In Romans 11:34 Paul asks the question
"For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?"
Then in 1 Corinthians 2:16, he repeats the question
"For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? but we have the mind of Christ."
But now Paul says we have the mind of Christ, so what does that mean.
Some say that having "the mind of Christ" is nothing more than Christian existence, in which we ourselves experience Christ's righteousness in thought and action...such experience merely reflects the "righteous deeds of the saints", but is that all. Just doing good deeds, I think its much more than that, lets see what other scriptures we have..
Paul follows with these verses...
2 Corinthians 3:14
But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:4
In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
So Paul tells us what not having Christ or the mind of Christ does, it leaves them spiritually blinds those who are without it. Then Paul again reinforces what he told the Corinthians when he tells the Phillipians that the mind of Christ needs to be in them..
Philippians 2:5
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
And even Peter picks up the theme...
1 Peter 4:1
Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;
So having the mind of Christ according to Peter, is much more than good deeds, as he says 'for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin'. So it is not just deed but the mind is cleansed so that we become dead to sin to the point that we cease to sin...
Lets see what Spirit of Prophecy has to say...
As the mind dwells upon Christ, the character is molded after the divine similitude....We contemplate His character, and thus He is in all our thoughts. His love encloses us....His image is imprinted upon the eye of the soul, and affects every portion of our daily life, softening and subduing our whole nature....We have become transformed in character; for heart, soul, mind, are irradiated by the reflection of Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. Here again there is the realization of a personal, living influence dwelling in our hearts by faith....Jesus is to us an abiding presence, controlling our thoughts and ideas and actions....Jesus Christ is everything to us-- the first, the last, the best in everything; it is the warp and woof, the very texture of our entire being. (MYP 159-161)
Note it says 'Jesus is to us an abiding presence, controlling our thoughts and ideas and actions', so definitely we will not desire to sin and we shall want to do as Christ did, loving God and others as ourselves. So its not just simply doing good deeds but goes beyond that, as we see in the next quote...
None need fail of attaining, in his sphere, to perfection of Christian character. By the sacrifice of Christ, provision has been made for the believer to receive all things that pertain to life and godliness. God calls upon us to reach the standard of perfection and places before us the example of Christ's character. In His humanity, perfected by a life of constant resistance of evil, the Savious showed that through cooperation with Divinity, human beings may in this life attain to perfection of character. This is God's assurance to us that we, too, may obtain complete victory....The holiness that God's Word declares he must have before he can be saved is the result of the working of divine grace as he bows in submission to the discipline and restraining influences of the Spirit of truth. Man's obedience can be made perfect only by the incense of Christ's righteousness, which fills with divine fragrance every act of obedience. The part of the Christian is to persevere in overcoming every fault....Glorious is the hope before the believer as he advances by faith toward the heights of Christian perfection. (AA 530-533)
"For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?"
Then in 1 Corinthians 2:16, he repeats the question
"For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? but we have the mind of Christ."
But now Paul says we have the mind of Christ, so what does that mean.
Some say that having "the mind of Christ" is nothing more than Christian existence, in which we ourselves experience Christ's righteousness in thought and action...such experience merely reflects the "righteous deeds of the saints", but is that all. Just doing good deeds, I think its much more than that, lets see what other scriptures we have..
Paul follows with these verses...
2 Corinthians 3:14
But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:4
In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
So Paul tells us what not having Christ or the mind of Christ does, it leaves them spiritually blinds those who are without it. Then Paul again reinforces what he told the Corinthians when he tells the Phillipians that the mind of Christ needs to be in them..
Philippians 2:5
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
And even Peter picks up the theme...
1 Peter 4:1
Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;
So having the mind of Christ according to Peter, is much more than good deeds, as he says 'for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin'. So it is not just deed but the mind is cleansed so that we become dead to sin to the point that we cease to sin...
Lets see what Spirit of Prophecy has to say...
As the mind dwells upon Christ, the character is molded after the divine similitude....We contemplate His character, and thus He is in all our thoughts. His love encloses us....His image is imprinted upon the eye of the soul, and affects every portion of our daily life, softening and subduing our whole nature....We have become transformed in character; for heart, soul, mind, are irradiated by the reflection of Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. Here again there is the realization of a personal, living influence dwelling in our hearts by faith....Jesus is to us an abiding presence, controlling our thoughts and ideas and actions....Jesus Christ is everything to us-- the first, the last, the best in everything; it is the warp and woof, the very texture of our entire being. (MYP 159-161)
Note it says 'Jesus is to us an abiding presence, controlling our thoughts and ideas and actions', so definitely we will not desire to sin and we shall want to do as Christ did, loving God and others as ourselves. So its not just simply doing good deeds but goes beyond that, as we see in the next quote...
None need fail of attaining, in his sphere, to perfection of Christian character. By the sacrifice of Christ, provision has been made for the believer to receive all things that pertain to life and godliness. God calls upon us to reach the standard of perfection and places before us the example of Christ's character. In His humanity, perfected by a life of constant resistance of evil, the Savious showed that through cooperation with Divinity, human beings may in this life attain to perfection of character. This is God's assurance to us that we, too, may obtain complete victory....The holiness that God's Word declares he must have before he can be saved is the result of the working of divine grace as he bows in submission to the discipline and restraining influences of the Spirit of truth. Man's obedience can be made perfect only by the incense of Christ's righteousness, which fills with divine fragrance every act of obedience. The part of the Christian is to persevere in overcoming every fault....Glorious is the hope before the believer as he advances by faith toward the heights of Christian perfection. (AA 530-533)
