The Places in the Heart
From Chapter 3 of The Christian's New Heart
by Frank Allnutt

Before God created the heavens and the earth, He created personal spirit beings—namely angels. After the earth was created, God created animals, birds, and fish, which are referred to as “creatures” (Genesis 1:21, 24, 2:19, etc.). “Creature” is from the Hebrew term nephesh, which literally means “soul.” Scriptures indicate that God also gave animals spirit or a life center (Genesis 7:15, 22; Ecclesiastes 3:21). Because animals possess bodies, are soulical, and have a spirit or life center, they have biological and immaterial abilities to function in their physical environment. However, while soul and spirit are attributed to animals, animals are not personal beings; that is, they are not created with godlike personhood. Furthermore, they lack a sense of “self” and thus self-determination, do not have a sense of morality, and do not have perpetuity of life (their existence ends at the time of physical death).

Man is not merely another species of animal, but a personal being—a spirit being in a physical body. We read of this in the Genesis account of the creation of the first man, Adam.

Adam was a person. God first created a “man” from the dust of the ground. But he was not complete. For then God created that unique personal aspect of Adam—the spiritual Adam—in His image and integrated it with the “man” body. This is all described in Genesis 2:7: “Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” “Breath of life” in this verse is translated from the original Hebrew term, neshamah (ruach elsewhere). Both terms are sometimes translated “spirit,” but neshamah is more precise in that it can mean “person alive” or “living person” (The term used in reference to the procreated spirit part of man is usually ruach.) So, it can be said that God created Adam in a spiritual state as a “living person,” and placed him in the body of the “man” formed of dust.

God is active in the creation of Adam’s descendants—He is “your Maker” (Isaiah 17:7) “who made you and formed you from the womb” (Isaiah 44:2). Eve, on delivering her first child, proclaimed: “I have gotten a man child with the help of the Lord” (Genesis 4:1). From that event on, every person was procreated in Adam’s image (human nature, consisting of body, soul, spirit, and natural life), and also created a “person” or spirit-being by God “in His likeness” (Genesis 5:3, James 3:9).

The “hidden person of the heart”
In the New Testament we find reference to that aspect of a person which is created in God’s image and which is distinct from procreated human nature. It is referred to as the “hidden person [literally, man] of the heart...which is precious in the sight of God” (1 Peter 3:4). “Person” is an English word, of course, and it usually denotes the whole person. But there is another English term that seems to most closely capture the biblical meanings of “living person” and “hidden person.” That word is “personhood.” I found personhood used in the sense of God-created, unique spirit being in Practical Christian Theology, by Floyd H. Barackman.

God-created personhood, along with human nature (body, soul, and spirit) comprise a human being (Figure 3-1). Trichotomy recognizes that man is procreated, of course, but either ignores or is fuzzy in attempting to explain what it means for man to also be created by God in His image. But let’s move on from trichotomy to consider what the Bible teaches.

Figure 3-1: The integration and unity of personhood and human nature.

The godly features of personhood
Personhood is created by God in His image, according to Genesis 1:26, 27, 9:6; 1 Cor-inthians 11:7. Personhood gives its godly features to the body, soul, and spirit, and those three give features of human nature to personhood. The life that animates a person (Adamic natural and everlasting life or Christ’s supernatural and eternal life) determines the moral or ethical nature of a person.

Barackman, among others, suggests that personhood has four features which correspond to God’s personhood, but not to any non-personal life form, such as animals:

1. Essential spiritual being. Barackman refers to this as “selfhood.” It is what we refer to as “I,” “me,” and “self,” and which is capable of self-awareness, self-determination, and self-expression.
   
   
2. Uniqueness. This is what makes each person an individual—a unique spirit being who is distinct from all others.
   
   
3. Morality. This is the innate ability to recognize and distinguish between good and evil, right and wrong, truth and lies, love and sin, and to express them through behavior. The Bible refers to this as the natural law which God “writes on the hearts” of all people (Romans 2:14, 15).
   
   
4. Perpetuity. God creates personhood to last forever. Enjoined with procreated life, soul, and spirit at the time of conception, it gives everlasting existence to the spiritual heart or spiritual self.

The chamber-parts of the heart
Just as the physical heart is a vessel of working muscles and has distinct chambers, the spiritual heart can be illustrated as a “vessel” with “chambers” that also are working “parts.” The Bible calls those chamber-parts the soul and the spirit (not to be confused with “living spirit” or personhood). References to them are found throughout Scripture.

We’ll look first at a reference in the book of Proverbs: “The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all the innermost parts of his being” (Proverbs 20:27; see also v. 30 and Psalm 51:6, 7). “Spirit” in Proverbs 20:27 carries yet another meaning of the term: disposition or attitude. But the phrase I want to draw your attention to is “innermost parts” or inner parts.” Translated from the Hebrew, cheder gezer, it literally means “chamber-parts.” Cheder is found several times in the Old Testament, usually in reference to chambers or rooms in buildings. But in the Proverbs and Psalms passages it is used with gezer to mean chamber-parts of our innermost being or spiritual heart. So Proverbs 20:27 can be amplified: “The attitude of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching the spirit and soul chamber-parts of his spiritual heart.”

You will notice in my illustrations that I’ve arbitrarily assigned the soul chamber-part to one side of the heart and the spirit chamber-part to the other side. No one really knows exactly how those two parts, along with personhood, are configured by God in the heart and within the body, so please understand that my drawings are intended only for conceptual purposes.

There are three more Scriptural references to the chamber-parts of our spiritual heart that we will consider. The first is found in Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians: “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Note in this verse that the two chamber-parts (spirit and soul) and the body are subjugated to “your,” which addresses personhood. Collectively, personhood, soul, spirit, and body comprise the whole person in all of its spiritual and physical aspects.

Oswald Chambers observes in Biblical Psychology (page 99) that the soul and spirit are centered or located within the spiritual heart: “The Bible...makes the heart the soul center and the spirit center as well.”

Reference to the soul and the spirit as two distinct parts or aspects of the heart is also found in Hebrews 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.” (Personhood, soul, and sometimes spirit work as a unit in developing thoughts and intentions.)

Isaiah gives us a third biblical reference: “At night my soul longs for Thee, indeed, my spirit within me seeks Thee diligently” (Isaiah 26:9). In this verse, “my” and “me” are concepts of self developed in personhood working through the soul and sometimes the spirit.

It is important to understand that Isaiah’s spirit was not his personhood, his soul was not his personhood, and his spirit and soul combined were not his personhood. Personhood is created by God, and a person’s soul and spirit are procreated by a man and a woman. Spirit and soul are inseparably enjoined with personhood by God at the moment of conception to comprise the spiritual heart—the inner person or inner self—within the zygote (fertilized egg).

Your physical and spiritual “house”
Your total person can be illustrated as a house, which is sometimes used metaphorically in this way in Scripture. Figure 3-2 is helpful to some people in better visualizing their physical and spiritual attributes. Notice in the illustration that the exterior of the house corresponds to the body or outer self, the interior to the spiritual heart or inner self, and the rooms to the soul and spirit chamber-parts or human nature aspects of the heart. Just as people make a house a home, personhood makes a human organism a person.

Figure 3-2: “House” is sometimes used in Scripture as a metaphor to represent a person. Obviously, therefore, certain aspects of this house correlate with those of the spiritual heart.

When we walk into a house for the first time, we notice the chambers or rooms. Are they large or small? What are the contents—furnishings and appointments? And what about the functionality of the rooms? Is the kitchen well designed for cooking? The living room for family togetherness and hospitality?

A house has rooms with various features and contents. They are designed to be functional in various ways. So too does the spiritual heart’s soul and spirit have features, contents, and functionality. Perhaps you have read My Heart, Christ’s Home, a widely-read tract by Robert Munger that presents an insightful look at the believer’s heart as the dwelling place of the Spirit of Christ.

More meanings of “heart”
In addition to using the word “heart” with the meaning of person, the Bible sometimes uses the word in reference to the soul and spirit; the faculties of mind, emotion, and will; life, disposition or temperament, character, intellect, memory, belief, values, and conscience; and the ethical functioning (fleshly or sinful, spiritual or loving).

Strong’s Concordance gives these additional definitions of leb: “The heart...the feelings, the will and even the intellect...”

English definitions of heart are similar to those of leb, lebab, and kardia, though the meanings of the Hebrew and Greek terms—particularly when amplified in the context of Scripture—are found to have a much broader and richer range of meanings.

In most instances, leb, lebab, and kardia are translated as “heart” in our modern English Bibles. In some cases they are interpreted as other English words, such as mind, soul, and spirit. These more specific English words were chosen by translators to give clearer meaning.

In Proverbs 15:14, for example, we read that, “The mind of the intelligent seeks knowledge...” (NAS). That verse in the NIV reads, “The discerning heart seeks knowledge....” “Mind” and “heart,” respectfully in those versions, are found to be leb in the original Hebrew text. Leb literally means “heart,” but the translators of the NAS took into account that this is a “discerning heart,” which, in English, is more clearly understood to mean “mind.”

The words heart, spirit, and soul, because of their multiple meanings, are uncharted waters for most Christians who are novices at navigating Scripture. This is compounded by the twofold problem of translation and interpretation. Though context and word studies usually yield some clarification, there remain linguistic problems due to the imprecise meanings of some Hebrew and Greek words. As the above example of Proverbs 15:14 illustrates, literal translations in English do not always clearly convey the intended meaning of the original term, and so interpretation is sometimes provided by translators.

The Spirit of the Heart
In the Bible’s original languages, the common terms for spirit are ruwach or ruach (Hebrew) and pneuma (Greek). Those terms sometimes refer to the whole person, but most frequently as places in the heart.

The spirit is the heart’s life center
According to Proverbs 4:23, the heart is the life center, from which the entire being is vitalized and its moral essence qualified. More specifically, life is seated in the spirit chamber-part of the heart. It should not be confused with the soul, which is the intellectual center (Figure 3-3).

Figure 3-3: A person’s soul is the intellectual center which “contains” the faculties of mind, emotion, and will. The spirit is the life center, which has ethical or moral nature from which a person derives identity.

There are two expressions that confuse some people: “self-life” and “soul-life.” They describe what the Bible calls a “divided heart” condition in which a person functions or lives a self-centered life, according to the flesh —primarily out of the soul, rather than according to the spirit (conditionally and functionally united soul and spirit). The expressions do not mean life is centered in the soul or that a person has two coexisting lives.

Life determines moral nature and identity
A person’s life characterizes their essential ethical or moral nature: Fleshly or sinful in the nonbeliever, and spiritual or loving (and therefore righteous) in the believer. God has created each of us with unique identity—as an individual. And identity is linked to our source of life. Nonbelievers are of the “old man” species of human being who have identity “in Adam” because they have Adamic or natural life, and fleshly or sinful nature; and Christians are of the “new man” species who have identity “in Christ,” because they share His eternal life and partake of His divine (holy, righteous, love) nature (2 Peter 1:4)—are “rooted and grounded in [Christ’s] love (Ephesians 3:17).

The many meanings of “spirit”
There are many meanings of the word “spirit,” and an error in understanding the writer’s intended meaning can result in a grossly-distorted interpretation. Following are the most common meanings of “spirit” in the Bible:

1. “Spirit” can refer to the three Persons of the Trinity, and to created beings. Angels, whether in heaven or fallen, are sometimes referred to as “spirits.” When used in reference to a Person of the Trinity, the term is usually capitalized in modern English translations (e.g., Spirit of God, Spirit of Christ, Holy Spirit).
   
   
2. “Spirit” can refer to a particular human being—a person. In our modern speech, we sometimes use “spirit” as well as “heart” and “soul” in reference to a person: “He’s a free spirit,” “She’s a dear heart,” and “She’s a loving soul.” To “win a soul to Christ” is to win a person to Christ. And a person who gives his heart to Jesus gives all of himself.
   
   
3. “Spirit” can be a general reference to the aggregate immaterial aspect of man—the inner man (1 Corinthians 5:5; Hebrews 12:23), and in this sense is synonymous with “heart.” “Soul” also can also be used in a general sense to designate the inner man.
   
   
4. “Spirit” can refer to a component of human nature, which the Bible defines as one of two “chamber-parts” (Proverbs 20:27) within the spiritual heart, the other chamber-part being the soul (see 1 Thessalonians 5:23). Some verses appear to use “spirit” and “soul” interchangeably because the function of the faculties of the soul are said to be in the spirit (Exodus 35:21; Job 7:11, 20:3; Matthew 5:3; Acts 17:16, 18:25; Romans 12:11; 1 Corinthians 4:21; Galatians 6:1). However, such verses do not actually identify the faculties of mind, emotion, and will as being in the spirit chamber-part, but use the word “spirit” in reference to the whole inner man—particularly when the broader spiritual aspect of man is in focus. In much the same way, “soul” can be used in general reference to the inner man—particularly when soulical aspects of man are in focus. In such instances spirit and soul are almost synonymous with “heart” and “inner man” or “inner self.”
   
   
5. “Spirit” is sometimes translated “breath” (Hebrew, ruach; Greek, pneuma), and has the meaning of “life” (Hebrew, chayyim, as in Genesis 2:7; and Greek, psuche, as in John 10:17). So when “Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into Thy hands I commit My spirit,’ and he breathed His last” (Luke 23:46), He withdrew from His physical body His spirit, breath, or life in the sense of His eternal inner self or spiritual heart.
   
   
6. “Spirit of life” is translated from two Hebrew terms with different meanings. It can mean “living inner person” (Hebrew, neshamah, Genesis 2:7) and refers to that aspect of Adam that was created in God’s image. When enjoined with the immaterial parts of human nature—the spirit and soul chamber-parts—it is referred to by Peter as the “hidden person of the heart” (1 Peter 3:4). “Personhood” comes the closest of any English word I know of to convey the meaning of “spirit of life.” “Spirit of life” is also translated from ruah hahayyd, Ezekiel 1:21, which refers to the life-giving, energizing power of God. Though Adam’s descendants inherited Adam’s immaterial human nature or heart (spirit, life, and soul) through procreation, they did not inherit his personhood; personhood is unique to an individual, and is created by God in His image. In the same way, our God-created personhood is not God’s personhood, though our personhood possesses several godly features.
   
   
7. “Spirit,” in its adjective form, can refer to the functionality of a wholehearted believer, in which the soul and spirit are functionally united. God intends for us to function with a whole heart that operates in harmony with His indwelling Spirit. When we function in this way, it can be said that we think, feel, desire, and conduct ourselves “spiritually” or as “spiritual men” (1 Corinthians 3:1). In this sense, “spiritual” is synonymous with “holy.”
   
   
8. “Spirit” can refer to the character, temperament, mood, motivation, mental disposition, or attitude (“heart” is also sometimes used this way). In Ephesians 4:23 (NAS), for example, Paul expresses his desire that “you be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” This does not imply that the spirit chamber-part is in the mind or that the spirit part of a believer needs substantive renewing. “Spirit” in this case has psychological meaning of mental disposition or attitude. “The poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3) are the meek and humble in mental disposition. Those who are “fervent in spirit” (Acts 18:25) are “enthusiastic” (from the Greek en theos, meaning “in god”). The NIV foregoes a literal translation of Ephesians 4:23 in favor of a clearer interpretation: “to be made new in the attitude of your mind.”

While love is the ontological ethical essence of the new spirit chamber-part, love is also a new mental disposition—a primary functional feature of the new soul chamber-part. This perspective of love is seen in God’s promise to give us a “new spirit” of love that works through faith, hope, and other gifts of the Holy Spirit (Ezekiel 36:26; Galatians 5:22, 23).

Paul assures us that God has kept His promise: “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7). This “new spirit” is imparted to us by the Holy Spirit, and is a functional feature of our new nature. It is such a spirit that Paul discusses in Romans 8 (see especially verses 2, 4, 15, 24, 25, 35-39).

Given all those definitions, we can begin to understand how innocently a verse of Scripture containing the word “spirit” might be misinterpreted. Does “spirit” mean Holy Spirit? A person? The spirit chamber-part of a person? Or mental disposition, as in Ezekiel 36:26?

A common error of interpreting “spirit” in Ezekiel 36:26 is to equate it with “My Spirit” in verse 27. However, notice that “spirit” in verse 26 is not capitalized, but that it is capitalized in verse 27. In the first instance, “spirit” is understood to mean “attitude,” and therefore is not capitalized; in the second instance it is recognized as a proper noun, in shortened form of “Holy Spirit,” and is therefore capitalized.

It is apparent that, in studying Scripture, we must be careful to discern the intended meaning of terms.

The soul of the heart
Now, let’s discuss the soul chamber-part of the spiritual heart (Figure 3-4).

“Soul” (Hebrew, nephesh; Greek, psuche) has several meanings. Sometimes Scripture uses “soul” in reference to a person—God made Adam a “living soul” (Genesis 2:7b). However, “soul” most often refers to a chamber-part of the heart or in reference to the faculties, features, and functioning of the soul.

The contents of the soul
God designed personhood to express through the soul working in unity with the spirit; however, natural man and fleshly, carnal, soulish or functionally Half-Hearted Christians function primarily out of the soul, and have functionally passive spirits. The spiritual or Whole-Hearted Christian has a conditionally and functionally united soul and spirit that operate in harmony with the indwelling Holy Spirit.

We use the faculties of our soul to perform, to create, to achieve, to work, and to produce things. We use the faculty of mind to think, the faculty of emotion to feel, and the faculty of will to desire, intend, plan, and choose. We use the mind to produce and retain thoughts, ideas, memories, knowledge, wisdom, beliefs, and values. We use the emotion to produce both positive and negative feelings. And we use the will to produce desires, intentions, plans, goals, choices, and preferences.

A reading of some of the Bible’s many verses which mention the heart reveals much about the soul and its faculties, features, functions, and filling (contents), as well as its condition (functionally divided or united with the spirit). You can find many references in Strong’s and other concordances.

The mind of the heart’s soul
The Bible frequently uses “heart” in reference to specific faculties, features, and functions of the mind. The Hebrew language of the Old Testament has a number of words with broad-ranging meanings that refer to the mind or mental function, and, in many cases, “heart” (leb and lebab) are used. Deuteronomy 29:4 attributes comprehension to the heart. Job 12:3 assigns intellectual capacity to the heart. Insanity is a condition of the heart (Ecclesiastes 9:3). And Daniel 5:21 likens King Nebuchadnezzer’s unreasonable mind to the heart of an animal, which is devoid of godlike personhood.

In the Greek of the New Testament, we also find numerous terms that refer to the faculty of the mind and many of its functions; “heart” (kardia) is frequently used.

Now, let’s consider some more examples from Scripture that place the faculty and functions of the mind in the heart. Keep in mind that some refer to the old heart of natural man and others refer to the new heart of the Christian.

Jesus mentioned that thoughts are located in the heart (Matthew 9:4). Hebrews 4:12 refers to the “thoughts...of the heart.” Thoughts of the heart are also mentioned in Genesis 17:17; 24:45. In Psalm 139:23, David asks: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts.” Luke 12:45 and Romans 10:6 also refer to anxious thoughts of the heart.

Following are more examples that place functions and features of the mind in the heart:

Arrogance, Pride (Deuteronomy 8:14; Psalm 101:5).

Attitude (Exodus 14:5).

Belief, Faith, Trust (Deuteronomy 4:39; Psalm 28:7; Mark 11:23; Romans 10:10; Hebrews 3:12).

Bewilderment (Deuteronomy 28:28).

Conscience, Conviction, Courage (Deuteronomy 6:6; Psalm 27:14; Acts 2:37; 1 John 3:20; and possibly Jeremiah 31:33).

Consideration (Psalm 14:1; 15:2).

Creativity, Imagination (Psalm 45:1, 73:7; Luke 1:51).

Fear (Samuel 17:10).

Hatred (Leviticus 19:17).

Knowledge (Job 22:22; Proverbs 15:14).

Love (Matthew 22:37; 1 Timothy 1-5).

Meditation (Psalms 4:4; 19:14).

Reasoning power (Mark 2:6; Luke 2:19, 24:38).

Secrets (Judges 16:17; Psalm 44:21).

Thoughts (Genesis 6:5; 1 Kings 2:44; Matthew 9:4; Hebrews 4:12).

Understanding (Deuteronomy 8:5; 1 Kings 3:9; Matthew 13:15; John 12:40; Romans 1:21; Ephesians 4:18).

Wisdom (1 Kings 10:24; Psalm 90:12).

The Bible not only places the mind in the heart, but more precisely in its soul. For example, Proverbs 24:14 places the intellect of the mind in the soul. And Psalm 57:1 places the mental function of trust in the soul.

The soul is also said to be the depository of the mind’s memories (Deuteronomy 4:9; Psalm 119:11; Proverbs 6:21; Luke 2:51).

The emotion of the heart’s soul
We produce feelings through the faculty of the emotion, which is located in our spiritual heart’s soul. God said, “My servants shall shout joyfully with a glad heart, but you shall cry out with a heavy heart” (Isaiah 65:14). In Psalm 4:7, David wrote of God: “Thou hast put gladness in my heart.” Acts 14:17 tells of God “satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.” Proverbs 25:20 and John 14:1 refer to a “troubled” heart. Eli experienced trembling anxiety in his heart (1 Samuel 4:13). Jesus cautioned us to protect ourselves from negative emotions: “Be on guard, that your hearts may not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life” (Luke 21:34).

Other examples of negative emotions in the heart are: A faint heart (Deuteronomy 20:8); fear in the heart (Genesis 42:28; Isaiah 7:2); a heart that melts like wax (Psalm 22:14); and a heart that turns into water (Joshua 7:5).

Several scriptures more precisely place emotions in the soul of the heart. Job grieved out of his soul for those whose life was hard (Job 30:25). David asked God to make his soul glad (Psalm 86:4).

The will of the heart’s soul
We produce choices, desires, and intentions through our faculty of the will, which is located in our spiritual heart’s soul. David thanked God for giving him “his heart’s desire” (Psalm 21:2). And he tells us in Psalm 37:4 to “Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Discernment is mentioned in 1 Kings 3:12 as being a function of the will. Referring again to Hebrews 4:12, we read of the “intentions of the heart” (or willful attitude, as in 1 Peter 4:1). Paul writes that man purposes in his heart (2 Corinthians 9:7).

Decisions to obey God are determined by us through our will. Paul writes of believers becoming “obedient from the heart” (Romans 6:17) and “doing the will of God from the heart” (Ephesians 6:6). And it is a function of the will to choose to let the peace of God rule in your heart (Colossians 3:15). The book of Proverbs tells us that “Many are the plans in a man’s heart” (19:21) and “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps” (16:9, NIV).

Other scriptures more precisely place the will in the soul of the heart. The desire to know God originates in the soul: “If you search for Him with all your heart [functionally united soul and spirit] and all your soul [harmoniously functioning mind, emotion, and will], “you will find Him (Deuteronomy 4:29). Decisions and choices are mentioned as functions of the soul’s will in Psalm 24:4 and 25:1.

These, then, are some of the many Bible verses that place the faculties of mind, emotion, and will in the soul of the spiritual heart, and describe to some degree how your personhood functions with and through them.

Functional features of the heart
The spiritual heart has a number of nonentity functional features. They should not be confused with the features of personhood, which is an entity. The functional features include but are not limited to: memory, belief, conscience, ethical nature, personality, character, and temperament. In Christians, these functional features are enhanced through spiritual gifts and the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

While certain of these functional features of the heart are obviously related to the soul, Scripture indicates that all of them are enhanced when the believer’s soul is conditionally and functionally united with the spirit, and the whole heart operates in harmony with the indwelling Holy Spirit. Now, let’s briefly consider some of the heart’s functional features:

Memory. Like accessing files stored in a computer, we frequently access memories in the memory storage chamber of our soul for review and modification. From time to time we add new knowledge, ideas, beliefs, values, principles, feelings and affections, likes and dislikes, and other intellectual “documents” produced by the mind, emotion, and will.

Belief. This feature refers to our concepts of truth and lies, reality and fantasy, good and evil, right and wrong. Faith is a form of belief that is not developed solely by the individual, but is a gift of the Holy Spirit (John 6:63-65; Ephesians 2:8, 9).

True Character (ethical nature). Our true character is the ethical or moral nature of our life—sinful in the nonbeliever and loving and righteous in the Christian. Adamic man is innately endowed with what could be called an “old spirit”—sinful and fleshly predisposition, which is the moral quality of the “old man” “in Adam.” Because of his sin nature, his heart functions primarily out of the motivational principle of sin. The Christian, on the other hand, is “in Christ,” and thus shares Christ’s life and His holy, loving, righteous nature. This gives the believer the ability to function out of godly love; however, this is not automatic: The believer must choose whether to function out of the motivational principle of sin or of godly love. (For further reading on sin and love, see my second Advanced Study, The Ways of the Heart, or my booklet, Sin vs. Love.

King David, being well aware of his sin nature, asked God for a “pure heart” and a “steadfast spirit” and a “willing spirit” (Psalm 51). God found favor with David’s request, of course, and promised to give not only David but all of His children a “new heart” and a “new spirit” (Ezekiel 36:26).

Paul spoke of this “new spirit” of love in one of his letters to Timothy: “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7, NIV).

Apparent Character. Careful distinction must be made between true character (ontological ethical nature) and apparent character (conditional/functional ethical nature). (“Heart” and “spirit,” in some applications, are synonymous with character.) King David prayed for a “pure heart” and a “steadfast spirit.” Without them he would not have the holy character he so desired, and could not develop holiness in the expression of his true character. In today’s jargon, a “good heart” refers to character. Country singer Waylon Jennings sang about “A Good-Hearted Woman.”

Character in the conditional/functional sense can change. We see it happen as people mature—and especially through spiritual growth. Change in character is what makes characters in books and movies interesting. Two of my favorite examples are Christmas classics: Scrooge in Charles Dickens’ book, A Christmas Carol, and George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) in the movie, “It’s A Wonderful Life.” But contrary to humanistic belief, behavior does not and cannot change ontological character (inherent ethical nature).

Character manifested through heart function and behavior is not necessarily consistent with the believer’s spiritual nature or true character, which is ontological and therefore absolutely and always holy, loving, and righteous. This helps us better understand why we believers sometimes do what we know we shouldn’t do and don’t do what we know we should do. Though our behavior might be sinful, such behavior is not a reflection of our ontological spiritual nature, nor does it in any way change our ontological spiritual nature. All Christians have flawed functional character to some extent (less than perfect) but not a flawed ontological character, because we are “partakers” of the perfect divine nature.

It hardly needs to be mentioned, but the conditional/functional character of believers should be Christlike—compassionate, humble, joyful, loving, content, and holy. And we believers, while Christlike in nature, are being conformed by the Holy Spirit to the functional likeness of Christ.

Personality. The word “personality” does not have equivalent in the original languages of the Bible. Having stated that, let me qualify it by saying that in Scripture we in fact do find the concept of personality: “As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects man” (Proverbs 27:19).

According to dictionaries, “personality” can refer to a person; however, its most common usage by far pertains to the perceived image of a person—the total of a person’s physical, psychological, spiritual, and social characteristics that they impress upon others. The self image one projects to others can be a true or false representation of who they really are. A person can project a true image or persona (façade, mask, or false image). The characters in a play are called personæ. They are portrayed by actors who follow a script and wear costumes, makeup, and sometimes wigs and masks. The audience sees personæ, not the true personalities of the actors.

The characteristics of Christian personhood, when manifested primarily through the soul and body, project a “soulish,” “carnal,” or “fleshly” personality; however, when manifested out of a whole or united heart, they project a spiritual and loving personality.

People may see a false personality in another person, but the Lord sees the true person: “God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). Peter advises us not to project a false image of who we are by the wearing of gaudy, worldly clothing and adornments, but to let our behavior reveal “the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit [demeanor], which is precious in the sight of God” (1 Peter 3:4).

Temperament. Ancient astrologers devised the twelve personality types of the Zodiac and the Greeks borrowed from that to develop definitions of four basic personality types, each of which indicates a dominant temperament: choleric, phlegmatic, sanguine, and melancholy.

Today, there are several tests that are designed to reveal personality type, and most are patterned after the Greek model. Among them are The Myers-Briggs and The Keirsey Temperament Sorter. Dr. Keirsey’s model is developed around four temperaments he calls the Artisan, Guardian, Rational, and Idealist.

There has also been considerable Christian interest in the temperaments, particularly among Christian psychologists. One of the most popular books on the subject over the years is Transformed Temperaments, by Dr. Tim LaHaye.

Many Christian counselors use the Biblical Personal Profile System as part of their client-assessment. Also called the DiSC Dimensions of Behavior Assessment, it too borrows from the Greek model and has its own names for temperaments: Dominance, Influence, Conscientiousness, and Steadiness. DiSC associates those temperaments with certain biblical characters. The Apostle Paul, for example, scores a high “D” because of his dominant trait to shape the environment by overcoming opposition to accomplish results.

According to temperament theory, a person is usually dominant in one trait, while possessing lesser aspects of the others. Temperament models typically denote the strengths and weaknesses, positives and negatives of the various temperaments.

While the Bible presents to us many personality types, it does not indulge in teaching on temperaments. Rather, Scripture tends to emphasize spiritual growth and the Holy Spirit’s ministry to believers to conform them to the character likeness of Christ.

Conscience. This feature draws upon our character to enable us to make moral discernment between good and evil, right and wrong, truth and lies, love and sin. Faith, beliefs, and conscience help shape a person’s sense of morality and value system.

The concept of conscience in the Old Testament is often found in the figurative meaning of “kidneys” (sometimes translated as “reins”). The dual aspects of kidneys and reins (such as horse reins) correspond to opposing principles—such as good and evil, right and wrong, love and sin motivations, freedom and bondage. One rein pulls in one direction, and the other in the opposing direction. Strength of character determines which direction we submit to.

A Conclusion of the Facts
The scriptural evidence presented thus far forms a clear conclusion that the spiritual heart is comprised of God-created personhood, which, at the time of conception, is enjoined with procreated spirit and soul, within an embryonic body.

In this chapter we examined scriptures that place life in the spirit part of the spiritual heart, and from life we derive our essential spiritual nature or moral qualities as well as our spiritual identity. We also considered scriptures that place the faculties of mind, emotion, and will within the soul of the spiritual heart. And, finally, we briefly discussed some major functional features of the heart—memory, belief, ethical nature, character, personality, temperament, and conscience.

Where is the Spiritual Heart Located?
Before moving on to the next chapter, let’s discuss a question that might be on your mind: “Where is the spiritual heart located?”

Many of us were taught that the mind is a function of the brain and that the spiritual heart is located in the physical heart. People often gesture toward the area of the biological heart when speaking in reference to the spiritual heart. A common remark goes something like this: “He knows it here [gesturing toward the head], but not here [gesturing toward the chest and heart].” But is the intellectual center actually in the head and the emotional and spiritual centers in the biological heart? Not according to the Bible.

There are a few Bible verses that appear to relate the mind to the head (such as Revelation 14:1, 22:4), but they actually refer to the identification of a servant with his master.

“Members of the body”
To literally link the spiritual heart’s location with specific areas of the body, because of that area’s function or to reaction to what the spiritual heart does can lead to all sorts of interesting speculations. A severe case of the jitters in anticipation of an emotional event can disrupt the digestive process and cause vomiting and diarrhea. Does this mean the spiritual heart is located in the digestive tract? Nervousness can cause a person to perspire. Does this mean the spiritual heart is located in the armpit? Probably not. The body simply reacts in various psychosomatic ways to that which is taking place in the spiritual heart. “Psychosomatic,” by the way, is derived from the Greek terms for soul (psuche) and body (soma).

In Romans 7:22, 23 Paul laments over the motivational tug of war in him between good and evil—the “law of God” and the law of sin. He describes sin (Greek, hamartia) as being “in the members of my body” and “in my members.” At first thought, “members of my body” might be taken literally; however, the term also has figurative meaning. Just as the physical heart has a psychical/spiritual counterpart, so do “members of the body” such as kidneys, belly, bowels, and even bones.

Jeremiah speaks of God as judging the “reins” (literally “kidneys”) and the heart,” according to the King James Version of the Bible (Jeremiah 11:20). In the NAS, “reins” is interpreted as “feelings.” Elsewhere the NAS translates “reins” as “mind” and “conscience.” The latter seem closer to the original meaning.

All of the above “members of the body” have both literal and figurative meanings, and the latter pertain to the faculties or functionality of the heart’s soul.

Ancient Jewish thought saw each of the two kidneys or reins as having opposing motivational functions, with one pulling us toward good and the other toward evil, somewhat like reining a horse to the right or the left. This, of course, is the figurative, psychical or spiritual counterpart view. If “kidneys” were meant to be taken literally here we could simply have the evil-motivating kidney removed surgically and never again think, say, or do anything sinful!

Is the spiritual heart in the brain?
Many people today believe the intellect or mind is located in the brain and that the emotional center is in the physical heart. Now, think about this. Since the mind is a faculty of the spiritual heart, to place it in the brain would be to place the spiritual heart in the confines of the brain. And since the emotion is a faculty of the spiritual heart, to place it in the physical heart would be to place the spiritual heart within the confines of the physical heart. But there is no biblical support for either view. Quite the contrary: David Needham writes in Close to His Majesty (page 29): “My brain and body are no longer most deeply who I am. My fear of beheadings dissolved in an instant. If I were to pass into heaven by way of a chopping block, I would ‘say’ with a shout, ‘You missed me!’”

There are true accounts in Scripture of martyrs in heaven who neither have their old mortal bodies nor have received their new glorified bodies, yet function quite well out of the mind of their spiritual heart. You can read about them in Revelation 6:9, 10. Since they have no bodies, they have no brains—literally. Therefore, the mind is not located the brain.

Oswald Chambers observed that, ‘The Bible makes the [spiritual] heart the center of thinking, and the brain merely the machinery the [spiritual] heart uses to express itself” (Biblical Psychology, page 99).

Girdlestone writes that, “The [spiritual] heart, according to Scripture, includes not only the motives, feelings, affections, and desires, but also the will, the aims, the principles, the thoughts, and the intellect of man. In fact, it embraces the whole inner man, the head never being regarded as the seat of intelligence” (Girdlestone’s Synonyms of the Old Testament, page 81).

Is the spiritual heart in the physical heart?
As previously mentioned, many people consider the physical heart to be the seat of the emotions. But this is not scriptural. For just as the spiritual heart uses the organ of the brain to carry out certain functions, so too does the spiritual heart use the organ of the heart to carry out certain functions. But the spiritual heart is not confined within the physical heart. Neither is it a function of the physical heart—for the same logic cited earlier that the spiritual heart’s mind is not a function of the brain: The martyrs in heaven have spiritual hearts but not physical hearts.

Now, let’s consider the case of a heart transplant patient. A person who undergoes a heart transplant has his old biological heart removed and a new one implanted. And yet he retains his spiritual heart and does not inherit any part of the donor’s spiritual heart. He still has his unique personhood, life, character, mind, emotion, will, memories, beliefs, values, and so forth.

Though the donor heart is “living” during transfer to the recipient, it does not contain the donor’s life center, which is in the spiritual heart’s spirit chamber-part (and which departed the body at the time of physical death). Animating life is imparted to every cell in the body, but the life center remains in the spirit, not in body cells. Paul writes that, “He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you” (Romans 8:11b). That life, which we understand to be Christ’s eternal life, is given to your mortal body at the time of your salvation, and it is that same life that will animate your future, glorified body.

Body cells can exist without a life source for only a short time, then they discontinue reproducing and decompose. Artificial “life support” methods of modern medicine can prolong the vitality of body cells and organs long after the spirit, with its life center, has departed. According to a news item several months ago, under controlled laboratory conditions, living cells removed from a just-deceased person continued to reproduce forty to fifty times over a period of many months, then “died.”

The spiritual heart is neither confined to nor is a function of either the brain or the physical heart, or the bowels, or the kidneys, or any other physical part or member of the body.

We can understand placing one material object into another—such as filling a car’s gas tank, or mixing ingredients for a batch of cookies—but when it comes to conceptualizing the placement of the spiritual heart within the physical body, we have nothing with which to compare. How big is the spiritual heart? What is its shape? Where does it fit in the body and how does it connect? Those are questions that apply to things in the physical realm but not to things in the spiritual realm. Exactly how God has “configured” the spiritual heart within the body and causes the two to function together remains in this age a part of the great mystery of creation and of the Creator himself.
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Ch. 4: The Origin of the Old Heart

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