Man's Three-Fold Nature

2 Corinthians 4:16: "...our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day."

MAN'S THREE-FOLD NATURE:
Body: physical (temporal) "; "Outer man"
Soul: intellect, emotions & will; mental
Spirit: spiritual

Both soul & Spirit: "inner man"; eternal

For us to appreciate how we can have a relationship with God, it is important for us to understand something about our human nature. The Bible describes us as a tri-fold being, "spirit, soul and body" (1 Thessalonians 5:23). The body is the outer physical part which we have in common with animals. The soul is our mental capacity which allows us to think, to feel and to choose. The spirit is the deepest part of our nature, a spark of God's eternal nature which gives us life and will exist eternally. The spirit is the part of us which is like God. This is the part of us that has been created for a relationship with God.

Paul wrote of Christians who were living in fellowship with God that, "our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day" (2 Corinthians 4:16). "Our outer man" is the physical body, which allows us to live here upon this earth. The physical body is "visible", and thus "temporal". Time is the enemy of the physical body. With each passing day "the outer man is decaying", which means the body is getting older and weaker.

However, the body is not all there is to mankind. There is also "an inner man" which consists of our psychological and spiritual natures. This is the "invisible" part of our nature which will never pass away. This is the part of us created in God's image; and since God is eternal, this part of us is eternal in its nature. We will always be living, thinking, feeling beings, because we bear God's spiritual and eternal image.

Most people understand that we all possess physical bodies and minds. However, many modern people are unaware of the fact that we also have eternal spirits. The spirit is our invisible, spiritual nature, created in the image of God for a relationship with Him. Until we recognize our spiritual nature and enter into a relationship with God, there will always be "an empty spot" deep down inside our hearts. Only Jesus can fill that void and live in us as the Lord of our lives. We may surround ourselves with many beautiful physical attractions and we may engage in many fleshly pleasures, but until Jesus makes His home in our spirits, we will never find true fulfillment in this life.

Those who have a true relationship with God dedicate their lives to loving God and to growing into a deeper relationship with Him. When this relationship is the focus of our lives, the inner man is renewed even as the outer man decays. Our relationship with God is the most important pursuit of our lives, for that is the only thing which will continue to exist 100, 1000 and even one million years from now!