We are engaged in a war that demands our unwavering obedience to the truth of our identity in Jesus Christ. The flesh’s way of thinking and reasoning is in line with the enemy’s. The Holy Spirit within us is greater than the devil who tempts our flesh, but if we don’t know it, we will fail. As believers in Christ, we don’t have to walk in the flesh. Instead, we can use God’s mighty weapons to pull down strongholds by bringing every thought into the obedience of Christ and punishing disobedience (2 Corinthians 10:3-6).
Until a believer makes the conscious decision to renew their mind with the Word of God, obedience is impossible. The result of a renewed mind is obedience. And when you are obedient to the Word, you punish disobedience (2 Corinthians 10:6). A disobedient thought (temptation) may come, but if you are full of Jesus (the Word), it will not come to fruition, for there will be no room for disobedience. If you walk in the Spirit, you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh but do what the Word desires (Galatians 5:16).
We must apply faith to God’s grace to renew the mind. His grace is His gift to us. Faith is our response to it. Faith steps into God’s calling when it makes no sense to the mind, will, or emotions. Faith trusts God over what the devil declares are our limitations. We become unlimited when we launch out in faith with Jesus.
“Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13).
“Gird up the loins of your mind” refers to the long robes men wore in biblical times. Until these men “girded” up their robes, they would fall if they attempted to run. To gird themselves up, they would pull the excess material of their robe from the back to the front and tuck it into their belt. Then they could run without falling. Don’t let any excess of thoughts—don’t reflect on anything that would offend God and cause you to stumble and fall. “Gird up the loins of your mind” so that your thoughts agree with the Word of God. Then your ability to think and move correctly won’t be hindered.
1 Peter 1:13 says to “be sober”—to think correctly, resting our hope fully upon the grace of Jesus. And we are only able to put our faith completely in Him when we have a revelation of His finished work in our lives.
“For I say, through the grace given to me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith” (Romans 12:3).
In this verse, Paul advises us to think soberly and avoid thinking of ourselves as superior to others. God has given each one of us the same measure of faith. No one has more faith than another; some have just exercised theirs more. We all have areas where the devil can find an opening. He enters through pride, unforgiveness, an offense, or any thought that goes against God’s Word. Without knowledge of the Word, we are vulnerable to offense or unbelief, which grants the devil access. Instead, we are to rest our hope fully upon the Word by applying our faith to the grace of Jesus.
Faith is our obedience to what Jesus has done for us. The Word informs us that we possess not only formidable weapons to subjugate our minds to the obedience of Christ but also the authority to overcome the adversary. Jesus said, “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Luke 10:19). We are called to take authority over the enemy.
When you rest your hope fully upon the grace of Jesus, you put your faith in His finished work. You refuse the devil access to your mind with unforgiveness, offense, or any wrong thinking. Putting your complete trust in the Word is obedience, and consequently, disobedience is punished (2 Corinthians 10:6). When the Word of God owns your mind and heart, faith flows in obedience. There is no room for disobedience. You are full of Jesus.
We can declare our hope rests fully on the finished work of Jesus, but is it really true? Is it heart knowledge? God needs each of us to know who we are in Him and the authority He has given us. What we don’t know can hurt us. It’s time to go deep into the Word of God. When you receive a revelation of the finished work of salvation in your mind and heart, you know you are saved, healed, delivered, protected, prospered, and whole. You will tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy.
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