Mind, Heart, Spirit

Jewish Lords' Witness

Synopsis

1. God and man have a heart, a mind and a soul.
2. The heart is the seat of emotions and desire.
3. The mind facilitates logical thought processes.
4. The spirit comprises heart and mind.
5. The heart is the interface through which spirit creatures can communicate with man.
6. Scripture identifies all the important emotions and desires of man as defined through the heart condition.
7. Memory is contained within the heart and is accessed by the mind.
8. The conscience is a further component of the heart which marks the spirit for judgement.

References

Bible references throughout this Understanding have been taken from the King James Version except where there are significant deviations from the precise meaning of the original Greek or Hebrew texts in which cases the New World Translation has been used. I should point out that many English bibles confuse the translations from the original Old Testament Hebrew texts between mind, heart and soul. Consequently one needs to be very careful in using any particular translation to prove or disprove the arguments in this paper that they properly represent the original texts. The writer hopes that he has used such care and attention. To clarify the point I have placed the Hebrew word phonetics in parentheses after each scriptural reference to each of these words.

Date of Publication: 14th January 2010

The Conscience: What is it? Where Is It?

Hebrews effectively states that the conscience is in the heart:

22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10)

So, as if it did not have enough to do already, it appears that the heart is also the holder of its owner’s conscience! But what is the conscience and how does it operate? The following scriptures in Romans provide us with the clue:

1 I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,
2 That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. (Romans 9)

15 Which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another. (Romans 2)

So the conscience represents the component of the heart in which our moral state is written and which appears to communicate this state back to our spiritual guardians in the matrix, no doubt for purposes of the ultimate judgement:

4 For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord.
5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God. (1Corinthians 4)

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Listening to One's Conscience

The Mind is Our Microprocessor and Comes with Some RAM

Whilst the above demonstrates that the heart is the telecommunications device in the client we must not forget that a fat client will also contain a microprocessor together with its on-board memory chip. The following scriptures indicate that there is a memory unit within our souls that is accessible from our minds:

20 Without fail your soul (nephesh) will remember and bow low over me.
21 This is what I shall bring back to my heart (labe). That is why I shall show a waiting attitude. (Lamentations 3)

The above scripture refers to the memory being in the soul and in particular being recalled in the heart. The following scriptures further indicate that the memory is actually contained within the heart and is read by the spirit. This indicates that memory is held within the heart itself and read by the mind component of the spirit:

6 I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart (labe): and my spirit made diligent search. (Psalms 77)

9 Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul (nephesh)diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart (labe), all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons; (Deuteronomy 4)

The following two scriptures from Hebrews interestingly indicate equivalent memory capability in the mind and the heart as far as God's laws are concerned. It would seem likely therefore that God sees these 'memories' of his laws to be of such fundamental importance that these are written into 'flash' memory both in the mind as well as the heart:

10 ‘For this is the covenant that I shall covenant with the house of Israel after those days,’ says Jehovah. ‘I will put my laws in their mind, and in their hearts I shall write them. And I will become their God, and they themselves will become my people (Hebrews 8)

16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; (Hebrews 10)

At first sight this is a surprising conclusion to reach. The heart does not seem to be the obvious place in which to find one’s memories. The more the writer thinks about it, however, the more it becomes clear that the heart is really who we are. It reflects how we think and feel about ourselves, our fellow beings and about life in general. Our memories and experiences are part of that personality profile and certainly dictate who we are and how we react to the circumstances we find ourselves in from day to day. 1Samuel reflects this perfectly by stating that when God gave Samuel a new heart he was consequently turned into a new man:

6 And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.
7 And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion serve thee; for God is with thee.
8 And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and show thee what thou shalt do.
9 And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart (labe): and all those signs came to pass that day. (1Samuel 10)

It would seem that the mind, therefore, is relegated to a merely logical outboard processor to help us with the more mechanical means of the necessary thought processes for living. You can judge the writer’s original thoughts by the title of this section which was penned before this conclusion was reached; it has turned out to be completely contrary to the original expectation.

So, on the basis that we reflect God’s image, it would appear that God would put much more store by someone who has a positive heart condition and who is prepared to learn from the memory of his experiences than he is impressed by that person’s intelligence quotient. This is the wisdom that God treasures. He does not mind if we make mistakes so long as we learn from them and store the lessons in our hearts for future reference. Presumably this was the way God learned for himself before he created his sons. The following scriptures speak for themselves in this regard:

17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. (James 3)

2 That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;
3 In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Colossians 2)

29 The glory of young men is their strength: and the beauty of old men is the gray head. (Proverbs 20)

15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart (labe) of the contrite ones. (Isaiah 57)

Being human, and therefore not infallible, it seems that our memories can fail us although it is by no means clear whether this is a failing with the memory chip or the microprocessor:

18 Of the Rock that begot thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee. (Deuteronomy 32)

12 Like someone dead [and] not in the heart (labe), I have been forgotten; I have become like a damaged vessel; (Psalms 31)

In some cases an inability to remember may actually be by Gods design:

17 For here I am creating new heavens and a new earth; and the former things will not be remembered, neither will they come up into the heart (labe). (Isaiah 65)

The Heart is the Seat of Our Emotions and Desires

Whilst the heart operates as the communications link between ourselves and God's matrix we can also understand that it is the driving force of our emotions and desires and as such reflects to our Lord the nature of our spirits and, therefore, what sort of person we each are. Our hearts can reflect the emotional extremes of joy and sorrow, God’s as well as our own:

6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart (labe). (Genesis 6)

14 Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart (labe), but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart (labe), and shall howl for vexation of spirit. (Isaiah 65)

Also our hearts can be described in terms of their desires and tendencies. Wicked intent is seen in the following scriptural examples. This wickedness is clearly capable of being read at the server end but can be repaired through repentance:

5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart (labe) was only evil continually. (Genesis 6)

21 Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.
22 Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. (Acts 8)

Other negative emotions/tendencies are written in men’s hearts: hatred, fear, harshness, obstinacy, haughtiness:

41 And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart (labe), The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob. (Genesis 27)

28 And he said unto his brethren, My money is restored; and, lo, it is even in my sack: and their heart (labe) failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to another, What is this that God hath done unto us? (Genesis 42)

13 And he hardened Pharaoh's heart (labe), that he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said. (Exodus 7)

21 And Jehovah went on to say to Moses: “After you have gone and returned to Egypt see that YOU men actually perform all the miracles that I have put in your hand before Pharaoh. As for me, I shall let his heart (labe) become obstinate; and he will not send the people away. (Exodus 4)

20 That his heart (labe) be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel. (Deuteronomy 17)

If mankind’s heart operates in a similar way to that of God, as proposed earlier, does this include the negative aspects? We are left asking the question ‘Is God capable of wicked or fearful thoughts and desires?’. The answer most probably is yes but that He knows what the effects of such negative emotions are and so is able to control them to the point that he never shows those tendencies to his children. He wants us to learn that same level of control to push our negative tendencies to the background of our thinking and behaviour. Although quite what might cause our God to be fearful one cannot quite imagine!

It would appear that the heart can be overloaded with emotion to the degree that it almost ceases to function:

26 Then they reported to him, saying: “Joseph is still alive, and he is the one dominating over all the land of Egypt!” But his heart (labe) grew numb, because he did not believe them. (Genesis 45)

At the positive end of the emotional/tendency scale we have the heart conditions of integrity/honesty, generosity, wisdom, humility, love, righteousness:

5 Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart (labe) and innocency of my hands have I done this. (Genesis 20)

5 Take ye from among you an offering unto the LORD: whosoever is of a willing heart (labe), let him bring it, an offering of the LORD; gold, and silver, and brass, (Exodus 35)

1 Then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted (labe) man, in whom the LORD put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the LORD had commanded. (Exodus 36)

41 And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts (labe) be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity: (Leviticus 26)

5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart (labe), and with all thy soul (nephesh), and with all thy might. (Deuteronomy 6)

5 Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart (labe), dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the LORD swore unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (Deuteronomy 9)

There are many references to the heart in scripture but it is hoped that the above selection confirm the heart as mankind’s and God’s emotional response to their prevailing circumstances.

The Heart is Our Modem Connection into God’s Matrix

Contrary to the idea expressed by the science fiction movie ‘The Matrix’ it may be considered that a matrix does truly exist but one that is run and managed by God for our good rather than for evil mind control which latter is more the province of Satan, his wayward son. Some scriptural examples may help establish this notion.

9 And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a complete heart (labe) and with a delightful soul (nephesh); for all hearts (labe) Jehovah is searching, and every inclination of the thoughts he is discerning. If you search for him, he will let himself be found by you; but if you leave him, he will cast you off forever. (1Chronicles 28)

It therefore appears that God has the ability to plug directly into our hearts and search our innermost thoughts. So is the heart our spiritual connection or modem into God’s matrix? It would certainly appear that God has the equivalent of a server read capability into the workings of the client spirit! Check out Understanding [255] The Heavenly Modem Link.

26 In like manner the spirit also joins in with help for our weakness; for the [problem of] what we should pray for as we need to we do not know, but the spirit itself pleads for us with groanings unuttered.
27 Yet he who searches the hearts knows what the meaning of the spirit is, because it is pleading in accord with God for holy ones. (Romans 8)

The above scripture from Romans indicates that it is not only God that can plug into a man’s heart to search his spirit but also the Holy Spirit, God’s Helper, has this capability for purposes of mediation between man and God. So perhaps we have a three-tier architecture here with the Holy Spirit negotiating between the upper and lower tiers? Furthermore we see that God’s Son also has that mediation facility:

47 Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a young child, set it beside him (Luke 9)

It also appears that God can influence mankind’s heart condition and whole spirit by performing a cleansing download:

26 A new heart (labe) also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart (labe) out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart (labe) of flesh.
27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. (Ezekiel 36)

19 And I will give them one heart (labe), and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart (labe) out of their flesh, and will give them a heart (labe) of flesh:
20 That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. (Ezekiel 11)

18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart (labe); and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. (Psalms 34)

12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4)

This must now begin to look quite worrying to the casual reader. It appears we have a God who can not only read our very thoughts, but also allows his friends to do likewise and furthermore seems to effect our thoughts for his own purposes by going so far as to replace or repair the heart, our interface to the matrix, and even our whole spirit which would include the mind in our present understandings. So God has a maintenance engineering role in place for our connection to the matrix. He is beginning to sound like the most powerful of control freaks! Is this what we would expect of our loving God?

Well it does appear that mankind does have the ability to determine his own heart and mind for good and for service to God:

21 And they came, every one whose heart (labe) stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the LORD's offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments. (Exodus 35)

Mankind can also, apparently, request God’s help in repairing (rebooting even!) a damaged heart; a call to God’s maintenance crew?

4 Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart (labe) within me is desolate. (Psalms 143)

13 A merry heart (labe) maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart (labe) the spirit is broken. (Proverbs 15)

10 Create in me a clean heart (labe), O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. (Psalm 51)

Mankind can also determine an evil course for themselves and separation from God. This effectively means that men can disconnect their heart from God’s matrix and influence if they so choose:

8 And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart (labe) aright, and whose spirit was not steadfast with God. (Psalms 78)

3 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart (labe), and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be inquired of at all by them?
4 Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart (labe), and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;
5 That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart (labe), because they are all estranged from me through their idols.
6 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.
7 For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger, that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart (labe), and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to inquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will answer him by myself: (Ezekiel 14)

God has also given instructions for mankind’s own self-maintenance program for successful connection to the matrix:

31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart (labe) and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye. (Ezekiel 18)

So it seems that a man can decide for himself whether he wishes to establish a link into God’s matrix or not so his spirit is more of a ‘fat’ client rather than just a dumb terminal! To summarise our matrix analogy it seems that the server has a read/write capability into the client but the client can determine whether it wants to be written to or not. So God’s connection is a facility that is freely available to all but an option that is not always taken up by the client spirit through its component heart. So mankind is allowed his free will and our God is therefore no control freak.

But this technological analogy can be taken a step further; it would seem that God’s central server can also be used by the client as an internet knowledge database at the request of the client. Solomon was clearly a significant user with a large bandwidth:

14 The heart (labe) of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge: but the mouth of fools feedeth on foolishness. (Proverbs 15)

16 I communed with mine own heart (labe), saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart (labe) had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.
17 And I gave my heart (labe) to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit. (Ecclesiastes 1)

But what is the mechanism by which the heart can gain access to the matrix? Paul’s letters to the Romans and the Colossians literally contain the key to this as does the early Old Testament book of Deuteronomy:

16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart (labe), and be no more stiffnecked. (Deuteronomy 10)

29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. (Romans 2)

2 Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:
3 Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. (2Corinthians 3)

51 Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. (Acts 7)

So the cutting of man’s heart with God’s very spirit, the tracing out of the necessary integrated circuitry is the key to gaining access to the matrix and this is clearly a matter of man’s own free will in accepting God’s free gift of immeasurable love. It is worth adding here that Romans 2 also explicitly states that the heart is in the spirit so we have the definitive proof that the spirit comes with its own intrinsic structure.

To demonstrate the free will aspect of the clients’ choice to be connected to the matrix God has, under certain circumstances, allowed the connection to be broken by enabling evil thoughts to enter evil minds. This presumably is possible either through Satanic suggestion or by natural human and ungodly thought processes outside of any matrix influence:

10 This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah has said, ‘And it must occur in that day that things will come up into your heart (labe), and you will certainly think up an injurious scheme; (Ezekiel 38)

30 And Sihon the king of Heshbon did not let us pass through him, because Jehovah your God had let his spirit become obstinate and his heart (labe) become hard, in order to give him into your hand just as at this day. (Deuteronomy 2)

Heart, Mind and Soul

The first point to make is that it would appear that Jehovah God has a heart and a soul:

35 And I shall certainly raise up for myself a faithful priest. In harmony with what is in my heart (labe) and in my soul (nephesh) he will do; and I shall certainly build for him a lasting house, and he will certainly walk before my anointed one always. (1Samuel 2)

Since man is made in God’s image, it is not surprising therefore that man also has a heart and a soul:

65 And among those nations you will have no ease, nor will there prove to be any resting-place for the sole of your foot; and Jehovah will indeed give you there a trembling heart (labe) and a failing of the eyes and despair of soul (nephesh). (Deuteronomy 28)

Furthermore God and man (and angels) would also appear to have a mind:

16 For “who has come to know the mind of Jehovah, that he may instruct him?” But we do have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2)

However scripture describes God as a spirit:

24 God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. (John 4)

If God is a spirit this confirms that His soul comprises a spirit (His true essence) and a body (some form of 'physical' vehicle) as we have established for mankind. The scriptural descriptions of heart and mind above indicate spiritual functions rather than physical ones. So one can deduce from this that the heart perhaps corresponds to God’s and man’s emotions and desires rather than the physical organ that pumps blood around the circulatory system and that the mind relates to the facility for logical thought rather than a physical brain. Does this then mean that the spirit can be further sub-divided into the heart and mind as described thus?

If this is so then this helps us to understand a little more about our very natures and indicates to the writer that we are much more like our Heavenly Father than we might have dared imagine. The main differences being that mankind is an infant in the management of his emotion, is inexperienced in using his logical thought capability in truly creative ways and has had his spirit placed in a very limiting physical vehicle. The following material in this understanding develops these ideas with the help of substantial scriptural evidence.

There are numerous scriptures that direct mankind to love God with their whole being:

5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart (labe), and with all thy soul (nephesh), and with all thy might. (Deuteronomy 6)

12 And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart (labe) and with all thy soul (nephesh), (Deuteronomy 10)

5 But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart (labe) and with all your soul (nephesh). (Joshua 22)

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. (Matthew 22)

30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. (Mark 12)

33 and this loving him with one’s whole heart and with one’s whole understanding and with one’s whole strength and this loving one’s neighbor as oneself is worth far more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” (Mark 12)

27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. (Luke 10)

Now the above accounts cover various combinations and descriptions of the elemental aspects of mankind’s being. So we have the elements: heart; soul; might; mind; strength; understanding. Perhaps the verses to focus on from this selection are those that contain the maximum number of four elements. So Mark 12:30 contains heart, soul, mind and strength and Luke 10:27 contains heart, soul, strength and mind.

It is noteworthy that none of the above elements are explicitly described as ‘spirit’. Does this mean that God does not want us to love him in spirit? John 4:24 above suggests otherwise. The use of the word ‘strength’ throughout these verses would seem to indicate that God wants us to use the physical strength of our bodies in his worship. Since the physical body is encompassed within the soul as per Introduction 9 (I9) then it might appear that these verses are emphasising the attributes of the soul rather than describing something different from the soul. From I9 that would also include the spirit. This seems to be providing further evidence that the spirit comprises the heart and mind the latter providing the ‘understanding‘ of Mark and therefore logical thought capability. The following scripture from 2Timothy pretty well confirms this by separating out the emotional and character attributes of the spirit (later associated in this paper with the heart) from its 'soundness of mind':

7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (2Timothy 1)

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The Spiritual Heart?

The Mind, Heart and Spirit

Let us bring to mind the findings of Introduction [9] on the Lords' Witnesses web-site: What is a Soul, What is a Spirit? The main thrust of that paper was to define the component parts of a man’s soul as being his body and his spirit. Well perhaps this is too simplistic a model and we need to dig a little deeper to understand ourselves and how we mirror the image of our Holy Father.

This paper is in its original form as presented as an offering to the Lords' Witnesses. It has the distinction for its writer of being published as a confirmed doctrinal understanding (albeit with some modifications) on the official web-site of the Lords' Witnesses at: http://www.truebiblecode.com/understanding257.html.

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The Baptism of Jesus

Mind, Heart and Spirit