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What is the difference between the human heart and soul in the bible?

See verse below for an example:

Matthew 22:37 37 Jesus said to him, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ Context (NET)

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At times there is virtually no difference in their usage. In this passage our Lord stacks up three words so that there can be no doubt that He means "all that is with in us!"

I think that is the point, rather than having three points and dividing people up - so that you are talking about 3 kinds of love, 3 decisions to love, or three disciplines of love. Rather, I love my Lord, I love my wife, and I love my church - and all of me is involved with each of those statements.

John

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"The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." Gal 5:6b

Pastor John C. Blackburn

Well said ! How often have we split them up and ended up with some weird conclusions.

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John is entirely correct. The use of heart, soul, spirit (ruah), spirit (neshamah), mind, etc., in Scripture is quite fluid. It's not like the Bible was written in some sort of code, where each of these words has a technical meaning that inheres throughout each and every use of these words. There's a great deal of overlap in the semantic fields of these terms. Ultimately, I think, they all describe what Paul calls our 'inner person' (in contrast with the body, our 'outer person').

As for the verse in question, I think the point of the text our Lord cites here is for us to love God with everything we are. As Psalm 103:1 puts it,

The list of heart, soul and strength (to which 'mind' is added in Mark 12:30) simply emphasizes the totality of the commitment God desires of us and is not meant to be sub-analyzed. The rabbis, in contrast, have a different perspective on Deuteronomy 6:5. For them, to love HaShem with all your heart means primarily to obey Him and walk in His ways, as well as loving God in the sense that we tend to think of (emotionally). To love HaShem with all your soul, based on the alternative meaning of nefesh as 'life,' means to be willing to endure martyrdom (to give your very life for God). To love HaShem with all your might, based on the alternative meaning of me'od as 'substance,' means to dedicate all your goods and resources to God, to love Him with everything you own.

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All translations of Scripture and other sources are my own unless otherwise noted.

The "heart" is the [free] will that GOD built you (the "soul") around.

You are "a living soul";

Your "heart (will)" is the throne room of you ("a living soul").

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JESUS CHRIST [my LORD & my GOD] + nothing = Everything!!!

I agree with derek c.

Here is a little more detail for those who may want to better understand the differences.

Human beings are made up of 3 primary things.

Body, Soul and Spirit.

Our body is able to use it's 5 senses to relate to God's creation (see, smell, taste, feel and hear).

Our spirit was made to relate and communicate with God (who is a Spirit)...logical eh? This can only happen if we are born again...meaning our dead spirit is quickened by the Spirit of God, and becomes alive again to acknowledge and communicate with God as it was meant to do.

Our soul is that part of us that allows us to relate and know ourselves and makes us the person people know us as. It consists of our mind (so we can think), our will (so we can desire) and our emotions (so we can feel, and express ourselves in either good or bad ways...happiness, sadness, etc).

Our heart is part of our soul. I've heard it said it is the seat of our desires. Just like what derek C said...it's as though it's the throneroom of our will. It is the place that we either keep control of ourselves...or allow a spirit to control (either satan's or God's). That is why we have a free will. God never takes that away from us. He merely tells us that if we will yield our heart to Him, and seek to do His will, and not our own, then He will clean our heart of all the junk that we allow into it through various gates into our heart (our eyes, ears, mind, etc). Otherwise, if we don't surrender it to God, then we will suffer the consequences of trying to control it ourselves...which is impossible, since the Bible clearly states in Provers 27:17, the heart is more deceitful than all else, and desperately sick...who can understand it? The answer by the way is only God! So, God loves us and wants us to allow Him to clean our hearts of all the junk that will cause us to live in bondage, instead of His freedom.
So the heart is the most important part of us as humans since it's status determines how we will live life not only on earth, but for all eternity.

So, if we are born again, our spirit is immediately saved and made perfect and righteous before God.

Our soul is being saved (as we read and practice God's word and allow His Holy Spirit to guide and direct our steps, and we submit our heart and will fully to Him, He causes our mind, will and emotions to line up with the same mind, will and emotions that were exemplified in Jesus Christ).

And, our body will be saved on resurrection day, when we will go from mortals to immortals.

So, our Spirit was saved, our soul is being saved, and our body will be saved.

But only if we have confessed with our mouth that Jesus is the Son of God, and believe in our heart that God has raised Him from the dead, then we are born again (our spirit was made alive again) and we now can have communication with God so that He can help us learn how to live acceptably for Him).

Blessings,

Valz

I lost count of the number of parts into which you think we are divided, but only one of us is lost, only one of us is saved, only one of us exists at a time, though there is a time where that one of us who exists, may be between bodies - that would be another thread.

There are number of people who divide us into 3 parts, but no part of us is perfect - there is no one good, but God. We are being sanctified, because we are now saved - if by saved you mean redeemed and heaven bound. I believe that this passage speaks of me as an entire person:

I know that nothing of me is perfect, but the Spirit who lives in me is perfect. I fear that the division that you have described could lead one to think that as long as the human spirit is perfect - all is OK. I am confident of my salvation because Jesus is perfect and I stand in His righteousness. Yet I must ever be growing up into Him

John

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"The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." Gal 5:6b

Pastor John C. Blackburn

John,

Thanks for your response.

The only reason I divide our person up is because the Bible divides us up. Even Paul said:


I really do attempt to always use the Word of God as my basis for what I say, although I will not admit to infallibility at this.





Since the Bible says we have three different parts, and even Jesus made mention of His Spirit:



And even Paul made a distinction between our bodies when he said that if God's Spirit dwells in us, as it dwelt within Jesus, it will raise up our bodies at the resurrection of the dead, or the rapture of the saints, whichever applies to our situation at the 2nd Coming of Christ. So, the body is saved (goes from mortals to immortals) at His coming. In other Words, it will be saved at that time. At the current time, it is perishing and will continue to do so until The Lord's return.


And here it is evident that our souls are being saved by God, through our belief in Him, which requires faith on our part.


And below, the writer of Hebrews refers to the spirits of just men made perfect. Their spirits were made absolutely perfect the moment they were justified by God. Their souls will still need to be washed by the water of the Word, over and over again before this life is through though, because within their mind, will and emotions, they will sin over and over again, albeit the sin should decrease as they grow in maturity of the Lord. But their spirit, now that it was made alive again by The Spirit, is as perfect as perfect can be. It cannot be made any more perfect by anybody, including God.




So, I would say once again that every born again Christian....Our spirit was saved, our soul is being saved, and our bodies will be saved.

In the end, the person I refer to who has these three parts the Bible refers to over and over again, will entirely be saved, but for now...it is only our spirit that is already saved. But God is faithful and will see to it that our whole person (spirit, soul and body) is saved at His coming.

Obadiah and pastorjohn is correct. However I do find it interesting that your heart was the faculty of thought in the Ancient Mediterranean world as well as the Ancient Near East, while the soul (nefesj) seems to be located at your throat (near what is today the vocal chords). Nefesj can be translated in various ways, but I think in Matthew 22:37 the words breath, force, soul and vigour could all compete for a place in the translation.

First I must say that I agree with PastorJohn and Obadiah as well. Just in thinking about this led me to wonder; If one could think that while alive these things were seperate then, I suppose that could lead to beleiveing in one part being saved ata time. However, other than by death, there is no physical way to seperate these 3 portions of a person. So by that, If one part is saved while alive, isn't the whole person saved as well?
Can a potter remove the bottom of a bowl and still classify it as a pot? Doesn't sound like it will hold water.

I find myslf stuck with the rest of me. Fortunately for me, that part is saved.
I Beleive that my body is saved and will either die or be rapture, (i vote for the later, but whatever) and be made new. I agree that that description of the use of the language of three parts is speaking of totallity, so nothing is left out. One member of my body is a part of the whole. The whole is what I think is being described.

Boy, sometimes I wish I could seperate the three. LOL

Grace and peace
Robert

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Personally, I agree that you cannot separate heart, soul, mind and body. However, I do find the distinctions helpful. Regardless of the overlap, these words are connected to real and separate manifestations of our person. My physical desires and my emotional desires can be thought of as two different things. I can desire true love but end up stuck in a purely physical relationship. My general state of being, e.g. grumpy, joyful, etc, can be distinguished from my mental state of being. My state of being can be joyful even though I have knowledge of bad things, like the death of a loved one. Knowing that we're made up of these separate parts can help us understand, overcome, and continue to pursue The Lord with our whole selves. The more we learn about these parts of ourselves, the faster we can move away from poor behavior, such as staying in a purely physical relationship, or being grumpy even though you know how blessed we are. Thus, although inseparable, separate consideration can be helpful.