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So for the Christian there is the need to set the mind on the spirit.
Now this little formula has been helpful over the years and should be followed.
Some of us were taught many years ago something very helpful to the Christian walk.
Set the mind on the spirit in the word with the mouth.
Set the mind,
On the spirit,
In the word,
with the mouth.
This I will be repeating as I elaborate. This is very practical.
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This is getting to the practicality of Romans 8:6,7.
To learn to set the mind on the mingled spirit where the Spirit of Christ is joined to the believer, you should use the word of God with your mouth.
There is a problem in discerning the SOUL from the SPIRIT. Because both the human soul and the human spirit are part of man's total being, it is not easy to distinguish them apart when necessary.
The WORD of God is useful to divide asunder the self (the soul) from the human spirit where the Holy Spirit is in the believer. And here is the proof of this:
Hebrews 4:12
" For the word of God is living and operative and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit ..."
The human soul is one organ.
The human spirit is another organ.
To learn to set the mind on the spirit where the Holy Spirit resides needs the word of God which is "living and operative..
The living and operative word of God can pierce through the man to divide even the "soul and spirit".
One learns "Aha! This is my soul, my self. And this is my spirit, Jesus in me."
Believers, learn then to -
Set the mind on the spirit in the word with the mouth.
Let the living word of God pierce through your being like a sharp two edged sword and discern between your self and the Holy Spirit in you in joined to your spirit.
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The new Christian is use to living in the SELF. That is living in the soul.
But deep in him he is JOINED to the Lord and is one spirit with the Lord.
By using the living word of God he can learn to divide the self from the indwelling Spirit in his human spirit. This is done best (but not exclusively) with the speaking of the word with the mouth.
Thus I advise to:
Set the mind on the spirit in the word of God with the mouth, speaking in a released way. Speaking from deep within the living and operative word of God.
By practice the Christian learns to discern her self from her spirit. The living and operative word of God will pierce through the heart and help her discern the soul (the self) on one hand and the spirit (with the Holy Spirit) on the other.
"For the word of God is living and operative ..."
Like no other book in existence the word of God in the Bible is a living Person when touched rightly with an open heart, willing to be pierced.
The soul and the spirit are stuck together. The spirit is captive by the powerful soul. That is until the Christian learns to divide asunder the soul and the spirit.
"For the word of God is living and operative and sharper than any two edged sword, and piercing even to the DIVIDING ... of soul and spirit ..."
The living word of God spoken with the mouth is a "dicerner". It is a kind of detective exposing the difference between the self and the Holy Spirit in the human spirit.
" ... and sharper than any two edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow; and able to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart."
This is why many unbelievers prefer to stay AWAY from reading the Bible. The word is able to expose the thoughts, motives, intentions and intents of the heart.
Men love darkness because their deeds are sinful. The word of God is able to discern the hidden motives. Many do not want the hidden motives to be made known to them. So they stay away from the word of God in the Bible.
The Christian must love the living word of God and allow it to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart. And she must allow this word of God to separate the SELF from the SPIRIT. So that one can see what is of the soul and what is of God within.
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Hebrews 4:12 speaks of the joints and marrow also. One may think of the spirit of man as being within the soul of man in the same way the bone marrow is within the bone.
The Christian never graduates from the need to divide the SELF from the SPIRIT.
The Christian, from day one, must learn to take the word of God with the mouth and allow it to operate its living power to reveal what is YOU in the SELF and what is Jesus Christ moving and living in YOU.
Set the mind on the spirit in the word with the mouth.
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The dividing of soul and spirit reveals that these two parts of man are not identical.
And if a Christian does not learn to know when he is living in the soul or the self and when he is living in the spirit, his Christian walk will be abnormal.
The goal here is not introspection. And it is not always easy to know the difference. But with patience and practice God will lead the Christian to discern the soul and the spirit.
Set the mind on the spirit where the Spirit of Christ has JOINED your being.
Set the mind on the spirit in the word of God which is living and operative.
Set the mind on the spirit in the word using the mouth.
This does not have to be loud.
It can be soft.
It can be a whisper.
It can also be a shout with the release of the spirit.
The living word will divide the soul from the regenerated spirit. One can learn to live in the Spirit and walk in the Spirit by setting the mind on the spirit.
Months ago I dealt with this same subject essentially with a thread about "Prayreading the Word of God".
As we use the mouth with the word of God we should do so prayerfully. That is taking the word of God with the intention to come forward TO God.
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Robbie made a failed attempt to identify my exposition of Romans with an ancient Greek philosophy that taught all matter was evil. This accusation fails terribly because Romans 6 tell the Christians, under the process of sanctification, to present their physical members as "weapons of righteousness".
How then can the physical members of the body be presented to God as weapons of RIGHTEOUSNESS if they are only evil ?
" ... present yourselves to God as alive from the dead, and your members as weapons [or instruments] of righteousness to God." (See Rom. 6:13)
The issue is not that the physical matter of their bodies are intrinsically evil as the Docetists would teach. Rather the sinners need sanctification in utilizing God's Spirit and salvation to not let sin reign in their mortal bodies.
"So also you, reckon yourselves to be dead to sin, but living to God in Christ Jesus.
Do not let sin therefore reign in your mortal body so that you obey the body's lusts;
Neither present your members as weapons of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as alive from the dead,
and your members as weapons of righteousness to God." (Rom. 6:11-13)
Now back to - Set your mind on the spirit in the word with your mouth. This is really a presenting the physical member of our mouths as weapons of righteousness to God.
Originally posted by sonshipWhat you say v What Jesus says .. Wortds apart. I would be worried if I were you. 😀
Robbie made a failed attempt to identify my exposition of [b]Romans with an ancient Greek philosophy that taught all matter was evil. This accusation fails terribly because Romans 6 tell the Christians, under the process of sanctification, to present their physical members as "weapons of righteousness".
How then can the physical members ...[text shortened]... his is really a presenting the physical member of our mouths as weapons of righteousness to God.[/b]
I hope you have an answer to the likely question from Jesus on that day :
Sonship , what exactly about 'follow my commandments' did you not understand' ?
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Originally posted by Rajk999
What you say v What Jesus says .. Wortds apart. I would be worried if I were you. 😀
I hope you have an answer to the likely question from Jesus on that day :
Sonship , what exactly about 'follow my commandments' did you not understand' ?
What you say v What Jesus says .. Wortds apart. I would be worried if I were you.
You have not and cannot demonstrate any "worlds apart" discrepancy here.
I know I am being judged now because I am being built up with others.
I seek to be judged by Christ today and each day I come to Lord Spirit.
You're the one putting off examination before the Lord to a future time.
You seem to still be isolated and individualistic, built up with no one even after years.
It is sad.
Originally posted by sonshipYou are just blind.What you say v What Jesus says .. Wortds apart. I would be worried if I were you.
You have not and cannot demonstrate any "worlds apart" discrepancy here.
I know I am being judged now because I am being built up with others.
I seek to be judged by Christ today and each day I come to Lord Spirit.
You're the one putting ...[text shortened]... em to still be isolated and individualistic, built up with no one even after years.
It is sad.
Jesus said IF you follow his commandments, you will abide in Him.
You have said pages and pages of stuff and nothing along those lines.
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To abide in Christ is to first receive Christ into our innermost spiritual being. And we are born in the nucleus of our being, our human spirit.
Then we must learn to live a NEW way. That is to set the mind on the spirit as Romans 8:6 teaches.
We Christians are not used to living this way because we have long lived in the natural mind - the mind set on the flesh, the self. Now the believer needs to learn to be somewhat like a Salmon fish, swimming upstream against the downward current.
The believer is going AGAINST the tide of this world. Nowhere in any worldly institution are people taught to set the mind on the spirit which is now one with Jesus Christ the life giving Spirit. The proper new testament church should teach this.
Now, since setting the mind on the mingled spirit is like going against the current of this age, it is helpful to use the mouth and to use the word of God. Thus I repeated -
Set the mind on the spirit in the word with the mouth.
The New Testament says much of the same thing.
" Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to God." (Col. 3:16)
A few points:
1.) The word of Christ should dwell in us RICHLY. That is abundantly rather than poorly or scantily. The word of Jesus Christ should dwell in our hearts and in our minds "RICHLY".
2.) The word of Christ should dwell in us "in all wisdom". This is wisely musing and considering with much serious meditation His word. Rote repetition in a mechanical way is not meant here. Considering and musing wisely on His word is what is meant.
3.) We should teach and admonish one another with this word. That is teaching mainly the word as we live the word. That is admonish one another as we apply to our own experience His word.
4.) These require SPEAKING. First we should speak to ourselves, admonish ourselves, and teach ourselves. Then we should humbly admonish the fellow believers. "[O]ne another" indicates MUTUALITY. It is a give and take. It is a take and give.
It should not always be a one man speaking or a one man sermon. But the normal church life should have a lot of "one another" mutual teaching, admonishing in all wisdom. Even our praying with the rich word of Christ is an indirect teaching and admonishing.
5.) Since SINGING is also advised here Paul intends that our hymns and spiritual songs be filled with the word of Christ.
Both teaching and singing require the mouth. So we are exhorted these things to help us to set the mind on the spirit in the word of Christ with our mouths.
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Speaking and singing with PSALMS means that the word of Christ is also in the Psalms. Christ is God incarnate. God breathed out the Psalms and so the whole Old Testament contains the inspired life giving word of God incarnate.
The word of Christ was to Paul also in the Scriptures of the Psalms. For the Old Testament is all the Scripture that the Christians had at the time of the writing of Colossians.
The sister passage to Colossians 3:16 is in Ephesians 5:18,19 .
"And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissolution, but be filled in spirit.
Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and psalming with your heart to the Lord."
The comparison of being filled in spirit with enjoying wine proves that it is a sweet enjoyment for man to turn the mind the the spirit.
Do not be drunk with alcoholic drink, says Paul. But rather enjoy the wine of the Holy Spirit filling your from out of your regenerated spirit.
This is certainly about setting the mind on the spirit in the word with the mouth too. For Paul says "SPEAKING" which obviously requires our mouths.
Put the two passages together - Colossians 3:16 and Ephesians 5:18,19.
1.) It is an enjoyment to SPEAK the word of Christ that is dwelling in your RICHLY.
2.) It is setting the mind on the reborn spirit and being filled in spirit.
3.) It is a mutual enjoyment by which brother and sister Christians mutually benefit one another.
4.) The speaking can be in teaching, admonishing, and singing. Of course prayer together is also helpful if genuine, real, fresh, to the point and carrying the fragrance of Christ.
Paul goes on to speak of the giving of thanks.
"Speaking ... to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and pslaming with your heart to the Lord,
GIVING THANKS at all times for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to our God and Father..."
The praising, giving thanks, singing, psalming, letting Christ's word richly dwell in our hearts and SPEAKING out are all ways to set the mind on the spirit.
This kind of church life, and this kind of small group meeting life causes all to become humble and subject to one another in humility.
"Being subject to one another in the fear of Christ." (v.21)
The Christians becomes tempered and balanced in the Body of Christ.
Setting the mind on the spirit is the way to abide in the individual Christ and the corporate expression of Christ also.
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You can set the mind on the spirit alone.
You can also set the mind on the spirit in a small group gathered together into the Lord's name.
You can set the mind on the spirit where two or three are gathered together in the name of Jesus Christ. You need no permission to gather two or three together in your own home for the purpose of setting the mind on the spirit.
But if you waste time to gossip you may not be filled in spirit.
If you waste time to speak of many worldly things you will not be filled in spirit.
If you set aside the time for the word of Christ richly dwelling in you to be sung, spoken, taught and admonished, that is a PROFITABLE building up of one another.
That kind of centering on Christ and His word will be for God's purpose.
Two Christians gathering to argue about politics or even discuss extensively some worldly entertainment that they both enjoyed, is not that profitable. To let the word of Christ that has been richly dwelling in them to COME OUT in speaking, psalming, giving of thanks will be unto God. It will have an eternal memorial.
In eternity you may look back and praise God for that PROFITABLE time in which you gathered into His name to speak to one another in Psalms, Hymns, Spiritual songs, and in the rich word of God, praising and thanking God for all things.
These are all helps to setting the mind on the spirit where the Spirit of Christ has come to the believer to make her "one spirit" with the Lord.
"He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit." (1 Cor. 6:17)
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Originally posted by apathistNo, Christ dying for is is only the BEGINNING.
Christ died for us. Done deal. God belief not required.
Get mental health help. A hike in the woods helps.
We thank Him that He gave His life FOR us.
We thanks Him even more that He gives His life TO us.
"the last Adam became a life giving Spirit." (1 Cor. 15:45)
He became, after His resurrection, in a form in which He can dispense to us, impart to us, convey to us, and pour out into us Himself to mingle with us.
We are saved in HIS LIFE having been justified by His death. His death for us is not the END of the matter.
" For if we being enemies, were reconciled to God through the DEATH of His Son, MUCH MORE ... we will be saved in His life, having been reconciled." (Romans 5:10)
The believer in Jesus' death then needs much more of the "much more".