In three places Paul talks directly about how God is transforming our minds, more specifically to be like the mind of Jesus.
Rom 12:2 – “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
1 Cor 2:16 – “But we have the mind of Christ.”
Phil 2:5 – “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus”
We don’t literally possess the same mind that is in Jesus’ head but Paul clearly believes that our minds are in a transforming process where God is shaping and molding our thinking to be more and more in line with the thinking that characterizes Jesus. The flip side of this is also true. God can also allow our minds to go the other direction when we rebel against Him (See 1 Cor 1:18-31, 2 Cor 4:4 & Rom 1:18-25).
God does the transforming and it is only by His power, the same power that rose Jesus from the grave, that this work is done in our lives. At the same time I believe we partner with God through His transformative purposes and processes in two ways. First, we submit to it. Second, we engage our minds purposefully and intentionally in line with the mind God is forming in us. That is why Paul tells us to think about what is right, pure, lovely, etc…that we are to think about such things (Phil 4:6-8 and Col 3:1-4). We do that for two reasons. First because that is the natural result of what a mind transformed to be like Christ’s will think about. Second, because in doing so we work in concert with God’s transformative process. This takes discipline and discernment (2 Cor 10:3-5) that we might participate in God in the renewing of our minds.
Let us consider our thoughts and what is in line with the mind God is shaping in us and what is not. Let us continue to think about the things that are in line with the mind of Christ and reject the thoughts that don’t line up with God’s transforming work on our minds.
