The other day, my husband was observing how the variety of words used to describe the same thing in a language reflects the importance of that particular thing in the culture. Do you know how many Greek words are used in the Bible for the mind? Would you believe no less than six? My plan here is to unpack each one with the goal of growing in our Biblical understanding of how walking by the Spirit should affect our minds.
The verses are quoted from the New American Standard Version.
The definitions of the Greek words were compiled from biblehub.com.
nous:
This Greek word means mind, reason, or intellect.
Not all occurrences in the Bible are included here; I have chosen ones that relate to our walk. You will find the form of the word marked by asterisks.
Romans 7:23-25
"but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my *mind*, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my *mind* am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin."
Romans 11:34
"For who has known the *mind* of the Lord or who became His counselor?"
Romans 12:2
"And do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your *mind*"
1 Corinthians 1:10
"I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that there be no divisions among you, but you be made complete in the same *mind* and in the same judgment.
1 Corinthians 2:16
"For who has known the *mind* of the Lord, that he should instruct him? But we have the *mind* of Christ
1 Cor 14:14, 15, 19
"For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my *mind* is unfruitful. What is the outcome then? I shall pray with the Spirit and I shall pray with the *mind* also; I shall sing with the Spirit and I shall sing with the *mind* also. In the church, I desire to speak five words with my *mind*, that I may instruct others also, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue."
Ephesians 4:17-18
"This I say therefore, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their *mind*, being darkened in their understanding."
Ephesians 4:22-24
"in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your *mind*, and put on the new self, which in God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth."
Philippians 4:7
"And the peace of God, which surpasses all *comprehension*, will guard your hearts and your mind in Christ Jesus."
Colossians 2:18-19
"Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly *mind*, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God."
What do we learn about the mind, reason and intellect?
We are told that, though the Lord's mind is beyond our grasp, we have the mind of Christ!
We serve the law of God with our minds; it is where we find freedom from sin. My fleshly mind does not hold fast to the mind of Christ, but leads me astray to fleshly things like visions and the worship of created beings and pleasure in self-harm. Before Christ, my mind took me in useless directions, but now my mind goes through real transformation when I abandon the old lusts of the flesh and put on the new self, created in righteousness and truth. Change will have to occur in our minds.
In the church, we pray and sing with both the Spirit and the mind, and we seek for agreement of mind and judgment with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Finally, that is not a typo in Philippians 4:7. The word "nous" is indeed translated comprehension, while another word is used for "mind".
So what is that other word?
noema:
This Greek word means the mind, thought, purpose, or scheme.
With the exception of Philippians 4:7, it is used exclusively in 2 Corinthians in the following verses.
2 Corinthians 2:10-11
"if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ, in order that no advantage be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his *schemes*."
2 Corinthians 3:14
"But their *minds* were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ."
2 Corinthians 4:4
"And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the *minds* of the unbelieving that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."
2 Corinthians 10:5
"we are taking every *thought* captive to the obedience of Christ,"
2 Corinthians 11:3
"I am afraid as the serpent deceived Eve, your *minds* may be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ."
Philippians 4:7
"And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your *minds* in Christ Jesus."
This one unpacks quite differently, doesn't it? Here we see Satan's scheming mind, see him blinding the minds of unbelievers and leading our minds astray. It also seems to reveal weak minds, hardened minds, vulnerable minds, desperately needy minds.
I feel like I'm more intimately connected to this mind, but Truth tells me I have the mind of Christ. Which one am I going to live by?
Let's review Paul's exhortation.
Don't worry about anything, but pray about everything. Make your requests known to God. And God's peace, which is so vastly beyond all your reasoning and intellect, will act as a guard, surrounding and protecting your heart and mind from attack. philippians 4:6-7
AMEN!
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