ACCORDING TO THE INWARD MAN

FRIDAY 10 SEPTEMBER 2021

If you are in Christ, or you are born again, there has been a creation of a new man or spirit in you, which is in union with Christ and conforms to divinity. Our inward man gives us the sense of being conformed to Christ, who is our new life.

Reference: Romans 7:22 New King James Version (NKJV) "For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man."

The inward man responds to the law of God and is capable of being strengthened by divine influence through the Scriptural truths. The law of God is actually talking about the God's Word and its rule or system of government. The inward man, also known as your new nature or spirit, delights in the law of God which governs your new desires in Christ. So it determines the principles of action you live by. Originally, our delight in the law of God is inspired by the Spirit of God in our inward being.

In John 3:6, Jesus talked about the inward man and how it became the recreated human spirit. He said, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." Here, the inward man is addressed as the "spirit" and its born of the Spirit (Holy Spirit). The slight difference is in the letter case: uppercase (S) for the Spirit of God while the lowercase (s) is for the recreated human "spirit" or inward man. So the Spirit of God actually dwells in your spirit, which is your innermost being. This is why Paul prayed in Ephesians 3:16 (AMP) saying, "May He grant you out of the riches of His glory, to be strengthened and spiritually energized with power through His Spirit in your inner self, [indwelling your innermost being and personality]."

Meditating on the law of God guides us into the manner of life we must live for God (see Joshua 1:8 NIV). Obviously this law is made perfect in the one and complete sacrifice of Christ, and so, it is a timeless law. Moreover, it is your inward man that can receive this law and cause you to comply to it because the recreated human spirit is the medium through which we are brought into oneness and communion with God. This is why Paul mentioned that we delight in the law of God - according to the inward man.

The inward man or the recreated human spirit, is the new man, created after the image of Christ. In another way, the recreated human spirit is the inward being of the new creation which is created anew in its faculties. It is the new nature in you, which after God, functions in true righteousness and holiness and so it's desire and delight are in the law of the Lord. Romans 8:7 says, "The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so." Notice that the Scripture is talking about a ruling or governing system: "the mind governed by the flesh...can never submit to the law of God. The evil passions and desires of the old man which is corrupted by deceitful lusts are a result of the flesh governing the mind.

Your decision to take any action in life is either governed by the flesh or according to the inward man or spirit, which functions by the Spirit of God. 1 Corinthians 6:17 (NLT) reads, "But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him." As a born again Christian, your inward being is united with the Spirit of God and so it delights in or live by the Word or divine instructions. When you've trained yourself to listen to God's Spirit and follow His leading, it is your spirit that is responding to Him. This is why Galatians 5:16 (ESV) warns, "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh." Shalom!

Scripture Reading - 2 Corinthians 3:18; Romans 7:6; Colossians 3:10; Romans 8:29.

Guided Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, thank you for the extraordinary life of the Spirit which you gave me in Christ Jesus. My inward man, which is my spirit and the deep centre of my personal being, constantly inspires me to delight in and meditate on your Word. Thus, I'm forever grateful for the newness of life and character shaped to conform to Christ's image, as I live the higher life by your Spirit that dwells in me in Jesus' Name, Amen!