Colossians 3:2-4 (NASBStr)
Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
Dissecting Biblical passages is like in biology class dissecting a frog .... good for learning, bad for the frog. The same is true when we take apart a passage like the above. By separating verses two-four from verse one we are going to lose some of the thrust of Paul's intent ... the Holy Spirit's intent ... as we try to grasp the message. Paul is telling us, that now that we are believers, we have the ability to direct our minds. We can infer from this passage that there are some believers who were, or are, setting their minds on earthly things. Things that matter little in life and are temporal in meaning. We have to remember that Paul is writing to new believers (most believers in the New Testament were NEW) and that they were being tempted to believe false teachings about moral areas of their lives. Paul is telling that if if they want to maintain a life that is acceptable in God's eyes, they must begin to think different about how they live, why they live and what is important or what matters in life. The way to change the way we walk is to change the way we think. God was a cognitive behaviorist before it was cool. Yet, God takes the whole matter one step farther. It is not simply they way you think that changes your behavior, but what you believe and where you place your trust. Paul is telling us, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, that we need to believe God to change our minds the same way we believed God to change our eternal status. God has the power (and is the only one with the power) to change our mind, like He changed our heart. As we then begin to set out mind on God's things we can be sure that our moral behavior will follow. A change in walk and talk can only happen as I all God to change the heart AND the mind.
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