A Mind Set on the Spirit

Introduction

There exists in us a war of identities. How we answer the question “who am I” has significant, even eternal, consequences.

True faith has a great effect on self-identity, because what we are believing in is not simply something that has happened outside of us in the message of the Gospel, but believing that this Gospel changes me in some way. It is forged by a mind that holds onto a spiritual identity in Christ and says, “this is who I am, this is where I stand.” The more faith we have, the more our lives align to what we have come to believe to be true: that Christ died for my sins and will raise me incorruptible in glory.

To Be Set on the Flesh

Let us begin by speaking of what it means to have a mind set on the flesh. What does this mean?

‘Flesh’ is a confusing term because it can mean so many things. It can refer to this human body, which it does not here. It can refer to human ambition and achievement, or it can refer to human corruption. Those last two are both true here, but mainly in mind is human corruption. The flesh is an idea paralleled with the law of sin, the mortal body living in sin and doomed to die.

What is clear in the text is that there are two things happening symultaniously when someone is of the flesh. They set their mind on it, and they live according to the flesh.

They live according to the flesh. That is, their actions and lifestyle are in congruity with the corruption of the flesh. You do not expect to see rotting flesh on a living person. You do not expect to see whole flesh on a person long dead. The decay is evident in the way these people live. The actions of rot and sin show the deadness within them. They do actions that are a symptom of the disease of the law of sin. The corruption within shows the corruption without. This is why no Christian can live in unrepentant sin. How can we say someone is alive when the flesh is rotting off their corpse? How can we say someone is alive in Christ when they show all the signs of being spiritually dead and enslaved to sin?

Their minds are set on the flesh. This is a separate event but always accompanies and even produces the carnal living. A mind set on the flesh is a broad way of speaking of the naturally sinful and worldly inclinations of the human heart. This is the mind we are all born with, being set on the inclination to be our own Lord and Master and to use creation and God’s grace as a way to sinfully pursue and glorify ourselves rather than live for the glory of God. We are born under the law and a slave of sin, and in this mindset we work sin for the wages of death. That is this mind that is set on the flesh.

Setting the mind on the flesh can often look rather innocent. Pride looks like self-confidence, our own kingdom is merged with God’s Kingdom, our goals become idols, our shame becomes our glory, in our weakness we boast of our strength, we want to live for our own ends rather than submitting to God. We have another master in this fallen state, that master is sin, it is rebellion of God and it works up a nasty wage of death and wrath.

What does this mind set on the flesh look like?

It is hostile to God and cannot submit to God’s instructions. It is naturally restless before God, it cannot but wriggle and squirm against God’s commandments. It wants to be free from what it perceives, whether consciously or unconsciously, as the harshness of God. It wants to be its own boss, and it comes into conflict with God specifically because it does not submit to God’s law. God’s law exists to be submitted to, since it is given with the very breath of all authority in heaven and on earth. The carnal mind would be fine coexisting with God, but not existing subject to God. They don’t want that accountability because they do not trust this God to love them.

It cannot. This mind is so closed off to the scenario of being under God’s authority that it is unable to do so, even if that mind were to seek and agree the law of God as we saw in Romans 7. Total depravity leaves us with no recourse to even a sincere desire to know God apart from his saving grace.

Vs 8. They cannot please God because they cannot sufficiently do what God commands without disobeying. This mind cannot submit to God’s law because it is set on the opposite of what the law demands. It therefore, though it may attempt to please God by keeping his law, is intrinsically linked walking in the flesh which denies the laws authority. Something has to budge. Either you stop sinning, which is impossible for someone whose mind is set on the flesh, or God stops being God, which is of course not going to happen.

To Be Set on the Spirit

“You” Paul says, “however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit.” There is a great distinction made between “you” and those who are in the flesh. Let us now more deeply explore that great contrast.

They walk not according to the flesh. There is a sharp distinction between them and the world. This is not a spectrum; they do not walk in the same way that someone in the flesh walks. Their walk is distinctly in the Spirit. Matthew 7:18

Matthew 7:18 ESV

A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.

It is in the Spirit’s power. It is not the abilities or efforts of their own will that causes them to walk in the way of the Spirit, but rather it is the power of another to whom they have surrendered themselves: to the Spirit.

It is in the Spirit’s authority. They submit to the will of God through the Spirit of Christ that dwells in them. The Spirit commands them, and since they no longer live under the authority of the law of sin, this is the path left for them, and they are eager to walk it.

It is in the Spirit of Christ. They have a spiritual unity with Christ in his death and resurrection, and so that spiritual unity continues in their lifestyle. They are called to be images of the incarnate Christ, and since it is the Spirit of Christ that indwells them, they respond to that direction and end up conforming themselves more and more into that glorious image.

They set their minds on the things of the Spirit. Just as fleshly actions come from a heart and mind that is set on those things, a heart and mind set on the Spirit brings about a lifestyle that is spiritual and holy.

“Set on”. This verb speaks of a direct concentration on and attitude towards something. To have a mind set on the Spirit means intentional use of mental faculties to the end of thinking as someone who is in the will of God. It represents an attitude of acceptance and submission to the Spirit’s work. He brings the Gospel to us, and the mind set on the Spirit, prepared by God’s special graces, accepts the Gospel and thrives in it. This mind reflects on the work of Christ. This mind also considers itself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ, meaning it takes what it knows about the Gospel and applies it to them. It sees itself in the story of salvation. It views life from the perspective of someone who is filled with the Holy Spirit of Christ.

Life and peace. While setting the mind on the flesh brings about death, because it brings about sin, the way of the Spirit leads to life and peace.

Life, the eternal life, the living water, the tree of life, all this language refers to the state of being in a right state with God. Death is simply a sign of being separate from God, but life is the natural outcome of being close with God.

Peace walks hand in hand with life, and is the state in which children of God are at with God. There is no hostility, no corruption, no distrust in that relationship. There is perfect peace and life together for those who walk according to the Spirit.

In short, those who walk in this Spirit walk through life from the perspective of one indwelt by the Spirit and they act and react in life confirming that they indeed believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Big “If”

Verses 9-11 give us a call to examine ourselves. In verse 9 we are told that we are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.

The implication here is that one cannot walk in the Spirit if they are not first indwelt with the Holy Spirit. It is not enough that someone imagine they are in the Spirit, they themselves must first be filled with the Spirit. In fact, anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

Who is it that has the Spirit dwelling in them? If this is a prerequisite to someone bring in the Spirit, how can we know we are indwelt by this Spirit of Christ?

Faith. They simply and humbly believe that Christ died for them. They look at the Gospel and genuinely, humbly, and permanently submit themselves to its message.

Repentance. This is part of faith. They change their minds from the way of the flesh in which they were to Christ and the way in which Christ walked.

Perseverance. This faith is not simply a flash for a moment, but a lasting state of the mind.

Someone whose mind is set on the Spirit has the Spirit dwelling in them. The mind under sin does not seek the Spirit. So the question we are to ask is, is my mind set on the Spirit?

But if Christ, that is the presence of Christ through the Holy Spirit, dwells in you, that means you belong to him. If your mind and life is set on the Spirit, you have every reason to believe you belong to Christ. There is still sin, shortcomings, imperfections, and struggles, but with a mind set on the Spirit and on Christ’s person and work, you can know that Christ dwells in you.

Although sin bright death to the body, and although we will all share in a bodily death if the Lord tarries, life will be brought to our mortal bodies in the resurrection. While death remains in this stage of our body’s existence, the Spirit of Life has raised our spirits to life. And if we have been raised to life spiritually, we can certainly expect to have our bodies raised since we are filled with the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead.

In short, if we are indeed in the Spirit, than we have a guarantee of full release from sin and its affects, namely death.

Conclusion

Is the Spirit of Christ in you? Have you, and do you, set your mind on what Christ has done by faith, embrace it, and now view it as the reality of your life?

A mind that is Spiritual produces a life that is spiritual, while a mind that is carnal produces a life that is filled with the cares of this world and indulges sinful desires. The fruit of our lives is the tell-tale sign of our inward pursuits and beliefs.

Come again to the faith you had at first sight of Christ and look at him again. Look at the bloody cross, look at the empty tomb, look at your cancelled record of sin, look at the righteousness that covers you before the Throne of God, look at the Spirit that has indwelt you, and hold onto that with all your mind. View these things as the definition of who you are.

If we indeed prove to be in the Spirit by faith in the finished work of Christ, then you have much to hope in and look forward to. Romans 8:11

Romans 8:11 ESV

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Set your sights on Christ, consider yourself dead to all that is of the flesh and alive to the Spirit of Christ, and seek to align your entire life to that conviction. That is what true saving faith is.