Correcting Misconceptions About Having an Understanding Heart Biblically

Sources

1. Jeremiah “Jeremiah 17:9 (LEB) — The heart is deceitful more than anything else, and it is disastrous. Who can understand it?”
2. Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Heart — According to the Bible, the heart is the centre not only of spiritual activity, but of all the operations of human life. "Heart" and "soul" are often used interchangeably (Deut. 6:5; 26:16; comp. Matt. 22:37; Mark 12:30, 33), but this is not generally the case. The heart is the "home of the personal life," and hence a man is designated, according to his heart, wise (1 Kings 3:12, etc.), pure (Ps. 24:4; Matt. 5:8, etc.), upright and righteous (Gen. 20:5, 6; Ps. 11:2; 78:72), pious and good (Luke 8:15), etc. In these and such passages the word "soul" could not ”
3. Proverbs “The heart of one who has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouths of fools feed on folly. -- Proverbs 15:14”
4. Proverbs (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Proverbs 8:5: O ye simple, understand wisdom,.... The Gospel, the wisdom of God in a mystery, particularly the doctrine of salvation by Christ; it is the highest wisdom to know Christ and him crucified: and they are "the simple" who are weak and easy to be imposed upon, who are here called unto; and generally speaking such are they to whom the mysteries of grace are made known, while they are hid from the wise and prudent; and ye fools, be of an understanding heart; or "cause the heart to understand"; or "get an understanding heart" (t); make use of all means to get spiritual wi”
5. Proverbs (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Proverbs 15:14: The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge,.... He that has in his heart an understanding of divine and spiritual things, of the Gospel and of the truths of it, will seek earnestly and diligently in the use of proper means after more knowledge; as he will desire to know more of Christ, his person, offices, and grace, he will follow on to know him, and not be content with the present degree of knowledge he has attained unto; he will hear and read the word, and pray and meditate, in order to come to a more perfect knowledge of the son of God, and of t”
6. Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 6: Augustine — Homilies on the Gospels — ON THE WORDS OF THE GOSPEL, MATT. CHAP. V. 3 AND 8, "BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT:" ETC., BUT ESPECIALLY ON THAT, "BLESSED ARE THE PURE IN HEART: FOR THEY SHALL SEE GOD." (part 13): have comprehended all these things, not in the mere understanding but in action also ("for a good understanding have all they that do hereafter),"(1) then if thou canst, stretch out thyself to attain to the knowledge of the "love of Christ which passeth knowledge." When thou hast attained to it, thou "wilt be filled with all the fulness of God." Then will be fulf”
7. 1 Kings (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on 1 Kings 3:9: Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart, to judge thy people,.... Not an understanding of things spiritual, nor of things natural, though both were given him, but of things political, what related to the civil government, that he might be able to judge or rule the people of Israel in the best manner: that I may discern between good and bad; not merely between moral good and evil, of which he had a discernment; but between right and wrong in any case or controversy that came before him between man and man, that so he might be able to pass a right sentence, ”
8. theology (Catholic (Scholastic)) “Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Second Part of the Second Part (Secunda Secundae), Of the Gift of Understanding, Art. 7: Article: Whether the sixth beatitude, "Blessed are the clean of heart," etc., responds to the gift of understanding? I answer that, Two things are contained in the sixth beatitude, as also in the others, one by way of merit, viz. cleanness of heart; the other by way of reward, viz. the sight of God, as stated above (FS, Question [69], Articles [2],4), and each of these, in some way, responds to the gift of understanding. For cleanness is twofold. One is a preamble and a disposit”
9. CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, section 50: the nature of the man distinct from his acts and anterior to them, which determines his conduct ( i.e ., all his conscious exercises), to be either good or evil. If men are universally sinful, it is, according to our Lord’s doctrine, proof positive that their nature is evil; as much so as corrupt fruit proves the tree to be corrupt. When therefore the Scriptures assert that the heart of man is “desperately wicked,” they assert precisely what the Church means when she asserts our nature to be depraved. Neither the word, heart, nor nature, ”
10. Ezekiel (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Ezekiel 36:26: A new heart also will I give you - I will change the whole of your infected nature; and give you new appetites, new passions; or, at least, the old ones purified and refined. The heart is generally understood to mean all the affections and passions. And a new spirit will I put within you - I will renew your minds, also enlighten your understanding, correct your judgment, and refine your will, so that you shall have a new spirit to actuate your new heart. I will take away the stony heart - That heart that is hard, impenetrable, and cold; the affections and passions”