

Alan Fong
3 min read


Alan Fong
3 min read


Alan Fong
3 min read
Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. ~Psalm 51:6
There are two aspects in all of us. There is the external part that everyone sees, and there is the internal part which people can only see what we depict. The inner man is who you and I really are. The inner man is the hidden man of the heart. The inner man is your character. The inner man is where the extreme of good and evil can come forth. Psalm 51 is the record of David’s prayer of confession. In this prayer, David “comes clean with God.” David had been living a feigned and deceitful testimony for almost one year. When he realized he was discovered, he was under great conviction about the sham life he had been living. In this prayer, David gives us important theological insight about the importance of the inner man and our relationship with God.
David said, “In the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.” The inner man is the spirit of man. “The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly” (Proverbs 20:27). Every man is made up of spirit, soul, and body. What happens inside of us affects what happens on the outside of us. Paul prayed, “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23). The inner man will know wisdom as God’s Word and Spirit are given complete liberty to change us and give us foresight. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Colossians 3:16). Having wisdom in our inner man is to be preventive. Having wisdom is to be able to foresee the evil and keep ourselves from making bad decisions. Having wisdom is to put God first and to have a proper fear and reverence towards Him. Spend more time working on your inner man than you do on your outward appearance.
“Thou desirest truth in the inward parts.” David was living a lie for almost a year. He believed his own lies. He assumed no one noticed and no one cared. When Nathan told him, “Thou art the man,” he exposed David for being dishonest and false. The inner man is the conscience and heart. It must be a place where truth, honesty, transparency, and integrity are the controlling virtues. Having truth in the inner man is to be absolutely transparent about your motives and conduct. Having truth in the inner man is to walk in the light as He is in the light. How much truth is inside of you? How much truth comes from you?
Paul said, “Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.” We deplete ourselves daily through our interactions, our involvement, our service, and our trials. There are days when we show our weariness and spiritual depletion. A loss of joy, desire, and happiness are outward signs that our outward man is perishing or wearing away. It is at these low points when we must come to the Lord for the renewal of the inner man. We must come apart and rest awhile, lest we fall apart in our lives. The inner man is renewed when we are focused on the eternal. “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18). The inner man is renewed when we are spending quality time in His presence. “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint,” (Isaiah 40:31).
How’s your inner man? Let David’s prayer be your daily prayer. Don’t let your inner man diminish. “That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man” (Ephesians 3:16).
Bible Reading Schedule: Leviticus 24-25
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