MIND

Four separate Greek words account for nearly all instances of "mind" in the New Testament. They all mean much the same thing: understanding, thought, mind, reason. While today we think of a person's mind in a morally neutral way, in the New Testament the mind was clearly thought of as either good or evil. Negatively, the mind may be "hardened" <2 Cor. 3:14>, "blinded" <2 Cor. 4:4>, "corrupt" <2 Tim. 3:8>, and "debased" <Rom. 1:28>. On the positive side, humans may have minds which are renewed <Rom. 12:2> and pure <2 Pet. 3:1>. They may love God with all their minds <Matt. 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27> and have God's laws implanted in their minds <Heb. 8:10>. Since Christians have "the mind of Christ" <1 Cor. 2:16>, they are instructed to be united in mind <Rom. 12:16; 1 Pet. 3:8>.

(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary)

(Copyright (C) 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

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