In this article you’ll find the 3 functions of the heart according to the Bible, and how they relate to each other. This will help you. begin to see why you do what you do, so you can begin to confront the patterns of your flesh.
When I came to Christ I was all in. Yet, after a few years and a few discouragements, my spiritual interest waned and I began to chase after the things of the world. How did this happen to me? What changed? Had I known about what the Bible says about the heart, it may have been different. If you want to develop a healthy spiritual life, knowing the three functions of the heart can help you avoid pitfalls.
When the Bible talks about the heart, it isn’t talking about the ball of muscle in your chest. According to the bible, the heart is the center of our being. Jesus said that it was from the heart that the mouth speaks (Matt 12:34), and from the heart come the things we think and do (Mark 7:21-22). The heart then is the part of man from which our life flows (Prov 4:23).
Introduction to the 3 primary functions of the heart
The Bible doesn’t really tell us what the heart is, but it talks a lot about how it functions. It turns out that there are three primary functions of the heart. I want to introduce you to them, and as I do, I hope you’ll see why they are important to know. Each function is fairly broad, and there are verses that describe more than one function. Each function is described in a variety of passages, so the verses below are not exhaustive.
Cognition
The first function of the heart is cognition. This includes thinking, believing and conviction. When Jesus healed the paralytic, the scribes “said to themselves, ‘This man blasphemes.’ Jesus, knowing their thoughts said, ‘Why are you thinking evil in your hearts?'” Notice where the thinking was going on? In the hearts of the scribes (see also Luke 9:47). Similarly, Paul prayed for the Ephesians that “they eyes of [their] heart may be opened so that [they] will know what is the hope of His calling.” It was in the heart that they needed to know the hope of belonging to Christ. The thought life is in their heart. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen in the brain. The point is that the immaterial part of man is where this thinking and believing takes place.
Affection
The word affection is an old word that speaks of desires, emotion and values. According to Matthew 5:28 desire (or lust as it is commonly translated in this verse) happens in the heart, “everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Note that the longing, or desiring happened in the heart. Fear, value and desire go together (where we desire or value something we fear it’s loss), so emotions are also part of the heart’s function. In John 14:27, Jesus said, “Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” This verse uses troubled and fearful as parallels to indicate two emotional responses that take place in the heart. Another, sorrow, is found in John 16:6. Just like desire and emotions go together, so too values and desire. We desire things because we value them. When Jesus commands us to love one another (John 15:12), He really is commanding our emotions.When Jesus commands us to love one another (John 15:12), He really is commanding our emotions Click To Tweet
Volition
That brings us to the final function, our volition, will, choices or commitment. This is evident in passages such as Matthew 15:8, which says, “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from me.” This indicates that while these people speak well of God, perhaps even singing praise songs, etc, their heart is still far away, and this is evident from their actions. In this case, they kept their law, not God’s law (see the context). The commitment or will of their hearts is also what lead to the death of Ananias and Saphira. According to Peter they “conceived this deed in [their] heart.” Their actions indicated their heart. See also 1 Cor 7:37, which indicates that standing firm in our heart means someone “has authority over his own will.”
These functions work together
Each of these three functions affects the other. For example, have you ever seen something in a store and desired it? What happened? You probably went in (at least one time in your life) and bought it. Your desire led to the motivation of your will. Similarly, do you recall a time when having desired something you began to rationalize to yourself why you should have it? Here your desire is influencing your thinking. It also works with the will influencing your desires (if you do something long enough you often eventually enjoy that activity) and so on.
So what?
Why is this important to developing a healthy spiritual life? Have you ever heard someone argue that emotions cannot be commanded? Some reason that because God commands us to love, love must be an action.
Certainly, love is an action, but love is more than just an action – it is an affective response. When God commands us to love, He is commanding our affections or emotions. Knowing how our affections are impacted by the other functions of the heart helps us consider how to respond to God’s command to love, and why we find it so hard. God isn’t just asking us for action, nor just for feeling. He is commanding our entire self. To obey, we will need to change the way we think, so that we can change the way we feel.
When the Bible says that we are to love the Lord with all our heart (Deut 6:5, Matt 22:37), he includes our mind, our emotions, our values, our desires, our commitments and will. Likewise, when the Proverbs tell us to “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life” (Prov 4:23) you can start to see that this is a comprehensive task.
How to change the heart.
If you’re like me, you’ll find it hard to be obedient to commands that appeal to our affections. The reason is that it is because we’re holding on to an unbiblical belief, desires or actions, such as:
- I can’t/won’t change, I am who I am
- I deserve…. (fill in the blank)
- God accepts me as I am, so I don’t need to change
- I love to ….. (something you get pleasure in)
What we love tends to be what determines our actions, desires and beliefs. Jesus said if we loved Him, we would obey Him. So, if we follow our disobedience through the different aspects of the heart, we’ll begin to identify what it is that is holding back a fuller obedience and joy in Him.
Conclusion
By understanding the three functions of the heart, we can start to identify where we need to focus in our quiet times, and begin to work to strengthen the functions of the heart that are weak or subdue those functions that are wayward or corrupt.
Hopefully this post has allowed you to dip your toes into why the heart is important to your spiritual health and some insight into examining it.
