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In many of his writings and sermons American theologian and pastor Jonathan Edwards writes of the ‘new sense’ or ‘sense of the heart’ which is given to a person when they come to a living faith in Christ. Some have said that this is the most distinctive and original of Edwards’ many theological contributions (combining, as he often did, established Reformed thinking with the Enlightenment ideas of his time). Sang Lee describes it as

an active tendency of the entire self that determines the direction of all the functions of the human self

Sang Lee, The Philosophical Theology of Jonathan Edwards

According to Louis Mitchell, another scholar John E Smith sees it as ‘the channel through which people lay hold of God.’

This fifth in a series of posts on why I appreciate the thought of Jonathan Edwards considers this ‘new sense’ in a bit more detail. Once again, I have been particularly helped by Louis Mitchell’s book ‘Jonathan Edwards on the Experience of Beauty.’

What is this ‘new sense’ and who has it?

As we consider what Edwards means by this new sense, it might be helpful to read what he wrote of his own experience as a young man:

There came into my soul, and was as it were diffused through it, a sense of the glory of the Divine Being; a new sense, quite different from any thing I ever experienced before. Never any words of scripture seemed to me as these words did. I thought with myself, how excellent a Being that was; and how happy I should be, if I might enjoy that God, and be rapt up to him in Heaven, and be as it were swallowed up in him for ever. … From about that time, I began to have a new kind of apprehensions and ideas of Christ, and the work of redemption, and the glorious way of salvation by him. An inward, sweet sense of these things, at times, came into my heart; and my soul was led away in pleasant views and contemplations of them. And my mind was greatly engaged to spend my time in reading and meditating on Christ, on the beauty and excellency of his person, and the lovely way of salvation, by free grace in him.

Jonathan Edwards, Personal Narrative

We often speak of five senses that every human being has – hearing, sight, smell, taste, touch. We sometimes speak of a ‘sixth sense’. In the same way, Edwards is writing about a new spiritual ‘sense’ that is given to the believer. But rather than experiencing physical reality – sights, sounds and so on – this new sense enables us to experience spiritual reality, and most of all the beauty of God. One person has called it

A taste of the beauty of divine glory

John E Smith

A few clarifications need to be made at this point.

1, A sense given to those who have been born again

First, this isn’t a sense that is given to human beings naturally at birth, as hearing and sight. Rather it is a new sense that is given by God to those who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit – who have been born again into Christian faith.  Edwards writes:

But I have already shown what that new spiritual sense is, which the saints have given (to) them in regeneration, and what is the object of it. I have shown that the immediate object of it is the supreme beauty and excellency of the nature of divine things, as they are in themselves. And this is agreeable to the Scripture: the Apostle very plainly teaches that the great thing discovered by spiritual light, and understood by spiritual knowledge, is the glory of divine things, (2 Corinthians 4:3–4)

Jonathan Edwards, Religious Affections, positive sign 4

The first effect of the power of God in the heart in regeneration, is to give the heart a Divine taste or sense; to cause it to have a relish of the loveliness and sweetness of the supreme excellency of the Divine nature.

Jonathan Edwards, Treatise on Grace

Edwards writes extensively about the differences between the spiritual insight of the regenerate who have this ‘sense of the heart’ and the unregenerate who don’t. (For more on this see Mitchell pages 23-27).

2, An entirely new sense, given by the Holy Spirit

Second, it should be clear that this sense is entirely new for the believer:

There is a new inward perception or sensation of their minds, entirely different in its nature and kind, from anything that ever their minds were the subjects of before they were sanctified

Jonathan Edwards, Religious Affections

It is given by the Holy Spirit at regeneration:

The Spirit of God is given to the true saints to dwell in them, as his proper lasting abode; and to influence their hearts, as a principle of new nature, or as a divine supernatural spring of life and action. The Scriptures represent the Holy Spirit, not only as moving, and occasionally influencing the saints, but as dwelling in them as his temple, his proper abode, and everlasting dwelling place (I Corinthians 3:16, II Corinthians 6:16, John 14:16–17). And he is represented as being there so united to the faculties of the soul, that he becomes there a principle or spring of new nature and life.

Jonathan Edwards, Religious Affections, positive sign 1

‘Sense of the heart’

Edwards calls this new sense ‘the sense of the heart’. This ‘new sense’ is thus distinguished from the new understanding of God that we have when we are regenerated.

In Miscellany 782 Edwards distinguishes between what he calls ‘speculative’ (head) and ‘sensible’ (heart) knowledge. Speculative or head knowledge relates to the understanding or perception; sensible or heart knowledge relates to the experience or inclination. It is this latter sensible knowledge that Edwards calls the ‘sense of the heart.’ (Mitchell page 22).

Of course, our regeneration by the Holy Spirit impacts our whole self in all its different activities (see third post) – our perceiving, our inclination, our action. (By way of short hand, we might say our mind, heart and will). But the sense of the heart is specifically related to the heart (leading on to impacting the will).   

Edwards uses the idea of honey to explain the difference between speculative and sensible (sense of the heart) knowledge. You can know about God in the way that you can know about honey. Honey is made by bees in beehives; it’s clear and it’s gooey; it’s sweet, a bit like sugar only different. I could go on. And God is good, he is loving, he is holy. All of this is speculative knowledge.

But you don’t really know what honey’s like until you’ve tasted it. And when you’ve tasted honey, all the describing you’ve done doesn’t quite match up to the reality that you’ve experienced. The experience of  tasting honey is sensible knowledge. Edward writes:

There is a difference between having a rational judgement that honey is sweet, and having a sense of its sweetness. A man may have the former that knows not how honey tastes; but a man cannot have the latter unless he has an idea of the taste of honey in his mind.

Jonathan Edwards, A Divine and Supernatural Light

In other words – speculative knowledge is an essential precursor to sensible knowledge; but it is not the same. To put it in layman’s terms: Intellectual knowledge of God is absolutely essential, and you can only truly know God if you have an idea of who God really is. But it is not sufficient in itself to having a full knowledge of God. To have this, you also need the ‘sense of the heart’ given by the Holy Spirit.

Where do we see this in the Bible? Here are a few places we might look: 2 Corinthians 4:3-6; Psalm 19:10; John 4:13-14; Psalm 119:103.

At its centre: A sense of the loveliness of God’s holiness

Edwards writes extensively on this new sense in his famous treatise ‘Religious Affections’ – in particular he lays out the contours of the new sense as he presents the first four positive signs of genuine religious affections. In the third of these, he clarifies what it is in God that the true believer finds to be beautiful:

Those affections that are truly holy, are primarily founded on the loveliness of the moral excellency of divine things. Or (to express it otherwise), a love to divine things for the beauty and sweetness of their moral excellency is the first beginning and spring of all holy affections.

Jonathan Edwards, Religious Affections

It is:

a sense of the heart, of the supreme beauty and sweetness of the holiness or moral perfection of divine things, together with all that discerning and knowledge of things of religion, that depends upon, and flows from such a sense.

Jonathan Edwards, Religious Affections

In other words, at heart it is God’s holiness that the believer finds to be beautiful through this new sense. (Connected to this, the second positive sign points out that the believer loves God for his own sake, rather than for what the believer can get from God.)

My experience

I’ve wondered whether it’s worth me writing a word about my own experience of the ‘sense of the heart,’ and I’m conflicted in my thinking about this: On the one hand it might help to illustrate further what is meant by it; on the other hand, there’s always a danger that we compare ourselves either positively or negatively, neither of which is helpful. Therefore let me simply give one example. A few years ago I was sat at home when a powerful and violent thunderstorm passed overhead. The awesome thunder and bright flashes of lightning overwhelmed most of my ‘natural’ senses. But there was something more: I had a deep and overwhelming sense of the power and holiness of God in the midst of the storm.

Why we need this today

There is much more that could be said about the ‘sense of the heart’, but that will have to wait for future posts, Lord willing. Why do we need to hear this today?

First, I sometimes think that I can talk someone into the kingdom of God. Edwards’ teaching reminds me in the strongest way that this is not the case. Not only does a person need the Holy Spirit to open their blind eyes intellectually; they need to be given a whole new sense by the Holy Spirit! This is a supernatural work of God’s Holy Spirit. My role is to present Christ to them in all his beauty and majesty, and to pray that the Spirit opens their eyes and gives them this new sense of the heart.

Second, it reminds us that we are made for deep connection with God. Over the years I’ve been in danger of treating the Christian faith as merely a matter of the mind and will. Edwards’ thinking about ‘the sense of the heart’ helps us to see that we can connect with God at a much deeper level. But it also preserves us from other extreme of connection without substance. (see also post 3 in the series). 

It may be that as you’ve read this post you’ve wondered if you have been given this ‘sense of the heart.’ At one level, if you’re repenting and believing then we can say with certainty that you have. Each of us is different and experiences God according to our own personality and capacity. However, there is nothing to stop you asking God to show you his beauty more. Jesus told us that when we ask for the Holy Spirit our loving Father will give him to us – so why not ask God for a deeper sense of his holiness, beauty, majesty and glory.

How can we cultivate this sense of the heart? Again, each of us is different. A good start would be making use of the ‘means of grace’ that I’ve written about in previous posts.

Taking it further

Jonathan Edwards on the Experience of Beauty – Louis Mitchell

Religious Affections – Jonathan Edwards