Especially, at a time like this, it is essential that we, as believers in Christ, adjust our thoughts according to the revelatory truth. The Holy Spirit unlocks this truth for us at this time through the Word of God, so that we can accordingly go forward in that truth (cf. John 17:17 i.c.w. Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:23).

 

John 17:17:
17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

 

Romans 12:2:
2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.

 

Ephesians 4:23:
… 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; …

 

Adjustment in God’s revelatory truth involves moving forward in the dimension of God’s advancing Word without allowing the past to block one’s way.

 

A failure to renew the spirit and mind according to the Word of God results in the power of the revelatory advancing Word of God ‘quarantining’ the apparent truth of the past. This means that by materializing it in the life of a believer, it can turn into the blocking substance in life.

 

Any unwillingness to look forward results in stagnation in the life of faith and prevents moving forward with the revelatory truth of God’s Word for this time and the time to come (cf. Genesis 19:26 i.c.w. Luke 9:62).

 

Genesis 19:26:
26 But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

 

Luke 9:62:
62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

 

 

As the church – the ekklēsia, we find ourselves in a time when we encounter believers who speak the truth of God’s Word, but because of their unwillingness to renew their minds, find themselves ‘stuck in a stagnation of truth’ filled without the fire of the Holy Spirit.

 

This is a ’solid standing substance of salt’ that has no living fire in it (cf. Mark 9:49-50).

 

Mark 9:49-50:
49 Everyone will be salted with fire.
50 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”

 

Therefore it is necessary to live and to ‘watch’ in it. The ‘guarding’ is the general assignment of God, which has already been given to man since Adam, and which applies especially to the heart, to guard it as the seat of one’s own thoughts, feelings and decisions (cf. Genesis 2:15 i.c.w. Proverbs 4:22).

 

Genesis 2:15:
15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

 

Proverbs 4:23:
23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

 

We may realize that everything essential comes about by thoughts in life, because they lead to our decisions that can either stop us or lead us to our destiny. At best we focus our approximately 20.000 to 60.000 thoughts per day directly on the foundation of God’s word (cf. 1 Timothy 1:5).

 

1 Timothy 1:5:
5 The goal of this command (note: Torah = teaching) is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

 

This is the basis for the needed renewing of the mind or thoughts, which in themselves are designed to give impetus that in turn expresses itself through our decisions, words and deeds.
Every reaction as well action should without exception be decided by proven thoughts:

 

1.) of pure godly love,
2.) of a good clear conscience,
3.) of a genuine, sincere faith or understanding of values.

 

Part of an effective renewing of the mind is therefore a filtering process in which we use the word of God to identify single thoughts and to test by recurring thought-patterns (Note: ‘cluster’), whether they comply with God’s truth (cf. John 17:17 i.c.w. Romans 12:2).

 

John 17:17:
17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

 

Romans 12:2:
2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.

 

With life God also entrusted a heart to each person we may learn to watch over and to protect it effectively from certain dangers and influences in the course of life.

 

This process can only be successful when we understand and accept that no one else can be held responsible for our thinking but we personally.

 

Because the word of God is the only truth and contains everything essential to give us the greatest possible security in life, we can use it as a personal standard in any given situation and decision. God is love, and what He says regarding life in the natural and supernatural realm is absolutely trustworthy.

 

Devotion and submission to the LORD Himself, who lives in us in the person of the Holy Spirit, is the key aspect of renewing one’s mind. Only the saint, who repeatedly yields to the Holy Spirit and learns day after day from the Holy Spirit in relationship to Him as the teacher, will be able to lay down his thought patterns that are worldly or contrary to the Spirit, and be able to literally exchange it.

There is no other way to truly renewing one’s mind, because it is a basic principle that here as well only the LORD Himself can lead us to truth and repentance as well as cause us to turn from our old ways (cf. John 8:32 i.c.w. Romans 2:4).

 

John 8:32:
32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

 

Romans 2:4:
4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?

 

For this reason any existing degree of pride to rely on your own conclusions or beliefs deriving from personal evaluations, which are merely thoughts, is so extremely dangerous and intolerable.

 

In this, experience in the form of humility can bring us to our senses when we get rather unpleasantly humbled, which should invite us to rethink, or we admit our own arrogance beforehand by repenting from this wrong attitude so that the Father can gently train us (cf. Proverbs 3:12).

 

Proverbs 3:12:
… 12 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.

 

After some years of discipleship, God’s standards of grace in the form of forgiveness, goodness and justice as well as the focus on the good, pleasing and genuine should become increasingly easier for us to think.

 

 

This takes us to the mind of Christ, which means and encompasses a mindset that differs from the natural realm, the realm of the soul, for it is from the dimension of the Spirit (cf. 1 Corinthians 2:16).

 

1 Corinthians 2:16:
… 16 for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” (cf. Isaiah 40:13) But we have the mind of Christ.

 

The word ‘mind’ in this verse can also be explained as thinking and being aware in the context of wisdom.

 

This thinking or mindset is clearly to be taken from the Spirit and is not of natural origin, if we consider the context in which the verse is set (cf. 1 Corinthians 2:14-16).

 

1 Corinthians 2:14-16:
14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.
15 The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, 16 for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

 

In verses 14 and 15 two kinds of people are compared. The ‘natural man’ (Note: in the original Greek described as ‘psyche’ or ‘soul’) is in the human and therefore limited level of the natural, which is described here as being incapable of discerning spiritual matters.

 

The ‘spiritual man’ (Note: in the original Greek described as ‘spirit’ or ‘breath’) is in the higher or superior and therefore unlimited level of the supernatural, which is the only way declared capable of discerning spiritual matters and containing the mind of Christ.

 

Thus the word of God teaches us to discern whether we as saints born from the Holy Spirit think and live from this dimension of the Spirit, or whether we decide, despite having been baptized with the Holy Spirit, to remain in the realm of the soul, which is earthly minded (cf. James 3:15-17).

 

James 3:15-17:
15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.
16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.

 

Christ on the other hand, the expression of God’s love as the Heavenly Father, even in existence as man born into the natural world, was always supernatural in His sonship with the Father, who had begotten Him as spirit. Christ came ‘from above’, just as we will be ‘born from above’, being destined to live from this dimension in this supernatural way (cf. Matthew 11:29).

 

Matthew 11:29:
29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

 

As a teacher of this thinking or mindset in the Spirit, He offers Himself to us to open up access to this dimension with two simple principles that we, as disciples, must observe.

This spiritual mindset, the mind of Christ, thus becomes only accessible for those who decide upon two things and in this may see the character of Christ, which results in a different attitude.

 

The first decision, which is crucial and a direct requirement for the second one, involves a conscious position of identifying with Christ (Note: sonship under the Father), who out of obedience chooses the will of the Father.

 

The next and resulting principle that follows the identification with Jesus Christ is the continuous willingness to learn (Note: discipleship under the Master), which generates the voluntary consequence of application from the heard word. For this reason Jesus Christ describes the image of a yoke carried by an experienced ox, who is then yoked together with a young bull in order to train the young bull what it means to serve and live as a burden bearer.

 

Christ is the master, who teaches us to live in the dimension of the Spirit in the mastery of the earthly realms of soul or sinful influences through the world, for which we need to be set (Note: ‘yoked up’) and ready to learn (Note: apply His words).

 

It would therefore be wrong to claim we ‘automatically’ have the mind of Christ on the basis of our baptism, conversion or baptism in the Holy Spirit, when it is explicitly linked to the identity as ‘son’, who submits to the Heavenly Father or a ‘disciple’, who submits to the Master and His words.

 

In this context the nature of Christ reveals itself as truthful (Note: unfeigned, sincere), meek and humble in order to point towards the conscious acknowledgment of the unilateral greatness and perfection of God. This acknowledgment in the form of true worship remains inaccessible for every natural person, as it means acknowledging one’s own imperfection and inadequacy, which a prideful heart cannot admit to.

 

Sincere meekness and humility, which are opposing every kind of pride and characterize the wisdom from above, come from actively lived son- and discipleship in the mindset of a trained saint, who devotes himself anew time and again. And he daily joins forces with the Spirit to rule over his personal “I-me-mine”-mindset of the soul (cf. Galatians 2:20 i.c.w. Philippians 2:3-8).

 

Galatians 2:20:
20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body (note: temporary in a physical body), I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

 

Philippians 2:3-8:
3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross!

 

 

Therefore, it is indispensable that we stay in the center of God’s fire in the sonship of Christ, which encompasses His consuming being. As His sons in Christ Jesus, we partake of His fire and live by His Spirit (cf. Deuteronomy 4:24 i.c.w. Hebrews 12:28-29).

 

Deuteronomy 4:24:
24 For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

 

Hebrews 12:28-29:
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our “God is a consuming fire.”

 

The word commonly used to describe fire is ‘ēš’, and in the two Hebrew letters ‘Aleph’ and ‘Shin’ it reveals to us the Heavenly Father in His power to love by pointing to the live-giving power of water and the distribution of combined forces in the unity as in the case of a cogwheel, for instance.

 

Staying in this fire points to the necessary approach to God that is also revealed in Psalm 18 where various phases of closeness to the living God as LORD, ‘YAHWEH’, are described, who can cloak Himself in power and show Himself (cf. Psalm 18:25-31).

 

Psalm 18:25-31:
25 To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless, 26 to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.
27 You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.
28 You, LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.
29 With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.
30 As for God, his way is perfect: The LORD’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.
31 For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?

 

Numerous verses in this Psalm explain how only those can successfully approach Him who trust in Him, display purity, and by faith depend on the LORD in adverse conditions. It also becomes apparent that the LORD is on the side of those who acknowledge His greatness and holiness (cf. Psalm 18:2 ff).

 

To be in God’s fire therefore also means we might lose substance, because the heat of the flames burn consuming everything that cannot be considered ‘enduring’ or is classed as ‘dross’ (Note: unshakable). We can only gain a deeper understanding of this principle by considering ourselves sons of God, who have been begotten by the Father in His love.

 

We accept that we live in the dimension of shallowness and impurity present in a fallen world, and we can neither love it nor give it priority, as it has been overcome (cf. 1 John 2:15-17).

 

1 John 2:15-17:
15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.
16 For everything in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – comes not from the Father but from the world.
17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

 

In this context the term ‘world’ does not only describe the ground or planet earth but the dimension of the ‘cosmos’, encompassing the entire structure of the fallen first level of the ‘lower heaven’ (Note: natural and supernatural realm of the lower heaven of Satan’s domain, lies and iniquity of fallen creatures).

 

Simply put, the Word of God teaches us how devastating it is to leave the love of the Father, the fire of God (Note: realm of the Spirit, sphere in the spiritual dimension), by cultivating even one thought of this ‘love for the world’ in our daily lives. This includes everything we permit to affect our heart and thus endangers our first love for the LORD.

 

This includes amongst others established humanistic thought patterns of ‘false love of one’s neighbor’, social opinion-forming that elevates itself over others, any kind of arrogance or self-righteousness, prideful thoughts (Note: hidden or openly displayed pride) comprising prestige or power of people, or recognition of status symbols, sexual impurity (Note: in whatever form from secret thoughts, consumption of impure pictures or pornography, masturbation to extramarital sexual intercourse), bitterness, unforgiveness, self-pity, ingratitude, laziness, manipulation, indifference, denial, unfaithfulness, craftiness, strife, addictive behavior, blasphemy, sarcasm, cruelty (Note: ruthlessness), stinginess, greed for material things, fear, reveries of the soul, etc.

Saints who think they deal with any thought patterns, behaviors, and habits containing such worldly standards in a tolerant manner, find it difficult to ‘stand in the fire of God’ or remain therein, because they do not comply with the rules God has set eternally, ‘God opposes the proud, but He gives grace to the humble.’ (cf. Proverbs 3:34; James 4:6b; 1 Peter 5:5b-c).

 

Proverbs 3:34:
34 He mocks proud mockers but shows favor to the humble and oppressed.

 

James 4:6b:
… 6b That is why Scripture says (see Proverbs 3:34): “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”

 

1 Peter 5:5b-c:
… 5b-c All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”

 

 

The grace describing the favorable, undeserved expression of goodness from a superior person equals a level of access in the spiritual realm, which is why we through faith in Jesus Christ have access to the throne room of God; only by this justification are we permitted to come close to our holy God (see Hebrews 4:14-16).

 

Hebrews 4:14-16:
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet he did not sin.
16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

 

The one proactively submitting to God’s word understands the priority of sanctification as something to chase after – one voluntarily discards impure, unholy or prideful thoughts or behavior patterns, and lets them ‘burn’ in the fire of God (cf. Hebrews 12:14.28-29).

 

Hebrews 12:14.28-29:
14 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. …
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our “God is a consuming fire.

 

But there are saints who go a step further by building a deeper separation between themselves and their old, transient ‘I’ in the increasing presence of the fire (cf. Galatians 2:20), and lose themselves in the intoxicating moments of sincere adoration of the Bridegroom in the ‘Flames of YAH’ (cf. Song of Songs 8:6), so that they can no longer ‘uplift’ themselves. Several examples of encounters in the Word of God with His fire point to the mystery of the principle of glory and sacrifice, which is connected with love.

 

Peter, a passionate disciple, on the other hand, did not by chance deny his Master beside a fire where he warmed himself, whereupon the cock prophesied of Jesus as a sign of denial. It was not possible for him to faithfully stand by Jesus until the cross, the hearth of fire of God’s wrath and judgment He was to bear there (cf. Mark 14:66-72). Although Peter loved Jesus, he preferred his future as a free man, and was afraid of being locked up or persecuted for his relationship with the LORD. He had not entered into the fire of God, which is at the same time an indication of the center of God’s love for us humans (cf. John 3:16 i.c.w. Song of Songs 8:6b-c).

 

John 3:16:
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

 

Song of Songs 8:6b-c:
… 8b-c for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like the very flame of the LORD.

 

Our outward passion for Christ may carry us for a time, but it will be tested by the ‘jealous fire’ of God (Note: sphere of God’s presence), which implies amongst others that we will be challenged in circumstances to see whether we still worry, fear, or have concerns for something that might mean more to us than to live or even die for Christ alone (see Philippians 1:21 i.c.w. 1 Kings 18:21-40).

 

Philippians 1:21:
21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

 

To stay in God’s fire therefore implies a greater dimension of passion associated with the first love and based on the faith (Note: inner conviction) that God as the Father is the adorable King, who reigns over all and will rule for all eternity (cf. Revelation 4:11).

 

Revelation 4:11:
11 “You are worthy, our LORD and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”

 

Amen and Amen.

 

In His Wisdom,

 

Daniel and Tina Glimm