Inner part 2
One of my favorite truths is found in Ephesians 3:16, "That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man." There's a lot here, but specifically I like that term: Inner man. Because I one hundred percent believe there is something beneath the surface. Something deep inside. And, to be frank, it's the REAL you. Because it's love. Look again at that verse, we are strengthened in the inner man by His Spirit. The Holy Spirit. Our love receptor. The Spirit of truth that leads and guides us into all truth. That comforts us, and teaches us to understand that truth that we know. Now let me link all of that with John 15:26, "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedth from the Father, he shall testify of me." Jesus told us (in John 14:6), "...I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Jesus is the truth that the Spirit of truth leads us into! The Holy Spirit testifies of Jesus. The Holy Spirit tells us who we are in Christ. By telling us who Christ is in us. And I say "telling" because often it's the still, small voice of God's heart beating in our chests, but really He SHOWS us who we are in Christ by SHOWING us who Christ is in us. That's what 1 John 3:2 is all about: "Beloved, now we are the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." It's the same concept that Paul wrote about when he warned us to not be conformed to the world, but to BE transformed (into what we've already BEEN transformed into) by the renewing of our minds. I think the renewing of our minds, and being strengthened in the inner man are the same thing. Because everything that needed to happen, happened 2,000 years ago on the Cross. We don't need to GET transformed because we've already BEEN transformed. AND we've been CONFORMED to the image of God's beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. We know who we are, but we don't fully understand what it means to BE who we are. That's why there's a maturation process. That's why we have been given the Holy Spirit. So that we can BE who we are as we UNDERSTAND who we are. As we SEE who we are, as He appears to us, and in us, and through us. Because seeing is believing. What we see is what we be. And God's not afraid to show Himself. That's one of the reasons He wrapped Himself up in human flesh. Jesus told Philip, "If you've seen me, you've seen the Father." God WANTS to be one display. Not because He's vain, but because He is love. When God is on display, LOVE is on display. When the inner man is strong... when we KNOW who we are... we can BE who we are. What you do flows from what you believe. From the inside out. What's in your heart manifests in your deeds. Faith without works is dead, right? And faith works by love. Jesus is God IN THE FLESH. Charity. Love in action. That's what happens when we are strong inside. When we know that the fire in us is always hotter than the fire we're in. And I think tomorrow I'm going to Rant about what it truly means to be strong. Spoiler alert: Meekness is not weakness. But strength isn't about getting your own way, either.