Human Psychology

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27).

“May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely, and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 5:23).

The Apostle Paul seems to divide human psychology up into “spirit and soul and body.” Jesus divided human psychology into heart, soul, strength (body), and mind. And it appears that spirit and soul are not the same thing, since the word of God “divides soul from spirit” (Heb. 4:12).

What are all these parts and how do they fit together? Understanding that the Bible is no univocal, I still think we can make sense of the New Testament general meaning of these terms.

The body is the easiest, we all know what that means. The mind is fairly easy, it is the part of us that thinks. Now it gets harder.

The heart is the will, the center of our moral choices. It refers to the “intentions of the heart” (Heb 4:12). It included our disposition, our intentions and motives, as well as the choice itself.

The soul and spirit are sometimes used to refer to the nonphysical part of us. Other times they are distinguished. When they are distinguished, the soul refers to our emotional part and the spirit refers to consciousness.

They you have the best explanation of the basic make up of our human psychology according to the New Testament. At least, I think it matches Paul’s understanding. But again, I do not insist on the univocality of the Biblical record.

Published by

Jay Forrest

Dr. Jay N. Forrest is an Ordained Interfaith Minister and Certified Meditation Teacher who guides others on the Mystic Way through contemplative teaching and interspiritual insight.Since becoming a Christian in 1983 and earning his Doctorate in Ministry, Jay has served within a rich range of Christian traditions—including Pentecostal, Charismatic, Baptist, Methodist, and Liberal Catholic churches—and provided compassionate care as a Hospice Chaplain.His journey has also led him through catechism studies with the Orthodox Church in America, minor orders in the Liberal Catholic Church, and over two decades of Buddhist study and practice. His path is one of depth, integration, and a lifelong dedication to the transformative power of spiritual practice.



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