Mind and Spirit Connections
Renewed in the Spirit of Your Mind
and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
Ephesians 4:23
Section One
The Command To Be Renewed in the Spirit of Your Mind
Paul linked your mind and spirit together (Ephesians 4:23). God commanded you to be renewed in the spirit of the mind of y’all. 1Paul provided: ἀνανεοῦσθαι (present middle/passive infinitive) δὲ τῷ πνεύματι τοῦ νοὸς ὑμῶν (genitive plural). This command sounds like a simple command, but Paul provided careful details about how God renews the spirit of our mind. Those steps concern our past, present and future. We leave the futility of our mind behind by God renewing it.
Exegetical Psychology. The spirit (τῷ πνεύματι–dative case) has a genitive relationship with the mind ( τοῦ νοὸς) of you. 2By keeping the articles in the translation, the relationships between mind and spirit become clearer. The New Testament writers provided many uses of the genitive, but here we know that a relationship exists between the mind and spirit, and they are tied together. Therefore, the mind has a spiritual aspect to it that is not primarily physical. Physical things may affect your mind, but your spirit has a direct relationship with your mind. Contrast the soul
Step One
Lay Aside the Old Self
So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind,
Paul emphasized that saints should no longer walk in the futility of their minds (Ephesians 4:17). 3Paul used the term ματαιότητι to describe the world subject to futility because of man’s sin. See Roman 8:20. Likewise, Peter linked ματαιότητος with proclaiming arrogant words. Peter used a particular word for proclaiming (“φθεγγόμενοι”–present middle participle, nominative masculine plural) in 2 Peter 2:18, and the same root word in 2 Peter 2:16 to describe a donkey proclaiming (“φθεγξάμενον”) with the voice of a man. See also Acts 4:18). Therefore, futility occupies the minds of people not focused upon doing the will of God. Futility of mind characterizes the walk of the Gentiles. They have been: (1) darkened in their reasoning 4Paul used the term “διανοίᾳ.”; and (2) excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance in them, which ignorance resulted from their hardness of heart. Therefore, saints must overcome the futility of their mind so that we do not live like Gentile unbelievers. God commanded us to be renewed in the spirit of your mind. Paul taught us the steps we must take for God to renew the spirit of our minds.
Step Two
Renwed in the Spirit of Your Mind
Step Three
Put on the New Self
Step Four
Laying aside Falsehood
Step Five
Be Angry, Do Not Sin
Step Six
Steal No Longer
Step Seven
No Unwholesome Word
Step Eight
Do Not Grieve the Holy Spirit
Step Nine
Let Bitterness, Wrath, Anger, Clamor, Slander, and Malice Be Put Away
Step Ten
Be Kind to One Another
References