Founder & Author
Rev. Walter L. Smith III (WS-3)
Founder & President — Pure In Heart Int'l Ministries · TCFKA
The Inner Man
Distinguishing the Natural from the Spiritual — A One-Year Curriculum in Holistic Mental Health & Spiritual Formation
Before transformation can occur, the faculties of the inner man must be rightly distinguished. Scripture reveals six faculties that compose the inner life: the brain (physical), the mind (cognitive), the heart (core identity), the conscience (moral), the will (volitional), and the emotions (affective). These faculties do not operate in isolation — they form a graduated continuum from beliefs to behaviors to habits to cycles to systems to strongholds. This one-year curriculum traces every faculty, every level of the continuum, and the Holy Spirit's role in transformation — drawing from the whole counsel of God found in all 88 books of the Ethiopian Bible.
The 88-Book Ethiopian Bible
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church preserves the broadest biblical canon in Christendom — 88 books encompassing the standard 66 (39 Old Testament + 27 New Testament), the Deuterocanonical books (Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, Baruch, additions to Daniel and Esther), and uniquely Ethiopian texts: 1 Enoch, Jubilees, Meqabyan I–III, 2 Esdras (4 Ezra), the Sinodos, 1–2 Clement, the Book of the Covenant (Mäṣḥafä Kidan), and the Didascalia. This curriculum draws from the whole counsel of God across all 88 — the comprehensive wisdom of the Spirit-breathed Word.
Foundation Scriptures
Proverbs 4:23
The Heart — The Source of Life
Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.
Romans 12:2
The Mind — The Battlefield of Transformation
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5
Strongholds — The Fortified Mind
For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.
The Inner Architecture — The Faculties
Understanding the Six Faculties of the Inner Man
Before transformation can occur, the faculties must be rightly distinguished. This quarter examines each of the six faculties — brain, mind, heart, conscience, will, and emotions — as revealed in Scripture, drawing from the 88 books of the Ethiopian Bible. Each faculty is defined, distinguished from the others, and shown in its relationship to the whole person.
The Brain & The Mind — The Physical & The Cognitive
Distinguishing the Hardware from the Software
The Heart (Lev/Levav) — The Biblical Core
The Heart as the Center of Identity and the Throne of the Inner Life
Conscience, Will & Emotions — The Moral, Volitional & Affective
Completing the Map of the Inner Man
The Graduated Continuum — Belief to Stronghold
How the Inner Life Becomes Entrenched
This quarter traces the graduated continuum from beliefs to strongholds — the process by which a single thought becomes a fortified fortress. Each level builds on the one before: beliefs produce behaviors, behaviors become habits, habits form cycles, cycles interlock into systems, and systems fortify into strongholds. Understanding this continuum is essential for holistic mental health — because transformation must occur at the level where the problem is rooted.
Beliefs — The Seed of the Inner Life
The Foundation of All Thought, Emotion, and Action
Behaviors & Habits — The Formation of Patterns
From Belief to Action to Automation
Cycles, Systems & Strongholds — The Entrenchment
When Patterns Become Fortresses
Natural vs. Spiritual — The Two Realities
Distinguishing the Natural Man, the Carnal Man, and the Spiritual Man
This quarter distinguishes the three types of person described in Scripture: the natural man (unregenerate, living by the brain and flesh), the carnal man (regenerate but flesh-governed, at war within), and the spiritual man (regenerate and Spirit-governed, being transformed). Understanding these distinctions is essential for diagnosing the condition of the inner life and knowing what kind of transformation is needed.
The Natural Man — Living by the Brain and Flesh
The Person Without the Spirit
The Spiritual Man — Living by the Spirit and Word
The Person Governed by the Holy Spirit
The Carnal Man — The War Within
The Believer Still Governed by the Flesh
The Holy Spirit & Transformation
The Spirit's Role in Holistic Mental Health & Spiritual Maturity
This final quarter examines the Holy Spirit's role in the transformation of the inner man — how He operates in each faculty (mind, heart, conscience, will, emotions), how He breaks strongholds, and how He produces the fruit of holistic mental health and spiritual maturity. The quarter closes the one-year curriculum by bringing all faculties, all levels of the continuum, and all three types of person into the unified work of the Spirit, who transforms from glory to glory.
The Holy Spirit — Teacher, Comforter & Convictor
The Spirit's Ministry to the Faculties
Renewing the Mind — The Spirit's Transformative Work
The Progressive Transformation of the Inner Man
Walking in the Spirit — Holistic Mental Health & Spiritual Maturity
The One-Year Graduation
Full Teaching Content Available in the Book
The complete teaching content, illustrations, discussion questions, and application activities for every lesson are available in the printed book and workbook — and through the online school with audio narration.