The Power of a Renewed Mind

I hope you love the products and resources I recommend here at Foundational. It is possible that I get a commission and collect income from the links on this page. Click here for more info.

The ability to live each day with purpose and destiny comes from the dynamic of new thinking and positive emotions.

The Apostle Paul dealt with this in his writings to the church in Ephesus.

This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness”.

(Ephesians 4:17-24 NKJV)

The Apostle was urging the believer to not be shaped or controlled by the philosophies, culture, ideologies of the world around them. Their life must reflect the clear will of God.

This happens when the transforming power of the Holy Spirit renews the mind. The Greek word for “transformed” is metamorphooomai.

The English word metamorphosis is derived from this Greek word. Metamorphosis means “a change of form, structure, substance or function,” according to Webster’s New World Dictionary (Neufeldt, 1990).

Metamorphosis is that life transformation that changes a wooly worm into a butterfly or a tadpole into a bullfrog.

“Bull frogs and butterflies have both been born again,” sang Barry McGuire.

There is a spiritual metamorphosis that must take place in the life of a person. A wooly worm changes its “form, structure, substance and function” from that of a wiggly and fuzzy worm, that frightens little girls, into a beautiful and graceful Monarch.

Once controlled by ungodly thinking, negative emotions and carnal appetites, a person can be transformed into a saint of God; filled with righteous thinking and the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

The miraculous transformation is made possible by the “renewing of the mind.”

The Greek word for “renewing” is anakainosis. Kenneth Wuest describes the work of renewing as “the gradual conforming of the man more and more to that new spiritual world into which he has been introduced, and in which he now lives and moves; the restoration of the divine image; and in all this so far from being passive, he must be a fellow-worker with God” (Wuest, 208).

Living the abundant life requires a person’s mind be made like the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5).

4 Areas Where the Mind Must Be Renewed

1. The conscious and the subconscious mind of a believer must be transformed if they are to live in the dynamic of new life.

2. The old thought patterns must be changed into the way God thinks.

3. The value systems, philosophies, ideologies, and reasoning of a person must be adjusted so they match the ways of God.

4. The memory patterns and dream life of the old man must be renovated to conform to the truth of God.

If the mind of a person is transformed to think and reason by the mind of Christ, that individual will view life and daily circumstances from God’s perspective.

They will refocus their emotions to agree with the truth of God’s Word. Instead of living as a victim, they live in victory. Instead of being held in fear, worry, and insecurity, they will have a positive outlook.

Rather than responding to people with rejection, jealousy and low self-worth, they accept themselves in the image of Jesus Christ. Instead of being captive to their old habits and behavior patterns, they “stand fast in the liberty by which Christ has made [them] free” (Galatians 5:1 NKJV).

The daily application of such freedom is made possible by the sufferings of Jesus Christ.

Read more of my articles on renewing the mind:

The Power of a Renewed Mind

4 Powerful Ways a Renewed Mind Can Change Your Life

Pastor Dean Sermon Archives Episode 27 – How to Live in the Victory of a Renewed Mind

Pastor Dean Sermon Archives Episode 28 – The Key to Living the Blessed Life

What Does the Bible Say About Renewing the Mind?

Two Ways Jesus’ Sacrifice Brought Emotional Healing

Why Christians Today Look So Much Like the World

4 Ways We Live Life as a New Creation

2 Ways Strongholds Prevent Renewing the Mind

2 Steps to Renewing Your Mind

Pastor Dean Sermon Archives Episode 38 – This is How God Makes All Things New In You