Willard | Renovation of Heart

It is the heart (Mark 7:21) and spirit John 4:23) that God looks at (1 Samuel 16:7; Isaiah 66:2) in relating to humankind,

We need to access the fullness of biblical teachings on these matters. We suffer far too much from the influence ofa surrounding culture that thrives on confusion. (And therefore its denial that human beings have a nature.) This may seem like a harsh thing to say about our ?Christian world,? and I am sorry to say it; but the issues here are too imp

Now we need to be very clear on this point: the capacity for volition,

and the acts of willing in which it is exercised, form the spirit in man. In this narrow and focused sense, the ?spiritual? is not just the nonphysical, as we explained it earlier, but it is the central core of the nonphysical part in man. In us there is much that is not physical

If it is our act, there must be added to those conditions the inner and always unforced yes or no by which the person responds to the situation. This response is our unique contribution to reality. It is ours, it is ws, as nothing else is.

The human heart, will, or spirit is the executive center of a human life.

The heart is where decisions and choices are made for the whole person. That is its function.

Each aspect or dimension of the person will be a source ofweakness or

strength to the whole person, depending upon the condition it is in, and the condition it is in will depend, finally, upon the heart. A person who is prepared and capable of responding to the situations of life in ways that are ?good and right? is a person whose soul is in order,

Soul The soul is that dimension of the person that interrelates all of the other dimensions so that they form one life. It is like a meta-dimension or higher-level dimension because its direct field of play consists of the other dimensions (thought, body, and so on), and through them it reaches ever deeper into the person?s vast environment of God

Now, when we set aside contemporary prejudices and carefully examine

these two great sources, I believe it will become clear that heart, spirit, and will (or their equivalents) are words that refer to one and the same thing, the same fundamental component of the person.

Just recall how cumbersome

it is when we /ave to think about what we are doing?learning to skate, drive a car, speak a language. The very purpose of learning or training in some activity is to bring it under our direction without our having to think about it or make decisions regarding it. The body makes this possible. It has a ?knowledge? of its ow