In this message we need to cover three matters: an evil heart of unbelief deserting the living God; the living word of God; and the parts of man. Hebrews 3:12 says, “Beware, brothers, lest there be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief in withdrawing from the living God.” No heart is more evil than a heart of unbelief. Nothing offends God as much as our unbelief. David committed a dreadful sin, murdering a man and taking his wife. Governmentally speaking, however, this sin was not that serious, for it did not cause God to give up David. But the unbelief of the children of Israel in the wilderness caused God to give them up. Unbelief insults and offends God Himself. Every sin breaks God’s righteous law, but some sins do not insult God Himself, as does the sin of unbelief.
Our God is the living God. Unbelief is so evil because it insults the living, faithful, and almighty God. If we do not believe in God, in His work and in His ways, we insult Him. This is why we must beware of unbelief. Verse 10 says, “Wherefore I was disgusted with this generation, and I said, They always go astray in heart; and they have not known My ways.” God’s ways are different from His acts. His acts are His activities; His ways are the principles by which He acts. The children of Israel only knew His acts, but Moses knew His ways (Psa. 103:7). In the wilderness the children of Israel saw a miracle nearly every morning — the manna. If such a miracle would occur today, it would be publicized in newspapers throughout the world. Although the children of Israel witnessed such a miracle, they, unlike Moses, saw only the acts of God; they did not know God’s faithful, divine ways. We should not be like the children of Israel; we must learn the ways, the principles, of our God. When the children of Israel lacked food and water, they complained and murmured. When God acted on their behalf, they were happy temporarily, but not long afterward they offended God again. If we look at ourselves, we would not criticize them, because we would see that we are the same. We may shout, “Praise the Lord!” one night in a meeting and murmur against the Lord the next morning. How we need to know the ways of God! Our God is living and has His principles in doing things. He will never deny Himself. He is able, almighty, and faithful, always keeping His promises and fulfilling His word.
Although God is living and faithful, the evil heart is hardened against Him (3:8). In a sense, an evil heart is very reasonable; it reasons a great deal. However, in another sense, it is stubborn and without reason because it is hardened. Hence, it departs from the right track and goes astray, not knowing God’s ways or principles. It tries God by putting Him to the test (3:9). Eventually, such a heart is self-deceiving and will be deceived (3:13). This is the condition of an evil heart. Such an evil heart always issues from the hardening. How dangerous it is for our heart to be hardened! We need to pray again and again for the Lord to soften our heart, saying, “Lord, have mercy on me. Soften my heart and never allow it to be hardened.”
An evil heart produces unbelief. Unbelief reasons according to the natural concept, not according to God’s principle. Consider the reasoning of the children of Israel in Numbers 13:31-33. Their reasonings included some lies, for they said that “the land through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof.” That was a lie. Joshua and Caleb said, “Rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not” (Num. 14:9). Joshua and Caleb spoke the truth. However, the children of Israel did not reason according to the truth but according to the lie, not counting on the ways of God. In the beginning, God had promised Moses that He would bring the Israelites into the good land. That one word should have been sufficient for them. Suppose a millionaire would give you a check for $10,000 with his signature on it. If you did not believe it, it would be an insult to that millionaire. You should not say, “I don’t believe I have $10,000. I don’t even have enough money to buy a pair of shoes.” This kind of reasoning is an insult to the millionaire. God had spoken to Moses, saying, “Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt: and I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt into the land of the Canaanites...unto a land flowing with milk and honey” (Exo. 3:16-17). This one word was more reliable than a check signed by a millionaire. The children of Israel should have believed this word and known God’s ways, saying, “God, You should not let us die here in the wilderness. If You do this, how can Your word stand? We don’t care how many giants are in the good land, or even if the good land is filled with evil angels. We will eat them up because You have promised to bring us into the land.” This is proper reasoning, the reasoning that is according to God’s ways, principles, faithfulness, and power. But the Israelites did not reason in this way. Instead, the Israelites said, “There are giants in the land, and we are like grasshoppers in their sight. They will eat us up.” This is the logic of unbelief, the logic of reasoning according to the natural concept and not counting on the ways of God or trusting in the faithfulness of God. Joshua and Caleb stood against that kind of reasoning, declaring that the people were well able to take the land. Joshua and Caleb honored God, and God, in turn, honored them for honoring Him. Nothing honors God more than our belief, and nothing dishonors and insults Him more than our unbelief.
Unbelief issues in disobedience, obstinacy, and rebellion (3:18) and provokes God (3:8, 16). Because of their unbelief, the Israelites withdrew from the living God. The Greek word translated “withdrawing” in 3:12 may also be rendered as turning away, deserting, departing, standing aloof. Although God is living and faithful, unbelief causes us to turn away from Him. Once we turn away, what then can He do for us? Because of their unbelief, the Israelites missed the rest and fell in the wilderness (3:18-19). The Lord swore that they would not enter into His rest, and their “carcasses fell in the wilderness” (3:17). How serious is an evil heart of unbelief! God was forced into not doing anything for the Israelites because He could not do anything against Himself or against His principles. Never offend God to the extent that He is unable to do anything for you. That is terrible.
After a certain length of time, the psalmist, being inspired by God, prophesied, saying, “Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness” (Psa. 95:7-8). The writer of the book of Hebrews was fully in the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and understood what was written in Psalm 95. The little word “today” opens the wide window of the sky. Due to the provocation that took place in the wilderness, the window of blessing in heaven was closed. The children of Israel had provoked God to such an extent that He was unable to do anything for them. After waiting, in His mercy He came in to prophesy and advise through the psalmist, telling His people to hear His voice and not to harden their hearts, and prophesying of that day when the heavenly window would be reopened. That day arrived when the church came into being. The blessing of the Sabbath which was withheld due to the hardening of their hearts was opened again on the day the church came into being. Hebrews 4:7 says, “He again designates a certain day, Today, saying in David after so long a time, as He has said before, Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” This was written to the Hebrew believers, the descendants of those who had provoked God in the wilderness by hardening their heart. The writer seemed to be saying to them, “Brothers, do not harden your hearts as your fathers did. We are living in another day, a day which in Psalm 95 is called ‘Today.’ Take today as the opportunity to soften your heart and listen to His voice. His voice is saying that Christ is better than the angels, Moses, and Aaron, and that Christ’s new covenant is much better than the old covenant given through Moses. Be diligent to enter into this promised day, the Sabbath in the church life.” If in the day of the church, we hear His voice and do not harden our heart, we shall never provoke and desert the living God. We shall trust in Him and enter into the rest.
After speaking so much about Psalm 95, the writer of Hebrews suddenly says in 4:12, “For the word of God is living and operative and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, both of joints and marrow, and able to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart.” The word “for” at the beginning of this verse connects it with the preceding verse. Why does the writer here suddenly speak of the word of God? Because the promise in Psalm 95 is the word of God. Whenever we read the Bible, it must be living, energizing, and sharp enough to divide and discern all the things within us. If it is not, we have not touched the word of God but only the black and white letters. The printed matter in black and white letters is neither living nor energizing. Every word in the Bible must be the living and operative word of God. How do we know that we have touched the word of God and not just the printed matter? We know it when the word we have touched is living, energizing, and dividing our soul from our spirit. This is an important principle.
The writer seemed to be saying, “You Hebrew brothers cherish the Old Testament, especially the book of Psalms. One of the psalms says, ‘Today if ye will hear His voice.’ You have read this verse again and again without anything happening to you. Now I am using this psalm as a base for my talk with you. This word of God must be living and operative and must divide our soul from our spirit. Brothers, I know why you are staggering and hesitating. It is because your soul is mixed with your spirit. Sometimes, when you are calm, deep within, your spirit is telling you to go on and follow Christ as today’s Messiah. Although you may be clear about this in your spirit, you turn from your spirit to your soul. Your mind in your soul begins to wonder and this causes your soul to wander. Because your soul and spirit are mixed together, I have quoted the living word of God which is sharper than a two-edged sword. It will pierce your mixture, divide your spirit from your soul, and show you how foolish you are. You should no longer wander in your soul; you must turn from your soul to your spirit. Don’t consider, talk, hesitate, or stagger. The more you talk and hesitate, the more you are in your wondering mind.”
Many of us have had this experience. Before we came into the church life, we were wandering. Then we were attracted by the church and deep within our spirit something said, “This is it.” But then our mind began to wonder, asking, “Is this right? If it is, then why haven’t the spiritual giants practiced it?” Under the influence of our background, we began wandering in the wilderness. However, in the calm of the night, something deeper than our mind stirred within us, saying, “The church life is right.” During such a time, it was difficult to sleep or work well. We only found rest when one day the living word of God came in to divide our being, revealing what was our spirit and what was our soul.
The living word of God must pierce into our being and separate all the mixture of soul and spirit. The church life is absolutely in the spirit. It is very easy to be in religion. However, to enter into the church life we need to be pierced and divided by the living word of God. Only the word of God can divide our soul from our spirit. Our soul, like fly paper, is sticky. Thus, it is easy for our spirit to be stuck to our soul. Because of this, we need the piercing and dividing of God’s living word. We not only experience this upon first coming into the church life but often afterwards. Many times God came in and our spirit responded. However, our soul also reacted, mainly through our mind. The Lord may speak in our spirit and say, “Subject yourself to the church.” But the sticky soul, speaking through the mind, says, “Be careful. Don’t listen to the church so much. All the leading brothers have faults like anyone else. Look at Brother So-and-So. He’s good, but he’s not absolutely good.” When our mind acts like this, we soon begin wandering. Only when the merciful and faithful God comes in with the piercing of the living word of God do we find deliverance from our wandering mind. This is why we need the Bible. If the Bible is not living and energizing whenever we read it, something is wrong. Although many Christians take the Bible only as a printed book, day by day we must take it in a living way.
The living word of God is the outflow of the living God. It flows with the life of God (John 1:4), the light of God (Psa. 119:105, 130), and even with God Himself (John 1:1). Because the Scriptures are breathed by God (2 Tim. 3:16, Gk.), the word of God in the Scriptures is God’s outflow. It brings the life of God, the light of God, and even God Himself into our being.
Since the word of God is His outflow, being spirit and life (John 6:63), it is living. In our experience the whole Bible must not be dead letters but rather living as spirit and life.
The living word of God is operative. The anglicized form of the Greek word translated “operative” in verse 12 is energetic. Hence, operative here means energizing or energetic. The living word of God is energizing within us to work out something for God.
The living word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword (Eph. 6:17), piercing into our being, dividing our soul from our spirit, discerning the thoughts and intents of our heart. Many times the word of God discerns our mixed-up thoughts. Do not think that all thoughts come from hell or that all intents come from the self. Some thoughts come from the heavens, and some intents are for God. But mostly we have a mixture in our thoughts and intents and need the living, operative, sharp word to pierce into us and discern our thoughts and intents, revealing which are of and for the self and which are of and for God. If we are left by ourselves, we cannot discern these matters. But once we experience the living word of God, it is easy to discern the thoughts that are not of God and the intents that are of Satan.
This brings us to the parts of man. This is covered adequately in the book The Economy of God and the booklet The Parts of Man.
Our body is our outward organ by which we contact the outward, physical world. It is composed of all its members and is signified in 4:12 by the joints and marrow.
The soul is our very self. This is proved by comparing Matthew 16:26 with Luke 9:25. Matthew 16:26 says, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Luke 9:25 says, “For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?” Here we see that our soul is simply our self, our being, our personality. In following the Lord, we must deny our soul, our self (Matt. 16:24; Luke 9:23).
Our soul is composed of the mind, the will, and the emotion. Proverbs 2:10 suggests that the soul needs knowledge. Since knowledge is a function of the mind, this proves that the mind is a part of the soul. Then Psalm 139:14 says that the soul knows. Knowing is a function of the mind, which again proves that the mind is a part of the soul. Psalm 13:2 says the soul considers, or counsels, which refers to the mind. Lamentations 3:20 indicates that remembrance is of the soul. From these verses we can see that there is a part in the soul which knows, considers, and remembers. This part is the mind.
The second part of the soul is the will. Job 7:15 says the soul chooses. Choosing is a decision made by an act of the will. This proves that the will must be a part of the soul. Job 6:7 says the soul refuses. To choose and refuse are both functions of the will. First Chronicles 22:19 says, “Set your soul to seek.” Just as we set our minds to think, so we set our souls to seek. This is, of course, the soul making a decision, which proves that the will must be a part of the soul. Psalm 27:12; 41:2, and Ezekiel 16:27 translate the Hebrew word soul into will. The prayer made by the psalmist is, “Do not deliver me to the will of the enemy.” In the original it means, “Do not deliver me to the soul of the enemy.” This proves clearly that the will must be a part of the soul.
The emotion is the third part of the soul. With the emotion there are many aspects: love, hate, joy, grief, etc. References to love are found in 1 Samuel 18:1, Song of Songs 1:7, and Psalm 42:1. These verses show that love is something in the soul, proving, therefore, that within the soul there is such an organ or function as the emotion. Concerning hatred, we may note 2 Samuel 5:8, Psalm 107:18 and Ezekiel 36:5. That joy, an element of the emotion, is also a part of the soul is seen in Isaiah 61:10 and Psalm 86:4. Then there is the matter of grief, another expression of the soul, mentioned in 1 Samuel 30:6 and Judges 10:16. These verses establish the ground to verify the three parts of the soul. The mind is the leading part, followed by the will and the emotion.
As the body is our outward organ to contact the physical world, the spirit is our inward organ to contact God (Zech. 12:1; Job 32:8; Prov. 20:27; John 4:24; Rom. 1:9; Ezek. 36:26). We are a being, a soul, with two organs — the body outwardly and the spirit inwardly. The spirit is a complete unit composed of three parts or functions: conscience, fellowship, and intuition. We are all familiar with the function of the conscience, which is to perceive right from wrong and to condemn or justify. It is also easy to comprehend the fellowship. The fellowship is our communion with God. Within our spirit we have a function which makes it possible for us to contact God. It is not very easy, however, to understand the intuition. Intuition means to have a direct sense or knowledge. There is such a direct sense in our spirit, regardless of reason, circumstances, or background. Intuition is a direct sense of God and a direct knowledge from God. Thus, the spirit is known by the conscience, the fellowship, and the intuition.
That the conscience is a part of the spirit is proved by comparing Romans 9:1 with Romans 8:16. On the one hand, the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit. On the other hand, our conscience bears witness with the Holy Spirit. This proves that the conscience must be a function of our spirit. Psalm 51:10 speaks of “a right spirit within me” — that is, a spirit which is right. Since knowing right from wrong is related to the conscience, this verse also proves that the conscience is in the spirit.
What is the scriptural ground for saying that the fellowship is in the spirit? John 4:24 says that we must worship God in our spirit. To worship God is to contact God and fellowship with Him, proving that the function of worship or fellowship is in our spirit. In Romans 1:9 the Apostle Paul says, “I serve God with my spirit.” To serve God is also a type of fellowship with God. This also proves that the organ for fellowship is in our spirit. Luke 1:47 says, “My spirit hath rejoiced in God,” meaning that the human spirit has contacted God. Once again, fellowship with God is a function in the spirit. First Corinthians 6:17 says, “He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.” Real fellowship means that we become one spirit with the Lord. This fellowship is in the spirit.
How about the intuition? First Corinthians 2:11 reveals that the spirit of man can know what the soul cannot. This proves that something extra is in our spirit. Our soul can know things by reason and by circumstantial experiences, but the human spirit can discern things without these. This direct sense shows that the intuition is in our spirit. Mark 2:8 says that the Lord perceived in His spirit. To perceive in our spirit comes from a direct sense of discernment which is not dependent upon reason. This is the intuition, the third function of our spirit. Therefore, we do have the scriptural ground for saying that the conscience, fellowship, and intuition are the three functions of the human spirit.
Our spirit is the deepest part of our being, a spiritual organ by which we contact God. It is in our spirit that we are regenerated (John 3:6). It is in our spirit that the Holy Spirit dwells and works (Rom. 8:16). It is in our spirit that we enjoy Christ in His grace (2 Tim. 4:22; Gal. 6:18). Hence, the writer of the book of Hebrews advised the Hebrew believers not to stagger in the wandering of their soul, but to press on into their spirit to partake of and to enjoy the heavenly Christ.
Our spirit is the organ by which we contact God, while our heart is the organ by which we love God (Mark 12:30). Our spirit contacts, receives, contains, and experiences God. However, it requires that our heart love God first.
The heart is not a separate part in addition to the soul and the spirit, but rather a composition of all the parts of the soul plus the conscience, the first part of the spirit. It is composed of the conscience, the mind for thoughts, the will for intents, and the emotion. Man does not have more than three main parts in his whole being. As a human being, we have a body, a soul, and a spirit. We do not have a fourth and separate part called the heart.
What is the scriptural ground for saying that the mind, will, emotion, and conscience compose the heart? Hebrews 4:12 and Genesis 6:5 speak of the thoughts of the heart. Since thoughts are in the mind, the mind must be a part of the heart. That the will is a part of the heart is proved by Acts 11:23, which speaks of “purpose of heart” or “purpose in the heart.” Purpose is a function of the will, showing that the will is also part of the heart. Hebrews 4:12 speaks of the intents of the heart. The intents correspond to the purposes, which are of the will. This again proves that the will is part of the heart. John 16:22 says that the heart rejoices. To rejoice is surely an element of the emotion in our soul, but here we are told that the heart rejoices. Therefore, the emotion is also part of the heart. In John 16:6 the Lord speaks of sorrow filling the disciples’ hearts, again proving that emotion is found in the heart. Concerning the conscience, Hebrews 10:22 says that our hearts have been sprinkled from an evil conscience. The conscience has much to do with the heart. If we would have a pure heart, we must have a conscience that is without offense. Our conscience must be sprinkled in order that we might have a pure heart. First John 3:20, which speaks of our heart condemning us, also proves this. Since to condemn is a function of the conscience, this verse proves that the conscience is undoubtedly a part of the heart. Thus we have adequate scriptural ground to prove that the three parts of the soul and the first part of the spirit compose the heart.
Man’s three parts correspond to the three sections of God’s temple. God’s temple, or tabernacle, is composed of three sections: the outer court, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies. First Corinthians 3:16 says that we are God’s temple. Our body corresponds to the outer court; our soul, which is somewhat inward, corresponds to the Holy Place; and our spirit, the innermost part of our being, corresponds to the innermost part of God’s temple, the Holy of Holies.
In our heart is the mind with the thoughts and the will with the intents. The thoughts affect the intents, and the intents carry out the thoughts. The living word of God is able to discern the thoughts in our mind and the intents in our will. What was quoted from the word of God by the writer in chapters three and four is able to expose what the thoughts and intents of the Hebrew believers were while they were staggering in the process of their salvation.
Now we can understand why the writer of Hebrews spoke in 4:12 of the living word of God piercing into us, dividing our spirit from our soul, and discerning the thoughts and intents of our heart. He realized that the staggering Hebrew Christians were wandering in their soul and had neglected their spirit. But the new testament is absolutely a matter in our spirit, not in our soul. The new testament is altogether heavenly, not at all earthly. The earthly things belong to the physical body and to the mind. Judaism is earthly. As an earthly religion, it suits the thinking of our natural mind. The new testament, on the contrary, is heavenly and belongs to the spirit. In order to touch the heavenly things, we must be in our spirit. Ephesians 2:6 says that we are sitting with Christ in the heavenlies. But if we are in our mind, we can never experience being in the heavenlies. In our mind we may mentally visit various places on earth, but we cannot touch the heavenlies. To touch the heavenlies, we must be in our spirit.
Some criticize us for shouting in the meetings, but we who have experience know why we shout. If we would not shout, we would stay in the mind. After just a brief shout, we are in the heavens because we have turned from the mind to the spirit. Although I am not an easily excited person, I sometimes have the need to shout. If I do not shout, I will be in the low dungeon of self and reasoning. How can we stop our devilish reasonings? By releasing our spirit in shouting praises to the Lord. Occasionally, when I have difficulty falling asleep at night, I shout silently and am freed from my thoughts and am soon asleep. The best way to touch the heavens is to shout.
In the book of Hebrews we have the gate of heaven. In this book we have the church as Bethel, the house of God with Christ as the heavenly ladder. Wherever there is Bethel, there is the gate of heaven with Christ, the heavenly ladder, joining earth to heaven and bringing heaven to earth. Where can we enjoy such a wonderful sight? In our spirit. Today the gate of heaven is joined to our spirit. Ephesians 2:22 says that God’s habitation on earth today is in our spirit, and 2 Timothy 4:22 says that Christ, the heavenly ladder, is with our spirit. Thus, our spirit is one with the gate of heaven. We should no longer stagger in our mind but get into our spirit where we have the house of God, the heavenly Christ, and the gate of heaven.
It is very difficult for any of us to be unaffected by the contagious germs in today’s world. But we have a place of refuge from the germs of the world — our spirit. In a sense, our spirit is our refuge today; it is a high tower. As we pointed out in the last message, the church life is our refuge because the church is God’s habitation in our spirit. As we are on the stormy sea, many thoughts may come. How can we escape the storm and come into the refuge? Only by turning to the spirit. How can we withstand the rumors and the negative talk? Only by getting into our spirit, where the church, the house of God, and the heavenly ladder are. The church is a hospital. In a hospital all the germs are killed and everything is cleansed. Likewise, in the church, all the demonic germs are killed. The churches in the Lord’s recovery are very healthy. In order to remain healthy, we must continually exercise our spirit. If you are infected with some negative thoughts and remain in your mind, you will be sick. But if you turn to your spirit, the germs will be killed and you will be healthy and strong in the church life. The writer of Hebrews seemed to be saying, “My dear Hebrew brothers, you must turn from your soul to your spirit through the living word of God. If you will turn to the spirit by the living word, you will be healthy and have no problems. Brothers, you are staggering in your soul and must get into the spirit. Once you get into the spirit you will be in the house of God and will enjoy all the riches of the gate of heaven.”
It is not easy to understand this portion of the Holy Word because it requires a good deal of experience on our part. For years I was troubled by the writer’s sudden mention of the living word of God and the dividing of the soul and spirit. I could not understand it. Eventually, I considered my experience. I realized that whenever we have problems with the church, it is always due to the thoughts in our mind. Thus, we need the living word to pierce into the depths of our being, dividing our soul from our spirit. Then we would not stand with the devilish soul but with the heavenly spirit. If we will do this, we will immediately find ourselves in the church life.
Everyone in the church life has had some problems with the church. We may not like a particular elder or a certain brother or sister, thinking that they are unqualified, too strong, or too loud. What can deliver us from such thoughts? The living word which pierces into the depths of our being and divides our spirit from our mind. When our devilish mind is exposed, we shall declare that we love all the brothers and sisters because they are all so lovely in the spirit. When we are in our mind thinking about the brothers and sisters, none of them is lovely. We think that we are the only ones who are any good. How we need the living word to divide our soul from our spirit that we may be in the church life! This is the way to enter into today’s Sabbath rest. And this is also the way to remain in the Sabbath and not to break it. To break the Sabbath is to leave the church life. Those that have forsaken the church life, having left today’s Sabbath, can testify that there is no rest outside the church. It is in the spirit that we enjoy the rest of the church Sabbath. This is why 4:12 is placed where it is in the book of Hebrews.
Nothing can discern the thoughts and intents of our heart like the living word of God. Before the living word comes in, we think that we are right and altogether for the Lord. But when the word pierces our depths, we see that our thoughts and intents are altogether selfish and we judge ourselves. Without the living word to discern our thoughts and intents, it is difficult to remain in the church Sabbath. The church Sabbath depends upon the piercing, dividing, and discerning of the living word of God. It is by this that we enter into, remain, and keep the Sabbath of the church life.
