¹³ I consider it right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by way of reminder, ¹⁴ knowing that the laying aside of my tent is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. ¹⁵ And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you will be able to call these things to mind (2Pet1:13-15).

I just want to comment briefly on Peter’s reference here to his tent, tabernacle or dwelling (Greek: σκῆνωμα). It is clear from the context that he is referring to his mortal body that the Lord had indicated to him he would soon be discarding – he was shortly to be martyred. Similarly, Paul had described what the spirit and soul currently inhabit as a vessel (Greek: σκεῦος –  1Thes4:4; 2Cor4:7  cf. 1Thes5:23). I tend to expand on that as in my heading – our intellectual vessel. That is to emphasize (what might seemingly be obvious) that such incorporates the brain. The point being that what leaves the body at death, although invisible at that point, is also  a memory-retaining  intellectual entity (cf. Lk16:25).

What might not be so obvious albeit it is the only logical outcome of what has just been observed, is  that human beings possess not one but two minds – the one to be buried or incinerated, the other to return to the God who gave it (Eccles12:7). This is clarified (for some) and greatly expanded upon in Romans chapter seven, where Paul affirmed that these two minds have opposing laws or guiding principles: “For I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members” (Rom7:23KJV). As virtually all pre-Augustinian theologians recognized, Paul is referring here to man by nature.

The “law in my members” can only be referring to the inclinations and actions of limbs and organs as they are processed and directed by the brain. This is “the flesh” to which the apostle frequently refers. The “mind” in this instance must be the spiritual mind – that of the human spirit, inner man or true self which is informed and directed by the God-given conscience. For those in whom it functions (which is most people but not all), the conscience incites (or at least urges) actions that are in accordance with God’s law, which that same apostle affirms can be summarized in one command – to love one’s neighbour as oneself (Rom13:9).

This anthropological issue is crucial to a right understanding of Paul’s teaching, divine providence, human nature and the very purpose of  gospel salvation – what it is from and what it is for. An earlier post regarding Paul’s teaching on the subject considers the matter more fully.

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