The Inner Man
Today’s Verse:
Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. ~Psalm 51:6
There are two aspects in all of us. There is the external part that everyone sees, and there is the internal part which people can only see by what we depict. The inner man is who you and I really are. The inner man is the hidden man of the heart. The inner man is your character. The inner man is where the extreme of good and evil can come forth. Ps. 51 is the record of David’s prayer of confession. In this prayer, David “comes clean” with God. David had been living a feigned and deceitful testimony for almost one year. When he realized he was discovered, he was under great conviction about the sham life he had been living. In this prayer, David gives us important theological insight about the importance of the inner man and our relationship with God.
There is the TRAINING of the inner man.
David said, “In the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.” The inner man is the spirit of man. “The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly,” Prov. 20:27. Every man is made up of spirit, soul, and body. What happens inside of us affects what happens on the outside of us. Paul prayed, “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,” I Thess. 5:25. The inner man will know wisdom as God’s Word and Spirit are given complete liberty to change us and give us foresight. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord,” Col. 3:16. Wisdom in our inner man is being preventive. Wisdom is being able to foresee the evil and keeping ourselves from making bad decisions. Wisdom is putting God first and having a proper fear and reverence towards Him. Spend more time working on your inner man than you do on your outward appearance.
There is the TRUTH of the inner man.
“Thou desirest truth in the inward parts.” David was living a lie for almost a year. He believed his own lies. He assumed no one noticed and no one cared. When Nathan told him, “Thou art the man,” he exposed David as being dishonest and false. The inner man is the conscience and heart. It must be a place where truth, honesty, transparency, and integrity are the controlling virtues. Truth in the inner man is being absolutely transparent about your motives and conduct. Truth in the inner man is walking in the light as He is in the light. How much truth is inside of you? How much truth comes from you?
There is the TRANSFORMATION of the inner man.
Paul said that “though our outward man may perish, the inner man is renewed day by day.” We deplete ourselves daily through our interactions, our involvement, our service, and when we go through trials. There are days we show our weariness and spiritual depletion. A loss of joy, desire, and happiness are outward signs that our outward man is perishing or wearing away. It is at these low points that we must come to the Lord for the renewal of the inner man. We must come apart and rest awhile, lest we fall apart in our lives. The inner man is renewed when we are focused on the eternal. “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,” II Cor. 4:18. The inner man is renewed when we are spending quality time in His presence. “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint,” Isa. 40:31.
How’s your inner man? Let David’s prayer be your daily prayer. Don’t let your inner man diminish. “That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man,” Eph. 3:16.
Have a renewed God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Leviticus 24-25