There is a verse in First Corinthians that I have underlined, circled, and stared at many times. It is one of those verses that, when you get it, everything changes.
Paul writes:
"We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us."
1 Corinthians 2:12We have not received the spirit of the world. We have not been given the spirit that governs the world. The fear, the anxiety, the competition, the selfish ambition, the greed.
Instead, we have received the Spirit who is from God. Not just any spirit. The Spirit. The Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God Himself.
What Does This Mean?
Let me break this down. There are two spirits at work in the world. There is the spirit of the world, which is the governing mindset, the values, the priorities that drive most people. And there is the Spirit who is from God.
We have not received the first. We have received the second.
This means our default mode is not the world default mode. When we face a decision, we have access to something the world does not have. When we think, we think with something the world does not have. We have the Spirit of God.
Paul uses the word pneuma here for both spirit of the world and Spirit who is from God. But they are not the same. One is the controlling mindset of the age. The other is the very Spirit of God living in us.
The Mind of Christ
Paul goes on to say something even more remarkable. He says we have the mind of Christ.
"For who has known the mind of the Lord so that we may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ."
1 Corinthians 2:16We have the mind of Christ. Not access to it. Not a hint of it. We have it. The very thinking of Jesus lives in us.
This is not metaphorical. This is not spiritual language for trying hard. This is actual. The mind of Christ is in you through the Spirit.
That means when you face a situation, you have the capacity to think about it the way Jesus would think about it. You have the ability to respond the way Jesus would respond. You have divine thinking available to you.
What This Changes
So what does this change? It changes everything.
When you face a hard conversation, you have the mind of Christ. When you face an impossible decision, you have the mind of Christ. When you face a situation where you do not know what to do, you have the mind of Christ.
You are not limited to your own wisdom. You are not stuck with human perspective. You have divine thinking available to you.
The Mind That Is In You
The next time you face something too big for you, remember this. You have the mind of Christ. You have the Spirit who is from God. The same thinking that created the universe, that healed the sick, that raised the dead, is in you. Use it. Trust it. It is enough.
How to Access It
Now, the practical question. How do we access this mind? How do we tap into this divine thinking?
Paul tells us in the verse before this one. We receive the Spirit so that we may understand what God has freely given us.
The Spirit reveals. He teaches. He guides. He brings to mind what Jesus said.
So we access it through prayer. Through Scripture. Through listening. Through paying attention to the still small voice within us.
The Spirit is not silent. He is speaking. We just have to learn to hear.
And when we hear, we have the mind of Christ. We have the thinking of God. We have the wisdom of the universe.
That is what is in you. That is who you are. Now walk in it.
"But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come."
John 16:13Father, thank You for giving me the Spirit who is from You. Thank You that I have the mind of Christ living in me. Help me to trust that divine thinking is available to me in every situation I face. Teach me to listen to the Spirit and to walk in the wisdom He provides. In Jesus Name, Amen.
With honesty and hope,
Claire