Bible Study: The Law of the Mind

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​​"For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members." - Romans 7:22-23

I've been doing an intense study of the Book of Romans, especially Chapters 6-8, and I'll be honest with you, I have been swimming around in some deep theological waters here.

With that said, what you are about to read may be heavy to grasp and digest, but it is my goal with this series to articulate the Law of the Mind in such a way that you will be able to understand the power you possess within your own human will.
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Now, this is the first part of a three-part series of articles where we will discuss the three main laws (or principles) that Paul referred to in his letter to the Romans. Those three laws are as followed:
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1. The Law of the Mind
2. The Law of Sin and Death
3. The Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus

In this first article, we are going to focus on the details of the Law of the Mind and how it is working in the midst of our lives, even when we are not aware of it.

You may have heard of such "Universal Laws" as the Law of Attraction, as well as others, and you may have even read such books as Think and Grow Rich (AFF), Working With The Law (AFF), and As a Man Thinketh (AFF). In many of these books there is much talk about working (walking) in harmony with the Law.

In fact, in Napoleon Hill’s work, Think and Grow Rich, he talks about six higher intellectual faculties that make up our wondrous mind. Those higher faculties are:
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1. Imagination
2. Intuition
3. Perception
4. Memory
5. Will (or Human Will)
6. Reason

For those of you who are new to this kind of information, before we can really go to the meat and potatoes of this Bible Study, we have to lay a foundation of what our minds really are. You have to understand that your brain is not your mind. Your brain is no more your mind then the fingers on your hands are.

You see, your brain is of the body, where your mind is of your soul. The true phraseology is not that you “have” a soul but that you “are” a soul. You are not a physical being that has a spiritual experience every now and then, you are a spiritual being having a human experience – you are the highest form of God’s creation.

Paul understood these truths, he was not confused about the illuminating power of the mind. And he knew the difference between body and soul, brain and mind. You see, you read with your brain, but you study with your mind.

​And I am sure you've heard the saying, “the eyes are the windows to the soul." Well, let me put to you like this: You don’t “see” with your eyes, you “look” through your eyes. The real you is not what is on the outward, but rather what is on the inward. The outward is only a reflection of what is on the inward.  And there is actually scripture for this, “For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7). 

Moreover, what you have to understand is your brain is divided into a left and right cerebral hemisphere, and because of genes, some are more right brain dominate while others are more left brain dominate. 

The right hemisphere of our brain is associated with cognitive skills such as creativity, emotion, and abstractness. It also controls the left side of the body, therefore, most right brain people are often left-handed. With that said, these kinds of people are considered to be artistic, innovative, and perhaps random. And most of these types make great leaders because they possess vision. 

However, when it comes to left brain dominate people, they are often times more logical, analytical, and objective in nature. These types are often very good managers, but lack vision.

Now, I say all that to say this: Just as the brain is divided up in hemispheres, the mind is divided up by the conscious and subconscious. With that said, in ancient Greek text, the subconscious was referred to as the heart of man. Paul was familiar with this because he was often influenced by Greek philosophy.

Now, that isn't to say that his theological views were swayed  by this type of philosophy, but rather, that he used Greek philosophy to better articulate his theological views to the gentiles.

Now, with those things in mind, neurology is the study of the brain, where psychology is the study of the mind. Where psychology often falls short, though, is where it loses its connection to the soul aspect of our mind.

In the Book of Romans Paul talked about “doing what he hated and hating what he did." Now, I understand that, for some, this kind of language is difficult to grasp, but what he is trying to say is that he walks after the spirit, and not of the flesh.  You see, the flesh side of him hates that his soul side chooses to do the will of the Father (We will talk more about this in the last part of this series).

With that in mind, what Paul was trying to say in his letter to the Romans was, that before the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus came into the picture, there was only the Law of Sin and Death (unholiness, unrighteousness) and the Law of the Mind (our soul, our conscience, our human will, our higher intellectual faculties, etc.).

You see, we have all been born into sin, and fallen short of the glory of God -- for it has been written, “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Isaiah 41:26, Romans 3:10).

Now, with that said, in Paul’s day he was dealing with self-righteous Jews that were putting their faith in their own abilities to uphold the Law (the Law of Moses) and not in the Messiah (Jesus Christ). In other words, what Paul was trying to get across to them was that the Law was nothing more than a mirror or "looking glass" to give man knowledge and/or insight into their heart -- where sin does abound --  and that it was impossible for man to be righteous by their own accord, or by their own works. 
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​The Power of Human Will

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You see, the Law of the Mind is indeed powerful, but not powerful enough to assure us salvation.

​Consider the story of the man possessed with Legion (Mark 5:1-20). This, in fact, is probably one of the greatest illustrations of the power of human will ever recorded, and is often overlooked in this regard.

You see, this man was possessed with many demons (hence the name Legion), and from verses 2-5 we find just how strong these demons were -- for no man was able to keep this possessed man bound. He would break every chain that held him tied down.

And this incredible strength scared those within the city. This is why the man kept himself in the tombs (or caves), as to not hurt or scare those in the city.

But when Jesus and his disciples came out of their boat and onto the shore, the demon-possessed man came to Jesus -- in fact, the Bible says he RAN to Jesus and began to worship Him.

Truth be told, I don’t hear this story preached as often as it should. In fact, one interesting point is how this man even knew about Jesus and His miracle ministry -- the message of Jesus even made it as far as into the caves!

Now, despite this vast army of demons within this man (they were obviously strong because they broke every chain that the city people bound him in), thousands of them could not stop or hold back ONE man from running to Jesus -- I don't know about you, but that's powerful! 

​That’s the power of the human will.
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​Where Human Will Falls Short, Christ Picks Up the Slack

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However, even though the human will of this man was strong enough to overpower the demons and run to Jesus, he was not strong enough on his own accord to get rid of the demons that possessed him. In other words, he was not able to provide himself salvation and deliverance.

It wasn’t until Jesus stepped in, and was able to bring peace to this man, that these demons left him and were commanded to entered into the swine. Notice it was Jesus that made the command and not the man himself (The authority of the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus is something we will cover later in this series).

Now, in verse 15 where it says, “And they come to Jesus [the city people], and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.”

​This man was brought to his “right mind” once the power and authority of God stepped in. Where the Law of the Mind was weak in its own abilities, the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus became his rescue, his salvation, his deliverance. In other words, where we as human beings fall short, Jesus stands tall! 

Now, I share that story as an illustration to explain what Paul was talking about in his epistle to the Romans. You see, it is in our spiritual nature and the desire of our mind (soul)  to do good. In fact, our soul comes from God, for God "breathed into his [man's] nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." (Gen. 2:7). 

​However, because we were all born into sin, and thus, made prisoners to sin, we were not able to free ourselves by our own accord. Just like the demon possessed man was not able to free himself from the thousands of demons that possessed him.

With that said, The Law of the Mind desires to rule over the Law of Sin and Death (hence the Jews in Paul’s day putting their faith in their works rather than in Christ Jesus and His works), but this is not possible on our own accord because none of us are able to bring us back to a right standing with God based on our own merit. For the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), and our righteousness is as filthy rags.

In other words, we want to do right but we can’t because we have been made slaves to sin.
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Now Over to You

​We've covered quite a bit in this article, but now I want to take this time and encourage you to subscribe to our monthly Bible Study Blog and Newsletter so you never miss a beat.

​Plus, when you subscribe today, you will also be given access to a complimentary digital copy of our booklet, "Etiquette: For Apostolic Christian Writers." If you have ever felt called to the Writing Ministry, in any way, then this resource is for you. 

Now, what is the Law of Sin and Death? What is this thing that holds us in captivity against the life that God intended us to live? What is this thing that keeps us outside of our “right mind” and, essentially, in a cave or tomb (a type of hell and death)?

That is what we will get into next time. Until then, share your thoughts on this article below in the comments. I look forward to reading your insights. ​

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William Ballard, MBA
William grew up in church (within the Assemblies of God), but around the ages of 16 to 18, he backslide -- essentially turning his back towards God. However, God never turned His back towards him. As God continued to work on William's heart, the Spirit of God eventually led William to a small Apostolic church in Durant, Oklahoma. It was there that he was introduced to this wonderful Truth -- the Oneness of God and this New Birth experience. William was baptized in the only saving name of Jesus Christ in February of 2007, and in December of that very year the Lord baptized him with Holy Ghost -- with the evidence of speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gave the utterance.

It wasn't long after that, in the year of 2008, that William felt the call of God on his life to ministry. William has faced a number of battles since his New Birth experience, much heartbreak and despair, but it has only made his ministry that much more powerful and affective for the Kingdom. Many prophesies have been spoken into William's life, and William has been anointed with the heart of a teacher. With that said, his heartbeat is lost souls, and his mission is to teach the message of Jesus of Christ to a dying world -- providing hope wherever possible! 

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