The Inner Man

“. . . that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with might through his Spirit in the inner man, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Verses 16-19.

From the above we see that we need to be strengthened in our inner man in order to be rooted and grounded in love. The tribulations and difficulties of life touch our outward man. This, in turn, ha an effect on our inner man, with the result that most people come out of love because they cannot bear up under it all. They nurse grudges; they lose courage, get depressed, and are often withdrawn. All this has an effect on the outward man, and everything just gets worse. They get caught in a vicious circle.

The reason for this is that people have forgotten Jesus’ words that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Matthew 4:4. It is the outward man that lives by bread. God fashioned man of the dust of the earth; that is why we must keep our bodies alive with what comes up from the ground. God breathed the breath of life into man’s nostrils, and man became a living soul. Genesis 2:7.

Spirit and soul constitute the inner man, which comes from God and must be nourished by God’s Word. If you forget this, you cannot bear the tribulations that come your way, and the evil one will have power over you. That is why we constantly hear people making demands and complaining. You can tell they are not happy. What they lack is nourishment for their inner man. The usual thing is that they get fellowship with the accuser (Revelation 12:9-12) and thus lose the place in heaven for which they were raised in Christ Jesus. We read that the accuser was cast down to the earth; but we also read how we can overcome him.

“[You will be] nourished on the words of the faith and of the good doctrine which you have followed.” 1 Timothy 4:6. In 2 Timothy 3:15-17 we read, “how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” “We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28.

We see that God’s Word becomes nourishment for our inner man. We receive light and understanding about how we are to solve every problem so that everything will work together for our good. Then we will not be overcome by all the tribulations that befall our outward man. Read 2 Corinthians 4:7-11. “For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, because we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” Verses 17-18.

We read in Ephesians that if we are grounded in love, we can be filled with all the fullness of God. “Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think . . . .” Ephesians 3:20. The condition is that we love God, and that we abide in love. Through this nourishment everything will become a source of joy to us. If we read James 1:2-6 and 1 Peter 4:12-13, we will be convinced of God’s leading and His salvation. Then we will not be crushed by what happens to our outward man; rather, we will be renewed in our inner man, that man which delights in the law of God. Romans 7:22.