Angelic Conflict part 173: Human history (soul and spirit) – Heb 4:12; 1Pe 3:4; 2Pe 2:14; 1Jo 3:21; Rom 10:10; 2Co 9:7; Eph 6:5; 4:18; Heb 12:3.

Title: Angelic Conflict part 173: Human history (soul and spirit) - HEB 4:12; 1PE 3:4; 2PE 2:14; 1JO 3:21; ROM 10:10; 2CO 9:7; EPH 6:5; 4:18; HEB 12:3. 

 

 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 [skilled in critiquing] the thoughts [content of thinking] and intentions [passions] 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.

 

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 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 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.

 

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: continued.

 

Divine beauty flows from the heart, 1PE 3:4.

 

1PE 3:3 And let not your adornment be merely external —  braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses;

 

1PE 3:4 but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.

 

The heart can be trained in sin, 2PE 2:14.

 

2PE 2:13 They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, as they carouse with you,

 

2PE 2:14 having eyes full of adultery and that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children;

 

2PE 2:15 forsaking the right way they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness,

 

The heart can condemn us, but grace gives us confidence before God and a productive prayer life, 1JO 3:21.

 

1JO 3:21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God;

 

1JO 3:22 and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.

 

HEB 13:9

Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were thus occupied were not benefited.

 

Words remain in the heart (memory) and we believe in our heart, ROM 10:10.

 

ROM 10:8 But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" —  that is, the word of faith which we are preaching,

 

ROM 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved;

 

ROM 10:10 for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

 

ROM 10:11 For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed."

 

We are motivated from our heart

 

2CO 9:7

 Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver.

 

Therefore, we are motivated by thought, by knowledge, by metabolized knowledge, and by wisdom and understanding.

 

EPH 6:5 Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ;

 

EPH 6:6 not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.

 

Quitting because of too much pressure is called losing heart, GAL 6:9; COL 3:21; HEB 12:3.

 

GAL 6:9

And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary.

 

COL 3:21

Fathers, do not exasperate your children, that they may not lose heart.

 

HEB 12:3

For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart.

 

A mind devoid of truth produces hardness of the heart, or a calloused heart, EPH 4:18.

 

EPH 4:17 This I say therefore, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind,

 

EPH 4:18 being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart;

 

EPH 4:19 and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality, for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.

 

EPH 4:20 But you did not learn Christ in this way,

 

EPH 4:21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus,

 

EPH 4:22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,

 

EPH 4:23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,

 

EPH 4:24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

 

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.

 

HEB 4:13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.

 

There is no point to playing games with God. There is no point to putting on masks with God or being hypocritical towards Him. His omniscience knows every thought you have and, as this passage states, we have to deal with Him eventually, so might as well do so now and deal with your relationship with Him.

 

"have to do" - o` logo,j [ho logos] = play on words with verse 12 which is the ho logos of God. In classical Greek this phrase meant "to give an account."

 

We will all give an account and we will do so based solely on the ho logos. Since all of our heart is laid bare to His omniscient eyes then why not deal with the word of God now rather than ignoring it and then being judged by it later?

 

JOH 12:48

"He who rejects Me, and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word [ho logos] I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.

 

The One who will judge us has already passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God.

 

HEB 4:14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast [lay hold of and prevail] our confession [homologia].

 

Since that is true, He has gained victory over all of God's opposition, let us fight the good fight of faith, i.e. hold fast our confession.

 

MAT 10:32-33

"Everyone therefore who shall confess Me before men, I will also confess [homologeo] him before My Father who is in heaven. "But whoever shall deny Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.

 

2TI 2:11-13

It is a trustworthy statement:

For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him;

If we endure, we shall also reign with Him;

If we deny Him, He also will deny us;

If we are faithless, He remains faithful; for He cannot deny Himself.