It should not be a surprise that there is simply no one that has a pure mind naturally. We are told that “the heart (mind) is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). The prophet Isaiah also indicates that “the whole head is sick and the heart faint” (Isaiah 1:5). The good news, however, is that God wants to heal the “sick” mind. The Word of God exhorts us to “let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). And at this time when there’s so much vying for our attention, amid the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, aid the ensuing battle for our minds in this corrupt age, the exhortation to possess the mind of Christ is truly important.
If you have been connected to MindCare for some time, you would have heard the acronym THIS MIND. However, this article is meant to explore what it means when Jesus says, “Let this be done” whether it is a command or an exhortation. E.J. Waggoner and A.T. Jones indicate that it is not for us to try too hard to have the mind of Christ, but to immediately stand in agreement and continually respond, “Amen, even so, let it be done, Lord Jesus” (Living by Faith, p. 97). The same power that spoke things into being as powerful as the lights in the firmament of heaven to divide the day from the night, saying, “Let them be for lights” (Genesis 1: 14,15), is the same power that speaks to us to recreate us.
In reading the book, Living by Faith, I also found out that when Jesus asks us to give up something that is to our detriment, He usually presents a solution in proximity to the thing that needs to be eradicated from our lives. Jesus always presents a better choice to our sinful one in the scriptures. I wanted to test what the authors said regarding the problem and solution existing closely in the Word, and I found the results to be amazing.
Who has never had anger or bitterness at some point in their lives? We know that negative emotions are not of Christ, for He says, “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor and evil speaking, be put away from you” (Ephesians 4:31). Sure enough, the very next verse holds the behavior that is acceptable to God — “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32). And how can these exhortations or commands be carried out in our lives? “It is by the word of God that these things are done . . . [It] sets before us these desirable attainments of thought and speech, [and] is the agency by which they are accomplished” (p. 96). So, those lights in the firmament, the sun and moon, were created because of the words, “Let there be”. The thing created was in the word, not only for the sun and moon, but for the creation of heaven and earth as delineated in Genesis One.
Isn’t it a blessing that we can cooperate with God and allow Him to work out His will in our lives.
Whether we read, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly with all wisdom” (Col. 3:16), or “Let brotherly love continue” (Heb. 13:1), with humility of heart, we can always respond, “Amen, even so, let it be done, Lord Jesus” placing our faith in God’s power.
Jesus, with all the power He possessed, had a humble mind. Philippians 2:7, 8 say, “[He] made himself of no reputation and took upon himself the form of a servant . . . and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” O for a willingness to submit ourselves to Jesus so that He can transform our minds, our characters, as we exercise faith in His Word and trust in His cleansing blood. “This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4) as we look forward to new beginnings.
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