1 Corinthians 2:16

16 For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.

What exactly is the “mind of Christ?” Do you have it?

First, we better see exactly what word Paul wrote, that we translate “mind.” It’s the Greek word NOUS, and it means the mind as a faculty of thinking, or a way of thinking, or an attitude.

We have available the very thinking and attitude of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are to think as He thought! This same principle is brought out in:

Hebrews 12:2

2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

When we fix our eyes on Jesus, and the way He lived, we are trying to focus on Him to learn something about how we should live. We can learn how to execute God’s will for our lives by learning how Jesus executed God’s will for HIS life.

First, and obviously, Jesus was familiar with the scriptures. He could even find the passage He wanted:

Luke 4:17

17 And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written,

Also, when He was tempted in the wilderness by Satan, He answered with Scripture in the midst of the testing.(Luke 4:1-12)

But just knowing the Word of God is not enough! You can memorize every word of the Bible, and that alone will not give you the mind of Christ – it takes more to have the attitude that He had.

Matthew 26:39

39 And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will."

What else did Jesus have? Willingness to do the will of His Father! Knowing what the Word of God says doesn’t mean a thing if you’re not willing to execute it!

Notice also that Jesus was PRAYING. We’ve seen before the many times that He went off by Himself to pray:

Luke 5:16

16 But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.

Luke 6:12

12 It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.

This was an expression of the humility of Jesus. He prayed habitually to have the Father reveal His will to Him.

So what all is involved in us having the mind of Christ? Knowledge of the Word of God, humility, and willingness to do the will of the Father, and a dependence on Him to reveal that will to us through prayer.

If Jesus depended on these things to execute God’s will for His life, don’t you think we should follow His example, and do the same?