As Man Thinketh: The Believer's Thought Life

“As A Man Thinketh”

Transforming our Thought Life!

A Summary of lessons on the thought life of the believer!

LESSON ONE- THE NEED FOR TRANSFORMATION

ROMANS 12: 1-2

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 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.

If we are going to truly live the Christian life we are going to have to do something about the way we think. Not only are we to make certain that our bodies are avoiding physical misconduct, we also need to work to prevent our minds from conforming to a worldly mindset. God’s will is not only in how we act, but also in how we think.

Our minds need to be constantly being renewed. Just as a person who is driving down the road must constantly adjust his steering, even on a straight road, we must constantly adjust our thinking to be consistent with God’s thinking.

This particular study is about thought patterns that we need to incorporate as well as those we must avoid. There are ideas in God’s Word about things we need to focus on in our thinking as well as things we need to avoid thinking about. We adjust our thinking so we are thinking like God thinks. This can only happen as we immerse ourselves in God’s Word and begin to see how he thinks.

LESSON TWO- THE MIND OF CHRIST

Philippians 2

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature] God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

This passage deals with our thinking and attitude within the framework of the work of the church. We must be cautious in our attitudes towards one another. If you read the book of Philippians carefully, you will discover that the church had some fellowship problems. Apparently two women had become at odds with one another and created a disruption in the church. There may have been much more going on, but these women were upset enough that the Apostle Paul named them and asked the remainder of the church to assist them in resolving their differences.

We will get over to those two women later, for now let’s focus on what kind of manner of thinking Jesus had and how it affected the church.

1) Jesus did not hang on to a position that justly and properly belonged to Him.

Believers need to be careful about hanging on to a position that they think they should have. Jesus, equal with God, chose to relinquish the position. Why? He trusted the Father to restore Him to that position. Of course, we have the privilege of hindsight to look back and see that He was obedient and God did indeed restore Him to glory.

Do you insist on being recognized for some position that you believe God would have you serve in? Do you struggle with others to hold on to some position? Do you demand that others recognize you in that position?

Another example of this type of humility would be King David. Even though the prophet Samuel had anointed him as king, he refused to take action to assume that position, declaring his belief that if God had called him to that position, then God could be trusted to remove Saul and elevate David to that position.

2) Jesus took the form, position, and responsibilties of a servant.

A servant thinks about those he is going to serve. A good “server” in a restaurant is constantly monitoring the needs to the customers. The best servers anticipate the needs of the customer and bring coffee or condiments, or something else needed. Jesus recognized the needs of the church and was willing to humble himself as necessary in order to meet the needs.