Be of ONE Mind

James 1:8
"A double minded man is unstable in all his ways."

All throughout Paul's epistles he tells us to be of "one mind". Even Peter and the author of Hebrews (who is argued could be Paul, Peter or another disciple) commands us to be of one mind. In these passages being of one mind is explained as being on one accord with your brothers and sisters in Christ, esteeming them above yourself, having compassion, and being unified. Philipians 2 describes being of one mind as having the mind of Christ.

As Christians we must be unified, for "if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand." (Mark 3:25) We must be on one accord. The enemy knows this and does whatever he possibly can to create division and confusion to hinder the unity of the saints.

Being of one mind begins with you - the individual believer. Many look at our minds as the battleground where we decide to either walk according to the flesh or the spirit. I believe that our will controls what we think about in our mind, that our mind controls how we feel in our emotions, and our emotions often determine our actions. That being said, the mind plays an integral part in our decision making. The Bible says that our mind is renewed by the Word of God - which is God's will. Therefore when we spend time meditating and studying the Word of God we are in actuality trading our will for His, and in doing so our mind becomes transformed into the mind of Christ. When this happens our thinking becomes clearer; we no longer have confusion but abound in understanding and wisdom; our mind becomes sound - meaning whole and complete; our faith does not waver but is firm for we know what the will of God is; we walk in love towards everyone, both our friends and our enemies; we bear good tasting fruit and display the fruit of the Spirit in everything that we do; men see our good works and glorify the Father in heaven; miracles signs and wonders follow us; God uses us to save souls and bring deliverance to other believers; and every temptation, trial and ounce of suffering is counted as joy because we understand its purpose and that our latter will be greater than our former because we will reign with Christ in eternity. And that is just a fraction of what will happen when you as an individual have one mind. Just as James 1:8 says that a double minded man is unstable in all his ways - a man with one mind is stable in all his ways.

Just imagine if every Christian had one mind. Imagine how much power the Body of Christ would be able to maintain. Imagine the impact we would have on the world. As David puts it in Psalm 133:1 -"How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!"

As an individual member of the Body of Christ your responsibility is to receive the mind of Christ and link up with other likeminded believers. You are to build yourself up, then build others up and bring them to the same level of maturity. You must be careful who you fellowship and connect yourself with. Minister to those that are weaker in the faith, but do not take part in their sin. Do not allow other people, whether they are a believer or not, to sow doubt, perversion and all other types of ungodliness into your mind. Once you receive the mind of Christ maintain that same mind. Do not waver. Do not doubt. Do not talk yourself into something that is not the will of God. Be careful of feelings and check every thought with the Word of God before you begin to dwell on it.

My prayer for everyone reading this blog entry (including myself) is that you receive the mind of Christ by spending time in God's Word and obeying His commandments.

Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
- Philippians 2:2