The Renewing of the Mind

Biblical Foundation

“And Be renewed in the spirit of your mind” Ephesians 4:23

“And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him” Colossians 3:10

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind” Romans 12: 2

“…but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day” 2 Corinthians 4:16

The Christ follower is currently partaking of a renewing process. This process is continual from the time since we accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. In order to understand this process, there are two key words that must be understood. The first word is “the renewing”, and the second word is “the mind”.

Let’s define the first, “the renewing”:

To renew: According to Webster’s Dictionary, to renew is, (1) to make new again, to make young, fresh, or strong again: to bring back into good condition (2) to give new spiritual strength to (3) to cause to exist again; reestablish; revive

The term, renew, gives the indication of something that at one time was new, but has lost its original first condition. It is the making new again of what is old, worn, or exhausted. It is to bring back to an original or unimpaired condition.

In the Greek, the term renewing in Romans 12:2, is anakainosis, which means a renewing or a renovation which makes a person different than in the past. It is to renew qualitatively.

Let’s now look at the second word, “the mind”:

The mind: Again, according to Webster’s Dictionary, the mind is, (1) memory; recollection or remembrance, (2) what one thinks; opinion (3) that which thinks, perceives, feels, wills; a) the seat or subject of consciousness, b) the thinking or perceiving part of consciousness, intellect, or intelligence c) attention; notice d) all of an individual’s conscious unit: psyche (4) the intellect in its normal state; reason

The mind is the central identifier of a person’s life. It is the main hub, from which our thoughts and the decision process takes place. According to the Bible, “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7). A man’s thoughts are a sum total of his life.

Now the renewing of the mind is the process by which the person is transformed. In other words, we are called to think differently than we did prior to serving the Lord. I would like to pause for a second to touch on a word which correlates with “the mind”, and that is “the heart”. Romans 10:10 says, “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness”. The word “heart” here, in the Greek, is kardia, which the Scriptures attribute to it: thoughts, reasonings, understanding, will, judgment, designs, affections, love, hatred, fear, joy, sorrow, and anger. Therefore, the heart is used as a metonymy (a figure of speech in which the name of one thing is used in place of that of another) for the mind in general; the understanding; the will; the memory; the intention, affection, or desire; and the conscience.

In summary, your life should be reflecting continual change. It does not matter how much change, since this is a process that you must submit to individually, but certainly you should be reflecting some level of change since you accepted Christ into your life. This is our process of transformation, according to the Apostle Paul. To be transformed is “to change into another form”, in the Greek, metaorphoo.

We must continue to push forward to see that continual change by submitting our lives in obedience to what God is doing in us. We must defeat the old person in us which battles to take control of areas in our lives which we have already submitted. We must transform our thinking to live a life of faith of not only of the God we serve, but also a faith in the God we serve. That is to say a faith in all that He has established in His Word with regards to the life we should be living and the promises He has established for us.

As we read the Word of God, our minds enter into that place where change happens. Our thoughts begin to align themselves with the Scriptures in order to cause in us a Biblical reaction to circumstances. Our minds are transformed and old thoughts and habits are replaced by new thoughts and principles.

Only by renewing our minds can we put off the old man in us and his way of thinking, and put on the new man who continually grows into having the mind of Christ.