1. INTRODUCTION

In Lesson 4 we saw how Elohim instantaneously changes a person on the inside when that person is born again. When a person accepts Yahshua as his Savior and Lord, he is born out of darkness into light. He is delivered  from Satan's authority and translated into the Kingdom of Elohim.
This is not a process of gradual development from darkness to light, or from death to life. It is an instantaneous change within; Elohim recreates him, and he becomes a "new creature" in Messiah.
However, there is a growth and development which takes place in the believer’s life. Peter tells us to "grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior ... "(2 Peter 3:18).
The new birth does not mean that those who are born again are instantly mature. There is a process which must begin to take place within the life of every believer. Paul calls this process a "transformation"; we are outwardly changed (our actions and walk) into the image of the new creature which Elohim has made us to be on the inside (2 Corinthians 3:18).
"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2). When a believer is transformed by the renewing of his mind, he "grows up in all aspects into Him" (Ephesians 4:15).
This transformation process is also known as sanctification. For this is the will of Elohim, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: (1 Thessalonians 4:3)

2. MAN – A THREE-PART BEING

Before proceeding any further in our study of this transformation, we would do well to investigate the three-fold nature of man. Man is made up of three parts: spirit, soul, and body. The spirit and soul of a man are distinct from his body. This can be understood from simple observation. What is not quite so obvious is that the spirit and the soul of a person are also distinct entities.
There are instances where the scriptures use the word "soul" collectively of both spirit and soul. When it is thus used, "soul" refers to that part of man which is unseen and eternal  (read Matthew 10:28 & Acts 2:27).
But the spirit and the soul of a man are not one and the same. "Now may the Elohim of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Yahshua Messiah" (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
"For the word of Elohim is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit" (Hebrews 4:12). These scriptures make a clear distinction  between spirit and soul. Equating the two will only lead to confusion.

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   1. MAN IS A SPIRIT

Elohim is a spirit (John 4:24), and when He created man in His own image, He created him a spirit. So man also is a spirit. Although we see with our eyes a man's body, yet the real man  is on the inside. Peter calls this the "hidden man of the heart" (1 Peter 3:4). Paul calls it the "inner man" (2 Corinthians 4:16). These expressions (hidden man, inner man) refer to the same thing; they refer to a person's spirit.
When Adam sinned and fell from the glory of Elohim, it was his spirit that died. "But from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die" (Genesis 2:17). The death that Elohim was speaking of was spiritual death.
This is the condition that is radically changed by the new birth. When a person is born again, that person becomes a totally new creation. The person on the inside, the hidden man of the heart, becomes new. All the old things which kept a person separated from Elohim and in bondage passed away (2 Corinthians 5:17).
The new birth takes place in the  heart - the inner man. That new man is made in the likeness of Elohim "in all righteousness and holiness" (Ephesians 4:24). Since Elohim is a spirit, it is a man's spirit which is in contact and communion with the Father. "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of Elohim" (Romans 8:16). It is through our spirits that we have fellowship with Elohim and are guided and directed by Him. So this was the part of man that was totally recreated.

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   2. MAN HAS A SOUL

The word "soul" (when used in distinction from spirit) refers to a person's mind (intellect) and the person’s emotions. The effect of  the fall upon our minds and emotions was one of corruption. It caused human beings to think and to feel in a way that was contrary to the way Elohim thinks. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways; declares Yahweh" (Isaiah 55:8).
 
Before a person is born again, that person’s mind and emotions are controlled largely by his or her unregenerate spirit. Thus, they are programmed according to the standards of the world. Worldly ideals are natural to this kind of mind because that is the way it has been trained.
The new birth gives to a person a completely new heart, one that  is aligned with Elohim and desires to do His will. As we have said, this is an instantaneous happening.  But, a person’s mind and emotions (his soul) must be renewed through the Word of Elohim, by the power of the Holy Spirit. This renewing of the mind is one of the processes of maturing in which a believer's mind and emotions are trained to come into line with Elohim and into fellowship with his recreated spirit.

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   3. MAN LIVES IN A BODY

While our spirits have been reborn and our minds are being renewed, the fact remains that we still live in mortal bodies and will do so until Yahshua returns. At the return of Yahshua, all those who are still alive will be "changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet" (1 Corinthians 15:51-53). But this putting off of mortality for immortality will not occur until the second coming of Yahshua.
The body is the tent, the dwelling place of the spirit and the soul of man. The apostles Paul and Peter both clearly expressed this conviction in their epistles.
"For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from Elohim, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens ... We are of good courage. I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:1,8).
''And I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder, knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent" (2 Peter 1:13,14).
In both these passages it is plain that the apostles saw their bodies as simply the houses of their spirits. The real "person" was not their physical body, but the spirit within that body.
While he was still alive and present in his body, Paul said that he did something with his body. "But I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified" (1 Corinthians 9:27).
Every believer has a responsibility to control the appetites of his body and make his body his slave. A believer who spends his entire life on the earth ruled and dominated by his body will be disqualified [unapproved, seen as a counterfeit] by Yahweh.
Just as a human being is three-fold in nature, his redemption is three-fold also. A person’s spirit is totally and completely redeemed when he accepts Yahshua as his Savior and Lord. That work happens instantaneously.
A person's mind must be renewed by the Word of Elohim. This is the process of growing in Yahshua and becoming mature.
A person’s body will not be redeemed from mortality (inevitable physical death) until the body is glorified and is like Yahshua’s body (1 John 3:2). For some saints, glorification will take place when Messiah Yahshua comes, but for the rest of the believing dead, glorification will take place at the last resurrection (John 5:28 – 29, Revelation 20:5).

3. WHY YOU NEED TO HAVE YOUR MIND RENEWED

In Lesson 4 we saw how the new birth results in a new creation, made in the likeness of Elohim. That new creation is infused with the divine nature of Elohim (2 Peter 1:4) and has been made the righteousness of Elohim (2 Corinthians 5:21). If you are born again, you ARE a new creation. Elohim’s power has been manifested on your behalf and has recreated you on the inside.
But there is still a transformation which must take place in the life of every believer. That transformation is a process (unlike the new birth, which happens the moment we believe). The transformation process begins when the believer starts to have his mind infused with words of Elohim and starts to do the words of Elohim.
A believer’s mind needs to be renewed because it was defiled by sin. Titus 1:15 Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled (KJV).

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   1. YOUR MIND WAS DEFILED

A believer's mind needs to undergo a transformation because it was defiled. This defilement happened because the soul was dominated by an unregenerate spirit, alien to Elohim.
Before being born again, a person's mind is programmed to think, feel, and respond in a way that is contrary to Elohim and His Word. In other words, it learned the ways of this world and was programmed according to its dictates.
The defiled mind cannot know (understand and do) the things of the Holy Spirit.
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of Elohim: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:14 KJV)
The natural man (unbelieving person) cannot receive the things of the Holy Spirit because they are spiritually discerned. When a person is born again, that person’s spirit is recreated, a new spirit is put in him or her, the old spirit is destroyed, and the believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit speaks the things of Elohim to the new spirit and the new spirit understands them. The believer’s mind now receives the things of the Holy Spirit.
Without the new birth, the unbeliever’s mind is still defiled.

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   2. YOUR MIND DOESN’T GET BORN AGAIN

Yahshua said, "You must be born again" (John 3:7). The experience to which He referred takes place in the spirit of a person. A person's spirit is translated from darkness to light, and from death to life. This change takes place in a moment, the instant a person receives Yahshua as his or her Savior.
The same cannot be said of a person's mind. The mind of a person does not get born again. It must be renewed by the Word of Elohim. The Scriptures tell us to have the Word of Elohim dwell richly within us (Colossians 3:16).
As the Word of Elohim dwells within us and becomes a part of our lives, old thought patterns are erased and replaced by Yahweh’s thought patterns. The process of erasing old thought patterns and replacing them with Yahweh’s thought patterns is called "renewing the mind."

4. TRANSFORMED INTO THE SAME IMAGE

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of Elohim." (Romans 12:2 NKJV). Paul said to believers (new creatures), "Don't be conformed to this world. "
When a person is born again, that person will be outwardly conformed to his former manner of life and thinking. But as the person grows in Yahshua, renewing his mind with the Word, that person will start to conform to the ways of Yahshua and away from the ways of the world.
There is no such thing as a stationary (standing still) spiritual condition for a believer. One is either moving toward Yahshua, in conformity to Him, or away from Yahshua, in conformity with the world.  We live in a world in which there is a current that goes the opposite direction from Elohim. If a believer chooses to "relax," that believer will be swept along by the current, being gradually conformed to this world and its standards. There is no standing still in Elohim. One is either being transformed by the renewing of the mind or is being conformed to this world.
But as a person's thinking is changed into Elohim’s way of thinking (i.e., as his mind is renewed), an outward transformation begins to take place. This transformation is also an ongoing process, in which the inward work of the new birth begins to be outwardly manifested in a believer's lifestyle. In this process a believer's thoughts and actions (i.e., his outward walk) change, becoming more and more like Yahshua. The righteous inner man can be seen by others when he is allowed to manifest himself through a person's character and personality.
Believers ought to be diligent in having their minds renewed. When we set our minds on Spiritual things, we live according to the Spirit. But when we set our minds on fleshly, carnal things, we live according to the flesh. Setting your mind on Spiritual things means purposefully reading the Scriptures and meditating upon them with the expectation to do what they say, purposefully paying attention in church services to hear Yahweh’s Word and voice with the expectation to obey it, and purposefully seeking Yahweh’s voice in your daily life.
If we do not set our minds on Spiritual things, we will live according to the flesh. Our attitudes and behavior will be fleshly. Galatians 5:16 – 26 tells us the result of setting our minds on the flesh versus setting our minds on the Spirit.
If we set our minds on the Holy Spirit, we shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, and we shall walk (live) by the Spirit. If we set our minds on the flesh, we shall be filled with fleshly ways, and shall live according to the flesh.
Yahweh does not want His children to live according to the flesh. When we live according to the flesh, we prove to be disobedient children who deny the power of the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives. If we live according to the flesh though we have been born again, we shall not inherit the kingdom of Elohim and shall be cast off with the unbelievers.
Denying the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives is the same as believing in Messiah Yahshua and being His disciple but choosing not to follow Him. Messiah said that we are His disciples indeed if we continue in His Word (John 8:30 - 32).
Please read Romans 8:1-14. In this passage we are told that we can choose to be carnally (fleshly) minded or be Spiritually minded. If we are fleshly minded, we shall die, but if we are Spiritually minded, we shall live. Therefore we must be diligent to set our minds on Spiritual things.
Read 2 Corinthians 3:18 and James 1:22-24

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   1. THE SPIRIT TRANSFORMS US

If you are born again and you yield to the Word of Yahweh and to the Holy Spirit, you will be transformed into the image of Yahshua. Yahshua is the Word (John 1:14 – 18), and as you read Him and do all that He says, you will begin to look more and more like Him.

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      1. The Word as a mirror

"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass [mirror] the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Corinthians 3:18 KJV). The Spirit of Yahweh transforms us into the image of Yahshua. We can use the Word as a mirror to see how closely we are aligning with the image of Yahshua.
We cannot change on our own. When we believe what the Word says and do what it says by the power of the Holy Spirit who has been given to all believers, our minds will change to become like the mind of Yahshua.
We will think as Yahshua thinks and talk as He talks. We will love the things Yahshua loves and hate the things He hates. Use the Word as a mirror to see the power of the Holy Spirit transforming you.
Just as it is difficult to see yourself growing by simply looking in the mirror daily, it can be difficult to see your own spiritual growth. Usually, your pastors and fellow believers or family will notice changes before you do. But as time goes, you will notice changes within yourself.

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      2.  Power to act

"For you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light" (Ephesians 5:8). The power to walk as a child of the light comes from the Holy Spirit.
The child of Yahweh who reads and desires to do the Word of Yahweh will be empowered by the Holy Spirit to do it. The doing of the Word is like an act of washing (Ephesians 5:26) that washes away worldly thought patterns and replaces them with the perfect mind of Yahshua (Philippians 2:5 – 11, 4:8).
Be diligent in the reading and doing of the Word and your transformation will be visible to all to the glory of the Father!

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   2. GAZE INTENTLY INTO THE MIRROR

In James 1:22-24 we find teaching about the Word as a mirror in which a man sees his reflection. But in this passage of scripture, there are two men described. One is a man who hears the Word but does not do it (the forgetful hearer); the other is a man who hears the Word and does it (the effectual doer).

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      1. The forgetful hearer

This man looks at himself in the mirror and then goes his way, immediately forgetting what manner of man he was. Casual and intermittent reading of the Word of Elohim has had little lasting effect upon that man, and he's forgotten what he heard.
Many believers are like this man. They read the Word of Elohim (the mirror which shows who Yahshua is and has the power to change them), but quickly forget the image that they saw there. They are "forgetful hearers." They are very easily swayed from their conviction by contrary emotions or thoughts because they look into the mirror of Elohim’s Word only casually and intermittently. Thus, they rarely act in a way which reflects that new man, because they have quickly forgotten what he looks like.
Casual and intermittent reading of the Word of Elohim has caused very slow spiritual growth in many believers leaving them prey to deceitful doctrines and teachings contrary to Elohim.

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      2. They effectual doer

But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty [freedom and power to obey Yahweh, obey His commandments, and fulfill His will after having been under the power of sin and darkness] and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. (James 1:25 NKJV)
This other man looks intently into the perfect law of liberty. He is now free to serve Yahweh having been a slave to sin. His gaze is not diverted by other thoughts and emotions, but he abides in the Word. Because he continues to look into that mirror, that is he continues to read and do the Word, he starts becoming more and more like who he sees in the mirror: Yahshua.
The believer who reads and does the Word is also empowered to act like the Person the believer sees in the mirror. One cannot be an effectual doer until he is an intent gazer – reading the Word with the intention of doing what it says.

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   3. THE TRUTH WILL MAKE YOU FREE

John 8:31KJV Then said Yahshua to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32 And ye shall know the truth [Yahshua], and the truth [Yahshua] shall make you free.
Whoever reads the Word of Yahweh, which is Yahshua, and abides in it, shall have a transformed mind. No person today has seen Yahshua in the flesh. But Yahshua is alive in the Word and in the Spirit, which indwells all believers. If we abide in the Word, if we continue reading and obeying it, we shall become like Yahshua in word, act, and deed.
Not only has believing in the words of Yahshua brought us salvation and freedom from the power of sin and darkness but abiding in His words will bring us freedom from an unregenerate mind, bring us an abundant life, and ultimately glorification when our bodies will be changed to be like His and we shall never sin again, and our minds shall never contemplate sin.
Abiding in the Word will renew your mind. It will change the way you think, from the world's thought patterns to Yahweh’s thought patterns. When Yahweh said, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways," He didn't mean that He wanted it to continue that way. Yahweh's desire is that our thinking come into line with His thinking, so that our ways will come into line with His ways.

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   4. BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

We do have a part to play in this transformation, since we are responsible to look intently into the mirror – study the Word and then act according to what it says. But we must never lose sight of the fact that the actual transformation taking place is a work of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5).
The Holy Spirit is the One who renews our minds by showing us what the Word means, prompting us to act on the Word, giving us the power to act, and in our believing and acting changing our minds. (1 Corinthians 2:12). The Holy Spirit is the one who transforms us into the image of Yahshua.
"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass [mirror] the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Corinthians 3:18 KJV).

5. SUMMARY – THE MIND OF MESSIAH

The unrenewed mind is one that is conformed to the ways of this world. Thus, it is contrary to Yahweh and His ways (Isaiah 55:7 - 8).
Isaiah 55:7 – 8 KJV Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto Yahweh, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our Elohim, for He will abundantly pardon. 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith Yahweh.
This mind exists in unbelievers and when an unbeliever is born again, his mind must be renewed by the power of the Word and the Holy Spirit. Since our physical birth our mind has been in fellowship with an unregenerate spirit, and has learned to think in ways which are not Elohim’s ways.
When a person is born again, his spirit is recreated, but his mind remains largely the same as it was before. So, a process must take place in which that unrenewed mind is renewed to the principles of Elohim's Word. As the new believer meditates in the Word and fills his mind with Elohim’s thoughts, his unrenewed mind will begin to change. It will begin to think in line with Elohim, in line with faith and hope and love; it will begin to think like the mind of Messiah.
As the believer's mind is renewed, his actions and his outward walk will also begin to change and He will begin to act more and more like Yahshua.