phroneo:
This Greek word means to think, to have understanding, to observe, to have in mind.
Though not an exhaustive list of all the occurrences of phroneo or its form, it comes pretty close.
Mark 8:33
Jesus "rebuked Peter, and said, 'Get behind me Satan; for you are not *setting your mind* on God's interests, but man's."
Romans 8:5
"For those who are according to the flesh *set their minds* on the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, on the things of the Spirit."
Colossians 3:2
"*Set your mind* on things above not on the things that are on earth."
Romans 12:3
"For through the grace given to me I say to every man among you not to *think more highly* of himself than he ought to *think*; but to *think* so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith."
Romans 12:16
"Be of the same *mind* toward one another ; do not be haughty in *mind*, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.
Romans 15:5
"Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same *mind* with one another according to Christ Jesus."
Philippians 2:2
"make my joy complete by being of the same *mind*, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, *intent* on one purpose."
Philippians 2:5
"Have this *attitude* in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,"
Philippians 4:2
"I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to *live in harmony* in the Lord."
Philippians 3:14-19
"I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this *attitude*; and if in anything you have a different *attitude*, God will reveal that also to you; however, let us keep *living by* that same standard to which we have attained. Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who *set their mind* on earthly things."
Whose interests do you usually have in mind?
A funny mix-up with language and culture happened to me in Mexico around this idea of interests. Mexico is an indirect society, that is, they do not communicate bluntly as most of us do in the United States, and as a result, motives are usually highly suspect. So when I was approached by a woman who told me that their family members, who were studying the Bible, were doing it "por interes", (because of interest) I remarked what a good thing that was, assuming that she meant they were interested in the Bible. Come to find out that, when someone is doing something "por interes", it means they have their own interests in mind, primarily one that involves financial gain.
Oswald Chambers wrote "thoughts about myself hinder my usefulness to God," and to that I would say AMEN! My only problem is, how do I stop thinking about myself?
My favorite ride at the water park is the lazy river. I love the sensation of being carried along by the current. Put me in the middle of the Niagara River, however, and I would be swimming as hard as I could to change direction, futile as it may be.
When I approach the current of my mind as if it were that lazy river, I'm too easily lulled into letting my fleshly mind direct me whichever way it wants to, and invariably that way is self centered. The mind is a powerful current reflecting attitude, and dictating the standard by which we live. If I'm not fighting it, I'm probably drifting with it, right into danger.
Walking with my mind set on the Spirit takes intention and effort, with most of that effort going towards crucifying the flesh and dying to self. Look at these two verses in Philippians again, "make my joy complete by being of the same *mind*, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, *intent* on one purpose." and "I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to *live in harmony* in the Lord." It seems that unity in the body of Christ is achieved in the mind, that harmony is a way of thinking, and the biggest obstacle is if each of us lets our own mind be consumed with thoughts of self. The mind set on the Spirit is a team player; it doesn't seek it's own glory, but looks out first for the interests of others. If you are living in discord and division with your brothers and sisters in Christ, seeing them as enemies, or yourself in opposition, if you typically function independently of your church body, tend to pull away rather than bond, you are not looking out for God's interests.
"I, Paul, prisoner of the Lord, plead with you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness and patience, tolerating one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. " Ephesians 4:1-3
phronema:
The Greek word for thought, purpose, aspirations, thought that results in behavior.
It appears only four times, each of those in Romans 8.
Romans 8:6-7
"For the *mind* set on the flesh is death, but the *mind* set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the *mind* set on the flesh is hostile to God;"
Romans 8:27
"and He who searches the heart knows what the *mind* of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."
dianoia:
This Greek word represents the mind, understanding, intellect, and disposition.
It is the word for mind that we find in the most important commandment the Lord gave us, the greatest commandment to "love God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your *mind*" Mark 12:30 and Luke 10:27
Ephesians 2:3
"Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the *mind*, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest."
Ephesians 4:18
"being darkened in their *understanding*, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart;"
Colossians 1:21
"And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in *mind*, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach"
(quoted from Jeremiah 31:33)
Hebrews 8:10
"I will put My laws into their *minds*, and I will write them upon their hearts," and similarly quoted in Hebrews 10:16 "I will put My laws upon their heart, and upon their *mind* I will write them,"
1 Peter 1:13
"Therefore, gird your *minds* for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ"
The expression "gird your minds" is with a view to active exertion, the way a flowing tunic was tucked up into the belt to keep it from getting in the way of action.
1 John 5:20
"And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us *understanding*, in order that we might know Him who is true, and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ."
I'm humbled by the reality that if God had not written on our wicked minds that which is true, we would be unable to love Him. We can't just let our minds go to chaos; we must discipline it to always be on the alert, ready for battle.
logizomai:
This Greek word can be interpreted a number of ways: reckon, consider, think, compute, reason.
Logizomai, or its form, is included about 20 times in the book of Romans, more than half of those are in chapter 4 alone and translated "reckon".
It shows up here in my list because of its use in Philippians 4:8.
"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, *let your mind dwell* on these things."
1 Corinthians 13:5
Love "does not *take into account* a wrong suffered,"
Romans 4:8
"Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not *take into account*."
Romans 6:11
"Even so, *consider* yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus."
Romans 8:18
"For I *consider* that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us."
We are not always able to control what enters the mind, but we do have charge of what we let our minds dwell on. These are the thoughts that we engage our mind to think on, for an extended time, in order to draw a conclusion, whether it is in the positive or the negative. These verses give the aspect of determination and duration of what our minds think about.
On the negative side, we must be careful to not let our minds dwell on those things we are warned to avoid. Just as the Lord chooses to not dwell on our sin, just as He chooses to not keep a list of them so that He can continue to bring them up, over and over, so we should show love by not dwelling on the wrongs that others have committed against us, not keeping an account of their offenses. Don't let your mind dwell on their sin, or your sin, but instead forgive, and be forgiven. Don't let your mind keep that list of wrongs that you have tucked away for those times when you can pull it out again, to review and relive the hurt. Don't let your mind linger on lies, on lusts, on evil plots, on the ugly, or on another's bad reputation.
On the positive side, what we should think on are not to be wisps of thoughts that last no longer than a puff of smoke; they are not conclusions arrived at in a few seconds. These are thoughts that, like numbers in a mathematical problem, have been calculated and written as the perfect solution, the infinite answer.
Do let your mind dwell on the truth.
Do let your mind linger on the honorable, the right, the pure, the lovely, the good reputation, the excellent, the praiseworthy.
Do let your mind think about sufferings, but only if in doing so, your sum total comes up to be far inferior to the glory awaiting you in heaven, otherwise, don't let your mind go there.
And stand ready to do this for the rest of your life.
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