Quick Answer: The mind, will, and emotions (also heart)
are part of the "You", which includes body, soul, spirit. The mind, will, and emotions can be either
materialistic or spiritual, probably at the same time.
Key Scriptures:
Rom 8:27 “…and he who searches our hearts <kardia>
knows the mind <phronema> of the <pneuma>…” To me this illustrates the loose use of terms
like <kardia> and <phronema>.
That the "spirit" would have a "mind" clearly
indicates that, at least in some cases, the concept of "mind" is a
spiritual one and resides in the spiritual, or non-material, world. I believe that if you say that the "mind
is purely a material outcome of the brain's intricacies", then you are
contradicting scripture. At the very
least, you have to acknowledge that the word "mind" is sometimes used
to refer to something in the spiritual realm.
But many academics would say that everything meant by the term
"mind" resides in the material universe. Such a concept would not square with
scripture.
Eph 2:3 …fulfilling the desires of the <sarx> and of
the mind <dianoia>…and were by nature <phusis> the children of
wrath. Here the “mind”
<dianoia> is coupled with the <sarx>. But it could be that the
<psuche-pneuma> becomes so depraved that it has the same desires as the
<sarx>. But we also know that the
physical brain, which is part of the <sarx>, must be closely related to
the mind <dianoia>. I think our
<sarx> can influence our <psuche-pneuma> just like a bad friend can
corrupt a good friend.
Mt 5:28 …hath
committed adultery with her already in his <kardia>... Clearly
<kardia> can refer to the <psuche-pneuma> - the non-physical part
of the person. Jesus is not saying that physical adultery occurs just by
thoughts/intentions. But sin does occur just by
thoughts/intentions. We know that this
is the case. There are times where we
intend to sin, but we are prevented by some situation outside of our
control. We don't commit the physical
act of sinning, but we commit the spiritual act of sinning. Jesus points out that, either way, it is
still sin. As with nearly every other
principle encountered in this study, this further shows the importance of the
spiritual realm.
Mt 12:34 out of the
abundance of the <kardia> the mouth speaketh. The <kardia> can…and often does…result
in the physical working out of what we really are in our
<psuche-pneuma>. Our physical body
is driven by that deeper us…the real us comes out. The body is not a filter for good in the sense
that our deeper selves think up evil and then our body resists and tries to get
us to change for the positive. I can’t
think of any verse that indicates that our body could have a positive
influence. Certainly there are times
when the physical limitations of our body keep us from acting out our intended sin. But, as Jesus has said in Mt 5:28 – we’ve
already committed the sin, and the fact that our body…our physical self in a
physical world…just can’t carry out that sin at that moment does not mean we
have not sinned.
Lu 1:66 ..laid them up
in their <kardia> Here <kardia> is basically referring to
memory. Memory is an interesting aspect
and somehow seems tied to both flesh and soul.
Animals, plants, even computers have memory in a very basic sense. But we can recall memories and “relive”
experiences. Memories can evoke emotions
and desires. Certainly our actions today
are strongly influenced by our past - specifically our memories of our past. The acting out of our will must pass through
the memory of our past experiences. In a
fleshly sense, our memories are what provides us with the continuity of
“ourselves”. I remember the past of me,
even though none of the current molecules in my fleshly body were there in my
distant past. I assume that I don’t
remember someone else’s memories. The
fact that a memory, at least to some extent, can be evoked by stimulating a
specific region of the brain, does not negate the idea that these various human
characteristics, including memory, have a spiritual component. Given the advances of neuroscience, we know
that there is a physical component, so it is wrong to say that these
characteristics are all spiritually-based.
Eph 6:6 doing the will of God from the <psuche> Here "<psuche>" is used in a
place where you might have used “heart”…the place where decisions are made. Again, it is important to recognize that hard
lines are not drawn around the definition of these terms. We know what they mean because we experience
them every day - every moment - as human beings. But it is hard for us to define them with
great specifics. It's just like trying
to define consciousness or life.
Caveat:
With
respect to the scriptural use of terms like "mind" <phronema>,
I think it would be a mistake to declare that they refer only to the spiritual
realm or only to the material realm.
They cross the boundary. In fact,
that is their unique characteristic.
Something has to cross that boundary or else our <psuche-pneuma>
could never influence our <sarx> (and vice versa). It seems that the mind and heart that provide
that bridge.
Also, I
used the word "emotion" in the question for this entry because, as I
recall, I was always taught about the "soul" being composed of mind,
will, and emotions. But the word
"emotion" doesn't appear in scripture - at least no Greek word is
translated "emotion" in the KJV or NIV. I think the tendency was to equate the use of
the word "heart" as a stand-in for emotion, but that is clearly not
right. The word <kardia> is much
closer to the idea of "mind" as we would use it today. As with "mind" and
"will", the word emotion carries a certain physical connection, and,
in fact, might be "all physical."
I don't know about that, but most of our emotions are in response to
some physical situation. On the other
hand, the line between "emotion" and "mind" or
"heart" is very very fuzzy. It
does not appear that the intent of scripture is to be prescriptive regarding
the boundaries between the physical and the spiritual.
Related Scriptures
and Thoughts:
Mt 24:48, Mr 2:6 reasoning in their <kardia>. From the way the terms for heart, mind, etc.
are used, I think it would be a mistake to build any doctrine on the idea that
a person is composed of mind, will, emotions, as if those were distinct from
one another. Scripturally, those terms
are not tightly controlled. Also, some
features of these terms cross from the material <sarx> into the spiritual
<psuche-pneuma>, so I wouldn't put them solidly in the soul.
I Th 2:8 imparting our own <psuche>. We can impart our deep motivation to another
person. We understand by our common
experience that it is possible to copy the actions of another person and “go
through the motions.” But there is no
life and no motivation in that. We know
and understand that there is a deeper part of us. It would be hard for us to define the edges
of that deeper person, but we know it is there.
Examples
of the "loose" use of these terms - they are often used in place of
one another:
John 10:24 <psuche> translated as doubt
John 12:27 <psuche> is troubled (worried,
anxious)
Acts 14:12 made their <psuche> - translated as
mind
Discussion:
It seems
that the mind, heart, will, emotions...are all features that can be attributed
to the whole person. In general, though,
the really unique human aspects, such as will and understanding are more
commonly associated with the soul <psuche>. There is a spiritual, nonmaterialistic aspect
to these features. Based on my
understanding, it would seem that the mind, heart, and will can all be thought
of as the features that enable interaction between your <psuche-pneuma>
and your <sarx>.
Also, in
general I find the use of the various terms like <psuche> and
<phroneo> and <kardia> and so on to be a bit loose. I don’t recall a verse that really puts tight
bounds on those concepts. We don’t
really have a word, for example, that means “the human characteristic of will
and purpose that is unique to humans and resides only in their soul.” When we
use the term will, it often has that meaning, but we might also apply it to
something that arises from our flesh, not our soul. We might even apply it to an animal. The problem is that, in our experience, we
can’t really tell the difference between a "materially-based will"
and a "spiritually-based will"…or at least it is too difficult to
tell the difference without a lot of work.
So, we have to be loose with these terms.
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