Part 6 of our Holy Spirit series focuses on how the Holy Spirit creates a clean heart. We believe this will be an 18-Part Series in which you’ll discover who The Holy Spirit is and what He does. Many attributes are given to The Holy Spirit throughout Scripture. He is not a force. He is a person. He is a member of the Trinity, a part of YHWH. He is referred to as a “he”. In Parts 1-5 of this series, we featured His part in creating, recreating, convicting, teaching, bringing us peace through hope, and witnessing Jesus as God in the flesh. Now, let’s look at how He creates a clean heart in us.
Let’s start off with Scripture, of course!
Psalm 51
9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
This verse says it all! “Renew a right spirit within me” – when we are born again, we are a new creation! The Holy Spirit creates a clean heart. David cries for the Holy Spirit to not be taken from him.
Ezekiel 36:25-27
25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
Just like in Psalm 51, we see the cleansing from sins, and a pure, clean, new heart given with the Holy Spirit. We see this same concept in Proverbs.
Proverbs 20:9 Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?
You cannot acquire a clean heart without the cleansing of sin. You cannot be cleansed of sin without the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. You cannot receive the Holy Spirit without repentance and the gift of faith. You cannot obtain your inheritance without the gift of faith and the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
We can boldly approach the throne on our own. Jesus is our high priest. There is no need for a priest to intercede on our behalf any longer. The veil was ripped, the curtain torn. The Holy Spirit abides in our temple (our body) having sprinkled clean our hearts.
Hebrews 10:
19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
21 And having an high priest over the house of God;
22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
We are warned repeatedly in The Word about our hearts. We know God has written His laws on our hearts. We are to guard our hearts.
Hebrews 10:16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
Your thoughts come from your heart. Jesus knows what is on your heart.
Mark 2
5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
6 But there was certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts,
7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?
8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?
The Father knows what is on your heart.
Psalm 94:11 The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.
Psalm 139:2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
Luke 16
14 And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.
15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
Isaiah 66:18 For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.
The following is a wonderful passage regarding God knowing our hearts, giving the free gift of the Holy Spirit, and cleansing hearts by faith. Kind of wraps it all up, doesn’t it?
Acts 15
6 And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.
7 And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
There are sooo many Scriptures relating to thoughts and the heart. It is obviously very important to our Father and a dire warning to us all. Just reading through them, you can see that when there is an absence of the Holy Spirit, there are evil thoughts and wicked deeds. Sometimes, even having the Holy Spirit inside us, we may think an evil thought, no doubt whispered in our ear by the enemy. However, the Holy Spirit convicts us right away of that evil thought and we repent of it immediately. That’s the difference between having the Holy Spirit living inside you and the absence of the Holy Spirit living inside you. The Holy Spirit convicts you of evil thoughts put into your mind by whispering demons. Those without the Holy Spirit are unrepentant and act upon those thoughts turning them into wicked deeds. Though a good man fall, he rises back up again.
Proverbs 24:16 For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.
Romans 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
Let’s take a look at some Scripture relating to our heart and our thoughts.
Genesis 6:5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
1 Chronicles 29:18 O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you.
Psalm 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
Jeremiah 4:14 O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?
Let’s look at how the spiritual realm can influence our thoughts.
1 Kings 22
19 And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.
20 And the Lord said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner.
21 And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will persuade him.
22 And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.
Let’s read what else The Lord says about wicked thoughts, which we know come from the heart.
Psalm 10:4 The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.
Proverbs 12:5 The thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit.
Proverbs 15:26 The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord: but the words of the pure are pleasant words.
Isaiah 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
Matthew 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
Carefully guard your heart. Be mindful of what you think, bringing each thought into the captivity of Christ. If it’s a thought from the Kingdom of God, keep it. If it’s a thought from the enemy, dispose of it.
2 Corinthians 10
4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
Don’t think evil. Don’t think of doing evil deeds. Don’t even lean on your own understanding to devise your own plans. Give your life to the Lord. He has a plan for you.
Proverbs 3
5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Proverbs 23
6 Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats:
7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.
8 The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.
Sometimes, we get carried away with our own ideas and our own plans. We let others who don’t have our best interests at heart persuade us to ruin. We need to take these thoughts and decisions to the Lord first. Evil spirits nag us and influence our thoughts. We need the Holy Spirit who provides us with discernment because we fear the Lord to help us take these thoughts into captivity to Christ. Prayer should always be made before any decision making.
Proverbs 19:21 There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.
Your thoughts can actually physically change you. Perhaps this is why our Father is very adamant about us keeping our thoughts pure, our hearts clean. We know that stress and negative thoughts can worsen physical illnesses. Fear releases certain chemicals that put us in flight or fight mode. Research shows that whenever you have a thought, there is a corresponding chemical reaction in your mind and body as a result of that thought. This affects your mood, how you feel, how your body is operating. This is also one of the many reasons why abuse is so devastating to a person.
I know this seems a lot like the law of attraction which many in the Christian faith deny, but I personally believe this in a spiritual sense. You can either attract our Father into your life through thoughts of repentance, kindness, and prayer to The Most High or you can attract demons into your life through thoughts of wicked deeds, forbidden meditations, drugs and alcohol, or pose prayers in yoga.
Let’s take a quick look at some verses in Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 17:5 Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.
Do not fix your mind and thoughts on successes, earthly possessions, your inner-self. Your mind and thoughts should be pure of heart in accordance to the will of God.
Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
We hear people say all the time, “Just follow your heart.” But, that’s the worst thing we can do. The Word just told us it’s deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. As hard as it may be for someone to understand, our Father knows what is best for us and what our desires are better than we do. He may move you to a city you never wanted to live in and you love it there. He may place you at a job you didn’t think you wanted and it turned out to be the best job ever. We need to want His will and trust Him!
Psalm 37:4 Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
These are the desires in our hearts that we cannot even see. Our Father knows exactly what we need, where He needs us, what will make us prosper for the Kingdom, and what will bring us joy. That’s what this passage means! It’s doesn’t mean, trust God, he’ll give you Corvettes and big houses and money. It means trust Him. Let go. Lean not on your own understanding. He will direct your straight path. He will give you the desires of your heart.
I’ll just end here with Proverbs 4, again.
Proverbs 4
20 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.
21 Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.
22 For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
24 Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.
25 Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
26 Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.
27 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.
Be convicted by the Holy Spirit. Be quickened by the Holy Spirit, Quench not the Spirit. Take decisions into prayer. Walk in the Spirit according to the Father’s will. Take all your thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ. Be mindful of your thoughts for they flow from the heart. Let your heart be cleansed and made pure by the Holy Spirit for He brings a renewing of the mind.
Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.