Soul, Spirit, Mind and Heart
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Fearfully and Wonderfully Made!
Man is fearfully and wonderfully made in God’s image! (Ps 139:14; Gen 1:27) God has a soul, spirit, mind and heart, just like we do! While there are many, many scriptures about each of these facets of God and man, we’re going to look at just a few to confirm this beautiful truth. For the sake of scriptural consistency, I will be quoting from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.
By looking at the definitions used in the New Testament Greek, we will see that the soul, spirit, mind and heart are all intertwined. Only our Creator can powerfully minister to each separately and yet bring wholeness within us because of Jesus Christ. Satan attacks us at every angle, but the Lord renews us unto His perfect image; praise God!
Soul: psuche (psoo-khay) breath, spirit, rational and immortal soul:-heart, life, mind, soul, + us, + you.
Spirit: pneuma (pnyoo-mah’) a current of air, i.e. breath (blast) or a breeze; by anal. Or fig. a spirit, i.e. (human) the rational soul (by impl.) vital principle, mental disposition, etc.
Mind: dianoia (dee-an-oy-ah) deep thought, the faculty (mind or its disposition), by impl. Its exercise:-imagination, mind, understanding
Heart: kardia (kar-dee’-ah) the heart, the thoughts or feelings (mind)
SOUL
God has a soul
Mt 12:18 from Is 42:1 “Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.”
Heb 10:38 from Hab 2:4 “Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.”
Acts 2:27 “Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell [Sheol/Hades], neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.”
Acts 2:31 “He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.”
Man has a soul
Gen 2:7 “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
Heb 10:39 “But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.”
James 1:21 “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.”
1 Pet 1:9 “Receiving the end [outcome] of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.”
1 Pet 2:25 “For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.”
Rev 6:9 “And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?”
Through these passages we can agree that man’s soul is saved and lives after the death of the body.
SPIRIT
God is (a)Spirit, and Jesus had a spirit as a man as we do
Luke 1:80/2:40 “And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.”
Luke 10:21 “In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.”
Luke 23:46 “And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.”
John 4:24 “God is (a) Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
Man has a spirit
Let’s start with Ecc 3:20-21 “All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?”
Acts 7:59 “And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
1 Cor 5:5 “To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.”
Jas 2:26 “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
Through these passages, we see that man’s spirit returns to God upon the death of the body and the spirit is also saved, as the soul.
MIND
God has a mind
Gen 8:1 “And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged;”
Is 43:25 “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.”
Ro 8:27 “And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
1 Cor 2:16 “For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” (Keep in mind, this is after the resurrection of Jesus, our Lord).
Man has a mind
Ro 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
2 Cor 10:5 “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”
Col 1:21-22 “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:"
1 Pet 1:13-16 “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;”
Through these passages, we see the mind can be influenced by the enemy or renewed to the mind of Christ in us!
HEART
God has a heart
Eze 28:2 “Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:”
Ez 28:6 “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God;”
Man has a heart
Ma 6:21/Lu 12:34 “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
Ma 15:19-20 “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.”
1 John 3:20 “For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.”
Through these passages, we see that our heart is naturally wicked and sinful. When we are saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, God is greater than our sin and because we are no longer condemned we have confidence in Him!
Rom 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
The Word Brings Wholeness
It’s fascinating to see how the soul, spirit, mind and heart work together to make up who we are. God saves our soul, our spirit, redeems our heart and renews our minds through His word. Remember, it’s not just the written Word, but the living Word that makes us whole!
John 1:1 “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
Hebrews 4:12 “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.” AMEN.
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I loved this sis. That little baby was so tiny and so precious. Thank you for a great job and study.
I so appreciate your Godly love and encouragement; the edification in the Lord. I will keep on keeping on! I just love the hugs of the Word, don't you? Here's a hug back! OOOOOOOOOOOOO
FELT THAT! Thank you too!
As I re-read your hub, I got to thinking about how we are created in His image and likeness, and how the better we get to know Him, the better we get to know ourselves.
This hub is truly edifying to the Body of Believers. Thanks Again
no body, you are surely somebody, for He made you perfectly! When God sees all of us, His children, we are beautiful in His sight! Hugz to you, too! OOOOOOOOOOO Lots and lots of hugs to go around!!!!!!
That little baby reminds me how I cannot comprehend how a woman can abort her baby and say that it isn't even a person when their soul is in that tiny body. In this day and age people think to just live for today no cares for later when they do not believe they even have a soul. They joke, unless your talking about the soul of my shoe! But Man does have a soul. It is who we really are and they will think and be aware for all eternity in Hell because they didn't believe here on Earth. So sad.
Sciantel, Abortion affects so many with the grievance of loss. I believe some women who've had abortions suffer an even greater sense of loss and condemnation in their souls. Sometimes they can never forgive themselves, let alone ask God to forgive them. They need to know that they can repent (not continue to do this anymore) and will then receive complete forgiveness in our Lord's name; a fresh start! Amen. He heals the broken hearted. God bless all who read and receive the love our our Lord Jesus Christ.
Beautifully written Judahs Daughter.
Lisa
Thank you, sister Lisa; I'm so glad you were blessed as we all have been! God loves us sooooo much! Hugs to you and I forgot to send hugs to Sciantel! OOOOOOOOOO
JD
Thanks for this hub. You did an awesome job and as usual your approach to this was spiritually creative. Blessings, sister
I so appreciate your encouraging words, coffeesnob. I love your heart and the ministry of our Lord through you as well. Hugs to you, too! OOOOOOOOOOO
Judah's Daughter, that was a wonderful Hub. I love the comparison's you made between God and man. It brings us so much closer together when you look at it that way! And close to God is where I want to be! Keep loving the Lord and spreading the Word!
Kebennett1, Praise God for love in this world! I love love! I love God and I love you! OOOOOOOOOOOOO By His Spirit we cry out, "Abba, Father" (Daddy!) Oh, the love (agape) of our Daddy!
Enjoyed the hub JD. I especially liked the way you dissected the soul, spirit, mind, and heart biblically then brought it to a wholeness with the Word in the end. Good going. Keep hubbing and God bless you.
Keen insights and the Scripture to back them up. Who could ask for anything more? (Hey, that could be made into a song.)
Hi brother James ~ and songs you sing so well, too! lol That's another wonderful thing God created us to do! I wonder if He sings, too? One thing's for sure, we'll all be singing His praises! Hugs to you! OOOOOOOOOOOO
You know, Gicky, I didn't know this would be the outcome of this hub, as I looked up every scripture in the New Testament to merely discipher each and how they work toghether; then I "saw" this truth and couldn't wait to post it! lol ~~ God is so good! I think I will write some subsequent hubs on each of the soul, spirit, mind and heart because there is some really interesting consistencies to give us a better idea of each faculty :-) Hugs to you! OOOOOOO I always appreciate your reading and commenting. Your hubs are awesome, too!!
This definitely is the love we are to show the world what this hub has displayed. God is so good to shed His love abroad in our hearts.
no body, He loves us and we show and share His love with the brethren; you are such a blessing! Hugs to you! OOOOOOOOO
I love this hub!!!!!!Thanks for the research and sharing!
Outstanding very well research, can not wait to read your next hub
Smireles and Royal Diadem, thank you so much, my sisters in the Lord! Much love to you; so glad you were both blessed! You both are such a blessing to me! OOOOOOOOOOO
Well, brother James and everyone, God does indeed sing!
Zephaniah 3:17 "The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty To save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing."
Hallelujiah! We are made in His image and only scratching the surface! Wow!
Great Hub! I love HIS WORD and ALL it represents. The picture with the WORD hugging the woman expresses my sentiments!
Welcome and keep up the good work for the Lord!
Hi DeBorrah ~ I've actually been a member of HubPages for almost eight months; just transferred all my spiritual hubs and continual writing here to Judah's Daughter. God bless you mightily, as you continually bless me and others :-) Those who love God love each other; amen! OOOOOOOOOOOOO
Very good, man is triparti, I think that's how you spell it. Watchman Nee has a good book call the "Spiritual Man" it is 2 volume book. He is my favorate author. You are second to him. Thank you for another outstanding teaching.
Sister Diadem, I am so humbled to have me in the same ballpark as Watcham Nee. I am familiar with the "Spiritual Man", as I meant to read this so many years ago. Perhaps it's time now!! God bless you sister, as you so bless my heart ~ His heart :-) Glory be to our Father!
WOW!!!! SO FULL OF WISDOM, LOVE, HOPE, The WORD does bring wholeness and you as a writer do too!! Much love to you Judah's Daughter, I Love this HUB!!!! Blessings!!!
PRAISE THE LORD, drpastorcarlotta!!! He loves us so much!!! And to know His love is the LOVE above ALL LOVES!!! And the love He gives us for each other is His sweet abiding Spirit with us ~ AMEN!!!
What a great hub!Well written; you have shown much knowledge and wisdom truly showing others the truth through your work! What a great hub!!
mdawson17
Oh, the love of the Lord is so sweet, isn't it, brother mdawson? I so appreciate your words of edification and know that you are loved!! Be blessed!!
This is very well done! I enjoyed the way you presented this. Thanks so much! Keep writing! :)
I'm so glad you were blessed ~ it is such a beautiful message and I pray makes all of God's children feel so close to Him. He surely loves us so much to give us life, not only here, but for always. I can't wait to meet all my brothers and sisters ~ it's wonderful to meet you, Lowell's Notes!
This is a great hub Judah's Daughter - And not to forget that when "we meet God in the air at the last trumpet" our bodies and souls will be reunited to live with him forever in glory. Believers can look forward to that day without fear because of Jesus. Unbelievers bodies and souls will be reunited to live in the eternal suffering of hell.
Hi Kristeen!! I read your hub on witnessing to a Jehovah's Witness and I can relate to dependence on the Lord to give us the words He would have us speak and you've done it again! Praise God ~ be blessed!!!
Lovely blog!
I am so pleased to see the accuracy of this hub..especially the 4 different Greek words...I knew this by revelation, but you gave me the substance to back my revelations up with scripture all the way back to the different Greek words with their corresponding meanings and scripture..I'm so glad I found this hub..will be coming back to memorize this content.
Thanks for all your research...and the time that you spend to put together a full detailed hub... :)
Marliza, what a blessing! I must say you have some of the most awesome experiences in the spirit-realm ~ not many have the faith to venture there (though we were created to), and the Word of God will confirm what is of Him and reveal what is to be questioned. Isn't God the most awesome at answering our questions and bringing revelation? I look forward to reading more of your insights. I'm happy this hub lifted you up in our Lord, confirming His truth in love. God bless you!!
Thank you for the truths you detailed in this Hub.Very well written. I believe this will help many on their journey to reach a higher place in their faith. Awesome Hub!
Thank you, Becky Puetz! I so appreciate your edification in the Spirit of the Lord! The neatest thing I've really come to realize/be enlightened about in a huge way is that the 'person' of God who is invisible Spirit (John 4:24) is Jesus Christ (Col 1:15). You may enjoy my hub "1 Corinthians 15:28 - Jesus Subject to the Father?"
http://hubpages.com/_ui1xcnn62gpk/hub/1-Corinthian
In there, we see the manifestations of God to man all throughout the Old Testament, helping us to realize that God Himself came in the flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. He became flesh and blood, so that He could shed His holy blood for our sins. When we see Jesus we see the Father, just as He said to Philip (John 14:9). Praise God!!
I have been trying to sort out this business of soul, spirit, mind, and heart for years. I still don’t have an answer I’m satisfied with. Judah’s Daughter, you explained this all very well, but you didn’t go far enough, for me anyway.
Where and how do you suppose WILL fits into all this?
I’m going to outline what I do to explain these concepts, mostly to myself. My current thinking is that the spirit is part of the soul.
So I draw a picture of a woman. A woman because I can draw a woman better than a man. If you send me your pic, preferably with . . . oh never mind . . . I can draw you as the woman.
On the left side of the woman, I write TANGIBLE ESSENCE and then BODY under that. And what a body. On the right side of the woman I write INTANGIBLE ESSENCE and under that SOUL. Then under SOUL I write numbers 1 to 4 and the words, HEART, MIND, WILL, and SPIRIT.
For an unsaved person, the SPIRIT is of little consequence because that person is not likely to be in communication with God, via the Word or any other way.
Now let me give you an example of how this all works together. A woman is contemplating marriage to a man who claims to be a believer but has been divorced several times due mainly to adulterous behavior. The man is quite wealthy and the woman’s mind is telling her she would be financially secure for life. The woman thinks she loves the man so her heart is telling her do it. I think I know what message her spirit is getting from God. What does her will do?
Here’s another little example. I met a little dog named Killer today. Killer has a body. Killer has a soul. Killer has a mind, heart, and will. Killer may have a spirit, but if so, it not one that is very likely to be in communication with God’s Spirit. Ecclesiastes 3:21, “. . . the spirit of the beast . . .” leads me to believe Killer has a spirit, although you will probably say that refers to me. So your steak you just barbecued is sitting on the kitchen table. You go to answer the door, calling back at him, “You touch that steak, and you are going to the dog pound.” Killer’s mind is telling him, “Steak tastes better than dog food” and his heart is telling him, “I love steak more than my master.” What does Killer’s will do? You go to McDonald’s for dinner. So you see Killer is acting much like a heathen without the benefit of God’s guidance via His Spirit to your spirit.
Plants have a body, but no soul. The marijuana plant I’m growing on the roof has a body, but no soul, no intangible essence that can communicate with man, animals, or other plants. Until you smoke it.
Okay, Judah’s Daughter, am I stoned regarding all this, or what?
Hi there BLACKANDGOLDJACK! Great commentary, once again. These are my 'thoughts' that may involve my mind (thoughts) and my spirit (conscience), even the experiences of my soul (will and its rewards/consequences), heart (desires) and flesh (pleasure):
You gave the following scenario:
"Now let me give you an example of how this all works together. A woman is contemplating marriage to a man who claims to be a believer but has been divorced several times due mainly to adulterous behavior. The man is quite wealthy and the woman’s mind is telling her she would be financially secure for life. The woman thinks she loves the man so her heart is telling her do it. I think I know what message her spirit is getting from God. What does her will do?"
'Contemplating' would be to use all the fascets of the soul, spirit, mind and heart (even the flesh). The mind and spirit in me (we are transformed by the Spirit renewing our minds - Rom 12:2) would look (with spiritual eyes) at the man claiming to be a Christian, but not bearing the fruit (Mat 7:16). I would then KNOW right away that God would say 'NO' (spirit/conscience). My mind would be aware of the temptation of being financially spoiled, yet by compromising God's will. Am I sold out to His way (Luke 9:62)? I would then think, 'The love of money is the root of all evil' (1 Tim 6:10).
If I felt I 'loved' the man, I would then analyze whether I was in love with him or his money? If it was 'truly' him, what type of love is it? God's love (truth/compassion), friendship/brotherly love or fleshly love? If it's God's agape love, I would first love God and myself enough not to put another 'god' (money, etc.) before Him (my first love), and love the man enough to do him a favor by not giving him one more ex-wife. If it's fleshly love (in all fascets), I would serve myself by using him up and then dumping him when he has no more to give. It would serve him right, right? That's what the wicked heart would do ~ or should I say, an 'uncircumcised' heart (Rom 2:29).
The bottom line is, what does my will (soul) do, after I've contemplated all these things? Submit to the Spirit or to the flesh (Gal 5:17; Rom 6:16)? My mind and spirit know that the Spirit brings life and the flesh brings destruction. On this long path of life, I'd best learn (mind) and KNOW this is the TRUTH (conscience/spirit). If I follow the Spirit, God may bring a man into my life that is both godly and prosperous, for he will prosper as his own soul (his will subjected to God's will) prospers (3 John 1:2). Likewise, with me. Then, we will first bless the LORD (oh my soul), and bless each other.
I would say the dog in your example is following the desires of the flesh (heart/flesh) ~ steak, at that! Of course, some dogs are well-trained (mind/spirit), and would not disobey their master no matter what (soul). Love may actually be in the picture, too! Likewise, the Spirit is our Teacher and the LORD disciplines those He loves (John 14:26; Heb 5:14; 12:10).
And the plant...well, if we're anything like that plant ~ light us on fire with the breath of God (the Holy Spirit) and watch what happens! (Mat 3:11; Eph 5:18)
how can they works together?
Hi dayuns, we can only go back to the garden of Eden and analyze what happened with Adam and Eve when the serpent succeeded in getting them to sin. In their case, it started with hearing things contrary to what God said = confusion. Satan worked on their minds, making them think they didn't need to fear God, but could be gods (pride and eternal life), simply by eating of the forbidden tree.
Then, Eve 'saw' the fruit, thought about it, imagined how it would taste and what benefit it would bring (assuming the serpent told the truth, which he did not). She then acted on what had entered her mind through her ears and eyes ~ and now, she ate out of the desire of her heart.
Likewise, she took the same steps with Adam, who fell as well.
I would say that whatever causes a message to get to the brain (ears), then whatever we 'see', whether good or evil, will bear the fruit of our desires (heart).
This is why we are transformed by the renewing of our minds and we take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (review the 'Mind' section of this hub). This is also why we 'think on' whatsoever things are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent and worthy of praise (Phil 4:8).
Likewise, Luke 11:34 tells us "The eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad [evil], your body also is full of darkness."
Be careful what you hear, and test it by the Word of God and do not let falsivity take hold of your thoughts. Be careful what you see and test the resulting desires of your heart by the Word of God. Guard your mind, at any cost. Hear and read the Word of God, that your mind is full of His Truth. Then, shall all the other things follow in harmony. Ponder 2 Cor 11:3 "But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ."
The reason Jesus overcame Satan is because He was and is the Living Word. Everything He heard and saw was subjected to His Word. "Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee" (Ps 119:11).
Indeed, I feel enlightened in understanding a bit of The Soul,Spirit,Mind and Heart when I read about them on this website.I'll read over and over these HUBS to uderstand my mission on this earth and what i'm composed of spiritually.GOD BLESS U OOOOOO
I praise God that you feel enlightened in understanding, James Chemogoh, as this enlightenment can only come by the Holy Spirit working in your soul, spirit, mind and heart ~ HalleluYah!!
Phil 1:6 "For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."
thefount 2 years ago
Beautiful hub, beautiful message and beautiful photos. I really enjoyed this. Stay with it guhl! Thank you!