Winning the Battle Within: The Power of Spiritual Thinking
The core challenge of the Christian life is winning the battle within the mind. True transformation is not a single event but a constant work achieved through the renewal of the mind by the Word of God. This process, which involves intentionally shedding old thought patterns and embracing a spiritual mindset, is the key to achieving inner peace, total trust in God, and ultimately fulfilling divine destiny.
This summary breaks down the mechanisms of thought, the necessity of spiritual thinking over situational thinking, and the steps required to overcome internal limitations and walk in the fullness of God’s purpose.
1. The Power and Mechanics of Thought
The way a person thinks dictates their life’s outcome, character, and destiny. Understanding the mechanics of thought is critical for achieving a renewed mind.
The Foundation of Identity
The fundamental biblical principle states: “For as he thinkketh in his heart so is he”. The Hebrew word for “heart” (led) refers to the way a person thinks, feels, or perceives something, suggesting that a person’s final action (at last in act) is a direct reflection of their consistent inner thoughts.
- The Chain of Destiny: Thoughts are described as seeds of perception, emotions, and actions. This leads to an inevitable chain: Thoughts become actions, actions become habits, habits become character, and character becomes destiny.
- Action, Belief, Behavior, Consequence (ABC): An action in life creates a belief, which causes behavior, which results in consequences.
- Ownership: No one else owns a person’s thoughts; the individual has ownership of them.
The Command to Love with the Whole Mind
The first and greatest command is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. This command is highly specific:
- Heart (kardia / leb): Figuring our thoughts and feelings.
- Soul (psyche): Meaning breath, or, by implication, spirit.
- Mind (dianoia): Meaning deep thought, faculty, and the exercise of thought.
God commands us to love Him with our ability to make decisions, whether we feel it or not; we must will it.
2. The Battle for the Mind: Spiritual vs. Carnal Thinking
The mind is the battlefield where there is a constant clash between the perception of God and the perception of the enemy.
The Carnal vs. Spiritual Mindset
The primary conflict is between the carnal (fleshly) mindset and the spiritual mindset:
- Carnal Mind (Death): To be carnally minded is death. This mind is controlled by unholy desires and pursuits that gratify the flesh, connecting the individual to their sensual mechanisms (the five senses: sight, sound, taste, smell, touch).
- Spiritual Mind (Life and Peace): To be spiritually minded is life and peace. This mind is connected and controlled by the Holy Spirit (the ruah or breath of God).
Situational vs. Revelational Thinking
The goal of spiritual warfare is to move the believer from situational thinking to revelational thinking.
- Situational Thinking: Based on current circumstances that bring fear, anxiety, offense, hurt, or unforgiveness.
- Revelational Thinking: Requires putting God in your circumstances. It recognizes that something can be factual (e.g., having cancer or going through abuse) but is not truth because truth is rooted in the Word of God (e.g., “by His stripes you are healed”; “you are a victor, more than a conqueror”).
3. The Process of Mind Renewal: Putting Off and Putting On
Transformation requires a renovation of the mind, which is a continuous process of taking things out and putting new things in.
A. Breaking the Molds
The believer must identify and break the molds—the rigid mindsets, learned thought patterns, and paradigms—formed by various negative inputs:
- Parents and upbringing.
- Religion and rigid mindsets.
- Negative words spoken by figures of authority.
- Past failures, hurts, and offenses.
A mindset that is rigid and resistant to change will live within the limitations and confinements of its own thoughts. God declares that believers are limiting themselves and that the life they are meant to live is much larger than the one they are currently in.
B. Putting Off and Putting On
The change process involves two simultaneous actions:
- Putting Off: Putting off the “old man” (former conduct), which grows corrupt according to deceitful lusts. This means removing attitudes, biases, and perceptions.
- Putting On: Putting on the “new man”, which was created according to God in righteousness and true holiness.
C. The Tool: Commanding the Opposite
A practical daily method for renewing the mind is to identify anything that is not love and command it to be uprooted in the name of Jesus. Since God is love, anything that is not love (e.g., anxiety, fear, offense, hatred, bitterness, sickness, death) must be commanded to leave.