The Heart of Love

Dr. Alex Tang

1. Defining the Heart of Love

OT lebab bb;le

NT kardia kardiva

(a) kardia as the center of physical life and psychological make up.

q NT kardia rarely as body organ ( Lk 21:34; Acts 14:17; Jas 5:5)

q Frequently denotes the seat of intellectual and spiritual life

q inner man, mind, will, heart, soul, understanding

q The inner life as opposed to external appearances. (2 Cor 5;12; 1 Thess 2:17)

(b) kardia as the center of spiritual life.

q kardia; man standing before God.

q The heart is that in man which is addressed by God.

q The heart is the seat of doubt and hardness as well as of faith and obedience.

2. Sin marks, dominates and spoils the Heart

q The heart enslaved by sin, the whole man is in bondage

q Evil thoughts come from the heart (Mk 7:21; Matt 15:19)

q Shameful desires dwell in the heart (Rom 1:24)

q The heart is disobedient and impenitent (Rom 2:5; 2 Cor 3:14ff)

q Hard and faithless (Heb 3:12)

q Dull and darkened (Rom 1:21; Eph 4:18)

3. God alone can reveal the things hidden in the heart of man (1Cor 4:5), examine them (Rom 8:27) and test them (1 Thess 2:4)

q Conversion to faith cannot be achieved through the will or desire of the human heart (1 Cor 2:9)

q God opens a man’s heart (Acts 16:14) and let His light illumine the heart (2 Cor 1:22)

q God bears witness by sending in the heart the Holy Spirit (2 Cor 1:22)

q God pours His love into his heart (Rom 5:5)

q Through faith God can take up residence in the heart (Eph 3:17)

4. Faith in the Heart leads to obedience and patience (Rom 6:17; 2 Thess 3:5)

q In the heart, the word of God is kept (Lk 8:15)

q Peace of God begins its rule (Col 3:15)

q God’s grace strengthened and establishes the heart (Heb 13:9)

q Blood of God cleanses it – the heart is pure (Heb 10:22; cf 1 Jn 1:7)

q Christ dwells in it by faith (Eph 3:17).

Conclusion

The human heart (an organ) lasts for the years we have on earth but the heart of love lasts for eternity.

Reference:

Colin Brown, The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Vol 2. Pp. 180-184)

"making disciples of Jesus Christ with informed minds, hearts on fire and contemplative in actions"