Book Four Chapter Two

TWO

Our New Mind

God’s spirit, God’s very mind, has been placed inside of us. God does not entrust such a treasure to us lightly. He has, in fact, entrusted Himself to our keeping. How will you treat such an endowment? Will the hungry speak ill of free food? Will the thirsty scorn a cool drink? Yes, one might – if worldly ignorance is a caul so burdensome that one never sees a thing for what it truly is. In the previous segment, Ananias blasphemed the Holy Ghost with a lie. We should now better understand the nature of blasphemy.

In case we do not, see the extended definition of blasphemy in Mark 3:28-30, “Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.”

God has placed in us something truly wonderful; how dare we call it base?

God is in my head, and I’m thrilled. Now I can begin to know the works of God. I can begin to piece together just how the spirit affects the flesh.

‘Mind over matter’ seems somewhat a musty phrase; and yet – see Romans 8:27, “He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”

He knows it because it is His own. Just think, every human that either performed or witnessed a miracle; that is: those who were in some connection to the spirit, had a heart-searching, mind knowing God in their heads. Every person that ever prayed the best they could, and afterward rested in hope, was helped along by intercessions according to the will of God. Every individual that was turned down a wrong road, or turned up a right road; every human being that fell or stood back up, that wandered into the arms of friends or into the nests of enemies: every one of them was affected by the mind. Wars have been won by manipulations upon a single mind. A Godless mind will lead an individual to great pains; a ‘God-mind’ will lead an individual through great pains. Similarly, it must be said that one’s choices and willful actions can also affect the mind. A simple misinterpretation can lead to a domino cascade of bad decisions.

Be warned by Malachi 2:16, “Therefore take heed to your spirit (mind), that ye deal not treacherously.”

Our identities are tied into a mental focus. The corporeal brain interacts with and reacts to the physical condition and the affectations of most immediate consequence. Naturally, the natural man pays attention to the natural world. That is his primary focus. A spiritual focus, on the other hand, will place the corporeal impulse on a back burner. The following reference puts me in mind of the fall of Adam and Eve.

See Romans 8:13, “If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.”

This admonition is somewhat similar to the one given Adam in the garden: ‘if you eat the forbidden fruit, you will die’. Adam and Eve were of two contrasting mindsets. Whereas their focus had formerly gone in another direction, they came to a turning point: a point where they turned away from the previous mental focus, a point where they followed an impulse.

As contrasting mindsets go, identity can be known by its identifying markers. The identification process can be summed up in an equation where both sides are equal. The logic involved can be simple and straightforward: ‘B’ is ‘B’ because it falls between ‘A’ and ‘C’. We use this type of logic as second nature; without really ever giving it a thought: ‘up’ is ‘up’ because it is not ‘down’; ‘high’ or ‘right’ or ‘spiritual’ are what they are because they are not ‘low’ or ‘wrong’ or ‘worldly’.

See John 3:31-34, “He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: He that cometh from heaven is above all. And what He hath seen and heard, that He testifieth; and no man receiveth His testimony. He that hath received His testimony (the sons of men) hath set to his seal that God is true. For He(/he) whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit (His mind) by measure unto Him(/him).”

Heaven is a roof that is over the whole house. In a house, there may be a couch in the living room, and a stove in the kitchen. The roof covers both; both are thus made equal. In a house, the attic is above the second floor, and the basement is below the first floor. There are levels, yet the roof covers all equally. The roof is above all in the sense that all parts of the house are connected and affected by it. The focus here is shifting from that which holds the house up to that which holds the house together. God knows the mind of the spirit because it is His own. And God is a spirit – yet, the Holy Spirit of God is referenced as if it is a separate and distinct quality. It is referenced as if the changes within it affect God to the extent that He takes on a different mindset, or focus; even a different personality.

See God recognizing His changed nature in Isaiah 63:10 & 11, “But they rebelled, and vexed His Holy Spirit: therefore He was turned to be their enemy, and He fought against them. Then He remembered the days of old, Moses, and His people, saying, Where is He that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of His flock? where is He that put His Holy Spirit within him (Moses)?”

God is a spirit, said His only begotten. So, why do we see early writers writing “grieve not the Holy Spirit of God” instead of “grieve not God”? This style of writing seems to separate a spiritual God from His spirit. A conundrum – unless you recall that all along, I have suggested that the word ‘spirit’ is interchangeable with the word ‘mind’. If you were to grieve me, you would, in fact, be making yourself an annoyance to my mind. My mind would recognize the offense; my mind would convince my identity to enact a response to the affront. If you hoped to borrow from me, and then annoyed me, your hope would stand on shifting sands because your action changed more than our relationship: it changed me. Formerly a friend, presently an enemy: the surety of the loan has now evaporated.

See Ephesians 4:30, “Grieve not the Holy Spirit (the Holy Mind) of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”

We move from valleys of verity to coastlands of confusion. Early writers placed ‘spirit’ as commonly attributable to human nature. They also used the word for God. They wrote of invisibilities, no wonder they had difficulty remaining zeroed in. One would say, it’s a chair in the study; another would say, it’s a bed in the master bedroom. I say it is the whole house. The early writers wrote of the Holy Ghost from myriad points of view, all colored by highly localized ideologies. We are not engaged in wool-gathering, but we are still intent on gathering sheep. We will round up the individualities, or they will flock together. Our new mind is prepared for spiritual discernment. God is in our heads; we know that He will show us what He wants us to see.