The mind is what helps us think, remember, and make decisions. It also includes our feelings and beliefs. Different cultures throughout history have understood the mind in different ways.
In the Hebrew language of the Old Testament, there is no single word that means exactly what we mean by "mind." Ancient Greek thinkers, however, wrote a lot about the mind and saw it as a crucial part of what makes us human.
Mind in the Old Testament
Since the Old Testament had no separate word for the human mind, English translators used other words depending on context. They use words like "soul," "spirit," or "heart." So, the exact differences between these terms are hard to define.
A person is a soul, with a spirit and a heart. Any of these terms can mean the mind. This means that the common idea of the mind for thinking and the heart for feeling is not found in the Old Testament.
While the “mind” means a person’s thoughts, the main idea of “mind” in the Old Testament is that it means the heart (1 Samuel 2:35; Ezekiel 11:5; 20:32). The heart often includes the whole inner person and often relates to the mind. In these cases, it mainly relates to will and memory (Isaiah 46:8; 65:17; Jeremiah 3:16).
Mind in the New Testament
The basic Hebrew way of thinking continues in the Gospel stories. The idea of mind appears rarely. When used, it is mostly with the heart—for example, the thoughts of the heart (Luke 1:51). The only other uses of “mind” come in the great commandment: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (cf. Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27).
The Gospel writers all agree that Jesus added "with all your mind" to Deuteronomy 6:5. In Mark, however, the person asking repeats Jesus's command but uses a word for “understanding” instead of “mind” (Mark 12:33).
With Paul's writings, one enters the Greek world. Paul saw the mind as different from the spirit of man. It can understand and reason (1 Corinthians 14:14–19). It is the center of intelligence. In other places, “mind” is used more widely to include all of a person's mental and moral state (Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:23). A person’s actions come from the tendencies of their mind. Whether a person is good or evil depends on the state of the mind.
The state of a person depends upon what or who controls the mind. Romans 8:6–7 talks about a person’s mind being controlled either by the flesh or the Spirit. The person whose mind is controlled by the flesh is evil. The mind controlled by the Spirit leads to good.
Other parts talk about the tendency of a person's mind to be controlled by the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4). People whose minds are controlled by the “god of this world” will have dark minds. They will not be able to understand the world as it really is (3:14). It is like a cover over one’s understanding. But the Lord can open people’s minds. For example, Jesus opened the minds of the disciples who walked the Emmaus road with him so that they could understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:45).
For Paul, the act of conversion is seen as “renewing of the mind” (Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:23). In both cases, the process is one whereby God takes control of a person's mind through the Holy Spirit. The Spirit guides that person's thoughts the right way. So, the renewed person is given the power to make correct value judgments. Such people have new minds to make spiritual judgments (1 Corinthians 2:15–16).