Luke 10:25-28
Love God with Your Heart, Your Soul, and Your Mind
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
John 16:12-15
The Holy Spirit Will Guide Us to the Truth
12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”
John 17:13-19
God's Word is Truth
13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
What do we know about love, the heart, the soul, our strength, and our minds -in the context of what Jesus tells an expert in the law?...We do know they are all related to God and eternal life, because Jesus teaches this to the expert in the law...
The heart and soul seem to be the Spiritual Center for seeking and finding God...I think the heart and soul together tries to guide us...And although I am not sure where both the heart and soul reside within us, they are there because the Bible and Jesus talks about the heart, the soul, our strength, and our minds in seeking God and finding eternal life...The mind which is rational is linked to some things which are intangible and more intuitive...It seems we have the reasonable linked to some not-so-reasonable parts...
Let us assume that not only does believing in God and Jesus requires us to use a rational part of the mind, but also an intuitive part or an intuitive process of one's mind...If this is true and there is more than just a rational part of the mind that gives us faith...Then there is something that is beyond our rational mind and is more intuitive in guiding us to belief, to faith and to the Truth...So nowadays when I think of the heart, the soul, and the strength that Jesus talks about here, I think of something more Spiritual...But the Bible makes it clear that we are to use all these things of the mind and be rational when seeking God and to use these other parts (heart, strength, soul) of our whole being...
Jesus told His Disciples that He had much more to say to them, much more than they could bear -as He was about to die on the cross and leave them...And then He starts telling them about the Spirit of Truth...An Advocate that He would send to them...And the Advocate, this Spirit of Truth, would guide them into all the truth...This Spirit of Truth would not speak on His own; He would speak only what He had heard, and He would tell you what is yet to come...The Spirit of Truth would glorify Jesus, because it is from Jesus that the Spirit of Truth would receive what He knows...And then this Advocate would make it known to them...All that belongs to the Father is Jesus'...That is why Jesus said the Spirit of Truth would receive from Him what He would make known to them...
I think we are Spiritual beings...Jesus makes that clear when we read His teachings not only about the Holy Spirit, but also in all of His teachings...And He expects us to believe and live by the Word of God, which is the Truth -the Truth that we are being guided to by Him and the Holy Spirit...