FUNCTIONS OF THE HEART (1)

“Trust in the Lord with all your HEART, and lean not on your own understanding” – Proverbs 3:5

The FUNCTIONS of the HEART are critical to our Walk with God: “Trust in the Lord with all your HEART, and lean not on your own understanding” (Pro.3:5). The human heart is mentioned over 800 times in the Bible. However, when Scripture talks about the heart, it isn’t referring to the ball of muscle in our chest, that vital physical organ that is constantly beating and enabling us to keep alive. The heart is that invisible, intangible, but extremely powerful center of our being; the source of our emotions, feelings, moods, and passions. As the physical heart largely determines how the human body functions; so the spiritual heart controls the deepest dimensions of our being: our spirit and soul (mind). The heart is the part of Man from which the essence of life flows (Pro.4:23).

The Bible doesn’t really define what the heart is, but it talks a lot about how it functions. The human being is deep, and there would be numerous functions of the heart, but Scriptures reveal three broad, primary, and interrelated functions of the heart, namely: Cognition; Affection, and Volition. Understanding these functions and how they relate to each other will help us to understand our motivations, why we do what we do, so we can begin to confront the patterns of our flesh. It is usual, for example, for a new believer in Christ to be vibrant, passionate, and on fire for the Lord. Then, after a while and few discouragements, his or her spiritual interest wanes as worldly desires invade the heart. Understanding the working of the heart could help a great deal in walking victoriously.

Cognition or Knowing: includes thinking, believing and conviction. The thought life is more in the heart than in the head. When Jesus healed the paralytic, the scribes “said within themselves, “This Man blasphemes!” But Jesus, knowing their thoughts said, ‘Why do you THINK evil in your HEARTS?” Evil thinking was going on in their hearts. Luke 9:47 says, “And Jesus, perceiving the THOUGHT of their HEART, took a little child and set him by Him.” God’s knowledge can only be accessed by the heart. Paul prayed for the Ephesians: “the eyes of [their] heart may be opened so that [they] will know what is the hope of His calling” (Eph.1:18). Thinking happens in the brain, but the immaterial part of man is where real thinking and believing originates from and occur.

Affection or Emotion: relates to desires, feelings, and values. Lusts begin in the heart: “whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her IN HIS HEART” (Mt.5:28). So do the emotions of fear and value. We desire things because we value them. When Jesus commands us to love one another, He really is commanding our emotions (Jh.15:12). When we desire or value something we fear its loss. Jesus said, “Let not your HEART be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (Jh.14:27b). Sorrow is another matter of the heart: “Because I have said these things to you, SORROW has filled your HEART” (Jh.16:6).

Volition or Will: relates to choices or commitment. In reality, these come from the heart, not merely from the mouth or lips: “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their HEART is far from Me” (Mt.15:8). While these people spoke well of God, perhaps even sang His praise in songs, their hearts were still far away, as evident from their actions. They kept their law, not God’s law (Mt.15:9). Ananias and Saphira died due to the commitment or will of their hearts. Peter queried Ananias, “Why have you conceived this thing in your HEART?” (Acts 5:4). The action of deception reflected the state of their heart.

The three functions work together, each affecting the other. Desire is the motivation of the will. Desire could itself influence thinking. The will in turn, influences our desires. We’re called to love the Lord with all our HEART, soul, and strength (Dt.6:5). We’re to love Him with our minds, emotions, values, desires, commitment, and will!