I have been really busy and haven't had alot of time to devote to this subject, although it has been uppermost in my mind and in my experiences as well lately. But today as I stayed home from church this has been part of what I have been doing. It is just a start and I love to understand the Truths of scripture in even a small and simple way. God is good to give us the measure of understanding that He has for each of us.

The beginning of bringing every thought captive to Christ is regeneration. The sinful nature of man has been defined as: the mind’s strong disposition to evil:

“Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior” (Colossians 1:21) NIV

“Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. (Romans 8:5-7) NIV

“The mind of sinful man is death…..” (Romans 6:a) NIV

Regeneration has been defined as: a work of God in which He changes such an evil disposition into one that delights in the laws and precepts of God

“…..but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 6:b) NIV

“I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God. (Ezekiel 11: 19-20) NIV

When I first came to understand that there isn’t a difference between the heart and the mind, I was elated. I believe when spoken of in scripture you can substitute mind for heart and vice verse and when I do that it clarifies for me what is being spoken of. Many still try and allude to knowing with the head but not the heart and I don’t agree with that. I’m not sure what it is that is being spoken of when given that illustration but that causes confusion. Regeneration, faith, knowledge are all of the mind, known with the mind, discerned with the mind, growth in knowledge (the mind) and that is why bringing every thought captive to Christ is important.