With all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind.

 With all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind.

 

Luke 10:25–28: "On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. 'Teacher,' he asked, 'what must I do to inherit eternal life?' 'What is written in the Law?' Jesus replied. 'How do you read it?' He answered, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart (*kardias*), with all your soul (*psyches*), with all your strength (*ischyos*), and with all your mind (*dianoias*); and love your neighbor as yourself.' 'You have answered correctly,' Jesus said. 'Do this and you will live.'"

Four terms appear here. *Kardias* is translated as "heart." In 1 Thessalonians 3:13—"may he strengthen your hearts (*kardias*) so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes (*parousia*) with all his holy ones"—*kardias* refers to the spiritual heart. The term *parousia* is translated as "coming" (or "advent"); while many in the church interpret this as the physical, earthly return of Jesus at the end of the age, it actually depicts Christ entering into the inner being of a believer—a "second coming" of sorts—and taking up residence within the temple established in the believer’s spirit. Thus, the term translated as "heart" here refers to the spiritual heart, which belongs to the "new man."

*Psyche* refers to the soul—the soul inherited from one's parents. This soul is destined to die. Just as one might change one's clothes, this former soul (the "old man") must be crucified on the cross together with Jesus. Thus, the phrase "with all your life" (or "with all your soul") signifies nailing the "old man"—the old self—to the cross. The Greek word *dianoia*—translated here as "mind" (or "understanding")—also appears in Ephesians 2:3: "All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts (*dianoiai*—plural of *dianoia*); like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath." While translated as "the desires of the flesh and the mind," in the original Greek, it refers to "the desires of the flesh and *its* mind." Because this "mind" originates from the flesh, it is a "fleshly mind." The fleshly self cannot know God. However, just as a farmer in the parable of the sower tills hardened soil, sows seeds, and tends to them to produce a harvest, the passage invites us to grasp this principle and discover the kingdom of God.

*Ischys* signifies ability, authority, or power. Jesus receives His authority from God the Father; as stated in Matthew 11:27: "All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." Believers, too, receive such authority from Christ. This serves as a reminder that any authority a believer possesses comes from God.

"The second (*deutera*—from *deuteros*) is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

*Deutera* (*δευτέρα*) means "that which follows" or "next." While the love of God stands at the very center, the love of neighbor follows as the next priority. The term "love" (*agapao*) refers to the act of bringing a dead spirit back to life through the death on the cross. When a believer trusts that they have died in union with Jesus’ crucifixion and have been resurrected alongside Him, their spirit is revived. This spirit then takes on a "new soul" (a spiritual body), establishing the Kingdom of God within the believer’s inner being. This is what it means to love God. To reach this state—much like in the parable of the sower—one must break through the hardened, carnal self (*dianoia*) to discover God. The "old soul" (*psyche*) must die, and the spirit—clothed in a new garment—must adopt a "spiritual heart" (*kardia*). Through this process, a temple is built within the believer, granting them the power (*ischys*) of a royal priest, and the once-dead spirit is brought to life. In the same way, *agapao* involves helping one’s neighbor (a fellow member of the church) grasp this truth, thereby reviving their dead spirit as well.

Jesus addressed this in response to a question from a scribe, immediately following a discussion on the subject of resurrection. He clarified that this was not the carnal resurrection envisioned by the Jewish people, but rather the resurrection of the soul (the spirit and the soul). To explain this resurrection of the soul and the love of God, He employed four distinct terms, using highly figurative language.

In response, the scribe remarked, "You are right in saying that God is one, and there is no other but Him." Jewish leaders—such as the priests and scribes—held a firm belief in the God who had given them the Law; upon hearing Jesus speak, the scribe likely realized in his heart that this man was, in fact, the true Messiah. While phrased differently, this also implies that the God in whom these Jewish leaders believed was, in a sense, a different God [from the One Jesus revealed]. They believe in a version of God that exists in their own minds. Although there is only one God, people end up believing in Him in different ways. Today, all church members profess to believe in one God—but what if they are actually believing in the kind of God they *want* Him to be?

This is no different from what happened at Mount Sinai, where the Israelites fashioned a golden calf—an idol—and offered sacrifices to it, claiming it was God. Humanism rooted in a desire for worldly blessings, legalism, and Gnostic-like ideas—similar to those found in other religions—all serve to create a "different" god.

"And to love Him with all the heart (*kardias*), with all the understanding (*syneseōs*), and with all the strength (*ischyos*), and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices" (Mark 12:33).

*Kardias* refers to the spiritual heart, *syneseōs* to spiritual understanding, and *ischyos* to the power that comes from God. This scribe had likely witnessed Jesus performing miracles and heard Him speak about the kingdom of God. Through the animal sacrifices he participated in, he had long been looking toward the promise of the "Seed of the woman." He must have realized that Jesus was, in fact, that promised Seed—the Messiah. Though he may not have been able to articulate it precisely, he—much like Nicodemus—harbored a profound hope for the kingdom of God.

"When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, 'You are not far from the kingdom of God.' And after that, no one dared to question Him" ​​(Mark 12:34). Seeing the scribe’s wise response, Jesus told him that he was not far from the kingdom of God. This means that while the Kingdom of God is near, it has not yet fully arrived in the present. To enter the Kingdom of God, one must abandon their existing faith and come to Jesus. In that era, being excommunicated from Judaism was tantamount to death—a prospect that seemed nearly impossible.

This is much like how many believers today, deeply steeped in doctrine, fear that stepping outside of those doctrines would result in their spiritual death. If a believer does not experience a present-day death on the cross and a present-day resurrection within their own soul, then there is no "second coming" of Christ within that soul either. In such a state, one remains under the Law. Those under the Law are required to keep it perfectly; failing to observe even a single point brings judgment. Which path will you choose?

To love God is to believe in the death and resurrection of the cross. Thus, when Jesus speaks in the Gospel of John of those who "have" His commandments, He is referring to those who possess faith in His death and resurrection. Consequently, "those who keep them" are those who safeguard this faith in the cross and the resurrection. The Greek word *tērōn* (τηρῶν)—translated here as "keep"—derives from the root *tēreō*, which carries meanings such as guarding a defensive line, protecting something, or maintaining a specific state. It does not refer to the mere outward observance of biblical regulations; rather, it means engraving the death and resurrection of the cross upon one’s heart and protecting it so that it is never lost—ensuring that it never slips away from the heart.

The core issue today lies in the tendency to interpret and apply the concept of "keeping the commandments" through a legalistic lens. While the commandments are fundamentally about loving God and one's neighbor, legalists argue that failing to love God and one's neighbor constitutes a failure to keep the commandments. It is a misunderstanding that equates love with following rules and regulations.