THE MIND OF CHRIST He Prayed for the Ultimate Cause Jesus prayed for the ultimate cause of all unity, all works, all growth, and all preparation for glory. His prayer was for our participation in the Godhead--partaking of the Divine nature (2 Pet 1:4)! Observe, He was not praying for the Apostles, but for those who would believe on Him through their word. That includes you! "That they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be IN US . . . And the glory which Thou hast given Me I have given to them; that they may be one, just as We are one; I IN THEM, and Thou in Me, that they may be perfected in unity." Thus Jesus prayed that we might become one with Himself and the Father. Paul called it being "joined to the Lord" (1 Cor 6:17). John referred to it as having fellowship with the Father and with the Son (1 John 1:3). -- Tomorrow:
"For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no man. For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE SHOULD INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ" (1 Cor 2:11-16, NASB).
Devotion 25 of 28
How powerfully and majestically the spirit of our Savior shines while He walked through the valley of the shadow of death! Although that night His sweat fell thundering to the ground like great drops of blood, and although strong crying and tears erupted from His soul and lips, yet He found time to pray for His weakening disciples and those who would ultimately believe on Him through their word.
This is one of the most abused passages in Christendom. Myriad suppose that Jesus was praying for the organic unity of His people, i.e., that they would work together in harmony and love. Of course, that is not to be despised, and it is surely the will of God. Believers are admonished to "endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Eh 4:3). One cannot walk with Jesus and avoid such marvelous unity. However, that is not the matter about which Jesus prayed.
This is the place where "the mind of Christ" is appropriated. For the Apostles, that involved receiving the revelation of the things "prepared for them that love" God. However, they did not conduct themselves as mere robots in receiving and communicating these things. They personally apprehended them, perceiving them with their hearts. Their faith was effective in taking hold of these marvelous realities. Peter informs us that we have obtained a faith just like theirs--a faith that apprehends what God has revealed of the things prepared for those who love Him: "to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ" (2 Pet 1:1, NASB).
The "mind of Christ" is required to receive the revelation AND to discern it. It is a serious error to suppose that the "natural mind" can comprehend the message after it had been given. In fact, Paul affirms that the message--the revealed message--is foolishness to the "natural mind." To argue the point is to waste the time of believers and clutter their minds with meaningless jargon. The Lord has already spoken on this subject, and there simply is no room for any word to the contrary. The Apostolic procedure, for those who demand that there be one, is straightforward. After the things God revealed had been plainly declared, and even written, the Apostle prayed for his hearers and readers--the ones who had believed his message and been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. "making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know . . . " (Eph 1:17-18). That is a blessing you cannot afford to miss!
PRAYER POINT: Father, in Jesus' name, I thank You for the spirit and the message of the Scriptures, as well as the faith that takes hold of both.