544 The Spiritual Man
For us to have our intellects renewed we must draw near to the
cross. This is plainly called for in Ephesians 4. The Apostle Paul
describes the darkness of man’s carnal mentality in verses 17 and 18;
but in verses 22 and 23 he informs us how the mind can be renewed:
“Put off your old nature which belongs to your former manner of life
and is corrupt through deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of
your mind.” We know our old man has been crucified with the Lord
already (Rom. 6.6). Here we are exhorted to “put off” so that our
mind might be renewed. This brings the cross into view as the
instrument for its renewal. A believer should understand that his old
brain too is part of that old man which God wants us to put off
entirely. The salvation which God imparts through the cross includes
not only a new life but the renewal of every function of our soul as
well. The salvation which is rooted deeply in our being must
gradually be “worked out.” A serious lack among Christians today is
in not perceiving the need for their minds to be saved (Eph. 6.17);
they conceive salvation in general and somewhat vague terms. They
fail to recognize that God desires to save them to the uttermost in that
all their abilities are to be renewed and fit for His use. The mind is
one of man’s natural endowments. God calls His own to believe that
their old man was crucified on the cross; thereafter they need to
accept single-mindedly God’s judgment towards the old man and
exercise their will to resist or to put off its deeds including their old
thoughts. They must come to the foot of the cross, willing to forsake
their traditional mentalities and trusting God to give them a new
mind. Brethren, the old one needs to be thoroughly put off. Yes, its
renewal is God’s work, but the putting off—the denial, the
forsaking—of your old organ of thought is what you must do. If you
perform your part, God will fulfill His. And once you put off
specifically, you should just as thoroughly believe that God will
renew your mind, despite the fact you know not how.
How many of God’s children, although hitherto saved and
possessed of a new life, still carry about them an old head. Nothing
of their former theories, thought processes, or prejudices has been