Do You Care For The Inner Man As Much As You Do The Outer Man?

The pastor of a local church I attend gave a sermon recently on the wonderful verses in Ephesians 3:14-21. I found one bit of the sermon very interesting. So much so, that I could not help but think about studying it in more depth as soon as possible. By the grace of God I was able to do just that, and I share the results with you now.

Ephesians 3

¹⁴ For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

¹⁵ Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

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;

¹⁷ That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

¹⁸ May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

¹⁹ And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

²⁰ Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

²¹ Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

The pastor spent a bit of time on this text. However, when he got to expound on verse 16, and talked more about the inner man, the spirit woke me up. I paid attention with great interest and walked away with the desire to learn more.

First let’s remember that the letter to the church of Ephesus was intended to encourage the church, to motivate them to be firm in their faith and in the purpose of the church. And that is what he means in his first three words, “for this cause”. Paul has spent some time talking about the unity of the church in Christ, the wonderful blessings of God, and praying for God to give wisdom and knowledge so that they, the church, can be enlightened. He talks to them about how we are made alive in Christ, that there is grace and mercy to be had from the hands of God. So Paul tells the church that it is for this cause that he prays for them.

Paul prays that God, according to His will, strengthens each of them by way of the might of the Holy Spirit that dwells in them. It is the “inner man” that amazes me in this verse.

Adam Clarke comments, “…Every man is a compound being; he has a body and a soul. The outward man is that alone which is seen and considered by men; the inward man is that which stands particularly in reference to God and eternity. The outward man is strengthened by earthly food, etc.; the inward man, by spiritual and heavenly influences. Knowledge, love, peace, and holiness, are the food of the inward man; or rather Jesus Christ, that bread of life which came down from heaven: he that eateth this bread shall live and be strengthened by it. The soul must be as truly fed and nourished by Divine food as the body by natural food…” I am absolutely in love with this, as it is the reason why I feel I need a church that has both, a morning Sunday school class, and a service. I thirst for the word and simply cannot understand any self-proclaimed Christian who is totally fine with one hour of soul feeding per week. I wonder what the outward man would do if it were to eat and drink for only one hour a week, hummmmmm!!!

Now in his sermon, the pastor spoke briefly about a practice that most believers engage in regularly. That is, we normally, and rightly, pray for external things. We pray for unbelievers to get saved and become believers. We pray for the sick to be healed. We pray for finances, children, households, jobs, political leaders, and so on. Most of us do pray that God strengthens the leaders of the church. But the question is this, “How often do we pray for the strengthening of the inner man of our brothers and sisters?” I pray for your situation because I know your struggling. That is NOT at all the same as praying that God, according to His will and according to His infinite supply, strengthen the spirit in you that you will be encouraged to press on through your own trials. In addition to praying for the desired outcome, we are reminded here by Paul of the importance to pray for the strengthening of the power of the spirit that is inside the brethren.

John Gill commented, “Believers in Christ need fresh supplies of strength to enable them to exercise grace, to perform duties, to resist Satan and his temptations, to oppose their corruptions, and to bear the cross, and undergo afflictions cheerfully, and to hold on and out to the end….” I highlighted ‘cheerfully’ because even I, most of the time, do not endure temptation and persecution cheerfully. I dislike it and let everyone know I dislike it. I am wrong about that, and need to work on that. Another lesson for another day, but I did have to stop for a second and give this very important Christian characteristic its due attention.

Henry Ironside commented, “Do you sometimes feel your limitations, your weakness, your lack of purpose, your powerlessness when it comes to living for God and witnessing for Him? Do you feel as though you might as well give up for the little you accomplish? Do you say, “If I only had more strength, how different it might be”? Listen! Then Excellency of the power is of God, not of us, and the Holy Spirit who dwells within us is ready to work in and through us to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ…..”

I think we often forget that we are not the source of our own power. If there is one idea that kills this lesson, if there is one action of man that prevents the total understanding of this thought it is the idolatrous thought that we create our own power. It is idolatry to believe that it is our own workings that enable and empower us. It is Idolatry that causes us to believe that I can pray for your circumstances and that prayer will be effectual because of the power that I generate within me. This lesson works only when we realize that we are NOT the source of the power, that God is the source of the power and that it does our souls well to request replenishment from the divine storehouse of power. In my more common and blunt words, get out of your own way and let God do His thing!! I think that Ironside says it quite well here. If we remember that the power comes from God, then we will remember that we have to go to God to be replenished of that power. Then, as Gill points out, we are refreshed to battle satan and all his advances on the redeemed. We are refreshed to continue in our services to God. We are refreshed to have patience and give grace to those who persecute us. Only by the Grace of God are we empowered to do such things.

Albert Barnes comments, “…..Every Christian needs grace given each day to enable him to bear trials, to resist temptation, to discharge his duty, to live a life of faith…..”

Notice that Paul says, in the beginning of verse 16, “that He would grant you…” Paul indicates that it is well to pray for one another, but as saints it is important that you pray for your inner man. You need to request the power, and Paul states that he prays God will grant it. James 4:2 tells us we do not have because we do not ask. We must also pray for ourselves. When you are on the plane, you get the lecture about traveling with children and oxygen masks. Put yours on first. Take care of yourself first so that you are able to serve others. Pray for your inner man first. In the military the leaders are told they are no good to the troops if they are dead. There is a reason why generals are not on the front lines. Who will lead if the leader is dead? Take care of yourself first s that you may lead the fight, so that you may lead the troops. Pray for your inner man first! Plug into the power, refresh, replenish. Be at full strength before you pray for others.

Charles Ellicott comments, “….St. Paul emphasises this prayer very strikingly by asking that the gift may be “according to the riches of His glory,” unlimited as the illimitable glory of the Divine Nature itself. Moreover, a greater closeness of communion is clearly indicated here. For light is a gift from without; strength comes from an indwelling power, making itself perfect in weakness, and continually growing from grace to grace….”

My closing thought…. if you stand in the mirror what will the reflection tell you about yourself? Have you been truly seeking the replenishing power of almighty God, or have you been ignoring that thinking you are the source of the power? Perhaps your reflection is indicating that you never gave the source of our power much thought before. However, you now clearly understand what Paul was saying to the churches of Ephesus, and want to partake of riches, be empowered by His might, be rooted and grounded in His love, be able to comprehend the breadth, length, depth, and height of His love, and be filled with the fullness of God. What does the mirror say, and what are you going to do about it? May His divine peace be with you and your house!!!