The Inner Man

“For which cause [the glory of God] we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day” (II Corinthians 4:15,16). Another unique truth taught by the apostle Paul is “the inward man” as compared to the outward man.

The outward [outer] man is of course our body. It is our physical body that becomes tired at the end of each day, gets sick or injured, ages through the years, and eventually wears out at the end of life, and ultimately dies [perishes]. It has been rightly said, “The death rate is still one a piece.” We do have the future hope of resurrection!

The inward [inner] man is made up of the spirit and soul. The spirit and soul are changed the moment we trust Christ as our Savior. Our spirit is quickened because we receive the Holy Spirit and His life (the new man)! Now God’s Spirit can communicate with our human spirit, and we can now know the things of God revealed in His word (1 Corinthians 2:11-13). The soul can now receive and store up the word of God in our heart, and we are transformed from the inside out! The light of the glorious gospel of Christ can now shine in our hearts. “To give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us” (2 Corinthians 4:4-7).

Our physical body, though it is perishing, can bring forth fruit when the inward man is renewed day by day. This is the lesson Paul taught in 2 Corinthians, and Paul personally had to learn as he experienced great suffering and persecution in his ministry. The great apostle healed many of their infirmities early in his ministry, having “the signs of an apostle,” but when it came to his own “thorn in the flesh,” he learned the thorn would remain, and “my grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:7-12).

This is now the norm in this the dispensation of grace. As we experience weakness, His strength is made perfect! God’s Spirit working in the inner man as the outer man goes through the natural process of perishing. Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians was that “they would be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in their hearts [the soul] by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend [in their quickened spirit] … the love of Christ which passeth knowledge” (Ephesians 3:14-19).

God’s will is now “that the life also of Jesus might be manifest in our mortal [perishing] flesh” (2 Corinthians 4:11). While the outward man perishes, the inward man can be renewed day by day! This can be a tough pill to swallow, but it is the best medicine! “While we look, not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18). We can learn to be content in whatever state we are, for, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:11-13)!

Search the scriptures daily whether these things be so!