Every BODY has a mind (brain). The human body has an organ within the head called a brain, and that brain receives its input solely from the five sensory faculties of touch, taste, smell, hearing and sight. Without any one of those sensory faculties the human brain (mind) is limited in that area of function. The human mind is limited solely to the natural world and cannot perceive anything beyond the natural, carnal realm. People who live their life in the carnal (sensual) realm abide in the realm of death. The most serious aspect of life in the natural, carnal, sensual realm is that it is a life devoid of spiritual understanding. Let’s look at a few scriptures which speak concerning these things.
Rom 8:5-8 “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.”
Rom 8:5-6 (from the Good News Bible) “Those who live as their human nature tells them to, have their minds controlled by what human nature wants. Those who live as the Spirit tells them to, have their minds controlled by what the Spirit wants. 6 To be controlled by human nature results in death; to be controlled by the Spirit results in life and peace.”
People living “after the flesh” are living in the realm of the carnal mind which is death and not only are they living after a mind which is enmity against God their mind is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So they that are after the flesh man mind CANNOT please God.
1st Cor. 2:14 “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
Everyone is aware that there is a “natural” body for they live in one, however, there are those who are not aware that there is a “spiritual” body. And where do you suppose that “spiritual” body resides?
1Co 15:44 “It (the body) is sown a natural body; it (the body) is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
Let us return for a moment to the heading of this writing which is; Every BODY has a mind. In other words, the natural body has a mind which functions solely after its five carnal senses. The natural body mind is limited to the realm of natural things and is not capable of receiving the things of the Spirit of God, for the natural man mind considers the things of God to be foolishness. We see that natural man mind operating in the world around us every day. As surely as the natural body has a mind, even so the spiritual body has a mind. But these minds are not compatible, for they are antagonistic one to the other. The natural body mind of the outer man wars against the spiritual body mind of the inner man. Now we come to a very important aspect of this message. How many people are consciously aware of the fact that the “spiritual body” resides within the “natural body?”
In many of our writings over the years we have placed a lot of emphasis on the fact that every human being is comprised of three realms, which are; spirit, soul and body. Many teachings have been presented on this subject, yet there are people (namely, Christians) who have yet to fathom the depth of this truth concerning their being.
The scriptures abound with the teaching concerning the “old man” and the “new man.” (Eph. 4:22; Col. 3:9).
Rom 6:6 “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.”
2Co 5:16 “Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more (‘after the flesh..’ emphasis mine). 17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
What was it that “passed away?” Was it not our “old man?” How can all things now become new? Because our old man is dead, and now we have come alive in the “new man” in Christ Jesus! (Eph. 2:15; 4:24; Col. 3:10). This “new man” is also known in scripture as the “inner man.”
Eph 3:16-19 “That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19 And to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.”
Hopefully our readers are able to receive the words which I am about to write. There resides within EVERY PERSON – who now lives on this planet earth, including those who have passed away in death and those who are yet to be born – a human spirit without which their physical body could not live. Hear the words of the apostle James.
Jas 2:26 “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
We have written extensively on the subject of where the human spirit came from, and how that human spirit became unresponsive to God, and how the human spirit within every human being shall be awakened (regenerated) by the Spirit of God. There are teeming multitudes of people presently walking on the face of the earth whose spirit within is awaiting the moment when God shall send forth His Word to awaken that sleeping spirit within the natural man body.
Just WHO is the “inner man, or new man” that lives within us? Of course, NOW I am writing to all those who are believers in Jesus Christ. When I was a little boy growing up in the Assemblies of God church we used to sing a little kid’s song which went something like this. “Come into my heart, come into my heart, come into my heart Lord Jesus. Come in today, come in to stay, come into my heart Lord Jesus.” It was an invitation for the Lord Jesus Christ to come into our heart as our Saviour and Lord. And you know what? That is exactly what He will do every time a person is drawn to Him by the Spirit of God and receives Him into their heart. (Romans 10:8-10; John 1:12; John 3:16).
In Ephesians 3:16-19 we see that the “inner man” in the Christ of God! It is the Spirit of Jesus Christ(The Anointed One). That “inner Man” which is the Spirit of Jesus Christ has a mind, and His Mind is called in scripture, “the mind of Christ.” (1st Cor. 2:16). The “mind of the Spirit” (Rom. 8:27). This is the “spiritual mind” which Paul writes about in his letter to the saints at Rome. (Rom. 8:6).
Rom 8:5-15 “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwells in you. 12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify (put to death) the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption (son placing), whereby we cry, Abba, Father.”
There is only ONE MIND which operates in the natural man body and it is the carnal (sensual) mind which is governed by the five senses. That mind cannot go any further than that. That mind is intelligent in the natural realm, but is totally devoid of spiritual perception. There is only ONE MIND which operates in the spiritual man body and that is the mind of the Spirit of God. It is the Mind of Christ; it is the Mind which operated in Jesus. And it is the only Mind that will operate in us. Although we are many different people we all become UNITED and FUSED into ONE BODY in Christ! The apostle Paul gave a wonderful illustration of this truth in 1st Corinthians chapter 12:12-14.
12 “For as the body (the natural body) is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. 14 For the body is not one member, but many.”
Among the many beautiful and wonderful things which happens when we “ALL” are baptized (immersed) into the ONE BODY OF Christ, we are loosed away from our racial identity after the natural world, and even our gender is swallowed up into His gender completeness. There are those in Christendom who try to perceive the Body of Christ being racial, in other words, being a body which is made up of different races. Do you remember where those different races stem from? Do you remember that at the Tower of Babel, it was God who confounded their languages and caused them to settle in their appointed places upon the earth? Paul spoke concerning this in the Book of Acts.
Act 17:23-28 “For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. 24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwells not in temples made with hands; 25 Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he gives to all life, and breath, and all things; 26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; 27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: 28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.”
The nations of the earth are exactly where they are by divine appointment. The languages which people speak all around the world were given to them by the hand of God. And you and I my precious friend are exactly where we are by God’s choice, not ours. Whether anyone cares to believe it or not matters little, but we are, one and all strategically placed upon this earth by the hand of God. All of which is the subject matter for another message.
Yes, every BODY has a mind. And the mind which we as born again believers in Christ Jesus should be comfortable to operate in is the Mind of the Spirit, for it is the only Mind in the Body of Christ. A final thought as we close this writing. From what we have gathered from the scriptures and by the Spirit we know that there is but ONE true identity for us who have been baptized into the Body of Christ, and that is, we are all ONE IN HIM our Lord Jesus Christ and our Father God. We are brought to the place of losing all of our external identities whether that be racial or gender, for we are all now a whole new creation IN Christ Jesus. The old heavens and earth we once knew so well is passed away and we are now living in the new heavens and earth in Christ.
For more of this and other messages you may write to the address below. As always all our material and literature is free of charge as the Lord supplies. Our desire is to bless all creation with the GOOD NEWS of the love and grace of God our Father through Jesus Christ.
Dale & Barbara Luttrell
PO Box 3074
Roswell, NM 88202
