Beyond the Natural Mind

1 Corinthians 2:12-15
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

God wants to take us to a place of faith that is beyond the natural mind. The natural mind is that place where everything makes sense, everything is comfortable and we “feel” secure. But this is a false security at best. The only safe place is in the will of God whether we can “figure it out” or not. The natural man wars against this because it is the life of the Spirit lived out be the spirit within a person. The carnal mind thinks it has a right to know all things and to have all things explained to him, even the things of the Spirit. But the natural man cannot and does not have the ability to understand the things of heaven. The things of heaven are not of this world. Abraham was told to leave his father, mother, tribe and country and head out toward somewhere he had never been before. God gave him a simple command and it required simple obedience. He did not get any details in advance of where this was. He received revelation from God one step at a time.

For those who are outside the Kingdom of God, don’t know Jesus as the Gate, the Good Shepherd, the Way, the Truth and the Life they will never be able to understand or walk in the things of the Spirit. The natural mind can be brought into submission. But this requires one to be born of the Spirit. If one is not born again there is no way that they can even begin to receive the things of God. The things of God are received as revelation, not earned or achieved through natural effort and natural strength. The things of God come through communion with God. They are received not worked for. There is a price to receive the things of God. That price is to lay down the natural desires to seek God. Only those who can find this truth will walk in a life of revelation of who God is. They have found this simply because they have sought to know Him intimately. They are those who have placed value on the Lord to the point that they are willing to lay down the natural things of the world for the things of heaven. Jesus told us not to be amazed that he said that we must be born again. The born again spirit is where entrance and life in the Kingdom of God begins. As He said, a man cannot even enter into the Kingdom unless he is born again. It is the person who has experienced being born again that can now understand the things of God. Until a person comes into this salvation experience there is a veil over their eyes so that they may read the scriptures and think that they have understanding from a “natural” perspective, but never receive revelation that leads to freedom in Christ. Like Jesus said, no one come to Him unless the Spirit draws him or her.

The natural mind reasons “believing” away. It discards faith. So those who live by the natural mind and have to have an explanation for everything will find a way not to believe. They will look for a “reason” not to believe. But faith is received by revelation of the Holy Spirit. The reasoning of the mind is the root of doubt and unbelief, the beginning of a spirit of criticism. You have heard of critical thought. This is intimately associated with “reasoning of the mind.” If the natural mind cannot figure it out it gets upset, complains and criticizes. Criticism is the serpent’s food. Especially when it is criticism against the things of God and the people of God. This opens the door to the poisonous spiritual venom of the devil. Discernment is different than criticism. Why? Discernment comes from revelation and a heart that has passion and love for God and His Words. But the main distinction of discernment is love and kindness. True discernment is couple with the love of God that desires all men to find freedom in Christ.

The natural mind says that it has the right and privilege to understand everything that goes on and gets upset if it doesn’t. But the Lord will not heed the natural mind. He will feed the inner man of the Spirit with His choice morsels. Again, the natural mind wants to be the “center of operations”. It wants to be in control of everything, all the ducks in a row. But God has ordained the inner man to rule of the life of the believer. When one is born again, it happens by believing from the heart through faith in Jesus. But that is the first step. Believers are to live by faith. This life by faith emanates from the inner man. Much of what has happened is that many who come into the Kingdom of God believe in Christ then live the rest of their Christian lives out of the natural mind, not by faith. They live in their own understanding and not from the inner man. Their inner man goes on starved for the rest of their Christian walk on earth. They never experience anything beyond the comfort zones. They never go on to the depths of intimacy with God the Father to know Him deeply as a son or daughter of God. The life of faith is foreign to them. The world of the spirit is also foreign to them. The only things that can be legitimate to the natural mind are natural things that can be seen with the eye and touched with the hand. Those who have not understood the place of revelation and faith have discarded the things of the Spirit and of the spirit world.

Selfishness is the root of the natural-filled life. It cannot produce the love of God. It imitates a superficial love that involves no sacrifice. It only gives within the comfort zone, or to achieve control, or for vain attention, to be the centerpiece of conversation or for something in return from to one the superficial love has been given.

In a nutshell, the life lived by the natural man is not the life to live. Jesus told us that in order to find your life you must lose it. It is this self-filled natural life that must be lost. The measure it is lost will also be the measure of the Spirit-Life gained. Commit your heart to the things of the Spirit. To know that God knows our hearts better than we do. Know that He is able to bring us to that place of communion with Him where revelation and His light shine into our hearts with unending beauty and grace.