It is possible to admire Jesus and still think nothing like Him?

At first glance, that sounds impossible. Jesus is the Son of God. He knows all things. He sees what no man sees. He speaks with authority that does not come from learning but from being who He is. So how could anyone claim to know His mind?

And yet Scripture does.

The answer is not as mystical as it sounds. Knowing the mind of Christ is not about omniscience. It is not about having access to everything Jesus knows. It is about alignment.

It’s not knowing everything Jesus knows. It’s thinking how Jesus thinks.

That distinction matters.

Paul says plainly, “For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:16)

That statement sits at the end of a larger argument. Paul has been drawing a sharp contrast between the wisdom of the world and the wisdom of God. One is natural. The other is revealed. One is grasped by human reason. The other is given by the Spirit.

The mind of Christ is not achieved by intelligence, maturity, or spiritual effort. It is revealed. It is received. It comes through the Spirit of God, not through human insight.

That alone strips away pride.

This also clears up what the mind of Christ is not.

It is not mind-reading Jesus.

It is not secret knowledge.

It is not divine spoilers about the future.

It is not vague intuition dressed up as spirituality.

It is not new prophecy, private revelation, or a mystical download.

The mind of Christ does not invent new words. It remembers what He already said.

It is not a way of stamping God’s name on our own ideas.

Claiming the mind of Christ does not mean “Jesus agrees with me.” If anything, it often means the opposite. It means our thinking is being corrected, not confirmed.

So what does it mean to have the mind of Christ?

It means thinking like Jesus thinks.

It is a mind that values obedience over comfort.

A mind that submits when it could assert itself.

A mind that chooses the will of the Father over personal desire.

Paul describes this clearly when he points us to Christ’s humility. “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped.” (Philippians 2:5–6)

That is the mind of Christ. Power restrained. Personal rights laid down. Obedience chosen freely.

We see it again in the Garden. Jesus does not deny what lies ahead. He does not pretend suffering is easy. But He submits His will anyway. “Not My will, but Yours be done.” (Luke 22:42)

The mind of Christ does not avoid suffering at all cost. It obeys at all cost.

That is what happened to Peter in Matthew 16. After Peter confessed that Jesus was the Christ, Jesus began to speak openly about the suffering and death that lay ahead. And Peter resisted. He pulled Jesus aside and rebuked Him. His words sounded loyal. His motives seemed loving. But his thinking was off.

Jesus answered him sharply: “You are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” (Matthew 16:23)

That sentence defines the problem.

Peter loved Jesus. But he was thinking like a man, not like Christ. He wanted glory

without suffering. Victory without sacrifice. A kingdom without a cross. Jesus exposes the difference between affection for Him and alignment with Him.

That same tension shows up in believers today.

It is possible to use Christian language while still thinking with worldly priorities.

It is possible to love Jesus and still resist where He leads when obedience is painful.

That is why having the mind of Christ matters.

It shapes decisions.

It governs reactions to suffering.

It affects how we see others.

It exposes pride.

It compels obedience when the easier path is available.

Without the mind of Christ, faith becomes selective. With it, faith becomes surrendered.

So the question is not whether we admire Jesus. The question is whether our thinking is being reshaped by Him.

It’s not knowing everything Jesus knows. It’s thinking how Jesus thinks.

Having the mind of Christ is not a spiritual badge. It is a call to surrender. A daily yielding of our priorities, our reasoning, and our instincts to His.

The honest prayer is not “Lord, make me smarter.”

It is “Lord, shape my mind like Yours.”

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“What I write is not for everyone, but what I write is meant for someone.” – Dean Butler

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