“For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.”
Paul quotes from Isaiah 40:13 to establish his point that the Bible is spiritual phenomena.
For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?”
The “mind of the LORD” is the Word of God. In Isaiah, it was Old Testament Scripture. No one knows the mind of God except God, so natural man does not have the capacity to assess the mind of God autonomously from God’s Word.
But we have the mind of Christ.
The word “mind” is the seat of consciousness, the faculty of perception and judgment. To pronounce false what God reveals to the believer is to pronounce false the “mind of Christ,” Christ’s perception and judgment. The believer has the mind of Christ because he has the Bible, the revelation of God’s mind.
PRINCIPLE:
The believer has the capacity to make judgments about the Bible because he is in tune with the Word of God.
APPLICATION:
The believer has the capacity to understand inspired books of the Bible because the Holy Spirit illumines his mind to do so. The Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth. The believer must first understand truth before he applies truth to experience. He has the ability to apply truth to his experience because he has the “mind of Christ.” He does not flop around in his convictions but stands firm on what he believes.
John 14:16-16, 16And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17the Spirit of truth,whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
John 16:12-14, 12“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.
The Bible stands in polar opposition to the prevailing and dominant view of man today. Are you willing to think and operate within a biblical worldview?
Good insight. I would humbly suggest: "The believer has the mind of Christ because he has the Spirit of God dwelling indwelling; the revelation of God's mind" (not the "Bible").
Brandon, thanks for your thoughts on this verse. There is some justification for your viewpoint since it is the Holy Spirit who reveals, inspires and illuminates Scripture as set forth in chapter two. However, the antecedent appears to be the neuter "things" (definite article, v. 14) referring to the content of the mind of Christ. This is also supported by the quotation from Isa 40:13 which refers to divine viewpoint as over against human viewpoint. Therefore, the "mind" does not refer to something mystical but believers having their mind shaped by the wonder of who and what Jesus is.
Thank you for the explanation. I am new in reading the Bible and I’m very happy for learning this website. 🙂 God bless! 🙂
Iya, thank you for the blessing.
I need as many scriptures on the mind as I can possibly read over and over and over and over and over
Good article , thanks and we wish more! Added to FeedBurner as nicely
How can one inculcate the mind of christ ?
Lord’s Will, start studying with this exposition and then proceed through verse 8: https://versebyversecommentary.com/philippians/philippians-25/
For a more detailed way to develop the mind of Christ, go here: https://versebyversecommentary.com/articles/christian-maturity/the-edification-construct-discussion-guide/