As posted these notes are in rough draft form, and may differ significantly from the actual delivered sermon. When the sermon is prepared, often room is left for flexibility of delivery and time constraints.
The Inner Man
Ephesians 3:14-21
Last week we covered Paul’s motivation and position of the
heart to pray for the Church.
I do hope that this week you applied a likewise attitude,
that you simply made room in your life to pray for the church. This is crucial. There has never been a more urgent time in
North America to pray for the church.
Today I believe we need to take on Paul’s second concern of
his prayer message to us, the need to be concerned with The Inner Man.
Let us read Ephesians 3:14-21
Paul’s concern is not about health, or even evangelism, but
that as a man, one would be totally given over to God-in the Holy Spirit. This is our goal.
The concern for the Inner Man is the concern for the
spiritual. It is well beyond the superfluous
of the flesh. It is a kingdom minded
prayer that is concerned with the heart and very being of a man or woman.
Church fathers and Puritans called the care of the Inner
Man- Soul care; the taking care of the very soul of people. If you gain the whole world and yet lose your
soul, you profit nothing.
What is the Inner
Man?
The Inner Man is essentially who you are. It is the seat of thought, emotion, and
reasoning. It is your heart nature and
propensity toward sin or holiness.
People sometimes say, “I need to find myself,” “I need to discover who I am.” What this means is they are restless and
empty. They long to discover what will
make them happy, what will take away their sorrow. They try all sorts of manmade
distractions. Satan will even provide a
few. A self-seeker is usually on a course of finding how to best
please the self.
However, the inner man that Paul speaks of goes to the heart
in a deeper fashion. Paul addresses that
longing of man, but he takes a short cut.
Rather than utilizing the resources of King Solomon to try every desire
and be found lacking, Paul shows us in scripture that the only way of
satisfaction in the Inner Man is to find Christ. Paul shows that the heart is the root cause
of all our longing, and by addressing the Inner Man one is made complete.
When we are born, our soul lacks Christ. And we are helplessly unaware of that
need. This is the state of sinful man. This person desperately needs Jesus;
- · For faith
- · To become rooted and grounded in love (Desire for Christ)
- · For comprehension (Understanding of Christ)
- · Knowing Christ (Experience)
The filling of Christ that is given prepares a man for
verses 19 (complete in Christ) and 20 (Becoming a worshipper of Christ).
A failure to discipline the Inner Man , for the Christian,
results in disaster. As Christians, our Inner
Man REQUIRES change. The change from the
old man to the new man requires action.
The Christian is quite the opposite of the fleshly man. The Christian is completely aware of a need
for Christ; the greater your spirituality, the greater your recognition of your
need for Christ.
This is them evidenced in your soul by
- · Reliance upon God
- · Spiritual Fruits (Love, Joy, Peace, patience, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-control)
- · Humility and an aversion to talking about yourself.
- · A solid prayer life
- · A desire for the word of God
- · A life of worship.
- · Perseverance
- · And giving grace and mercy to even those who do not deserve it.
Soul Care of your Inner Man requires;
- · Confession of sin
- · Repentance of sin
- · Expressing the heart in prayer
- · Honesty before God
- · Thankfulness
- · Rest
- · Faith in God
- · Love at all possible levels of Agape, Philleo love
- · Cleansing your life from sinful influences
- · Seeking God for direction
- · Focusing on important issues rather than trivial
- · Hope being placed in Christ rather than on worldly desires
- · Standing on the promises of God.
Soul Care requires that the inner man be of great
concern. Religion cannot do that,
neither can a lazier fair attitude.
Do you not desire for your soul, the essence of who you are-
to be complete in Christ? To find
joy? Then, you must work for it. Fight, sacrifice, pursue, and God will make a
way.
The Inner Man must yield to Christ. You cannot love Christ and the world. Flee the world and pursue Christ.
Christ saves and begins working on the inner man- You have
hope.
- · Romans 12:2 Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Essentially transformation of the heart.
- · James 1 Ask of God and He will give you wisdom to stand under the trials of the day.
- · Colossians, put off the old and put on the new.
- · Pray without ceasing, is to keep your mind and heart constantly Kingdom Oriented.
- · Philippians 4:8-9 Think on these things
- · Mathew 6:33 Seek ye first the Kingdom of God.
The inner man finds his peace when He is mindful of the
spiritual. This is the bulk of Romans
chapter 8.
All of these verses share the implied severity of a need to
be disciplined in working our inner man to conformity with Christ.
Therefore, what will you do with your Inner Man? How will you manage your own soul care?
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