All through the epistles, diverse labels are assigned to the real man or human spirit. These include “Old man,” ” “New man, “Inward man,” “Hidden man of the heart” or “Hidden man of the spirit and Building of God.”
Now, let’s look at each of these labels. Paul in his missive to the church at Ephesus, said That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts … And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4:22, 24).
As the unregenerate (unsaved), he is the “Old Man” incapable of approaching God. He does know him as Father — is corrupt according to the deceitful lust — It’s rotten through and through (Msg).Then he accepts Jesus; God performs a miracle; recreates his spirit; the Old Man ceases to exist, and a saved, regenerated, a “New Man” takes his place. A New Species of being, one without a past, created in righteousness and true holiness, comes into existence.
Peter, writing about adorning, referred to the human spirit as the “The hidden man of the heart,”…whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price (1 Peter 3:3-4).
Some have misinterpreted these verses of scripture, particularly, verse three and condemned women who fix their hair or wear jewellery. In fact some ministers and denomination have formed a doctrine out of this, saying, women shouldn’t fix their hair and shouldn’t wear gold. But that is not what Peter meant. If that was Peter’s expectations, it would also infer that women shouldn’t wear clothes. Apparels connote clothes.
You see, to adorn means to decorate or add beauty to, to make more pleasing, attractive or impressive. Have you ever tried to get ready for a date with a woman?
You will notice that most take a longer time to get ready. They are prone to doing this. They spend their time to make up their hair, nails, make-up, lip stick and pick their clothes, a matching shoe and bag. That is why they always get our (men’s) attention.
Peter is saying, “Don’t spend all your time on your hair, your clothes, your jewelleries, which adorn or decorate or enhance the outward man; but ensure that your spirit, hidden man of the heart is adorned or decorated with a meek and quiet spirit. Hallelujah!!!
Paul, in his missive to the church at Corinth, said, For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16). New Living Rendering says, That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.
The outward man, our body, is perishing, dying, growing older, just like that house we live in is getting older and requires regular maintenance and sometimes renovations.
But the real man, the Inward man, the spirit does not age; rather, it is renewed day by day. This infers that you will never be older than you are at the moment. You are not older that you were some years ago; you may have more knowledge, but you are not older than you were. You are renewed every day.
Also, Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:1, said For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
Paul speaks of an earthly house, which is our physical body. He said, if our body is “dissolved” — if it dies and it is buried, it decays and returns to dust — that is not the end, because we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Paul is referring to the human spirit, inward man, which is eternal.
Continuing, Paul said Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:6-8).
Note the recurring use of the word confidence in Verses 6 and 8. Paul was confident that while we (human spirit) are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. However, when we (human spirit, hidden man of the heart, inward man) are absent from the body, we are present with the Lord.”
We think of people as existing only in their physical bodies, and when they pass or expire, as no longer existing. But scriptures inform us that the human spirit is an eternal being. He will continue to live long after his “earthly house” expires and returns to the dust. Hallelujah!!!
By Emmanuel Emeke Asiwe
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