“Spirit and Soul and Body” (7): “Heart and Soul and Mind and Strength”

2024-12-19

If we are indeed three part beings, “spirit and soul and body” (1 Thess. 5:23), then what is the Bible referring to when it speaks of our “heart”?
A primary example of this is when a scribe asked Jesus, “Which is the first commandment of all?” (Mark 12:28). He answered by quoting the Old Testament:
The first is,
Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord!
And you shall love the Lord your God
From all your heart
And from all your soul
And from all your mind
And from all your strength.
— Mark 12:29-30; cf. Matthew 22:37, Deuteronomy 6:5, 10:12, 30:6
When we look at this verse carefully, we will realize it is not simply an “accumulation of terms,” as one prominent theologian has said. Rather, it is telling us in a very specific way that our love for God must involve every part of our being, spirit and soul and body, as expressed through our heart, which is the totality of our inward being.

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Bible Verses for this Episode

See Episode #117: “Spirit and Soul and Body” (7): “Heart and Soul and Mind and Strength”

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