Having the Mind of Christ, Pt. 2 (04/17/2005)

1 Corinthians 2:2 and the Simplicity of Christ Crucified

Turn with me to 1st Corinthians chapter 2 verse 2. We'll review just a little bit This morning as we continue our thoughts on having the mind of Christ 1st Corinthians chapter 2 verse 2 if you remember.

We had this idea of the fact that Paul says we are the perfect in Christ. So watch for that as we read through this passage for I determine not to know anything among you. Except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

You'll notice with this entire passage that it Actually is a strong defense against every cult group that was ever invented. Because in order to invent a cult group you cannot stay with the simplicity that's in Jesus Christ.

You have to go out into other areas you have to seek for mysterious things in the other world that the Bible doesn't speak of and Try to act like you know about those things and they grow into all manner of perversions.

But the Apostle Paul said I don't speak that way. He said I won't speak anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and fear and much trembling. So you don't see the idea of a prideful man standing up in front of the people.

Acting like he knows everything about the world and everything about how everything works. He just preaches the Word of God. He sticks with the scriptures. He says my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom.

But in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. Why? So that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men. But in the power of God that implies that the opposite is also true if preaching is all about man's wisdom and Human psychology and the things like that then the power will not be of God.

It will be of man. So preaching needs to be according to the Word of God in the simplicity of God's Gospel verse 6 how be it we speak wisdom among them that are perfect. That's the Christians. Why does it call us perfect?

Well, we'll see that this morning yet. Not the wisdom of this world nor of the princes of this world that come to naught. Now we'll come back to verse 7 in a moment. But I'd like for you to turn to Colossians chapter 2 in verse 9 the main message this morning will come from this passage which is sort of a parentheses in this passage in 1st Corinthians that deal specifically with what does it mean when it says them that are perfect and What does this have to do with having the mind of Christ?

The Fullness of the Godhead and Completeness in Christ

Well, it is having the mind of Christ. It makes us perfect in the sense that this is speaking of now. This does not speak of sinless perfection, by the way. You won't reach that and I won't reach that until we see Jesus face to face and We have a new glorified body and our flesh will no longer be Negative pulling against everything God wants to do and everything we want to do.

It will be right. So it's not speaking of sinless perfection. But it is saying that we are perfect in Christ. And let's see if we can't get some light on that in second, I'm sorry in Colossians chapter 2 verse 9 We're going to see the word complete and it's the same Greek word is the word perfect.

So it means the same thing. It's a synonym. Well in English, they are synonyms in Greek. It's actually the same word and it'll give us some insight into why it is that God can say we are complete in him.

But before we read this, let me just say this, you know, what else it says to us it says we don't need to add anything To the simplicity of the gospel. We don't need to add a bunch of religious stuff to it.

We don't need to add a lot of man-made rules and standards and regulations and hoops to jump through. Like the Roman Catholics do like the Mormons do like the Jehovah's Witnesses do. Like so many groups do like we Baptist even have some and and the Lord over time, hopefully Unveils our eyes where we can see them and eliminate them.

But we don't have to have those extra things. So therefore what we have is not really a religion in the sense that the world thinks of religion at all. It's a relationship With the Lord Jesus and in that relationship, we are perfect.

We're complete. We don't need any other stuff to go with it. Does that make sense that kind of sums the whole thing up? But let's look at Colossians 2 9. We'll see some interesting reasons why we are complete and they'll just they're just stand right out in this passage.

Colossians 2 9 says for in him dwelleth all of the fullness of the Godhead bodily. So the one with whom we have to do the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says that he is all of the fullness of God in a body that's who Jesus was when he walked on this earth and that's who he is now as he sits at the right hand of The throne of the Father in the heavenlies.

He is all of the fullness of God in a body. He Jesus was not just the eternal Son of God. Nor was he just the Holy Spirit in fullness. But the Father also dwelt in him. He was all of the fullness of God in a man he was the God man and That's who we have to do with now verse 10 says we are complete in him.

Well part of the reason for that is because of who he is. He is all of the fullness of the Godhead in a body in a human body and Therefore if we are in Christ if we are one with him, we are complete. So we are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power.

The Crucified Old Man and the Risen New Man

Now verse 11 shows us. Really the first reason that we can say we are complete in Christ in whom also you are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands. In putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ so the first thing that we gain when we are in Christ is That there is the the fact that the flesh Has no right to have lordship over us anymore.

Now that's what it says when it says we've been circumcised with the circumcision made without hands. Circumcision in the Old Testament was a type just like everything in the Old Testament is a type a symbol of the spiritual side of it.

And so the spiritual side of that is that when we are born again? God places us into Jesus Christ as we are one with him and Since God is a God who is in the forever present now He is the present tense all the time.

It is just as easy for God to see us in Christ the day Jesus was on the cross as it is to see us in Christ now or to see us in Christ later when we're in heaven. Glorified we are in Christ. Eternally at that point you are baptized or immersed into all that Christ is and you're in him.

And so therefore you were in him the day. He was crucified since that's true. Your sins were in his body while he was on the tree. So he died not just for your sins, but he died with your sins. Does that make sense your sins were there that day and When he died he paid the price.

But also what it shows is that when he died we died in him. Now if we die if you picture yourselves this morning as a corpse laying on the floor. What could we pass past your corpse to. Tempt you. Could we tempt you with anything?

No, so your flesh would have absolutely no rule over you anymore. Would it and so this passage says that spiritually you should count it to be true. That your old man the body of flesh in the negative sense of that that part of you that wants to do wrong.

That part of you that has hungers and urges to do things that God says not to do. Whether it's to eat too much or whatever smoke a cigarette, whatever we can name them, you know. We want to name it. We know what they are.

Don't we? Those urges. That body that part of you that has those is in fact Spiritually considered to be dead by God now and you are told to reckon that to be true in your own life. So the truth is since we were in Christ when he was crucified our old man was crucified with him.

Therefore the flesh in the negative sense has no more now underlying this word in your mind no more, right? To have lordship or rulership over you. I'm not saying it won't have rulership or lordship from time to time it does.

But it has no more right to. Therefore if it has no more right to that means you can tell it. No any time you want to. Now I'm speaking to you who are saved today. The real you is the spiritual man the new man or woman.

That you can tell the old man no any time you choose to. That's why when we come before Jesus at the judgment seat of Christ, we will everyone Answer for what we did in this body of flesh whether it be good or evil.

Because we have the right to tell it. No every time we don't have to sin by the way now I said we will never reach a sinless state in this life. But the truth is you can go long periods of time without sinning and theoretically you could live the rest of your life without sin.

If you simply let your new man tell your old man. No every time. If you dwelt in the spirit rather than in the flesh, you would not sin and you could not sin. Your new man can't sin. The real you cannot sin.

Did you know that? The only part of you that can sin anymore is the flesh the old man. And so this tells us one of the great powers that we have one of the reasons we are complete in Christ. We don't need a bunch of rules.

Listen young people if you ever leave here and you go off to some other church in another city and you get under a preacher. That start to telling you what we have standards. We're not legalistic. But we have standards and they start giving you a list of rules that you have to keep like how you're gonna wear your hair.

What you're gonna wear what you can and can't listen to in the music world. What you can and can't go see in the movies and all that stuff. You just walk right out of that church and go find you another one because I'm gonna tell you that stuff doesn't work.

Anyway, you already know it doesn't work. You probably tried it. It does not work. We are not made complete by adding a bunch of man-made things to religion. We are complete in him and there were the first reason we're complete in him is because we were crucified.

When he was crucified therefore this body. Having been crucified the standing of it is that it's dead. Therefore it has no right to have any power of what you do at all. So anytime that it does have power, it's because you let it does that make sense?

You allowed it. You gave it the right when you really don't have the right to give it the right. So there's nothing right about us being in the flesh when it happens it happens, but it doesn't have to happen.

We have power over that. Let me tell you this whole idea of having the mind of Christ. Let me give you some application of that when you're tempted. It's always the flesh that's tempted the old man when you sense yourself being tempted.

You just pray and say Lord. Give me the mind of Jesus Christ. Give me his beautiful mind. Give me his blessed mind. Let me think as he would think in this exact situation that I'm in right now. What would he do?

How would he think give me that mind and that's temptation will flee from you? So the only time you ever sin is when you want to and You just choose not to pray that prayer and mean it. You choose not to say Lord.

Give me Christ mind. You would rather have the old man's mind. Therefore we will stand before Jesus someday and answer for that because we're responsible. Let me tell you what you're responsible for ladies and gentlemen.

It's not keep a whole bunch of rules. There are a lot of rules given in the Bible. In fact next Sunday, we're going to talk about some of the things the Bible says that the mind of Christ had. But I'm not going to teach those to use a set of things that you need to achieve or strive for.

That's not why they're given. The truth is That we are to have the mind of Christ and allow his spirit and our spirit to become one. And at that point you will not sin. You will not doesn't matter if you have a list in front of you or not.

You won't do that sin. And so we will be judged someday for our responsibility to choose what to keep a list of rules. No our responsibility to choose to say Lord. Give me the mind of Christ right now.

Please. I need it because my mind is corrupt. My old mind is not thinking, right? Give me the mind of Christ and let me live in the new man and you will go right through that temptation and Hopefully be wise enough to flee from it.

But you'll have the mind of Jesus Christ in that aspect. So the first point is the reason we are completing him as we have Power over the own our own flesh. It's not that we have the power. But Jesus who is in us is greater than anything in this world.

And if we ask for his mind, it will rule over the flesh. The whole goal is for us to rule over it rather than it ruling us. Does that make sense? Let's go to verse 12. The second reason that we're complete in him is found in this verse.

We are buried with him in Baptism wherein also you are risen. So if it's true that God Spiritually places us in Jesus Christ at our moment of salvation and then to God that spans all of time. It becomes eternal in a sense.

So that it becomes true that you were in him when he died so that your old man The flesh is crucified then it's also true that you were in him when he rose. From the grave you are risen with Christ. Buried with him in baptism wherein also you are risen with him Through the faith of the operation of God.

In other words the power of God which brought him out of the grave is the same Power that lives in you to help you live a live a resurrected life. Who has raised him from the dead? Let me ask you this if you had died.

Let's say your corpse was in the floor like we talked about a while ago. You just fell over your corpse is in the floor and then Three days later God raised you from the dead in your glorified body. Now how many sinful things can we pass before you and tempt you if you're in your glorified body?

None. But it's a greater power than the fact that the temptation will not affect you it's greater than that there is a life in this resurrected body a Positive in energy in it that goes beyond just not doing what we're not supposed to do.

It goes into being able to do everything we want to do for God and everything the Lord wants us to do. This is powerful listen. We are complete in him not only because the flesh the old man is crucified therefore We don't have to listen to it, but it's better than that.

It's more powerful than that it's because also the new man is now risen and Resurrected and it is as if you are already glorified at least spiritually you are. Everything except what I'm looking at what you're looking at is already glorified.

I Mean we're looking at the unglorified part unfortunately this morning but The inner man is already there. We that's the part of us that is in fact complete so if we dwell in that inner man We have power even in this world even in this life.

This is not stuff. We get later. This is stuff. We have now. So we are risen with him now. It's even better than that because if you if you look at verse 12 We're buried with him in baptism wherein also you are risen With him through the faith of the operation of God.

Who hath raised him from the dead and you being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh? Hath he quickened that means brought life to? Together with him. Now we're not only risen or quickened.

But we're quickened with him. Now that means this if this is you and this is Jesus you're like this now. It's not just that he gave you a new nature, and you're out there on your own. What he did was he gave you his nature because he is now merged with you, and you're one that's Really excuse me.

What it means to have the mind of Christ? It doesn't mean to go out there and look at a list of things Jesus thought like how did he think and I want to? Try to think like that it doesn't mean that it means your mind and his mind your spirit and his spirit.

Become one and that's what the Bible calls being spirit-filled, and it's a choice that you make. Now he's in dwelt within us forever. You don't make that choice. It's a seal that's on your body. He won't leave you.

The Holy Spirit does not leave you. He's with you till the day of redemption. But you make a choice if you're living in the same house think of it as a man and a woman married living in the same House, but they're out of fellowship.

They just had an argument. That's different than if they're living in the same house, but they're in fellowship, and they're one. They still in the same house either way. So the indwelling of the Holy Spirit you can quench him and grieve him, but he doesn't leave the house so to speak.

But isn't it better to be right with him and to be in fellowship with him and to become one with him? Spiritually and that is when we're complete is when we're one with him. Spiritually we have power over the flesh.

It has no right of lordship over us anymore. Secondly we are risen, and we have an energetic positive living Self that can go out and do things for God in this world. And thirdly we're not just risen.

We're risen together with him. We're one With him and you being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh. Hath he quickened together with him having forgiven you all? Trespasses. So the fourth point is we're complete because we're forgiven.

Forgiven, Freed from Ordinances, and Freed from Principalities

Isn't it wonderful good news? Gospel good news to know that you're not forgiven on the basis of how you live today. I mean if you do right or you do wrong while you're sitting out here in the pew right now.

It's not the basis on whether you're forgiven. You're forgiven if you're his son. You're forgiven if you're in Christ. You're forgiven if you've been born again. You're standing is one of having been forgiven.

You can't get more complete than that. Half of the religious malarkey that's out there in these strange religions such as Catholicism are designed to make you think that they help you get forgiven. Have you ever heard of the confessional that the Catholics have?

You go in a little booth and tell the dirty-minded priest all the bad stuff you did now. He's thinking about it, and he can't get married. No wonder that the altar boys are in trouble. It's perverted.

It's a horrible perversion and they do that those things. Because they try to find things that you can do to get forgiven. There is no thing you can do to be forgiven other than to be born again. To receive him as your personal Lord and Savior and once you do you are in him and you're complete.

You don't have to go out looking for forgiveness anymore. You have Forgiveness on your worst day you have forgiveness. It's a position you stand in having been forgiven. That clears the conscience. We even when we do sin We can have a conscience that's at least clear enough to come before him and kneel and say Lord forgive me.

We don't have to listen to the voice of Satan who says well you can't go pray now. Look what you just did you're probably not even even saved. We don't have to listen to that all if you do hear that voice.

Just let your new man tell Satan hey get behind me because I'm forgiven. The Word of God says I'm forgiven. You're lying to me. So we're complete we got we have the whole package in Jesus Christ. Now he goes on and he says some interesting things beyond this in verse 14.

Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us. Which was contrary to us and took it out of the way nailing it to his cross. We have been freed from ordinances religious ordinances. Do you hear that not not very many people know that today ladies and gentlemen your friends probably don't know that.

I don't care where they go to church if they haven't studied this carefully. They don't understand these things. Even the best Baptist around the day most of them think well, you know, they're certain thing.

We better keep we better keep the Sabbath. You know, we better do this we better do that and you'll hear people say these things all the time. But the Bible says that all of that's been nailed to the cross.

And you say how does that make sense? You mean we don't have to obey God's ways. That's not what it's saying. It's saying that the law No longer has power over you. The handwriting of the ordinances was against us.

The Word of God says and when Jesus died on the cross, he nailed it to the cross that day so we no longer have The need to allow any cult group and young people if you're in your 20s or getting close to that.

You're the most vulnerable of anyone in the room when you go out from here, you can have a religious looking person, I would always watch out for religious looking people and Sounding people if you hear somebody on TV that talks like this and it just makes you feel so good.

Watch out for that. Jesus didn't talk like that. He was a rough man he was a Carpenter's son and his best buddies were fishermen. When you see someone talk like that. Usually those are Satan's servants.

Satan's ministers who the Bible says appear to be ministers of light. They appear that way but they are not and they will come to you and they'll tell you here's some things you need to do to be right with God and they're gonna give you the little list that makes you fit in with their little cult group and You're gonna think that if you don't do that, you're displeasing God.

And so you'll be afraid to not follow them and you get sucked into a cult. So don't let that happen. Tell these people look I'm already complete. I don't need your stuff. I'm already complete. I have Jesus.

I'm in Christ and he's in me. I'm complete. I don't need that stuff. I don't need the funny underwear that the Mormons hand out. You know about that. You really didn't. Yeah, they they all next time two Mormon elders come to your door.

Go ahead and let them in so you can ask them about the underwear. They're wearing. You don't you know, they add all these kind of things try to make you be forgiven and make you be righteous. You don't need that.

We're complete any kind of set of rules whether they pull it out of the Bible or wherever they get it from. That set of rules does not have dominion over you and we'll see why as we continue to read look at verse 15.

Having spoiled Principalities and powers he made a show of them openly. Triumphing over them in it if it's true that you've been freed from the ordinances. This verse says you're now freed from the principalities and powers.

That means Satan and his demons themselves. They have no right of lordship over us. Whatsoever the flesh has no right. Satan himself has no right of lordship over us. Because we are now in Christ. We belong to him.

He is our king. He is our Lord and he frees us from every lower Lord. Now at that point at the end of verse 16, I mean the end of verse 15. We have covered these points. We are complete because we have power over the flesh and the flesh has no right of lordship.

We are complete because we are now risen and we have a new nature and we're a new man and Third we are risen together, which means we are one with Christ the risenness that we have the quickenedness the life that we have is because we are one with Christ and Then fourth we stand forgiven and in fifth we are freed from the ordinances the law we are freed from it and Sixth we are freed from the principalities of Satan and his demons.

Now when we move into verse 16 and following down through 21, it gives us a couple it start starts to kind of Emphasize or even strengthen the arguments that we've already seen. It doesn't add new material, but it just strengthens the argument and you'll see this that verses 16 through 18 speak very strongly.

Against these cult groups and when I say cult group, I'm just using that. I mean any group that's legalistic. I mean you may not call the world may not call them a cult group. The Independent Baptist many of them are Legalistic the the Catholics are the largest group and and I like to call them a cult group.

But the world doesn't call them a cult group. But they're just like any other cult group because they add men's rules and act like they're not complete. So if they live like that way then obviously they're not.

So look at what it says let no man therefore judge you and meet or drink or in respect of a holiday or a new Moon or of the Sabbath the word days by the way is not found in the Greek. It ends with the word Sabbath in that sentence.

So if you have any group that comes to you and says oh listen. You've got to start worshiping on Saturday and keep the Sabbath because the Bible says so. There's a mark. They're trying to bring you down under these ordinances.

If you have a group that says well you have to go into the high temple if you're going to be complete and whole you have to become a priest and Get in the temple. That's the Mormons. Just tell them no.

I don't have to do that. I'm complete because the Bible says let no man judge me. I'm in Christ. Let no man judge me with what I eat. Well, you can't eat ham. Bible says you don't eat ham. Don't let any man bring you under that.

I Mean the Lord spread a table for Peter and said here kill and eat. Peter said oh, no I don't eat unclean and the Lord said don't call that which I have blessed unclean. So don't let people bring you under these things.

Drink respect of a holiday or the Sabbath all of those things it goes on and says these were a shadow of things to come. They're trying to bring us under the shadow when we're living in the dispensation of the real spiritual truths.

That the shadows predicted and taught about. So if someone wants to bring you and make you worship on Saturday Tell them look I have a Sabbath every day all the time because I'm in Jesus Christ and the word Sabbath means rest and I'm Resting at Christ.

I don't need to picture it. By having a Sabbath on Saturday. I have a continual Sabbath. I'm in Christ. I'm complete brother. You don't have to bring that to me. These were a shadow of things to come but the body is of what?

Christ. You're full and complete in Christ. Let no man beguile you of your reward and a voluntary humility and worshiping of angels. Do you know the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormons? Kind of think well not so much the Mormons.

But the Jehovah's Witnesses believe Jesus is an angelic being that's a very old heresy. Paul argued against it in the first chapter of Hebrews. So it's been around for 2 ,000 years. They just resurrected these thoughts but these groups that try to bring you into humility and Voluntary humility where you have to dress a certain way act a certain way eat certain foods all of that.

That's what this verse is talking about. So just stay away from it. The Bible says you're not brought under those that you are free from these things. They intrude into those things which they have not yet seen if you ever see a group talking about stuff out in the heavenlies.

That the Bible doesn't talk about. They're intruding into areas that God hasn't revealed to man yet. That's a sure mark of a cult group. They may even say it say they've written an extra book that gives them that information sure mark of a cult group.

Stay away from all of that all of the lost books of the Bible. They'll tell you. Well, you know what God and his sovereignty has preserved the exact Word of God He wants you to have and it's sitting on your lap this morning.

It's the process that he worked over almost 2 ,000 years of history and he promised in the Psalms. That he would preserve them to each generation. So any added book they go out and find now wouldn't be fair.

Because it meant 2 ,000 years of Christians didn't have that information. So all of these things that they add. This voluntary humility worshiping of angels looking into things that God doesn't want us to be looking into.

They're vainly puffed up in pride. That means with their fleshly mind because they act like they're smarter than we are. Did you know that the Gnostic? Heresy in the first second third century the very word itself means unknown Mysteries because they like to pride themselves in the fact that because of their mysterious religion.

Stuff they knew and learned in their little temple that you don't know so they know more than you do. That's what Gnosticism means now. That's very similar to the Mormons where they have secret meetings in the temple that only certain levels of them get to go in there and they talk about things that they say that.

If you go outside and tell other people these things may your intestines come out. So they they take you know Olds like that and it's just it's so amazing that 2 ,000 years ago. This was written and it describes these things perfectly.

I mean, there's even a verse in the Bible where it says call no man father. Like the Catholics do there's a verse that says there'll be a cult in the end times where they forbid to marry. Like the Catholics don't let their priests marry it just is it hits all of it.

So as long as we're in the word, we're complete. We don't need these things now verse 19 and Not holding the head you see that's Jesus. They don't hold the head because they're not complete and so they have all these rules and regulations.

And strange things that they do. But we have the head of the church, which is Jesus and if we hold him then we're complete. They don't hold the head from which all the body by joints and bands. Having nourishment ministered and knit together.

Increases with the increase of God you see you have everything you need if you're in a local church. You're in the body of Christ and you have the Word of God. You will grow and you will grow and you will increase according to God's will.

Verse 19 says in Verse 20 wherefore if you be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world now, that's talking about not only worldly things. It's talking about religious rudiments. Religious rudiments that different churches would put on you.

Says wherefore you are dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world. Why as though living in the world are you subject to ordinances touch not this taste not that handle not that. Pretty good question.

He asked. Now I'll tell you why it is that you're not ruled by the ordinances even of the Old Testament law. It's because you are seated in Christ in the heavenlies and that law was an earthly law given for an earthly people a Physical people it was all the picture and shadow the spiritual truths of where we are now where God has brought us now.

We're in Christ we were crucified with him. We were buried in him. We were risen with him. We are quickened and have life in him. And we are seated in the heavenlies with him and in him above everything that's down here on this earth so when it comes at you with both barrels and You're looking into fear that Satan would bring that the world.

Circumstances the world would bring our temptations that your own flesh would bring. Just remember your position. Remember where you are and who you are. You are in Christ. You are one with him. You can ask for his mind because you have his mind his mind is merged with your mind when you're filled with the Spirit.

And you're seated in the heavenlies above everything down here. Even the law. Even the law of the Old Testament you're above that because it's for man while they're on the earth. It's not for men when they're in heaven when you're in heaven.

You see Christ as he is and you live the law. You fulfill it in Christ. Well, we have that right here to fulfill that in Christ. So now we see why it says. That when Paul says how be it we speak wisdom among them that are perfect that's us the Christians.

We see why it says in Colossians 2 9 for in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily and you are complete in Him that's our standing. Now we have to apply it. We can't just walk out of here today and say, okay, everything's gonna be great.

Because what happens when that temptation comes we have to be ready and willing and able to say Lord. Give me the mind of Christ right now. Let me think about this situation as he would. Can you practice that look at me with your eyes and tell me whether you can or not?

Can you practice that? Can you think Lord? Give me the mind of Christ. I Have the mind of Christ. Let me dwell in the mind of Christ and That temptation will flee. Let's stand and have prayer together.

Father we thank you for your word and the power that is in it power to quicken us. You say that your words are spirit and yours and they are life. They give us the life force the energy that we have to be able to walk this walk that we read about today and studied today.

Lord, we thank you that in Christ. We are complete. We have everything from forgiveness to a crucified old man to a risen new man and Lord we have your pleasure upon us. Your smile upon us now because of your great love for us.