According
to the Word of God the
heart is the core of our being, in
both the Old Testament
and the New
Testament the word “heart” is used to refer to the whole of the
innermost part of the human &
not
just
the emotions. In the bible
the heart is
connected with the mind:
As
a person “thinketh
in his heart, so is he”
(Prov.
23:7).
The
heart is also spoken
of in the bible
as the center of the moral and
spiritual life. Jesus
in the
Parable of the sower Luke 8:12 & Paul also,
said that a person must believe
in the heart to
be saved,
“for
with
the heart
man believeth
unto righteousness”
(Rom.
10:10).
(See also Mark
11:23; Heb. 3:12.)
The Word of God tells us the importance of guarding our hearts :
Proverbs 4: 23 'Keep
(guard) thy
heart with
all diligence;
for out of it are
the issues of life.'
Galatians
4: 6 'And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the
Spirit of his Son into your hearts,
crying, Abba, Father'
1/
The heart must
especially be kept pure, because the heart is the place of
God's residence.
God
dwells in the heart. (Isaiah 57:15; Ephesians 3:17; Gal.4:6),
therefore it must be pure and clean.
If the body is
the temple of the Holy Spirit (1Cor 6:19; [2
Cor 4:16] 2 Cor. 5:1-4), The
center innermost part of
what is called the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies would
represent the heart. And the
heart of hearts (the spirit) would represent the holy of
holies!
The
Word of God says that we humans are made of 3 parts:
“...And
the very God of peace
sanctify
you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit
and
soul
and
body
be
preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”.
(1
thesalonians 5:23). 2
Cor.5:17; Phil
3:20-21)
Since
we are seeing these verses, let us also
remember
that our
redemption
is
provided for
our
whole
being:
spirit-
done when
born again, the Spirit
gives birth to spirit,
John
3:1-7;
Soul
–
work
in
progress, Rom
12:2.
&
body-
will be redeem when Christ
comes for His church.
Rom
8:23, 1
Cor 15:44)
"I
beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God,
which is your reasonable service. 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. ...
9
Let love be
without dissimulation. Abhor that
which is evil; cleave to that which is good. 10 Be kindly affectioned
one to another with brotherly love; in honour
preferring one another; 11
not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; 12
rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in
prayer; 13 distributing to the necessity of saints; given to
hospitality".
Romans 12: 1-2,9-13.
"Create
in me a clean heart,
O God; and renew a right spirit within me".
Psalm 51:10;
It
is ALL His
work in us,
but
for the
soul to be renewed,
we
need to
surrender,
to
trust, to obey
Him,
& collaborate
with Him, so
we can serve Him well
(because
we are the
ones who keep bringing back
the
thorns, the root of bitterness ,
the
flesh etc.
in our hearts-
God
made us free will creatures).
Philippians
1:6 says: "Being
confident of this very thing, that He
which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the
day of Jesus Christ."
“Love” is one of the most common, yet misused and misunderstood words in any language. It isn't the emotion tought by the world but It's an act of will. According to the Bible, love is caring in action, it's sacrificial (Eph.5:1-2), it isn't what we feel, but mainly what we do, LOVE is active. Love is a matter of highest priority to God.
The first of all the commandments to the believer is to love God “with all your heart ..& 2nd to love thy neighbor as yourself” Mark 12:28-34; (Romans 5:5; Juan 13:34; Gal.5:6). Jesus resumed the 10 commandments in these 2.
'therefore love is the fulfilling of the law'. (Romans 13:8-10). "God is love" (1 John 4:8).
8 “Charity (Love, Strong's #26-Agape) never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. 1 Cor.13
Love
is greater than faith and hope because love is eternal, while
faith and hope are temporal, until
we meet with Him.
“As
the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue
ye in my love” John
15:9 –
Love unifies us.
“But
whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and
shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth
the love of God in
him?18 My little children, let us not love in word,
neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth” 1
John 3:17-183/ The heart must be kept pure because Faith resides or lives in our hearts also. Faith is believing God with your heart (Mark 11:22-24; Romans 10:9-10; Acts 15:9; 1 John 3:3; Luke 18:8)
'So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God ' Romans 10:17.
Faith is important to get save, to please God & to grow spiritually.
“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” Hebrews 11:6.
It is faith which worketh by love (Gal.5:6), true faith is active, not passive, because it is perfected or completed by our actions (James 2:22).
