 There is one line of Scripture that tells us everything that we ought to know regarding the wisdom and “having the mind of Christ” and that is verse 10 where Paul says, “But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.” According to God’s Holy Word, If we lack understanding it is because it has not been revealed to us through His Spirit. This is why many times we can read a Scripture one year, come back the next and it reveals something completely different than it did the first time reading it. This is why we can receive a Word from the man of God and become enlightened to new truths regarding the Gospel. The possibilities behind the power of God’s revelation through His Spirit are endless. Revelation often comes through God’s Word more often than any other way. This is why it is imperative from believers to read God’s Word for themselves daily. The answers and truth we seek lay right in the pages of our Bibles. The character, morals, and integrity that we seek to build is built from the foundations of God’s Word planted into our hearts. Paul doesn’t speak in this instance or write under his own power, but in the respect and reverence of the Lord. Power isn’t given such as is described in verse 4, unless it has been given by the Spirit. The Spirit does not connect so deeply with man that does not seek Him. So what does this have to do with “having the mind of Christ” you might ask? The answer is: everything! Everything that has been stated in chapter two up until verse 16, gives us an explanation for this verse. “Having the mind of Christ”, is simply knowing the will of the Father. If we know the will of our Heavenly Father, then we can “have the mind of Christ.” Having such understanding begins with being obedient to God’s Word and Spirit. If we are obedient, we will do the will of the Lord. If we do the will of the Lord, He will give us the directions we seek. It is said in one of our articles that, “Another way in which one can easily fall short of full virtue is through lacking phronesis—moral or practical wisdom.”[1] The way for a Christian not to fall short is to simply have, “the mind of Christ”. If we look at the example of the life Christ lived, the actions He took, the decisions He made, and the things He said we find the answer in what it means to “have the mind of Christ.” Everything He did was according to the will of the Father. Even the Lord’s prayer includes the words, “your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven” early on in the prayer for a reason. Jesus pleaded for another way to accomplish the task set before Him to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane, but in the end submitted to the Father’s will. So, much like Jesus did all that was humanly possible to do the Father’s will while here on earth, we must do the same. We are to have not only the evidence of Christ in our life, but also the mind and heart of Christ. The more Christ-like we are, the closer we are to being in His will. We must remember that like Christ, we are all born with a purpose. Sometimes that purpose is crystal clear and direct, other times we must thoroughly seek it in various ways. One of the things that sticks out the most about Christ to me in all His ministry, was His focus on the priorities. All through school I struggled to focus in class as I still find myself struggling with, however Jesus never fell away from the focus on the task at hand. Even though He knew the suffering He would soon endure, He remained focused with laser like precision. He did not find Himself distracted by the games of the Pharisees. He was even tested with political questions to test His political I.Q. as Christians are today, and had a quick, but very wise answer to the problem presented. He was even crucified over the political threat that He was said to be, but never allowed it to distract Him from the will of the Father. If we can be like that we can have the mind of not only Christ, but also of the Father. [1] Hursthouse, Rosalind and Pettigrove, Glen, "Virtue Ethics", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2016 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = .
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