“Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part [of my heart] You will make me know wisdom.” Psalm 51:6 AMP

Did you know that there is someone living inside of you? It sounds crazy but it is the absolute truth. Many say that God created man, body, soul, and Spirit when in reality, God created man’s Spirit and placed it in a body with a soul. I like to put it this way, God created us Spirit, Soul, and body! The whole problem with sin is that the body is in control and tries to rule over the Spirit. When man got separated from God, our spirit’s lost their connection to the source so began looking for other ways to satisfy the connection that was lost. Paul addressed this many times throughout his writings. I his letter to the Galatians he states it clearly.

“For the sinful nature has its desire which is opposed to the Spirit, and the [desire of the] Spirit opposes the sinful nature; for these [two, the sinful nature and the Spirit] are in direct opposition to each other [continually in conflict], so that you [as believers] do not [always] do whatever [good things] you want to do.” Galatians 5:17 AMP

Our verse today was penned by a man who is referred by God as a “man after My own heart.” Really? David just committed grave sins including adultery, murder, and lying! You see, God knew the real David. He knew that on the inside all of this went against everything that the real David believed but could not control. Paul in his letter to the church Rome laid out the issue clearly.

“For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh [my human nature, my worldliness–my sinful capacity]. For the willingness [to do good] is present in me, but the doing of good is not. 19For the good that I want to do, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. 20But if I am doing the very thing I do not want to do, I am no longer the one doing it [that is, it is not me that acts], but the sin [nature] which lives in me. 21So I find it to be the law [of my inner self], that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. 22For I joyfully delight in the law of God in my inner self [with my new nature], 23but I see a different law and rule of action in the members of my body [in its appetites and desires], waging war against the law of my mind and subduing me and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is within my members. 24Wretched and miserable man that I am! Who will [rescue me and] set me free from this body of death [this corrupt, mortal existence]?” Romans 7:18-24 AMP

Amen! Have you ever felt the same way? Pau points out that there are two persons living inside of you. One wants to do the right thing and one does not! So what’s a person to do? The Apostle gives us the answer in the next verse.

“Thanks be to God [for my deliverance] through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind serve the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh [my human nature, my worldliness, my sinful capacity–I serve] the law of sin.” Romans 7:25 AMP

The answer to the dilemma is that there is deliverance through Jesus Christ. This side of calvary we have access to the Holy Spirit whom is given to each and every one who experiences rebirth through Jesus Christ. As we build up our Spirit through the study of His Word we can begin to overcome the power of the sinful nature that has been ruling our lives in the past. Our writer today acknowledges this fact as he asks God to make know to him wisdom in his inner man. It is from the heart that the issues of life come from and are displayed by our actions and responses. 

Let me encourage you today, there is hope! Through the power of the resurrection of Christ and the cleansing power of His blood, you too can experience a new and abundant life. This isn’t an excuse to sin, it is however an assurance that when we do, His grace is sufficient. Have a blessed day, Pastor Ken