Angelic Conflict part 172: Human history (soul and spirit) – Heb 4:12; Lev 17:11; Pro 14:10; 4:23; 5:12-14; Gen 6:5; Isa 6:8-10; Eze 36:22-32.

Title: Angelic Conflict part 172: Human history (soul and spirit) - HEB 4:12; LEV 17:11; PRO 14:10; 4:23; 5:12-14; GEN 6:5; ISA 6:8-10; EZE 36:22-32.  

 

 

HEB 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

 

The joints and marrow refer to deep thoughts and motivations. Nothing is hidden from God and His word will reveal to you even your innermost thoughts and motivations.

 

"judge" - kritiko,j[kritikos] = fit for or skilled in judging, discerning, or critiquing.

 

"thoughts" - evnqu,mhsij[enthumesis] = the content of thinking or reasoning.

 

"intentions" - e;nnoia[ennoia] = that which is intended or purposed as a result of thinking. Design or application.

 

And so finally, these thoughts and the purposed results of them are described as being in the heart. Let us define the Biblical usage of the term heart.

 

The heart is the chief organ for physical life.

 

LEV 17:11

'For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.'

 

The Biblical heart is generally the part of the soul where you think so as to reason, decide, motivate, and apply thought, in other words, it is the real you.

 

It is impossible to demarcate a fine line between soul and heart from the revelation of scripture. We can differentiate between thoughts that are facts, like math, geography, time, etc. from what we think or determine from those facts. One's love or hate of math helps define them as a person just like ones love or disregard for a certain city or neighborhood. This is why apathy towards something makes that something to be outside of the heart. Apathy towards Christ means that the person of Christ, or the information that describes that person is not in the heart. Just knowledge of Him is not in the heart if a proper passion or opinion doesn't result from that knowledge. Hatred of Him puts His opposition in the heart since that is an opinion formed or a passion.

 

It would seem that the heart is where one person can truly be defined as an individual. Therefore, your opinion of the Trinity, Jesus' humanity, the spiritual life, doctrine, the flesh, and the world would reside in your heart.  

 

We can gain more insight into the Biblical heart of thought from the physical heart of blood.

 

The physical heart distributes the blood throughout the entire body keeping cells alive. Thus we would say that the heart of the soul pumps thoughts throughout the soul. Therefore the heart can be wicked or good, depending on what knowledge it is pumping. Since the heart is the chief organ for physical life so the heart of the soul is the life of the soul.

 

The heart takes oxygen poor and CO₂ rich blood on the right side and pumps that blood to the lungs which remove the CO₂ and enrich the blood with vital oxygen. The oxygen rich blood returns to the left side of the heart which in turn pumps it to the rest of the body through the aorta.

 

The word heart occurs over 600 times in the OT and over 150 times in the NT. Therefore, heart is an important word in the scripture. If we assume that God knew that we would discover the anatomy of the heart and lung system [Egyptian papyrus 1600BC recognizes all the major organs] and we know that the heart is the seat of thought in a man according to scripture and we know that the words for spirit, both ruach and pneuma are also the words for breath or wind then we can likely and easily get a good idea of the system of the soul.

 

The heart takes in thought, some of it good [oxygenated], some of it bad [deoxygenated] and then sends the thought to the spirit as the physical heart sends deoxygenated blood to the lungs [breath], this can be the spirit of the world or the new divine spirit under the instruction of the Holy Spirit and then the thoughts return to the heart influenced by worldly spirit or the divine spirit. Diseased lungs do not oxygenate the blood as well as healthy lungs just as the spirit of the world or the spirit of error will not rightly discern divine thought from worldly thought or doctrines of demons. So we can picture the lungs as our spirit, the heart as our soul, and the blood as all the information that we receive. The physical heart beats approximately 100,000 times per day pumping 5-6 quarts of blood every minute and 2,000 gallons per day. In 75 years that's about 55 million gallons of blood. I'd say that the amount of information or data that we take into our souls is roughly equivalent.

 

If there is a problem with the heart, the word of God, sharper than any scalpel will determine it and reveal it to you. Then it is up to you to change your thinking if necessary.

 

The same gracious revelation will occur when there is an influence by a wrong spirit. If we do not heed the warning then divine discipline will ensue by the love of God so that we can wake up and make the proper corrections.

 

The Bible calls the thinking part of you, where you think so as to reason, decide, motivate, and apply thought, in other words, the real you, as the heart.

 

Scriptural documentation of the heart:

 

Bitterness resides in the heart, PRO 14:10.

 

PRO 14:10 The heart knows its own bitterness,

And a stranger does not share its joy.

 

Life springs from the heart, PRO 4:23.

 

PRO 4:23 Watch over your heart with all diligence,

For from it flow the springs of life.

 

The negative heart spurns correction given from the word of God, PRO 5:12-14.

 

PRO 5:12 And you say, "How I have hated instruction!

And my heart spurned reproof!

 

PRO 5:13 "And I have not listened to the voice of my teachers,

Nor inclined my ear to my instructors!

 

PRO 5:14 "I was almost in utter ruin

In the midst of the assembly and congregation."

 

Evil resides in the heart.

 

GEN 6:5

Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

 

The heart can be the seat of confusion or understanding, ISA 6:8-10.

 

ISA 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

 

ISA 6:9 And He said, "Go, and tell this people:

'Keep on listening, but do not perceive;

Keep on looking, but do not understand.'

 

ISA 6:10 "Render the hearts of this people insensitive,

Their ears dull,

And their eyes dim,

Lest they see with their eyes,

Hear with their ears,,

Understand with their hearts,

And return and be healed."

 

The heart is changed by the Spirit of God at salvation if the believer assents to His wisdom and power, EZE 36:22-32.

 

EZE 36:22 "Therefore, say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord God," It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went.

 

EZE 36:23 "And I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord," declares the Lord God, "when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight.

 

EZE 36:24 "For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands, and bring you into your own land.

 

At the Second Coming the Lord judges Israel and separates believers from unbelievers. The believers are given the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit which will give them a new heart and a new spirit.

 

EZE 36:25 "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean [believing Jews who enter the Millennial reign of Christ]; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.

 

EZE 36:26 "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

 

EZE 36:27 "And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.

 

EZE 36:28 "And you will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God.

 

EZE 36:29 "Moreover, I will save you from all your uncleanness; and I will call for the grain and multiply it, and I will not bring a famine on you.

 

EZE 36:30 "And I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field, that you may not receive again the disgrace of famine among the nations.

 

EZE 36:31 "Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and your abominations.

 

EZE 36:32 "I am not doing this for your sake," declares the Lord God, "let it be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel!"

 

God the HS searches the heart, ROM 8:27.

ROM 8:26 And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;

 

ROM 8:27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

 

You're never alone and your heart is under constant surveillance by God.