Understanding With the Heart

Understanding With the Heart

“‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the heart of this people has grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their heart and be converted, so that I should heal them.’ But blessed are your eyes for they see and your ears for they hear.” Matt. 13:14-16.

There is something that is called “understanding with the heart,” and you can only get properly converted and bear fruit with this understanding. God’s Word cannot take root and bear fruit in a person with a scattered mind and a dull heart.

One can come to meetings, conferences, and gatherings around the Word of God and hear the most glorious and eternal things. But if one does not have an open and receptive heart, the result will be nothing—it will blow away.

The words that are understood and fall into good ground can bear fruit up to thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold. One’s life becomes rich and exalted to God’s glory.

Israel heard with unbelieving and hard hearts, but they could not enter the Promised Land with such hearts. Joshua and Caleb kept the Spirit of faith and understanding in their hearts, and with this understanding of the heart, which God had given them, they went from victory to victory against those tall enemies and the strong walls of Jericho.

The Ephesians understood many things but Paul prayed for them that they might receive enlightened eyes of the heart, so they could understand the hope they were called to and the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power towards us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places. Eph. 1:18-20.

Paul wanted the Ephesians to have this understanding deep in their hearts, so that the fullness of Christ might dwell in them.

In 1 Timothy 6:4-5 we read about some who were puffed up and yet knew nothing. In this vanity and ignorance they were obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, which resulted in envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, and constant wrangling among them.

They rejected the wholesome words and the doctrine that is according to godliness. V. 3. In this spirit of pride they rejected everything that was good and worth speaking about.

“Surely the children of men are only emptiness, and the sons of men are a lie; if they are weighed in the balances they are altogether emptiness.” Ps. 62:9.

It is easy to understand, listen to, and do it when you receive an exhortation in an area where you like to do the good. However, if it is in connection with sacrifice and obedience against your own will, then the heart quickly becomes dull and hard of hearing. That is the case with both old and young.

After Jesus had told His disciples all those precious parables in Matthew 12 and 13, He said: “Have you understood all these things?” They answered Him, “Yes, Lord.” They could say “yes” according to the understanding they had, but the meaning of these parables went far deeper according to Jesus’ understanding, and it was His desire that they might receive this understanding.

“Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things. Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel.” 2 Tim. 2:7-8.

No one before Jesus had overcome the flesh and had risen from the dead to proclaim a glorious gospel with life and power. Paul lived this gospel so intensely that he could say: “My gospel.” He was a formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man; but through the gospel he was transformed to such a degree that he became an example to all those who would come to faith. 1 Tim. 1:13-16. That was truly a radical heart-conversion with a completely new understanding.