Wisdom Wednesday: The Mind of Wisdom – Part 5
The Renewed Mind
Submitted by Debbie’s Dad
Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
-Rom. 11:33–12:2 NASB 95
While extolling the magnificence of the wisdom and knowledge of God in the passage above, Paul’s Logic follows this line:
- He paraphrases Isaiah 40:13 asking – who knows God’s mind?
- He also paraphrases Job 4:11 asking – who does God owe?
- Then he concludes God alone is worthy of glory forever.
- AND THERFORE (because of the foregoing)…
- Worship the sovereign God by presenting you life (your body) as a sacrifice to live for Him, and
- Be transformed (Greek metamorphousthe in a form that specifies a continual change from inside out) into a Christlike person.
Note the emphasis on God’s unknowable mind, and our renewable mind. The way we worship and grow in the knowledge and likeness of God’s Son is by a continual mind renewal. The same word for transformation is used by Paul in 2 Cor. 3:18 to describe the believer’s progressive change into the likeness of Christ. Theologians refer to this progression as sanctification – the setting apart of the believer for God’s service. This is spiritual growth, but we see it is an inward process that results in outward behavior.
The word renew, or make new (Greek ananeoō, renew, renovate) is a continual process, that Paul described to believers at Ephesus, contrasting their former life before they trusted in Jesus to become like Him:
But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. Eph 4:20–24 NASB 95
Again, Paul emphasizes the renewal of the mind that results in a “new self” which is in the likeness of God – recognizable as righteousness and holiness.
How do we renew the mind, so our outward behavior will produce visible results that Paul describes as the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23)? We continually make new minds by:
- Revering (Fearing) God for his majestic sovereignty in creation and redemption by His Son
- Reading the Word of God to gain knowledge of Him and His ways (2 Peter 3:18)
- Listening and yielding to His Spirit to transform our behavior
Consider a modern-day parable to illustrate how this works.
Bob was a college student who received a New Testament on campus from men who were handing them out for free. He took one and tucked it in his dorm desk drawer. One day, he started reading and prayed to asks for forgiveness for his sins and to trust in Christ. He began to go to a campus Christian club and learned more about the Bible and Jesus’ ministry. As he did, things happened in his mind – he was changing. In some cases, he felt bad about his habits, he perceived a conviction that these behaviors were not honoring or pure. In his mind and heart, he decided to stop those things in his life and pray for forgiveness when he slid back into his old ways. The more he read the bible, the more he learned how to adopt new behaviors that brought a joy to his spirit. He was more peaceful and patient with others that irritated him. People noticed a change and he recognized his thinking and decisions were changing – being renovated. He was, indeed renewing his mind, softening his heart toward others, and showing the “fruit of the spirit” in his life. He realized he was, as his friends said, “Growing in Christ”.
Let us renew our mind and grow like Bob.