Weekly Message: the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace
by Rev. Katherine Liu Bruce Christian Arts Ministries: Biblical Precepts & Gospel Music
My friends, the scripture states, “the mind controlled by the spirit is life and peace” (Romans8:6) Do you have a mind of peace? How to gain the peaceful mind in Christ? How to set our mind in Spirit? When Apostle Paul wrote the letter to the church in Thessalonica and prayed for the sanctification of their three codes of physical being. He said, “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through, may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonicans5:23) because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers, and those whom He predestinated, these He also called, and those whom He called, these He also justified, and those whom He justified, these He also glorified.” (Romans 8:29-30). Apostle Paul knew how important to set his mind in the spirit in order to gain peace and life. For he had met Jesus in spiritual being, the voice of Jesus rebuked him and resulted in his blindness, the momentary flesh perished until Jesus healed him and restored his physical being. From that moment, he set his mind in spirit to discern the spiritual thing, and no longer acted emotionally, nor set in his mind in flesh, for he knew the mind controlled by the flesh is death, but the mind controlled by the spirit is peace. “Spirit is the inner part of the inner organ and processing God-consciousness that we may contact God (Jh4:24, Rom.1:9). The Soul is our very self (Matt16:26; Luke9:25), the medium between spirit and body processing self-consciousness so we may have our personality. The body as our external part is the outer organ, processing world-consciousness that we may contact the material world.” [1] In other words, the body contains the soul and the soul is the vessel that contains the spirit. In the spirit, God as the spirit dwells, in the soul, our self-dwells, and in the body, the physical sense dwells.
In the biblical perspective, “God sanctifies us by taking possession of our spirit through regeneration firs, as John3:5-6 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” Second, by spreading Himself as the life-giving spirit of our spirit into our soul to saturate and transform our soul. Third, by enlivening and energize our mortal body through our soul and transfiguring our body by His life power. [2] As Phil.3:21 says, “by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”
“God not only sanctifies us wholly but also preserves our spirit, soul, and body complete. Through the body was perished, our soul was contaminated and our spirit was deadened. In God’s full salvation our entire being is saved and made complete and perfect. God is preserving our spirit from any deadening element (Heb.9:14), our soul from remaining natural and old (Matt.16:24-26) and our body from the ruin of sin. Such preservation by God and His thorough sanctification sustain us to live a holy life unto maturity that we may meet the Lord in His Parousia.” [3] Therefore, Apostle Paul urged saints, “The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.” (Rom.8:6)
In the U.S.A. there are many people had a medical condition, chemical unbalancing, and suffered chronicle diabetic stress and resulted in a behavioral changing. It is important to be aware of the three cores of physical being: spirit, soul, and body condition. The weakness of vessels and degraded Christians may dwell on self-conscience, self-pity, suffered depression, agitation, and worry which are on the soul core. But strong and mature Christians as Apostle Paul shall be aware of that the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. Through the physical body may perish day by day because of chronicle illness, yet, the inner man can be renewed by the Holy Spirit day and day. Old has gone, new has come, in Christ, they are new men.
How to set the mind in Christ? By meditating the Word of God, and constantly pray or worship the Lord, by writing Christian daily journey to renew the thoughts and believe in the promises of God. “Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken …all came to pass.” (Josh.21:45). Many people failed and became degraded Christians because their mind was controlled by the flesh, and soul code was dominated by emotional sorrow, worry, anxiety, anger, bitterness, sadness, depression and unable to shift the mind into the spirit code, it results in a physical body behavioral changes. Therefore, the saints who are growing older and face medical condition, they need to be encouraged to set their mind in the Spirit and gaze upon the Christ in the millennial prosperity.
In the Millennial Kingdom, the ruler is a shepherd. God gave Christ authority to rule over the nations, and Christ gives the same authority to His overcomers.(Psalm 2:9). To reign with Christ over the nations in the millennial kingdom is a prize to the overcomers. This promise of the Lord strongly implies that those who do not answer His call to overcome degraded Christianity will not participate in the reign of the Millennial Kingdom. At Christ’s first appearing the Magi, not the Jewish religionists saw Christ’s star (Matt2:2,9-10). At His second appearing, Christ will be the morning star to His overcomers who watch for His coming. To all the others He will appear only as the Sun.
My friends, To become overcomers, we must constantly set our mind in the spirit, for the flesh is nothing. The Lord ensured us, “ he who overcomes and he who keeps My works until the end , to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will shepherd them with an iron rod, as vessels of pottery are broken in pieces, as I also have received from My Father.” (Rev.2:26-27). From sanctification, transformation to transfiguration, “God sanctifies us by taking possession of our spirit through regeneration. Unless he is born of water and the Spirit… the Spirit gives birth to spirit. (John3:5-6). By spreading Himself as the life-giving spirit of our spirit into our soul to saturate and transform our soul. Finally, by enlivening our mortal body through our soul and transfiguring our body by His life power. (Phil.3:21). May the Lord enable each one of us set our mind in the spirit and empower us to be the overcomers.
Bibliography,
Bauer, Walter. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. 3rd Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2000.
Brown, Robert, Philip W. Comfort and J.D. Douglas, ed. The New Greek English Interlinear New Testament. Carol Stream: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.1990.
Friberg, Timothy, Barbara Friberg, and Neva F. Miller et al., eds. Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament.1st ed. Victoria BC: Trafford Publishing, 2005.
King James, The Holy Bible, Cleveland, OH: The world publishing company
Lee, Witness. The New Testament (R.V.) Anaheim, CA: Living Stream Ministry, 1985.
Lucado, Max. God is with you every day. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2015
____. Glory days. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2015.
Myers, Roth. 31 days of praise. Colorado Springs, CO: Multnomah Books, 1994.
Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie Study Bible (NIV). Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986.
Strong, James. Strong’s: the expanded exhaustive concordance of the Bible. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2010.
[1] Witness Lee. The New Testament (R.V.) (Anaheim, CA: Living Stream Ministry, 1985),955
[2] Ibid.956.
