So far in this series we have looked at 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, which shows how our thoughts are related to the “strongholds” in our being; as we saw in the previous Note, these strongholds are the concepts we have that surround our thoughts outwardly so that they cannot be taken captive by Christ. (See “Strongholds, Thoughts, & Intents” • 4.)

Now, however, we come to Hebrews 4:12; in this verse we see that our thoughts are also connected with the “intents of the heart”; whereas the strongholds are something outward, these intents are something more inward than our thoughts, just as our spirit is more inward than our soul.

In brief, the writer is telling us here that our intents must be exposed by the word of God so we can discern between what our outward thought is, and what our real, inward intent is. In this way we will come to understand what truly motivates us.

And because the writer draws a parallel in this verse between the soul and spirit, on the one hand, and the thoughts and intents, on the other, we can say that our thoughts relate more to our soul, whereas our intents relate more to our human spirit.

And this understanding is supported in another passage that deals with having a genuine self-knowledge, in which the apostle Paul speaks, not of our intents, but of our human spirit. He asks,

Who among men knows the things of man, except the spirit of man which is in him?
— 1 Corinthians 2:11

This shows that the only way we can truly know ourselves is if we are genuinely spiritual people, living by “the spirit of man” which is in us; that is, by our human spirit, regenerated (John 3:6), washed (Titus 3:5), and uplifted

by the Holy Spirit. In contrast, if we have never been dealt with by the Lord and thus live, not in our spirit, but in our soul, our natural man, then we can never truly understand ourselves, or know why we do what we do.

So, according to this verse, knowing ourselves is a spiritual matter; yet, in Hebrews 4:12, we see that this self-knowledge relates to discerning “between the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Together, then, these verses show us that the spiritual experience of receiving the Lord’s light in our human spirit regarding ourselves will often be expressed, practically, in His shining, through His word, to help us discern between what our thought is, outwardly, and what our actual intent is, inwardly.

To help us understand this more clearly, we will give some examples in the upcoming Notes in this series.

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—  7 February 2026 —