Bible Discussion Thread

When I read Romans 8:27 ___

I am not sure I understand what is meant by

the mind of the spirit

" Romans 8:27

"And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth

what is the mind of the Spirit, because he

maketh intercession for the saints according

to the will ofGod."

I would appreciate thoughts on this scripture.

Thank you.

Hello MotherMac. As you have read Romans chapter 8, the whole speaks of the life filled & led of the Holy Spirit. And then we come to Romans 8:26,27 which teaches us that the Holy Spirit helps God's children in their infirmities; and this I feel refers specifically to how we should pray to the Father when we are ignorant of the facts of the problem (whether of ourselves, of others & of matters of the world). So when we earnestly come before the LORD in prayer, with heavy hearts over some matter deeply affecting us, the Spirit of God enables us to pray, intercedes for us & takes our maybe disjointed uninformed prayers, conveying it intelligently before the Father's Throne.

This thought then leads me to verse 27, of the vital inseparable relationship between the Father & His Spirit Whom He has sent out into the world & especially into the lives of His children. It is God "Who searches the hearts" and it is God "Who knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit". To those who believe that God's Spirit is just a force of God would have to concede that the Spirit of God is not a mere force from God but a very real Being (Person) of God Whom God has sent forth to accomplish His Will on the Earth. His Spirit has a 'Mind', which means He holds & expresses the very same mental attributes & Will of God to fulfil God's Purposes. The Spirit is truly God in us ( John 14:16,17) & God working before others.

This can be confusing as we can somewhat understand Jesus, God's Son as walking on Earth & living a sinless life, perfectly performing the Father's Will. But when we speak of the Holy Spirit Who can't be seen, having a Mind (v27), or demonstrating intelligence ( 1 Corinthians 2:10,11); having feelings ( Ephesians 4:30); or having a Will ( 1 Corinthians 12:11), & many other Works, then our understanding of this is quite tested. Even as Jesus holds all the attributes of the Father ( Revelation 2:23, "He which searcheth the hearts & reins"), the Spirit's Mind fully aligns with God.

Hi Chris , I enjoyed your reply to Mothermac and I wanted you to know , that my reply to her was composed and submitted by me , one minute after I composed and submitted my response to Tdianne .

My response to Mothermac was not in anyway made as a response to your response to her , as I composed it and submitted it almost 24 hours ago but it's only just appeared on the site .

Don't know why it didn't come up at the same time as my response to Tdianne did , both posts were made within one minute of each other . Not that it matters except that , I don't want you or anyone else to think that I was being contentious and deliberately posting a response which is a bit different to yours , in order to be contentious .

I guess it's all to do with what time of day it is wherever we are when we post . I don't imagine that the moderators on this site work 24 hours a day and I'm not in the U.S.A. at the moment , I'm working in northern Europe .

Thanks Jackieboy80 for your clarification. We don't know why some postings take a little longer to show up; maybe this Site's verification engine is also inclined to take short breaks from its 'heavy' workload. And since MotherMac was seeking other people's views on the matter of "the mind of the Spirit", I'm sure your understanding has given both her & others another way of reading that portion of Scripture. So please be at peace: you were not being contentious in any way. Blessings.

Hello Chris,

You have explained this well. Thank you.

Amen Brother Chris!

God bless you.

Thanks brother S. Spencer & sister GiGi. GBU.

We need to read all scripture in context , so this is what I think about the scripture you asked about . First we need to be clear , who is he that searcheth the hearts ? I believe in this case that's Jesus . Who or what is the Spirit referred to here ? I believe we find the answer to that in verses 9 + 11 + 14 . Bearing these things in mind , I can interpret that verse to mean : Jesus ( he that searcheth the hearts ) knoweth what is in the mind of God ( the Spirit of God , therefore God Himself ) because he ( Jesus ) maketh intercession for us....

That's my take on that verse , maybe others see it differently and they will also give you their answer . I hope that I was able to explain that clearly enough .