Who are you…really? I’m NOT talking about who you want people to think you are, but the real you – down inside when you’re alone – by yourself, in the dark.
In 2 Corinthians 4:16, Paul talks about the outer man decaying and the inner man being renewed. The “inner man” – that’s our word for today.
This word, “inner” is the Greek word “e “ meaning “inside, or within.” It is built off of the preposition, “eis,” meaning “in or into.” Therefore, “e “ (the inner man) is referring to the real you, who lives in your body.
Now this text is saying that even though your body grows old and gets wrinkled, the real you, inside, can remain vibrant, and even be renewed day by day, if Jesus Christ is your Savior and the Spirit of God indwells your life.
I have a doctor friend who loves to ask elderly people if they feel old; and he has discovered that most of them don’t – they feel youthful and would love to be active again. But it’s just that their bodies won’t cooperate anymore. Two years after my mother died, my Dad remarried again. He was 80 years old, and you should have seen him on his wedding day – he was like a kid again! Well, the inner man is like that. It can be renewed day by day. There is a perennial youthfulness when you walk with the Lord – when you know His love and experience His joy. That’s the secret of a contented life: putting your emphasis on the inner man.
Say! It was Paul who said, “Bodily exercise profits little, but godliness is profitable unto all things – having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.”