T. W. Hunt - The Mind of Christ: The Transforming Power of Thinking His Thoughts

This book is dedicated to
Laverne,
who has taught me more about
the mind of Christ
than anyone else.

Acknowledgments

So many teachers, friends, and relatives have influenced my pilgrimage as I have sought the meaning of Christ-likeness that I cannot name them or even remember all of them. Among those are my parents, Tom and Ethel Hunt, who from the earliest days of my life, held up the Lord Jesus Christ as our model for living.

I will be forced to leave out large numbers of people who also helped in the preparation of this book. Dr. and Mrs. Ken Easley read an early version of this manuscript and made helpful suggestions. I feel especially indebted to my editor, Vicki Crumpton, whose ideas of organization of material were both thoughtful and useful. Vicki was also a source of real encouragement when I would become discouraged. Dr. Ernest Byers studied the medical material on the crucifixion and helped me make a number of important changes. He also made suggestions about the physical process of the crucifixion that I appropriated.

I am indebted to my son-in-law and daughter, Steve and Melana Monroe, who read the manuscript and offered timely and wise advice. They spent many hours pouring over the manuscript and suggesting important changes. I am grateful for the careful and constant help of my wife, Laverne. She read the manuscript with a fine-tooth comb and allowed no slips of the pen. I owe to her also her example of Christ-likeness. Often I have known what Christ would do by taking my cue from her!

Most of all I am indebted to the Holy Spirit who has led me in this pursuit all the way. I learned early that He glorifies Christ. He is the great enlightener who has helped me to understand what I understand of the Lord Jesus Christ.

PART ONE

chapter one

Let this mind be in you.

S uppose Christ broke through the veil that separates the spiritual from the physical and audibly said to you today, I am going to require you to have My mind in all its fullness. However, I want people to know what a miracle of change I can work, so I am going to reveal to your church what your mind is like right now. Next Sunday, in your church, I am going to take over the morning service and play back for all to hear every thought you had this last week. Would it appall you or delight you if Christ revealed your thoughts?

We unconsciously assume that our outer, physical, visible actions are going to be the basis for our judgment. In the Bible, though, God places the emphasis on the inner, invisible actions of the mind.

You may protest that you have never committed adultery (for example). Yet Jesus said, But I say to you, that everyone who looks on a woman to lust for her has committed adultery with her already in his heart (Matt. 5:28). You would have a horror of the thought of murder, but Jesus warned, But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court (Matt. 5:22). He equated the sin of anger with that of murder. Ahab's greed (1 Kings 21:16), a mental sin, preceded the stealing of Naboth's vineyard. (Although it was Jezebel who carried out Naboth's murder, the entire sordid episode started with Ahab's greed; see 1 Kings 21:1516.) Cain's inner anger and jealousy (Gen. 4:5) anchored in his mind before the outward act of murder (Gen. 4:8). Martha's mental sin of anxiety led to the visible sin of quarreling (Luke 10:3841).

The mind has always been more important to God than our outward actions. In the Old Testament, the emphasis was on the heart. At times, the Bible uses the word heart where we would use the word mind, as in the injunction, Apply your heart to discipline (Prov. 23:12). In the New Testament, Jesus used the word heart in the same sense: And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, 'Why are you thinking evil in your hearts?' (Matt. 9:4).

Most of us, most of the time, are satisfied if we satisfy the expectations of society and the requirements of God by our outer, visible actions. God looks on the inner; He said, as early as Samuel's day, that man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart (1 Sam. 16:7). In the more restricted emphasis of the New Testament, we can say the Lord looks at the mind.

Have you ever evaluated the condition of your mind? Below is an inventory of two opposing sets of mental states. This evaluation is only for your information. Do it in absolute privacy, with no one but the Lord and you knowing your performance at this stage. You will not score the exercise. Its sole purpose is to help you know what your mind is like at present.

As you prayerfully study each item, place a mental mark on the line in the center where you think you would be today. If you believe you would incline toward the left most of the time, determine how far to the left you would be. If you incline toward the right, note where on the line you are. You may find yourself on the left on some items and to the right on others, or even in the middle.

Evaluation of Your Current Mental State