To speak of the intuition is a little more difficult, but we still have the scriptural ground. First Corinthians 2:11 says, “For who among men knows the things of man, except the spirit of man which is in him?” Our spirit can know and discern something that the soul cannot. This proves that there is an additional and special ability to know in our spirit. To know something in the soul is to know by reason and circumstances, but our human spirit can discern and know things apart from any reason. It knows directly, with a direct sense. This verse proves that the direct sense, that is, the intuition, is in our spirit.
Mark 2:8 says that Jesus knew fully in His spirit what the scribes were reasoning, and 8:12 says that He groaned deeply in His spirit. This is to realize something in the spirit which makes one sorrowful. John 11:33 says that Jesus was “moved with indignation in His spirit.” To be sorrowful, to groan for certain things, in the spirit is to realize, perceive, and discern those things. These verses are adequate to prove that within our spirit there is a function to realize, discern, and perceive things, to have a direct sense. We call this the intuition, the third function, or part, of our spirit.
What then is the heart? The heart is not a separate part besides the soul and the spirit. As human beings, we have only spirit, soul, and body; we do not have the heart as a fourth, separate part. Rather, the heart is a composition of all the parts of the soul and the first part of the spirit, the conscience. As we have seen, the parts of the soul are the mind, the will, and the emotion. The heart includes all these parts plus one part of the spirit, the conscience.
The mind, the first part of the soul, is a part of the heart. Matthew 9:4 says, “And Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, Why are you thinking evil things in your hearts?” We think in our heart. Since to think is something of the mind, this proves that the mind is a part of the heart. Genesis 6:5 says, “Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” The thoughts are something of the mind, but this verse speaks of the thoughts of the heart. Hebrews 4:12 also mentions the thoughts of the heart. These three passages are adequate and very strong to prove that the mind, which is the organ of thought, is a part of the heart.
Concerning the will, Acts 11:23 speaks of “purpose of heart.” To purpose is a matter of the will. It is the function of the will, but this verse says it is something in the heart. Hebrews 4:12 also speaks of the intentions of the heart. The intentions, like the purposes, are something of the will, but here it says that they are something of the heart. This proves that the will is a part of the heart. These two verses are adequate to prove this. To prove something from the Scriptures requires two verses, because two is the number of testimony.
Concerning the emotion, the Lord said in John 16:22, “Your heart will rejoice.” To rejoice is a matter of the emotion, but here the Lord said that the heart rejoices. This proves that the emotion is also a part of the heart. In the same chapter the Lord said, “Sorrow has filled your heart” (v. 6). Sorrow also is something of emotion, so these two verses prove that the emotion is in the heart.
Hebrews 10:22 says, “Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience.” The conscience has much to do with the heart. In order to have a pure heart, we must have a conscience without offense. If our conscience is sprinkled, we can have a pure heart. This proves, no doubt, that the conscience is a part of the heart. First John 3:20 says that “our heart blames us.” To blame is the function of the conscience, but here it says that it is a matter of the heart, proving that the conscience is a part of the heart.
By all of the above, we have the ground to prove that these four parts-the mind, the will, the emotion, and the conscience-all the parts of the soul and the first part of the spirit, are composed together to equal the heart.
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