“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:2).

There is a great gulf between the mind of an unbeliever and the mind of a Christian. A person may be ever so brilliant in science, or philosophy, or finance, yet utterly unable to understand any aspect of the saving gospel. “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not” (II Corinthians 4:3,4).

The reason an unbeliever’s mind cannot comprehend the gospel is simply because Satan, the “god of this world,” has blinded his mind! Therefore, before he can understand the truth of creation or any other aspect of the gospel, the mind-blinders used by Satan must be removed. For example, Paul prayed for the Ephesians, “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know. . .” (Ephesians 1:17,18).

When “transformed by the renewing of your mind,” the mind, originally created in the image of God, but later blinded by the devil, is thus “renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him” (Colossians 3:10). Before this can occur, however, the stated condition must be met: “Present your bodies a living sacrifice. . . . And be not conformed to this world” (Romans 12:1,2).

When this humble submission of one’s whole being is made to God, then the entire person is “transformed” (literally, “transfigured”), and he receives, in principle, “the mind of Christ” (I Corinthians 2:16), able to reason and plan and understand with “the mind of the Lord” (Romans 11:34). HMM