Spirit Intelligence

Romans 8:9 NIV

You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.

What Is Your Spirit IQ?

One of the great questions in the field of psychology has to do with intelligence.  What is intelligence?  Is it the ability to solve problems, how quick you think, your verbal skills, your creativity?  Do you have to be great at math to be considered intelligent or able to grasp spacial relations?  Are you intelligent if you have a great memory or are smart people forgetful?  How important is intelligence anyway?  Does it make you a happier person?

The Bible is adamant that intelligence is important but it takes a unique stance on it.  Psalm 53 gives us a measure or a standard of intelligence rarely considered but it is crucial for us to consider.  The fool says in his heart, "There is no God."  They are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good.  God looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. (Psalm 53: 1-2 NIV)  Perhaps we could call this “moral intelligence”” or “spiritual thinking”.  It is easy to discredit spiritual thinking by calling it impractical or just something religious people think about but it is anything but impractical.  Spiritual thinking is the most practical way of understanding intelligence because it is universal in its scope.  Spiritual thinking demands that all of our thoughts must run through the Holy Spirit or else it always comes up short.  Without God in our figuring and evaluating, we lack the most critical component of thinking, the mind that is behind the life of every mind in all creation.  It is like trying to decide what would be best to wear outside without any idea what the weather is.  In Russia yesterday it was cold and rainy despite being the middle of July.  How smart would it be to go traipsing outside there in shorts and a light blouse?  Spiritual thinking gives us the ability to think with facts unavailable to the mind without God.

Let me give an illustration of the importance of spiritual thinking from an event described in Mark 4.  Jesus was asleep in the stern of the boat when a great storm arose on the Sea of Galilee.   The panicked disciples, several of whom were seasoned sailors, shook Jesus awake when it looked like they all might drown.  Quickly Jesus reacted to the storm.  He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. (Mark 4:39 NIV)  Without God, the mind is chaotic, wild, unpredictable.  After Jesus quieted the elements, the disciples were amazed that even the wind and waves obey Him.  When the Holy Spirit enters a mind, it gains a freedom it did not possess before.  The mind can see things clearly without the wild nature it once had.  What it never noticed because it was too spasmodic to comprehend, the mind can grasp with the Holy Spirit as part of the thinking process.  Important details are processed with spiritual thinking that go unnoticed or are unattainable for the mind without the Holy Spirit directing the elements of our thinking.

The Lord told a story that helps us get a handle on spiritual thinking. There were ten virgins, all pledged to be married to a single man.  The wedding was delayed though because the groom had to be away for a while.  But when he returned, the wedding would begin.  Part of the ceremony was to have lamps ready and lit when the groom arrived.  Without them, they could not participate in the wedding.  Five of (the virgins) were foolish and five were wise.  The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.  The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.  The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. "At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'  "Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.  The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.'  "'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'  "But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.  "Later the others also came.  'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!'  "But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.' (Matthew 25:2-12 NIV)

What was the difference between the two groups of virgins?  All of the virgins had the same information available to them that they had to have their lamps lit when the groom arrived.  What separated the groups was the way each group processed that information.  At the time when they all fell asleep waiting for the groom and even before that, the five of the virgins thought it did not matter how much oil they kept with them.  The other five with varying degrees of urgency believed it was best to have extra oil for this crucial night.  The first group, the group without extra oil provides a clear picture of the chaotic mind, the mind without God working through the thinking.  They did not think far enough or process the information they had with enough clarity to avoid being kept out of their wedding.  The second group had spiritual thinking at work and although they may not have known why they needed to have extra oil, they took the information they had of the coming wedding and made sure they kept with them extra oil.  The second group of virgins thought in a different way than the first group of virgins and the way each group thought was critical…life altering.

There are key moments, and we never know when they will come and rarely know their importance at the time, when we need a higher intelligence, a smarter way of thinking and that is spiritual thinking.  When Jesus came across a man who had been crippled for thirty-eight years, the man had no idea the importance of that day.  But then when Jesus healed him, he started to see God’s hand upon him but because he lacked spiritual thinking, he could not process the data correctly.  For some reason, the man did not even pay attention to who Jesus Christ was, did not bother noticing even the slightest bit of information about Him.  When the Jewish authorities found the man carrying his begging mat that day and it happened to be the Sabbath with its regulations against carrying such mats on that day, he was asked why he was violating the Sabbath.  (H)e replied, "The man who made me well said to me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.'" (John 5:11 NIV)  When the Pharisees demanded to know who told him to pick up his mat, the man did not know.  Of course it seems odd to us that this fellow did not even know the name of the one who healed him of his thirty-eight year disability but that is the sort of thing that happens when we lack spiritual thinking.  We aren’t able to process the data we have coherently so that it makes sense for what is important.  Later, Jesus met up with the man and told him to stop sinning or else something worse would happen to Him.  What that something worse was, the man never bothered to try and discover.  Instead he just ignored Jesus’ warning and went on with his life.  Without the power of God working through our thinking, we become arbitrary in our actions, disordered and unable to make sense of the most important factors we encounter.  Spiritual thinking allows us to see and think about what is most important and how to understand what we see.

When the rich young ruler who met up with Jesus as described in Luke 18, was told that if he wanted to inherit eternal life, he had to sell what he had, give it to the poor and follow Jesus, he mentally collapsed at the words.  He could not process how important it was to leave behind his wealth if he was to have a happier and more joyful life that could never be ruined by circumstances or even by death.  Jesus was not good enough for him and that was because of the inability he had to utilize spiritual thinking.  Zacchaeus on the other hand without even having to be told, as soon as he met Jesus, realized that he had to pay back everyone he cheated four times over and give up half of all of his possessions to the poor if he was to be happy.  You cannot be talked into such a decision.  Who willingly would do such a thing with a glad heart?  It is not logical in any way unless of course you process it using spiritual thinking.  Of the two men, who made the smart decision?  The rich young ruler met Jesus, looked carefully at him with all his mental acuity and decided it was best to hold on to his wealth.  Zacchaeus used the same mental skills as the rich ruler but added to it was spiritual thinking, and he decided to give away his wealth.  One famously went away sorrowfully.  The other was joyful in his decision.  Spiritual thinking determined the quality of life each gained.

There are two parts to spiritual thinking.  The first is a determination that the Bible is the ultimate authority in our decision making.  If this is not decided, we will be unclear in our thinking and unable to process rightly what we face.  Who knows what to think of the person who gossips about us at work?  The Bible gives a clear answer.  Who knows how to respond to being unemployed?  The Bible tells us.  Who knows what we should do if we can’t stand our neighbor?  The Bible has a plan for that.  The Bible has an answer for every moral decision we face.  The second part of spiritual thinking is that it thrives off a craving that borders on desperation for the Lord to direct us in an ever growing way.  To develop spiritual thinking, we must be eager to be led by God.  For us, it is a sort of Promised Land.  We can stand on the edge of spiritual thinking like the rich ruler of Luke 18 and watch as others enter into a joyful and intelligently peaceful life or we can enter in and be like Zacchaeus, glad beyond measure to be with Jesus.  Others may not think much of the decisions you make but you will know, as you let the Bible and the Spirit of God dominate your thinking, that you have a better life than they can ever imagine.