Christianity: How to strengthen the "inner man"

Strengthening the "inner man" (inner woman) - Part 1

Photo credit: Aaron Burden

I was talking to a sister in the Lord recently about the need to strengthen the "inner man" (our spirit), which is key to maturing in the Christian faith - it's a process - and it's how we become more able each day to resist temptations and increase our effectiveness as servants of the Lord.

At one point, I was ready to beat fellow saints with the Bible, urging them to get with God's program, and lead victorious Christian lives. Then, the Lord halted me and let me know that I was getting ahead of myself, actually, I was rushing off ahead of Him. On a personal note, one of the issues that motivated to become more involved in helping others is seeing how disease and sickness had overtaken many Christians. Peers and younger saints were reporting serious health problems and other setbacks. Some of them d attended charismatic or pentecostal churches for decades, and yet it seemed that they were hanging on for dear life. Some of them had accepted or were otherwise resigned to living with poor health. In my heart, I knew that was not God's best for His children.

Well, the Lord showed me that there are Christians, who through lack of practice, lack of consistency, failure to actively resist spiritual attacks, some out of laziness (rely on a single sermon once a week, and not pray and read the Bible as the Word of God shows us), or even because of a lack of knowledge, have become "weak." The apostle Paul admonished believers at the church in Corinth for approaching communion without first confessing their sins and repenting; in other words, they were not taking seriously the sacrament established by Jesus. Paul made it clear that the Lord takes spiritual matters seriously. That was only one aspect of their condition:

1 Corinthians 11:26-31 New Living Translation (NLT)

"26 For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.
27 So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against[a] the body and blood of the Lord.
28 That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup.
29 For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ,[b] you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself.
30 That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died.
31 But if we would examine ourselves, we would not be judged by God in this way."

Their approach to Communion reflected their view of their relationship with God, sort of a casual, armchair approach ... 

I include here a link to a good and succinct discussion about the "inner man." I'm not one to reinvent the wheel, so this link appears here for reading and benefit. https://www.gotquestions.org/inner-man.html

Strengthening the inner man is a lifelong process to help us become conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. This is a faith-filled process that involves salvation, baptism (a public declaration of our faith in Jesus Christ and separation from the world), prayer, fasting, reading the Bible, praise and worship, spiritual warfare, expecting God to speak to us, welcoming the Holy Spirit in our daily walk, fellow-shipping with other believers, and fulfilling the Great Commission (however God leads us to do this). 

Strengthening the inner man also involves partaking of Holy Communion on a regular basis. If you do not have access to a church, or if you attend a church (which I did once) that observes communion only every few months, then you can incorporate communion in your home or with your Bible study group. Taking communion implies that you are turning over to God everything the Holy Spirit shows you that you must give up. 

Sometimes it's "easier" to confess and repent of obvious sins, but the Holy Spirit will also convict us of negative attitudes that sabotage our faith, an unwillingness to forgive others, and so forth. We must say no to sin every day, until the things that try to hang on and trip us up drop off. We must say yes every day to the good things that the Lord has given us, as a result of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. By faith, we put on the righteousness of Jesus Christ, and that allows us access to the Holy God. We by ourselves will never be good enough, but Jesus is eternally good, and we have the privilege of putting on His righteousness (Ephesians 6:14).

Recently, I read a secular magazine an article that made a wonderful observation about love. It said love is something that you can give away without running out, if you expect nothing in return. Let's remember that we will never run out of God's love (for God is love - 1 John 4:7-8), so we can give it away endlessly. For example, if we decide to bless others, we will be less tempted to curse or make unseemly gestures at others who cut us off on the road type of thing ... you get the picture. Jesus said the second greatest commandment is to love others as ourselves. Love requires "action" if it's going to be meaningful. And we shouldn't do things only for others who can return the favor. Loves never runs out in God's kingdom.

Yes, we will fall at times. The idea is to get back up, shake off the mud, get right with the Lord and others, and continue on. Stay on track. That's how the inner man in each one of us grows and matures. No easy shortcuts. "Restoration" is another way to think of this process. Bringing things back to the way God intended them to function. The Holy Spirit needs to step in and do repair and maintenance, as we yield to Him, using the Bible as our authoritative source for the ongoing job.

I pray Psalm 23 everyday, and the part that gets me going on this theme is verse 3: 

"He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake." (AKJV).

Restoration is a process, and the process for everyone is different because of our different life experiences and sins. The second part of the verse says that the Lord will lead us in the paths of righteousness: the lifestyle of the inner man. Doing everything we need to do in obedience and faith in Him.

Why? 

"For His name's sake." The Lord has a stake in how you turn out.

Don't get discouraged when you are tempted. It doesn't mean you are not saved. Repent and get back up. Don't be discouraged if you get sick. Ask God to heal you. This doesn't mean ignore doctors. The Lord can use doctors or perform a creative miracle. How He does it is up to Him: the Lord God is sovereign.

[Part 2 will address the Inner Man and Inner Healing]

Blessings to everyone

Shalom

Diana Washington Valdez/Faith Today Christian Ministries