For this reason I bow my knees before the Father...that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man.The "inner man" is referring to the spirit of a man. This is opposed to our physical bodies, of course, and also to our "natural man". The natural man is the natural mind that is full of desires, greed, lust, wrath, and all of those things which we associate with "the flesh".
For those without Christ, the outer man and the inner man are the same. But those who have been saved have been born again, the inner man being made new; pure and holy, and able to receive God's Spirit.
Paul said, "Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 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 4:16-18 NASB]
The natural mind is concerned with things that we can see. Religion, politics, the environment; all these things are important to the natural mind.
But the spirit of a Christian is concerned with things that are not seen; holiness, righteousness, truth, love. These things are eternal. The spiritual mind is turned toward God, the author of all things eternal.
A newborn baby is weak, but we expect it to grow up and become strong.
A new re-born Christian is also weak in the spirit. And we should expect him to grow and become strong in spirit.
If a 30 year old man is still soiling his diapers and drooling on his bib and hasn't yet learned to walk, we would agree that there is something wrong with his development.
So, how can we think it normal that a person who has been a Christian for 30 years still stumbles in sin every day of his life, spends a minimal amount of time in prayer (if any) and doesn't listen to the voice of God.
Remember, Paul said, "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh." [Galatians 5:16 NASB]
As long as you continue fulfilling the desires of your flesh, you will remain weak in spirit.
You must be strong in spirit. But how?
This is a stumbling block for many Christians. You can't strengthen your spirit through any effort of your own. You might think it's an act of will. But acting on your will is a work of the flesh. Perhaps you think that if you exercise your spirit it will grow stronger. Like a muscle. Your spirit is not a muscle, and any "spiritual exercise regimen" that you create is another work of the flesh.
Galatians 3:1-3 says, "You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?" [Galatians 3:1-3 NASB]
You were save by grace through faith, not by works. If you are to grow, it must be by grace through faith.
People often quote Romans 7 as an excuse for continuing in sin. But Paul didn't write it as a lament for his weakness, but as a warning of living by the Law instead of by faith. If you read on in Romans 8, you can see the conclusion of the argument, "For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace," [Romans 8:3-6 NASB]
If you set your mind on the flesh, you will do the works of the flesh, and weaken your spirit. If you set your mind on God, then you will grow strong in spirit, and overcome the flesh.
Again, this is not an act of will. Pray for God's grace to keep your mind turned toward Him as you go about your day. If you don't think you can keep your mind focused on Him, that's okay. He said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” [2 Corinthians 12:9 NASB]. Ask God for the grace you need.
It is God's great pleasure to strengthen your spirit according to the riches of His glory, by the power of His Spirit.
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