Colossians 1:24-4:18
We finished Paul’s letter to the Colossians. His focus was primarily
on how to live the new life we have in Christ. He illustrated his challenge
with the Old Testament ritual of circumcision. “When you came to Christ,” he
wrote, ”you were ‘circumcised,’ but not by a physical procedure. It was a
spiritual procedure, the cutting away of your sinful nature... You were dead
because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive in
Christ. He forgave all your sins” (2:11, 13).
The control-center of our lives is our spirit. Our spirit directly
influences our mind, and our mind controls our will, our words, our emotions,
and even our body. Therefore, we could say that the spirit of a man is the
master of the man. Whatever or whomever controls the spirit of a man, controls the man. Praise God that
He chose to “rescue us from the one who rules in the kingdom of darkness and
has brought us into the kingdom of His dear Son” (1:13, 14). The Holy Spirit
has taken residence within us. He now influences our lives, as we surrender to
Him.
Though our spiritual nature has been regenerated, our flesh has not;
our mind, will, emotions, and body are still rebellious to God. None of these
things will be made perfect until we are in heaven; so then, there is a constant
struggle between the Holy Spirit and our unholy, sinful flesh. They both vie for
control of what we think, what we do, and what we say. We will endure this
struggle for the rest of our earthly lives.
Though our spirit (heart) has been changed, it takes a lifetime to
sanctify (purify) our mind. Since birth, our mind has been under the influence
of sin, and though we are saved from the penalty of sin, we still deal with
the presence of sin, which is demonstrated in our self-centered, worldly thinking. Thus,
Paul exhorted us “not to conform
to the world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds” (Romans 12:2, NASB). As John
MacArthur said, “God is in the business of mind renewal.”
Daily Reflection
While Satan must concede your spirit to God, he
battles fiercely for your mind, to keep you from living life the way God
expects. Thus, God’s Word exhorts you to “love the Lord with all of your mind” (Mark 12:30), to “take every thought captive to the
obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5), and to think on those things which are “true, honorable, right,
pure, lovely, and of good repute (Philippians 4:8). Even in today’s passage, Paul
wrote, “Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down
here on earth” (3:2).
It is clear that after salvation, the primary battle for believers is in
the mind.
That’s why Paul warned us to put on the helmet of salvation, to protect our
mind from the schemes of the Devil. What do you think is the best way for you
to renew your mind? What would God say?
Paul wrote, “Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in
your hearts and make you wise” (3:16). If you do not renew your mind through regular
meditation on the Scriptures, then your mind is unprotected and vulnerable to
the lies, deceptions, and warped philosophies of this world. Scripture is the mind
of Christ.
To think like Him, you must think like the Word of God.
BiAY.org | Day 343 — 22 Days to Go
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