In my walk with the Lord, I have come to realize that just as the organs in our physical body are vital for the sustenance of the life of a human being, so also are there vital organs of our faith that must be properly maintained and exercised for our well-being as children of God.
In the Scriptures we see several mentions of some parts of our human bodies so to speak, in the exercise of our faith in God. Are these mere analogies? Why is the mention of these organs replete in Scripture? I have identified two of such organs, which the Scriptures portray as integral in our Christian walk: the heart and the mouth; and in the next few weeks God willing, we will be studying tit bits under what I have captioned as the Organs of our Faith.
In this first blog, we will look at a few Scriptural references where the heart of man is portrayed as an important organ of our faith in God and then explain what the Bible refers to as the heart of man.
It is important to note that in the realization of the salvation that God Himself has worked out for mankind through His Son Jesus Christ, these two organs of faith are involved: the heart and the mouth. In other words, you and I can only become partakers of God’s gift of Salvation to us by engaging our hearts and our mouths: by believing in our hearts, Christ’s redemptive work for us, and by confessing with our mouths, Jesus Christ, as our Lord and Saviour.
…that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Rom 10:9-10 NKJV
We also read from (Genesis 6), that what compelled God to destroy mankind and indeed the whole earth in the lifetime of Noah, was when He saw the wickedness that was continually conceived in the heart of man.
Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them. Gen 6:5-7 NKJV Emphasis mine
Against the backdrop of this story, and other instances in Scripture where the heart of man is referred to, the saying of our Lord Jesus in Matthew chapter 5 is very insightful:
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matt 5:8)
One of the most profound stories in the Bible where we see God’s consideration of the state of the heart of man, as His focus of attention, has to do with His election of David as a replacement for king Saul. When God rejected Saul as king (1 Samuel 16), He sent the prophet Samuel to the house of Jesse to anoint one of his sons as His chosen king:
So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him!” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Sam 16:6-7 NKJV Emphasis mine
It is interesting to note that the prophet Samuel, was limited in his ability to discern the right person that God had chosen. Glaringly, even though he was a prophet and could sometimes speak the mind of God, he was unable to see beyond the outward appearance of Eliab to discern his heart and its intent thereof; for the prophet’s judgement of God’s chosen one was wrong; and but for God’s promptings, prophet Samuel would probably have anointed Eliab as the chosen king.
Just like Samuel, we all, mortal as we are, are unable to see the heart of man and only reckon believers and non-believers alike by what we see of them on the outward.
God however, does not see as man sees; but looks beyond what man looks at. He looks beyond the physical body and its demeanour, to look at the condition of our hearts. So when God sees us as individuals, He does not consider our physique, beauty or otherwise, our wealth; neither does he consider our level of education, nor even how much knowledge of His word that we may be privy to; but rather, what is within our hearts! When God sees you and me, He sees the intangible person within us – our hearts!
For as water reflects face, so a man’s heart reveals a man. (Proverbs 27:19).
So what does the Bible refer to as the heart? Surely, the several references to the heart in the Scriptures; do not refer to the organ we know as the heart in the physical body, but rather, to the ruling centre of the whole person, the intangible person, the spiritual man within our physical body!
The choice of the word heart, I believe, is to enable us better relate to it as humans, and to make us better understand that, the condition of our spiritual heart is just as important for the sustenance of our faith in God, as the condition of our physical heart is, to the sustenance of our lives here on earth. No wonder we are admonished to “guard our hearts with all diligence” since out of it comes the issues of life. (Proverbs 4:23)
Indeed, the heart is the centre of spiritual activity and all the operations of life. All decisions we take and emotions we display emanate from the heart; and it is that which makes us who we are. Let us look at some Scriptures to confirm that the heart encompasses all these areas. We will begin with the words of Jesus.
But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. Matt 15:18-20 NKJV
From this Scripture, we gather that our speech reflects what is harboured in our hearts. Bearing false witness and speaking blasphemies both have to do with utterances a person makes, and Scripture says, all these emanate from the heart. Similarly everything we think about or do, stems from our hearts. Murder, adultery, fornication and thefts are all actions from the heart. Once we nurture the thought in our heart, it is tantamount to doing it.
But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? Matthew 9:4 NKJV
From this second Scripture, also words from Jesus, we deduce that the biblical heart comprises our thoughts; for we think with our hearts. If this is so, then it is important for us as believers, to guard our thoughts and imaginations.
Again, from the texts below, we read that the biblical heart also comprises our emotions. Joy is an emotion, likewise sorrow. So then, the emotions we express, also spring from our hearts.
The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart. Psalm 19:8
But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. John 16:6-7 NKJV
Our will power and the decisions we take, also stem from the heart. We read that:
… Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, Dan 1:8 NKJV
So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Cor 9:7 NKJV
The verses above indicate that we decide with our hearts. Consequently, every decision we take, including our decision to surrender our lives to Christ, emanates from the heart. For we become recipients of God’s salvation, when we believe the Gospel in our hearts and confess Christ, with our mouths. Similarly, backsliding in the life of the believer, begins from the heart. The biblical heart therefore comprises our will power and the decisions we take.
Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways. Heb 3:13 NKJV
The biblical heart also embraces our conscience. For we read that:
For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. 1 John 3:20-21 NKJV
Typically, it is our conscience that condemns us when we err or stray off from doing the right thing. In the Scripture above however, we read that it is our heart that condemns us. This implies therefore that our conscience forms part of our biblical heart.
One can deduce from all the above discourse that the biblical heart is intangible. It is a spirit, comprising our minds, emotions, will power culminating in the decisions we take and our thoughts; and it is what is referred to as “the hidden man of the heart” (1 Pet 3:4). Our biblical heart, is the lens through which our Creator, God Almighty identifies who we really are.
No doubt, the heart is a vital organ of our faith as children of God; and its health, central to the sustenance of our Christian life! So the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, seeking hearts that are loyal to Him. (2 Chron 16:9)
Stand by for more tit bits on the organs of faith in our subsequent blogs!
God bless you!
