In Part 1 of The Architecture of Man we looked at the heart, mind, and soul. In Part 2 of The Architecture of Man we looked at the spirit of man. It is imperative that you read those first if you have not already. It includes foundational material that is critical to understanding this final installment.
Now that we have fully covered the spirit, heart, mind, and soul it is time to bring it all together to understand the integrated design of God. Let us start with the following passage:
And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, "Which commandment is the most important of all?" Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' (Mark 12:28-30)
It is interesting that this command starts with the statement, "the Lord is one." God is a triunity. He exists as three distinct persons—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit—but yet He is one. In other words, God has three distinct persons, each of which are entirely Him, but He is one. Similarly, man has three distinct components—spirit, soul, and body—but he is one. An individual is not defined by just his spirit or just his soul, he is simply defined as the integrated whole. By including this statement, "the Lord is one," Jesus hinted subtly at the multi-dimensional design elements of man created by the Designer that underly the practical execution of this command.
I love God with my heart by having faith in what He says. I love God with my soul by acting on it. I love God with my mind by studying His word and aligning my thinking to His revelation. I love God with my strength by serving Him with my abilities and physically enduring. God desires that I love Him with all aspects of my being. This is both necessary to functionally love Him since these all flow together but also symbolic in that I am loving God with everything in me.
All three gospels that record this command of Jesus (Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27) always include "heart" first and "soul" second. "Strength" is not included in Matthew but it is included in Mark and Luke, however in different orders. The heart comes first, indeed it must come first, because the heart is where the spiritual faith decisions are made that drive everything else. The soul comes second because our faith must be acted upon and revealed in our life to prove its validity. Over time, the soul is reinforced by the experiences and understanding of the mind continually fed by the faith actions of the heart as it is induced by the Holy Spirit with the commands and wisdom of God.
The soul appears alongside the heart and the mind in this command as a unique component, however, the heart and the mind are technically sub-components of the soul in the architecture of man. This format helps us understand how the functions of the heart and mind drive the overall output of the soul, the nonmaterial dimension exclusive to man. The following verses are an example of this:
"I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways [soul output], according to the fruit of his deeds." (Jeremiah 17:9-10b)
And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works [soul output]. (Revelation 2:23b)
It is also worth noting that "soul" being sometimes translated heart or mind in the Old Testament jives with the heart and mind being subclassifications of the soul.
Paul's assertion that all three parts of man's being need to be sanctified or purified confirms the classification of these three unique components:
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:23)
The spirit and soul are distinct pieces of man's architecture yet they have been tightly woven together by God to perform integrated functions. Proverbs tells us that "The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD, searching all his innermost parts" (20:27). This is a fascinating verse. After praying about this and meditating on its implications I came to the following conclusion: the spirit of a man is mysteriously fused with his soul. The Bible is the only textbook we have for understanding this mysterious fusion. In the natural realm we cannot observe this at all, we can only view the fruit of the body or the actions that spring forth from this fusion. Interestingly, this verse implies that God looks through the spirit of man to see what is in his soul.
As I explained earlier, it is the heart that fuses the spirit and soul. The following verse reveals this:
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)
This verse could simply say: "for the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart" but it does not. Instead, it goes further to uncover the intimate inner workings of man's nonmaterial architecture. It tells us that the spirit and soul are distinct pieces yet they are tightly woven together to perform integrated functions. Moreover, the heart is the piece of the soul that links to the spirit. This would be difficult to see without the benefit of what we have already covered in this teaching.
The heart is where faith decisions are internally debated. The input for true faith decisions comes from the Spirit which, in the case of the believer, is also united with the his spirit. The thoughts of heart lead to intentions for action. God desires that our hearts be empowered by His Spirit so that the output of our souls (lives) reveal Him. The heart is thus the transmission mechanism between spirit and soul. Having explained this, consider this verse in its larger context while also keeping in mind that this book was written to professing Jewish believers:
Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, again he appoints a certain day, "Today," saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."
For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of god, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.
Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that non one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edge sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:6-13)
Further to my Essentials teaching, The Power of the Word of God to Change Lives, I now believe that this is a second instance where "word of God" should have instead been translated "Word of God" in our English Bibles. To reinforce this conclusion, the very next verse adds "from his sight."
The whole point of these verses is that Jesus Christ, the Word of God, to whom each of us must give an account, sees the quality of the responsive will in our heart to His voice speaking to us. There is more to this though as the heart is fueled by the nature of the spirit and the will of heart is revealed by the output of the soul. The Word of God is symbolically "sharper than any two-edged sword" as it separates the intricate, nonmaterial aspects of man—the uncorrupted part of the believer (regenerated spirit) in contrast to man's ultimate responsive actions (soul) which can still be corrupted—to lay bare with absolute precision the unvarnished intentions of the heart. Nothing material or nonmaterial is hidden from His sight. Simeon's prophesy spoke of this as well:
And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed." (Luke 2:34-35)
The spirit of every believer is inseparably united with the Spirit of God making us sons of God and affording us the opportunity to partake of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). God also puts His Spirit in the heart of each believer desiring that He fill the output of our souls. Roman's tells us: "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us" (5:5b). The spirit-soul integration happens because the believer has a spiritual union with God and the Holy Spirit resides in his heart. The following verse demonstrate how the spirit is integrated with the soul through the heart:
And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. (2 Corinthians 1:21-22)
The Holy Spirit baptizes or spiritually immerses every new believer into the person (name) of Jesus Christ. This is what Paul was referring to when he wrote, "And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ." The Spirit does this by regenerating the spirit of the believer (spiritually born again) and uniting with the spirit of each new believer. This is how God anoints us and puts His seal on us. Jesus once said: "Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Mall will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal." (John 6:27) God stamped the eternal seal of salvation on Jesus Christ and new believers enter into this when they are spiritually united in Him. And—notice the Scripture says, "and"—He puts His Spirit in our hearts which is a down payment of the completely regenerated soul which is yet to come.
God not only rebuilds the spirit of a new believer—transforming the very spiritual core of his being with a new nature—He also puts His Spirit in his heart. This confirms that it is the heart that integrates the spirit and the soul. God gives the new believer's integrated spirit-soul a powerful foundation for being empowered by His Spirit.
The following verse confirms this and provides additional insight from another angle:
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” (Galatians 4:6)
Here we see that because believers are sons—meaning, because we have the spiritual nature of our heavenly Father—God put His Spirit into our hearts enabling us to recognize Him as our spiritual Father. This speaks to the fundamental aspect of relationship in the believers' walk of faith.
Paul's writing to the Ephesian church provides more insight into this integration:
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. ... I do not cease to give thanks for you, remember you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe ... (Ephesians 1:13-14; 16-19a)
The new believer is "sealed with the promised Holy Spirit," Who is the down payment of our inheritance in Jesus Christ. This sealing is a "down payment" because the Spirit is put into the heart of the believer, however, this does not (yet) make the heart of the believer perfect. The spirit of the new believer is perfectly transformed and, considering the spirit-soul integration I have been referencing, this allows for the Spirit to enter the heart of the believer; however, the soul (heart and mind) of the believer is not yet made holy. Hence, Paul's ongoing prayer for this church that God would give them "the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation" in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus and that the eyes of their hearts would be enlightened. There remains a spiritual battleground in the soul with the heart at the forefront. The empowerment of the Holy Spirit is needed for Jesus Christ to fill our lives.
Considering that the heart fuses the spirit and the soul and the connectivity of the heart and mind, one can begin to formulate a spiritual information flow dynamic from the spirit, to the heart, to the mind. We can take this two steps further to include the body and soul. Spiritual information flows from the spiritual nature (spirit), to the spiritual decision maker (heart), which becomes understanding (mind), which leads to actions (body), that ultimately define one's life (soul). (Keep in mind that this is the spiritual flow. Intellectual knowledge takes a different path to the mind, which also has the understanding of past spiritual-heart communications as a reference.) In the gospels of Mark and Luke Jesus told us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, strength, and soul. "Strength" implies physical action or natural ability. Thus, Jesus told us to love God with the entire action flow of our life that is powered by our spirit (in union with the Spirit).
It is fascinating to know that the design of our modern computers resemble the integrated design of man. I am not a computer expert but as a professional investor I have spent time learning how semiconductor equipment companies make the integrated circuits (chips) that go into computing devices. Here is the comparison:
spirit / heart / mind / body / soul
software (code) / logic chip / memory chip / hardware / output
Electrons flow through the integrated design of a computer to produce information consisting of calculations, communications, graphics, and audio/video outputs. Likewise, the Spirit "fills" the integrated design of a man yielding the information that underpins actions and communications. Recall that "the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature" (Genesis 2:7). In other words, God created man's hardware from material elements, breathed into him his unique software code, and he turned on and was able to begin computing output. The computing process that leads to output consists of man's software code (spirit) feeding his logic chip (heart) with his memory chip (mind) retaining data from the process.
Paul exhorted the Ephesians to change the spiritual information flow of their integrated design:
Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!—assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:17-24)
These Gentiles were "alienated from the life of God" and gave themselves up to every kind of impurity because they had hardened their hearts against God. Their hardened hearts shut off the wisdom of God and the purifying influence of the Holy Spirit so that their souls were overtaken by their fallen, sensual nature (the flesh) and their minds remained in darkness. Their minds were unable to be fed with the right information.
Conversely, there is the Holy Spirit's teaching of the truth available to those who receive it in their heart and respond with actionable faith. These actions direct them into new lifestyles which separate them from their old sinful lives. The ongoing teaching of the Spirit and faith actions causes them to come to know Jesus Christ and understand His ways of righteousness which renews their minds. Their new lives reveal Jesus Christ which Paul described as being "created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness."
Because of the fall of man and the corruption of the human spirit to sin, believers were not able to pray in tongues out of their spirits until Jesus: (1) paid the penalty for man's spiritual sin nature on the cross, (2) was resurrected from the dead, (3) ascended to the Father, and (4) baptized the church with the Holy Spirit. Steps one through three were required for the Holy Spirit to be able to baptize believers into the name (person) of Jesus Christ which, because God is a Triunity, is the same thing as uniting their human spirit with the Holy Spirit and planting the Spirit in their hearts. It is this spiritual union, this return to God's original design, that lays the groundwork for believers to be able to pray in tongues out of their spirits. This is an aspect of "praying in the Spirit" which Paul wrote that we should do "at all times ... with all prayer and supplication" (Ephesians 6:18). Notice that the Bible calls this "praying in the Spirit" and not "praying in the spirit" which is another subtle confirmation that the spirit of the believer is inseparably united with the Spirit—"Spirit" being capitalized to recognize the leadership of God's Spirit.
The act of praying in the Spirit sheds light on a fundamental design quality of the architecture of man: God designed man to live in spiritual unity with Him and have his soul and body be Spirit driven. We follow God with our will, we use our intellect to serve Him, and we express ourselves with emotions, but all these things are to be surrendered to and powered by the Spirit. The spirit of the believer prays in tongues (through the Spirit) and the understanding that comes from that fuels his soul, which again, is his heart (decision maker, will, desire) and mind (understanding, intellect). Jude wrote:
But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit (1:20a)
Here we see that praying in the Spirit builds us up "in" (or on in the NKJV which is preferable) our most holy faith. What does this mean? It means that praying in the Spirit empowers our spiritual life upon the Rock, Jesus Christ. It is Christ Himself bringing forth His life within us.
Finally, we come to the following Scriptures, which after having now come so far in analyzing the depth of God's integrated design, are richly revealing. In Paul's prayer here for the Ephesian church we see the beautiful end goal of God's integrated design: the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:14-19)
"Inner being" or "inner man" is a rarely used New Testament expression for the spirit of man (or possibly even the complete spirit-heart connection). The genesis of Paul's prayer for these believers is that God would strengthen their spirits with the empowerment of the Holy Spirit so that their faith decisions and actions would lead to the Spirit of Christ filling their hearts from which their souls (lives) may be "filled with all the fullness of God." This is why the Bible records Paul writing the following to three different churches: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit" (Galatians 6:18, Philippians 4:23, and Philemon 1:25); and also to Timothy: "The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you" (2 Timothy 4:22). Here we see a clear connection between God's grace towards us with the empowerment of the Spirit. Paul explained this here:
Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.
"The things freely given us by God" is the definition of grace. God's grace is found in our life in Jesus Christ that the Holy Spirit empowers us for. The architecture of man has been designed for this.
Recall Proverbs 20:27: "The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD, searching all his innermost parts." The spirit of man is the access point for the Holy Spirit into the rest of man's nonmaterial being. For believers in Christ, the Holy Spirit can empower their spirits so that they can be filled with the life of Jesus Christ. This is what the integrated design of God is all about. This is why it is an Essential for us.
