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What is a Transformed Mind?
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Rev. Deneff ends the Lesson with a glimpse of what moving toward the mind of Christ might look like. He emphasizes that it is not usually achieved as an instantaneous act of God. It requires training and the formation of spiritual habits.
It is easy enough to say what it is. Philippians 2 gives us a clear sense of what the mind of Christ looks like:
“You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.”
Philippians 2:5-8, NLT
What Philippians is describing here is nothing other than what it means to love our neighbor (or enemy) as ourselves. We do not live for ourselves but we live for God and others. We have a servant’s heart. We put others before ourselves. This is perfect love. This is what holiness looks like.
Romans 12:2, as we have seen, talks about this mind of Christ as a transformed mind:
“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.”
Romans 12:1-2
These verses both look back and forward in Romans. They look back to Romans 6 where Paul urged the Romans to present their bodies as instruments of righteousness leading to holiness (Rom. 6:13; Rom. 6:19). Similarly, Romans 12:1 urges them to present their bodies as living sacrifices to God.
Yet these verses are played out in the chapters that follow. A transformed mind is one that does not think more highly of itself than it should (Rom. 12:3). A transformed mind is devoted to others (Rom. 12:10). A transformed mind does not repay evil for evil but lives at peace with everyone (Rom. 12:17-18). It submits to authority (Rom. 13:1). It loves its neighbor as itself (Rom. 13:8-10). It does not act for its own freedom but acts in a way that builds up the faith of others (Romans 14-15).