For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father,
from Whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,
that according to the riches of His Glory
He may grant you to be
strengthened with power
through His Spirit in your inner being
(Ephesians 3:14-16)
Have you ever known someone who was nice and sweet to you to your face, only to find out he/she really didn’t like you nor being around you? Hurts, doesn’t it. Really makes it hard to trust any interactions with them.
I think Father God knows all too well what that is like. In Matthew 15 Jesus quotes Isaiah and says,
You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’
What is seen doesn’t always agree with what is inside a person. Jesus dealt with this fact when dealing with the religious leaders of the day – the Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees. He called them “whitewashed tombs” – looking good on the outside and full of corruption on the inside. (See Matthew 23.)
Our inner man, by nature, is corrupt. King David loved God and served Him, but He fell big time with Bathsheba, and then he had her husband killed, compounding his sin. Psalm 51 is David’s prayer of repentance. He cries out, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit in me.” Maybe you’ve prayed that prayer a time or two. I know I have.
How can we have a clean heart, a renewed heart? Paul, in his letter to the Galatians writes of his desire to help the Christ-followers in Galatia (and everywhere.)
My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you… (Galatians 4:19)
That’s the goal… to be more like Jesus. I have a long way to go, and I’m guessing you feel the same way, too.
When we were born again, when we chose Jesus as our Lord, Holy Spirit touched our spirits and gave them new life. We have purpose. We have an inheritance. We are now princes and princesses in His kingdom, but we still must learn to live in God’s Kingdom Culture.
What are we to do? How can we become more like Jesus? We get a hint of this from today’s verse. Paul prays that we would be strengthened through His Spirit in your inner being.
Holy Spirit is the one Who can change us on the inside. Do we have any part in the change? Yes!
In the Great Commission is Matthew 28, we are told to go and make disciples. Jesus initially said this to His followers, the men (and women?) He had been discipling for over three years. So, what is involved in discipling?
Jesus showed His followers every day how to do life in His kingdom. He loved people, spoke truth, healed the sick, cast out demons, taught the Scriptures, spent time with His Father, and laid down His life according to the Father’s will. And His disciples learned to do the same things.
We also can try to do those things, but ultimately, we’ll fall because on the inside, we are still selfish, willful, prideful people. How can we change?
We can and should study His Word. Scripture talks about us being washed by the Word. (Ephesians 5:26). We can be set free by the Truth – who is Jesus and is in His Word. (John 8:32) However, we can memorize the whole bible and not be changed. It takes the Holy Spirit, working in us, to change us. That’s what today’s verse is all about. We are changed through His Spirit in [our] inner being.
Did you ever notice that when you hang out with certain people you start picking up their traits. I had a friend who had horrible grammar. I had to be careful not to pick up her sayings. When I hang out with other believers, we pick up each other’s characteristics. When I hang out with Jesus, I develop His habits, traits. What He does, I can do. What He likes, I like. What He says, I say.
So, does this mean we don’t read scripture, spend time praying, clean up our actions – and our mouth? No, of course not. But all that, in and of itself, doesn’t change anything. My pastor explained it this way several years ago. Praying, reading scripture, going to church, etc. creates the atmosphere in which our inner being can grow, heal, change and become more like Jesus.
Here’s another thought. We are a triune being – spirit, soul and body. We are a spirit, we have a soul, and we live in a body. Eventually, our bodies will die, and that includes everything external – what we did or didn’t do, how we look, and so on. Our inner man – what we don’t actually see – our mind, will, emotions, memories and our spirit – that is what lives on. That’s who we really are. As we walk closer with Jesus, our inner man is healed and strengthened and made more beautiful. Paul writes in 2Corinthians 4:16, Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. This is what is really happening when we spend time in the Word and fellowshipping with our God. We are healing and growing to be more like Jesus every day.
Holy Spirit,
Jesus said You are our Helper.
As I pray and spend time in Your Word
and with Your people,
please make me more like Jesus.
Create in me a clean heart, O God
and renew a right spirit within me.
(Psalm 51:10)