Let us now go on to see the details of the vessel of the Lord. In the previous chapter we saw that we were created purposely to be God’s containers, having God Himself as our content. For this purpose God has created us with many parts. Do not think that the term parts originated with me. In Jeremiah 31:33 God says, “I will put My law in their inward parts.” The inward parts are in our soul; they are not the outward members of our body. In the same verse God also says that He will write His law upon our heart. What, then, are the inward parts, and what is the heart?
If we compare Jeremiah 31:33 with the quotation in Hebrews 8:10, “I will impart My laws into their mind,” we will see a slight but important variation. Jeremiah says “in their inward parts,” but Hebrews renders it “into their mind.” This comparison proves that the mind is one of the inward parts.
The term inward parts is used in the Scriptures more than once. For example, Psalm 51:6 says, “Behold, You delight in truth in the inward parts.” The inward parts must have truth. Besides the inward parts there is another part in this psalm called “the hidden part”: “In the hidden part You would make known wisdom to me.” According to this verse, truth is in the inward parts, and wisdom is in the hidden part. We need to find out what the inward parts and the hidden part are.
Some passages to which we will refer are very familiar. First Thessalonians 5:23 is a verse indicating that we are tripartite, or of three parts: the spirit, the soul, and the body. We can illustrate this by three concentric circles, as shown in the diagram on the next page.
Hebrews 4:12 also mentions the spirit and the soul and speaks of the dividing of these two parts. If we would know Christ and enter into Him as the good land and as the rest, we must discern the spirit from the soul. The spirit is the very place where Christ dwells in us (2 Tim. 4:22); hence, if we would know Christ in an experiential way, we must discern our human spirit from our soul. This verse mentions the difference not only between the spirit and the soul but also between the joints and the marrow of the body and between the thoughts and the intentions of the heart. The living word of God is a divider of the soul and the spirit and a discerner of the thoughts and intentions of the heart. This proves that in order to know the Lord in a practical and real way, we must discern all these matters. What are the thoughts of the heart and the intentions of the heart? And how many parts are in the heart?
In Luke 1:46-47 the soul and the spirit are again distinguished.
Philippians 1:27 says that we must stand firm in one spirit—not the Holy Spirit, but the human spirit—and strive together with one soul. Again, this verse shows that there is a difference between the spirit and the soul.
Finally, Mark 12:30 says, “You shall love the Lord your God from your whole heart and from your whole soul and from your whole mind and from your whole strength.” In this verse four different parts are mentioned: the heart, the soul, the mind, and the strength. If we put all these verses together, we will realize that there are quite a number of different parts within us besides the many parts of the body.
First Thessalonians 5:23 indicates that we are composed of spirit, soul, and body, and Psalm 51 reveals the inward parts with the hidden part. The inward parts are the parts of the soul, which is proved by comparing Hebrews 8:10 with Jeremiah 31:33, where “their mind” is quoted as a variation of “their inward parts.” Just as the inward parts must be the parts of the soul, so the hidden part must be the spirit (1 Pet. 3:4). Of all our parts, the spirit is the most hidden one within us. This innermost part is not only hidden within our body but is even hidden within our soul. Hence, there are the outward parts of the body, the inward parts of the soul, and the hidden part of the spirit.