1 Corinthians 14.20
“Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; be babes in evil, but in thinking be mature (teleios).”
There’s the word teleios again, and this time it applies to the way we think. “Don’t think like children,” Paul is saying, “think like a mature adult.” The ability to think is one of the attributes of the image of God that we were given at Creation.
But like the other attributes, the ability to think was distorted at the Fall. However, in Christ our thinking has been redeemed and is now being restored. We once again have the capacity for teleios thinking, and it is to this that the Lord calls us.
“To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, indeed it cannot.” (Romans 8.6-7)
“I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12.1-2)
It bears repeating: There is nothing in your life more important than the way you think. Where your mind goes, your go.
One final scripture from the apostle Paul:
“We destroy arguments and every proud obstacle to the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5)
