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The Nature of Man's Heart According to Scripture

Scripture presents the human heart as the center of personal life, encompassing not merely emotion but the totality of human thought, will, and moral orientation. According to Easton's Bible Dictionary, "the heart is the centre not only of spiritual activity, but of all the operations of human life," serving as "the home of the personal life" [1]. This comprehensive understanding explains why biblical writers designate a person according to their heart—wise, pure, upright, or wicked [1].

The Heart's Dual Capacity

The biblical witness describes the heart as possessing both planning capacity and profound limitation. Proverbs affirms that "a man's heart plans his course, but Yahweh directs his steps" [2], and "of man are arrangements of the heart, and from Jehovah an answer of the tongue" [4]. This tension between human intention and divine sovereignty runs throughout Scripture's anthropology. The heart exercises genuine agency in moral and spiritual matters, yet remains subject to God's ultimate direction and knowledge.

God's relationship to the human heart demonstrates this dynamic. According to Torrey's Topical Textbook, God "tries," "knows," "searches," "understands the thoughts of," "ponders," and "influences" the heart [5]. The divine prerogative extends to creating, preparing, opening, enlightening, strengthening, and establishing hearts [5]. This comprehensive divine engagement with the heart underscores both its centrality to human existence and its dependence on God's action.

The Unregenerate Heart

Scripture's assessment of the natural human heart proves unsparing. Jeremiah declares, "The heart is a twisted thing, not to be searched out by man: who is able to have knowledge of it?" [3]. The Tyndale commentary on this passage states plainly: "By nature, the human heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. Only the Lord really knows how bad it is" [9]. Torrey's compilation describes the unrenewed heart as "hateful to God," "full of evil," "full of evil imaginations," "desperately wicked," "far from God," "not perfect with God," "darkened," "prone to error," "prone to depart from God," "impenitent," and "unbelieving" [7].

This condition manifests as what John Gill calls "a natural hardness of the heart"—the heart "is like a stone, destitute of spiritual life, motion, and activity; it is senseless, stupid, impenitent, stubborn, and inflexible, on which no impressions can be made, but by powerful grace" [8]. Beyond this innate condition, Gill identifies "an acquired, habitual, and voluntary hardness" that develops through entertaining pleasing thoughts of sin, frequent commission of it, and eventual extenuation or justification of wrongdoing [8]. The metaphor of the "stony heart" in Ezekiel 36:26 captures this unimpressible quality, likened to "stony ground" unfit for receiving seed [10].

The Renewed Heart

Against this bleak portrait, Scripture presents the possibility of radical transformation. Ezekiel 36:26 promises: "A new heart will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you" [10]. Jamieson, Fausset & Brown explain that this "new heart" refers to "mind and will," while the new "spirit" denotes "motive and principle of action" [10]. The "heart of flesh" God promises is not carnal but "impressible and docile, fit for receiving the good seed" [10].

This transformation resolves an apparent tension in Scripture. Ezekiel 18:31 commands, "Make you a new heart, and a new spirit," while Ezekiel 36:26 presents it as God's sovereign gift [10]. The commentary observes that "thus the responsibility of man, and the sovereignty of God in regeneration, are shown to be coexistent" [10]. The renewed heart becomes "prepared to seek God," "fixed on God," "joyful in God," "perfect with God," "upright," "clean," "pure," "tender," "honest and good," "broken, contrite," and "obedient" [6]. It is "filled with the law of God" and "awed by the word of God" [6].

The promise of Ezekiel 11:19 speaks of giving "one heart"—interpreted as "oneness of heart in all, unanimously seeking Him," in contrast to scattered individual seekers, or as being "content with one God," not distracted by detestable things [11]. This transformation from stubborn, "uncircumcised hearts" to circumcised hearts enables genuine love for God, demonstrated through obedience rather than persistent disobedience [12].

Sources

  1. 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 ”
  2. Proverbs “A man’s heart plans his course, but Yahweh directs his steps. -- Proverbs 16:9”
  3. Jeremiah “Jeremiah 17:9 (BBE) — The heart is a twisted thing, not to be searched out by man: who is able to have knowledge of it?”
  4. Proverbs “Proverbs 16:1 (YLT) — Of man <FI>are<Fi> arrangements of the heart, And from Jehovah an answer of the tongue.”
  5. Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Heart, The — Issues of life are out of -- Pr 4:23. God Tries. -- 1Ch 29:17; Jer 12:3. Knows. -- Ps 44:21; Jer 20:12. Searched. -- 1Ch 28:9; Jer 17:10. Understands the thoughts of. -- 1Ch 28:9; Ps 139:2. Ponders. -- Pr 21:2; 24:12. Influences. -- 1Sa 10:26; Ezr 6:22; 7:27; Pr 21:1; Jer 20:9. Creates a new. -- Ps 51:10; Eze 36:26. Prepares. -- 1Ch 29:18; Pr 16:1. Opens. -- Ac 16:14. Enlightens. -- 2Co 4:6; Eph 1:18. Strengthens. -- Ps 27:14. Establishes. -- Ps 112:8; 1Th 3:13. Should be Prepared to God. -- 1Sa 7:3. Given to God. -- Pr 23:26. Perfect with God. -- 1Ki 8:”
  6. Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Heart, Character of the Renewed — Prepared to seek God -- 2Ch 19:3; Ezr 7:10; Ps 10:17. Fixed on God -- Ps 57:7; 112:7. Joyful in God -- 1Sa 2:1; Zec 10:7. Perfect with God -- 1Ki 8:61; Ps 101:2. Upright -- Ps 97:11; 125:4. Clean -- Ps 73:1. Pure -- Ps 24:4; Mt 5:8. Tender -- 1Sa 24:5; 2Ki 22:19. Single and sincere -- Ac 2:46; Heb 10:22. Honest and good -- Lu 8:15. Broken, contrite -- Ps 34:18; 51:17. Obedient -- Ps 119:112; Ro 6:17. Filled with the law of God -- Ps 40:8; 119:11. Awed by the word of God -- Ps 119:161. Filled with the fear of God -- Jer 32:40. Meditat”
  7. Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Heart, Character of the Unrenewed — Hateful to God -- Pr 6:16,18; 11:20. Full of evil -- Ec 9:3. Full of evil imaginations -- Ge 6:5; 8:21; Pr 6:18. Full of vain thoughts -- Jer 4:14. Fully set to do evil -- Ec 8:11. Desperately wicked -- Jer 17:9. Far from God -- Isa 29:13; Mt 15:8. Not perfect with God -- 1Ki 15:3; Ac 8:21; Pr 6:18. Not prepared to seek God -- 2Ch 12:14. A treasury of evil -- Mt 12:35; Mr 7:21. Darkened -- Ro 1:21. Prone to error -- Ps 95:10. Prone to depart from God -- De 29:18; Jer 17:5. Impenitent -- Ro 2:5. Unbelieving -- Heb 3:12. Blind -- Eph”
  8. Hebrews (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Hebrews 3:8: Harden not you hearts,.... There is a natural hardness of the heart; the heart of man is like a stone, destitute of spiritual life, motion, and activity; it is senseless, stupid, impenitent, stubborn, and inflexible, on which no impressions can be made, but by powerful grace: and there is an acquired, habitual, and voluntary hardness of heart, to which men arrive by various steps; as entertaining pleasing thoughts of sin; an actual commission of it, with frequency, till it becomes customary, and so habitual; an extenuation or justification of it, and so they become ha”
  9. Jeremiah (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Jeremiah 17:9: 17:9-10 By nature, the human heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. Only the Lord really knows how bad it is.”
  10. Ezekiel (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Ezekiel 36:26: new heart--mind and will. spirit--motive and principle of action. stony heart--unimpressible in serious things; like the "stony ground" (Mat 13:5, Mat 13:20), unfit for receiving the good seed so as to bring forth fruit. heart of flesh--not "carnal" in opposition to "spiritual"; but impressible and docile, fit for receiving the good seed. In Eze 18:31 they are commanded, "Make you a new heart, and a new spirit." Here God says, "A new heart will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you." Thus the responsibility of man, and the sovereig”
  11. Ezekiel (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Ezekiel 11:19: I will give them--lest they should claim to themselves the praise given them in Eze 11:18, God declares it is to be the free gift of His Spirit. one heart--not singleness, that is, uprightness, but oneness of heart in all, unanimously seeking Him in contrast to their state at that time, when only single scattered individuals sought God (Jer 32:39; Zep 3:9) [HENGSTENBERG]. Or, "content with one God," not distracted with "the many detestable things" (Eze 11:18; Kg1 18:21; Hos 10:2) [CALVIN]. new spirit-- (Psa 51:10; Jer 31:33). Realized fully in th”
  12. Leviticus (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Leviticus 26:41: 26:41 Physical circumcision of males was the mark of God’s covenant with Israel (Gen 17:9-14; Exod 4:25-26). Stubborn hearts (literally uncircumcised hearts) do not love God and demonstrate it by persistent disobedience. God promised to “circumcise” Israel’s uncircumcised hearts so that the people could love him (see also Deut 10:16; 30:6; Jer 4:4; Ezek 36:25-27).”
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