Aug 31, 2009

by Dr. Paul L Cox

"Prayer to Replace Double Mindedness with the Mind of Christ"

While I was in Argentina, I had the privilege of meeting Jim Goll. As Donna and I sat in a van with him after a meeting with Ed Silvoso, he began prophesying over us. He said that the Lord would take us to different places in the world and we would receive the anointing that was on specific land areas. Since that prophetic word, I have been aware that as I have traveled to certain land areas, specific revelation has come. Could it be that specific revelation would have only come by being on "that" land? There must be something, then, about the land of Minnesota.

Intellectualism and Greek Philosophy

Rochester, Minnesota is a major center of intellectualism in the United States and the home of the Mayo Medical Clinic. It was while I was on the land in Minnesota that I received the revelation about the two "spiritual" brains, one on either side of a person's head. The "spiritual" brain actually appeared like grey matter and seems to be connected to the base of the physical brain by tentacles and a tube. Inside of the tube is clear liquid and what appears as seeds.

The Lord spoke to us and gave us the word "double-mindedness." A scroll came, and the pastor received information about a declaration over the city. It was difficult at first to see relationship between what we were learning and the scroll, until it was understood that the Lord wanted to come against intellectualism in the city.

We got the words "Greek philosophy" and realized that much of science and math is built on Greek philosophy, which has its roots in magic. We were told that there is a statue of Apollo in the Mayo Clinic. We also learned that Mayo Clinic was one of the main sources that gave quite a bit of information that was utilized in the Roe vs. Wade decision, including the idea that life does not begin at conception. A Supreme Court Justice who was on the court when the Roe vs. Wade decision was made was from the Rochester area.

Sometime later, I was in Big Lake, Minnesota, and the Lord gave additional information about this double-mindedness to a group of twenty intercessors that had come for a day of waiting on the Lord. The "spiritual" exterior brain on the right of the person seemed to be connected with religious thinking and the exterior brain on the left side of the head seemed to be connected with intellectualism based on Greek thinking and human logic.

Because our culture is so immersed in the Greek mindset, we find it difficult to perceive that there may be another way of seeing the world. As a seminary student, I was exposed to the Greek mindset more than the Hebrew mindset. I was instructed to read Plato, Aristotle, and Augustine as if that philosophical view of the world was the correct view. Because I had no other frame of reference, I simply believed what I was being taught.

Actually my church experience only reinforced what I was being taught. It was all about the mind. Sermons were intellectual events that stimulated the mind. It was a world of ideas. Experience not only was discounted but preached against. We had to be careful about experiences as they were too subjective. I was shocked when I discovered that the Bible portrays a much different view.

"To Know"

I remember clearly sitting in a seminary class as the professor taught us about the word "to know." We were instructed that the Hebrew word "to know," yada, was to know intellectually. Why would I not believe this? I was shocked a few years ago to realize that I had an incorrect understanding of the word. Yada essentially means "to discern, as through the five senses." This root, occurring a total of 944 times, is used in every stem and expresses a multitude of shades of knowledge gained by the senses. Its closest synonyms are bı̂n "to discern" and nākar "to recognize" (from the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament). Biblically, the word describes man's relationship to God and God's relationship to man.

Some might argue that this is an Old Testament view of God and not New Testament. Let's consider that argument. In Philippians 3:10, the Apostle Paul expresses his desire about Christ, "that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death…" I had previously believed that the Apostle Paul was writing here about an "intellectual" knowing. This is not the case. Tyndale Bible Dictionary defines the Greek word ginōskō as follows:

The word "know" or "knowledge" occurs more than 1,600 times in the Bible. The specific connotation of the word group provides insight into the basic messages of both the OT and the NT. The Hebrew view of man is one of differentiated totality-the heart, soul, and mind are so interrelated that they cannot be separated. "To know" thus involves the whole being and is not simply an action of the mind. The heart is sometimes identified as the organ of knowledge (cf. Ps 49:3; Is 6:10). The implication is that knowledge involves both will and emotions...

The Jew's concept of knowledge is beautifully illustrated in Isaiah 1:3: "Even the animals-the donkey and the ox-know their owner and appreciate his care, but not my people Israel. No matter what I do for them, they still do not understand" (NLT). Israel's failure lay not in ritual behavior but in refusal to respond in loving obedience to the God who has chosen her. Only the fool refuses to respond to this revelation. Thus the person who does not respond in obedience obviously has an incomplete knowledge of the Lord. "To know God" involves relationship, fellowship, concern, and experience."-(From Tyndale Bible Dictionary, Walter A. Elwell and Philip W. Comfort, Ph, D, editors. Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001)

Having the Mind of Christ

Therefore to have the "mind of Christ," one is not just talking about an intellectual understanding but an understanding that would include the mind, emotions and will. Our relationship to Jesus Christ is not just a logical understanding. It is, in reality, an "intimate" relationship in which we know our Lord by our mind and by our experience.

The Apostle Paul reminds us in Philippians 2:5-8 that the mind of Christ is not necessarily a cognitive mind, but a mind of obedience through relationship: Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the Cross.

How does this apply to "double-mindedness?" The word "double minded" is mentioned three times in Scripture:

Psalm 119:113: I hate the double-minded, but I love Your law.

James 1:7-8: For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

James 4:8: Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

The nature of the double-minded person is that he or she operates in doubt and not in faith. In other words, there is a trust issue with God. If one's understanding of God is simply an intellectual understanding and not based on a personal experiential relationship with the Lord, then the logical mind can easily waver based on circumstances. However, if one chooses to put his trust in God and operates in trust, a non-rational issue, then his hope is sure in the goodness of the Lord. Trust is, of course, based upon and supported by the truths in the Word of God, and ultimately by trusting in God and His promises, one rests easily because he has experienced the continual faithfulness of the Lord. Below is a prayer we wrote to replace double-mindedness.

Prayer to Replace Double-Mindedness with the Mind of Christ

In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I confess my doubt and the doubt in my generational line.

I confess that this doubt has made me unstable and has given me double-mindedness.

I confess that the source of this double-mindedness has been pride in my life and in my generational line.

I also repent for all intellectualism, ungodly reasoning, logic and humanism.

I repent of caring more about man's approval rather than God's Truth.

I repent of my own self-effort and pride. In humility, I receive Your love, Your mercy and Your grace.

I choose to be no longer conformed to the pattern of this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of my mind so that I might prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

I will do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but I will walk in humility, considering others better than myself.

I choose to resist the devil. I choose to submit myself to God as my Lord and Master and to draw near to Him. Lord, will You help me to wash my hands and to purify my heart.

Father, thank You for giving me the mind of Christ, so I will be like Him, becoming like a servant.

Dr. Paul L. Cox
Aslan's Place
Email: office@aslansplace.com