “Which He caused to abound to us,” the Chinese Union Version says, “Which He rewarded us bountifully.” The word reward implies that we have some merits. However, God’s grace is a free gift, not a reward. According to the Greek, this is more than a gift. It means that in His wisdom and prudence God caused grace to abound to us. His causing grace to abound to us is according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself. His purpose involves His plan. God has a good pleasure, which He decided, planned, arranged, and determined in Himself in eternity, that we would know the mystery of His will. He purposed and planned this good pleasure in Himself unto the economy of the fullness of the times for the heading up of all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in Him.

If we can remember and speak these points in a living way, we will have a spiritual mind. Hence, it is not enough to have a strong spirit; our mind must match our spirit. Then a sense of love will spontaneously rise in our heart, and Ephesians 1:8-10 will become a [134] prayer to the Lord: “Lord, cause this grace to abound to us in all wisdom and prudence. This grace is also according to Your good pleasure, which You purposed in eternity so that we may know the mystery of Your will. You purposed this in Yourself unto the economy of the fullness of the times, to head up all things, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, including us, in Christ. O Lord, we thank and praise You.” When we speak to the Lord in this way, we will sense that the Lord is sweet and precious. By using our spirit and our mind to pray-read these three verses, we will be satisfied and full of joy.

Our need to use a sober mind can also be illustrated in relation to other verses. For example, Revelation 4:11 says, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power, for You have created all things, and because of Your will they were, and were created.” It is possible to pray-read this verse with a strong spirit and yet be confused in our mind. When we read the phrase You have created all things, some might say that the meeting hall was created by God and the benches were also created by God. Such an understanding shows that we must exercise to have a sober mind.

Genesis 1:26-27 says, “God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of heaven and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. And God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” These two verses are long, but it is easy to remember the main points. First, God created man in His image and according to His likeness. Second, God wanted man to have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle on the earth, and every creeping thing upon the earth. In other words, God wanted man to have dominion over the sea, the heaven, and the earth. We must use our mind to remember these two points.

Lastly, Romans 8:29-30 says, “Those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers; and those whom He predestinated, these He also called; and those whom He called, these He also justified; and those whom He justified, these He also glorified.” These verses speak of foreknowing, predestinating, calling, being justified, and being glorified. We need to remember [135] these points and pray-read them. When we pray-read these verses with a strong spirit, a sober mind, and a pure heart, we will receive the riches in the Word.