Friday Evening Devotionals

Tom Barnard

 

“The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come

from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him…

But we have the mind of Christ.”

(1 Corinthians 2:14-16 NIV)

 

“Give me a new, a perfect heart,

From doubt, and fear, and sorrow free;

The mind which was in Christ impart,

And let my spirit cleave to Thee.”

Charles Wesley

 

In his first letter to the Church at Corinth Paul spoke of two types of wisdom available to humans—the “wisdom of this age” (2:6) and “God’s secret wisdom” (2:7). The first begins at birth; the second comes through choice—our choice. All human beings are born with the natural ability to respond to life as they find it, but only those who surrender to the Spirit of God are given the gift to understand spiritual things. Paul said that this “secret wisdom” is revealed to us by God’s Spirit (2:10).

 

The natural wisdom people have—the “wisdom of this age”—works only within the span of human life—from birth to death. It functions in the same way that a football game is played—only within a time frame and on the “field of play.” The “natural man” sees nothing beyond this life. It’s over when it’s over.

 

On the other hand, those born of the Spirit have a sense of the eternal. They look forward to a place not built with hands but created by God for those who have faith in him. Paul said that this wisdom has been hidden (from those who do not know God) but that God destined it “for our glory before time began” (2:7).

 

Heavenly Father, I pray the prayer that Wesley prayed—that I might have “a new, a perfect heart—from doubt, and fear, and sorrow free.” I pray for discernment to understand the difference between the two minds—the mind of this world and the mind of the Spirit. And I ask for grace to seek the “mind of Christ” in everything I do. In his strong Name I pray. Amen.