What Is The Inner Man?

By Curt Wildy

Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have
put off the old man with his deeds; And have
put on the new [man], which is renewed in
knowledge after the image of him that created him
Colossians 3:9-10 

And the LORD God formed man [of] the dust of the ground,
and breathed into his nostrils the breath [spirit] of life; and
man became a living soul.
Genesis 2:7

But [there is] a spirit in man: and the
inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.
Job 32:8

The spirit of man [is] the candle of the LORD,
searching all the inward parts of the belly.
Proverbs 20:27

I was engaged in a discussion not too long ago and the issue of the nature of the inner man came up. I often state that Christ has already made us (Christians) perfect after the inner man but rarely do I define what I mean. It became clear to me that the person with whom I was speaking, and those associated with him, were confused by the matter.

I have heard them define the inner man as Christ in you; but I am not keen on this answer. I do not think it is wrong, I just do not believe it is complete. The inner man cannot be Christ alone because the inner man relates to us, to our being, as I aim to show. When you understand that the regenerate saint is eternally and spiritually yoked to Christ, that we are one with Him, then it becomes clearer what the inner man is. 

What Is Man?

Of what is a human being comprised?

Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man [of] the dust of the ground, breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.“

1 Thessalonians 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and [I pray God] your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We see here that God formed man from the dust of the ground (relating to the body of man); breathed into him the breath of life (relating to the spirit); and the result was that man became a living soul.

The Spirit Of Man

Breath, in Genesis 2:7, is the Hebrew word nᵉshamah [H5397; נשׁמה nesh-aw-maw’] and it literally means breath. However, it also literally means spirit as in “the spirit [nᵉshamah] of man [is] the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly“ (Proverbs 20:27).  This is similar to the New Testament verse “For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit (pneuma) of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit (pneuma) of God” (1 Corinthians 2:11).

Even when God does not directly use nᵉshamah as spirit He yokes it with the synonymous Hebrew word ruwach [H7307; רוח roo’- akh; wind, breath, mind, spirit, life force, etc.]. We see this in Isaiah 42:5 where we read that God “giveth breath [nᵉshamah] unto the people upon it, and spirit [ruwach] to them that walk therein.” Job 34:14-15 yokes breath and spirit as well, stating “If he set his heart upon man, [if] he gather unto himself his spirit [ruwach] and his breath [nᵉshamah]; 15 All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust.” Job 33:4 declares “The Spirit [ruwach] of God hath made me, and the breath [nᵉshamah] of the Almighty hath given me life.” Job 32:8 declares “But [there is] a spirit [ruwach] in man: and the inspiration [nᵉshamah] of the Almighty giveth them understanding.” The synonymous nature goes both ways; we see ruwach used as breath in Genesis 6:17 “And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein [is] the breath [ruwach] of life, from under heaven; [and] every thing that [is] in the earth shall die.“

In the New Testament, spirit is the Greek word pneuma [G4151; πνευμα pnyoo’-mah] meaning spirit, the seat of human feelings, the vital principle by which the body is animated, the seat of thoughts and decisions; a movement of air (a gentle blast); the wind; and the breath of nostrils or mouth.

In both the Hebrew and the Greek, spirit refers to that which is personal, that which has a personality. The breath we take each day and the earthly wind that blows is impersonal, it is not related to that which is a unique, living thing. When the key words are used as spirit however, they are referring to something truly personal.  The Godhead consists of Persons and not just forces or elements or influences. The Holy Spirit is a Spirit; the Father is a Spirit (John 4:23-24); and the pre-incarnate Word (the Lord Jesus Christ) was solely a Spirit. God is one, God is Spirit, but each Person of the Godhead is its own person indeed. There is only one God — God the “Father, Word (Son), and Holy Ghost.” These are all three distinct persons in the one unified Godhead — one God subsisting as three tri-equal and tri-eternal spiritual Persons who are in perfect harmony with One another.

Returning to the Hebrew, there does not seem to be a real consensus amongst lexicons and commentaries as to whether [H5397 – nᵉshamah] and [H7307 – ruwach] are completely synonymous or whether they are describing two different aspects of the same thing (the spirit). For instance, Gesenius definitely lists them both as being breath, spirit, etc. Yet, he ascribes to ruwach things he does not ascribe to nᵉshamah (mainly the intellect and will) and makes nᵉshamah essentially just the life force, the animated part of a being. This appears to be in keeping with others who see  nᵉshamah and ruwach as the differing parts, or aspects, of the spirit. Those who see them as separate parts/aspects often look to Job 32:8 to support their view that the ruwach is that aspect of the spirit associated with the life force and the mind (the will, the intellect, the character, the attitude, the state of mind, etc.) whereas nᵉshamah, they say, is that aspect of the spirit that communicates with God and that died when man fell and experienced spiritual death (spiritual separation from the Lord). It gets confusing because others relate this life force and intellect aspect (ruwach) to the soul (nephesh) as Girdlestone seems to do in his work Synonyms of the Old Testament. However, he may only be linking it as such when dealing with combined beings (physical and spiritual) rather than to God, for instance, who is Spirit alone (before the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ). The lack of clarity found in the various lexicons and commentaries may explain why so many believe that the words spirit and soul are synonymous.

The Soul of Man

However, I do not believe that spirit and soul are the same. At times they very much appear to be. However, I believe that though they are very closely related, and even integrated in a sense, they are nevertheless distinct. In the Old Testament, Nephesh is the word soul as in “The Lord…breathed into his nostrils the breath [spirit] of life; and man became a living soul [nephesh].” 

Nephesh [H5315; נפשׁ neh’- fesh]; means many interrelated things including the soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion, that which breathes, the breathing substance or being, soul, the inner being of man, seat of the appetites, seat of emotions and passions, and possibly (but not as likely) activity of mind and/or will, activity of the character. Throughout the Old Testament, nephesh is used to denote life, in general, creature(s), in general, etc. Yet, it is clearly also used in relation to that specific aspect or part of man called the soul. 

Nephesh is the equivalent of the Greek psuche [G5590; ψυχη psoo-khay’] which also means breath, the breath of life, the vital force which animates the body and shows itself in breathing, life, a living being/soul, the soul, the seat of the feelings, desires, affections, aversions (our heart, soul etc.), etc. This word psuche, as with nephesh, often relates to the immaterial, non-bodily aspect of man. In this sense, it is much like the spirit of man. Matthew 10:28 declares “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul [psuche – 5590]: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul [psuche – 5590] and body in hell.” Just as man cannot kill the spirit of a man, he cannot kill the soul of man either.

Many have written on these matters with differing views and I do not think for a second that I will put an end to the debate. However, having reviewed the words as best as I can at this point, I am convinced that the spirit (whether unified or having separate parts/functions) is that aspect of the man that exists separate from and without need of the physical body. The soul, however, is what is formed when a body is animated via the spirit. The reason why the spirit and the soul are often so similar in description is because, in this life, the soul is the manifestation of the combined person (spirit and body), primarily as it relates to the natural man and not the spiritual. The nephesh/psuche is the psyche, the ego, the natural, conscious, personal man. Although the soul is distinct from the spirit, it cannot exist without the animating aspect of the spirit. Where no spirit is, there is no soul… at least as it pertains to human beings.

When we think about people, who they are, what they are like, we are really talking about the soul of the person (especially when dealing with the unregenerate). When the Bible speaks of natural man, it is speaking of the soulish man. We read in 1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned. That word natural in this verse is psuchikos [G5591; ψυχικος;  psoo-khee-kos’] and the AV/KJV translates it as natural or sensual; the word literally means soulish or that which pertains to the soul. Consider the use:

1 Corinthians 15:44 It is sown a natural [psuchikos – G5591] body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural [psuchikos – G5591] body, and there is a spiritual body. 45 And so it is written, The first man Adam [was made] a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. 46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural [psuchikos – G5591]; and afterward that which is spiritual.

James 3:13 Who [is] a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. 14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. 15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual [psuchikos – G5591], devilish.

Jude 1:17 But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; 18 How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. 19 These be they who separate themselves, sensual [psuchikos – G5591], having not the Spirit.

In this world, we interact primarily with the nephesh/psuche on a day to day basis. We interact with the natural, soulish man who inhabits a natural, soulish body. That person is a carnal (physical) being, one who walks in accordance with his senses, his natural understanding, and what we generally call the flesh. We all live in a body [G4983; σωμα; soma; so’-mah] that is made of flesh [G4561; σαρξ; sarx]. We read in 2 Corinthians 10:3 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh.” We walk in this flesh in that we inhabit a body made of it. However, Christians do not war after the flesh, they do not walk after the flesh; by this it is meant that they are no longer guided predominantly by the lusts, the prevailing influences of the flesh because they are now spiritual beings (though still yoked to a body of death). As spiritual beings, Christians are led in their spirit by Christ through the Holy Ghost. The unregenerate man is devilish (G1141 δαιμονιώδης daimoniodes (dai-mon-ee-o’-dace); dæmon-like, demonic), because he is guided principally by His own lusts, his own sin and is not led by the Holy Spirit (he is spiritually separate from God). He does not have a quickened-spiritual aspect like the regenerate saint and therefore his entire will, attitude, character, state of mind, etc. is corrupt and fallen. It is carnal and earthy.

The fallen spirit of man is like the subconscious, now commonly called the unconscious, and unless one claims to dabble in hypnosis (and even that is dubious in this case) we do not deal directly with the ruwach/nᵉshamah/pneuma/spirit of fallen men. Although the spirit of man may manifest itself powerfully within the nephesh/psuche/soul of a man, especially when religious and intellectual (as opposed to base, fleshly) passions flare, mankind nonetheless interact as one soul to another. This is why, I believe, the soul is also used in regard to the entirety of the person, as in:

1 Peter 3:20 …when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls [psuche] were saved by water.

It is the spirit that goes to be with the Lord in Heaven when the body dies; and yet, it is true that the Bible declares that there are souls in heaven as well. This is because when the spirit of man is put within the physical body of man, a soul is present along with it. The reason why I believe that the soul and spirit are both referenced in Heaven is because (1) the soul often refers to the entire person (as a synecdoche) and (2) the soul, as it pertains to the conscious, indiviual person, is retained with the spirit as the elect saint in heaven awaits their glorified spiritual body. I believe that the distinction between soul and spirit becomes less obvious, or even non-existent, when God regenerates a person (as discussed below). Likewise, when one has both a perfected spirit and a glorified spiritual body, perhaps the soul/spirit distinction becomes even less relevant, if a distinction even exists at all at that time… I simply do not know.

Note also that the Holy Spirit is not called the Holy Soul; this is because He is not a soul, He has no physical body. However, the Lord Jesus Christ, the divine Word made flesh, is said to have a soul. Why? because though He was pure Spirit before the incarnation, He was made flesh and thus the yoking of spirit with body (flesh) resulted in a soul. This is why we read of Christ in:

John 12:27 “Now is my soul [psuche] troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour”  

Acts 2:25-27 “For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: 26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: 27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul [psuche] in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.”

However, if there is a difference between the spirit aspect of Christ and His soul, I do not know what it is and cannot even begin to speculate. Our Lord is a unified, perfect, divine Being and likely beyond scrutiny in such things (at least from my limited vantage point).

Spiritual Death and Regeneration

So what happens after a child of God is born from above? Precisely what is it that is quickened or regenerated? It is our spirit that is quickened — not our soul (though the latter “reaps the benefit” of the former). When we died spiritually, we experienced spiritual separation from God. We did not die in the sense that the spirit of man disappeared or ceased to exist because the animated, living aspect of the spirit continued on. Were the animated aspect of the spirit to have died (separated/departed from the body) there would be no living human beings, the body of Adam and Eve would have immediately been without the breath of life and would have started the process of decay, decomposition, and the returning to the dust. We know this from Ecclesiastes 12:7 which teaches that when a person dies, their dust (body) returns to the earth and their spirit returns unto God who gave it. God would not be called the God of the spirits of all flesh if man, even fallen man, did not have a spirit.

Numbers 16:22  And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?

Numbers 27:16  Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation…

Thus, we died spiritually in that our spirit was separated from God and we became spiritually wicked beings. In other words, we became wicked, or evil, spirits yoked to wicked, evil bodies, and thus became wicked, evil souls. This may sound quite controversial, but I am convinced of it. Consider:

1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that [spirit] of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

In this passage, we are commanded to “believe not every spirit, but try the spirits.” Notice that it did not say, try the souls; instead, it says try the spirits. Since the spirit, whether wicked or made perfect, is that part of the man that pertains to the religious, the spiritual, we are to try that aspect of them. If they are of God, if they are yoked with the Holy Spirit, they will proclaim the Truth, the Doctrine of Christ. However, the unregenerate spirit (which has never been quickened and yoked to Christ through the Spirit of God), will not and cannot honestly confess that the Jesus Christ of the Bible is come in the flesh according to the scriptures. Such natural, unregenerate spirits are by default the spirit of antichrist. Our natural, fallen spirits are literally anti (against, in opposition to, seeking to stand in the stead of) Christ. Thus, before regeneration, we are at enmity with God and by nature the children of wrath.

However, when God quickens and converts us, He regenerates us and puts a new spirit within us. Is it the Spirit of Christ? Yes. Is it the Holy Spirit? Yes. Is it our own regenerate spirit? Yes. How can this be? When a person is born again, born from above, and literally generated again/anew, they are indwelled by Christ, indwelled by the Holy Spirit, and are themselves made alive forever (quickened in their regenerate spirits) in, and through, God. The word regeneration is the Greek word paliggenesia [G3824; παλιγγενεσια; pal-ing-ghen-es-ee’-ah] which means new birth, regeneration, restoration, renovation. It comes from two Greek words:

1. Palin [G3825; παλιν; pal’-in] meaning anew, again, back again, to return back to a former place/state;

2. Genesis [G1078; γενεσις; ghen’-es-is] meaning generation, nativity, nature, forming.

We are given a renewed nature, a generation or forming anew of that spirit within us that enables us to communicate with God and Him with us on a living, spiritual basis. Our ruwach/nᵉshamah/pneuma/spirit is no longer separated from God but has been fashioned again in such a manner that it is truly one with Christ. We each become members of the spiritual body of Christ for as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also [is] Christ (1 Corinthians). Christ is one body! The Lord Jesus is the Head and we are the members, but we are one body nonetheless. We are not above the Head, the Head directs the other parts; nonetheless, we are so one with Him that we cannot be spiritually unyoked, separated, or distinguished from Christ. In this way, in light of His finished work on Calvary’s cross, we have been perfected, made perfect, in Him.

Hebrews 12:23  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect.

Hebrews 10:12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; 13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. 14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.  

A Closer Look

Colossians 3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.1  3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, [who is] our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. 5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: 6 For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: 7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. 8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. 9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; 10 And have put on the new [man], which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: 11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond [nor] free: but Christ [is] all, and in all.

Notice that Colossians 3:1 states if ye then be risen with Christ… if you, you as a distinct, spiritual person, have already been risen with Christ (aorist indicative, past tense), seek those things which are above. The clear message is that you as someone in addition to Christ Himself must be raised with Christ. There is a part of you that must have been raised. It cannot be Christ alone because “with Christ” implies accompaniment. So then what is it, what is risen? Yes it is the spirit of man, our individual spirit; but how else can we look at it. God describes it as a new man altogether, one that is put on (or literally, sunk into as if to merge with it, be enveloped by it, be mersed by it). Consider the two most literal Bible translations:

Young’s Literal Translation: “and having put on the new, which is renewed in regard to knowledge, after the image of Him who did create him.“

Green’s Literal Translation (and His popular Interlinear Bible): “and having put on the new, having been renewed in full knowledge according to [the] image of the One creating him.” 

Our new, or renewed, regenerated spirit is the new man and this new man is yoked to Christ for all eternity. This new man has already been put on, it was done so once and forever when we were born from above. We are already conformed to the image of Christ after this inner man. However, this new man is also constantly kept and “renewed” continuously through our eternal vital union with Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:16  declares “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward [man] is renewed [G341; ανακαινοω; anakainoo; an-ak-ahee-no’-o] day by day.“

Anakainoo is made up of two Greek words. One is ana [G303; ανα; an-ah’] which literally means into the midst, in the midst, amidst, among, between. The other is kainos [G2537; καινος; kahee-nos’] which means new. It isn’t so much that God has to continuously make us anew, i.e., that since we “die daily” as some say (pertaining to our offering ourselves as a living sacrifice daily) or that we fall daily, we must be renewed daily (or continuously renewed). No, we are in the midst of new, amidst new, between one “end” of new and the other “end” of new. We are eternally new in Christ, being kept in a new state after the inner man (the inner man never grows old, never becomes an old man, it is always perfectly new).

However, in our experience as we live in this world, our mind has to be continuously brought back, renewed and reminded in knowledge, to match what we are by (new) nature. We have to have the reality of our spiritual state made manifest in our daily walk, by the effectual working of the Lord Jesus Christ, through the Holy Ghost. Our inner man has to be renewed in knowledge (i.e. renewed in our knowledge, our minds, our understanding) so that we do not forget what we are, and more importantly whose we are. The souls of regenerate saints, are made righteous when the spirit is quickened (2 Peter 2:8). We are converted in the soul (Psalm 19:7) when our spirits are quickened. Fleshly lusts war against the soul when the spirit is quickened (1 Peter 2:11). 

After The Image

Notice that the new man is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him. Again we see that the inner man cannot be Christ alone because Christ is not created; He is not “created” in us. It is true that Galatians 4:19 declares “My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you” but the word formed (morphos) is not the same as created (ktizo), the latter being a much stronger word which relates to true creation (i.e. of man, of heaven, of all that exists). 

Our regenerate spirit is, however, created after the image of Christ who formed it. The Father is called the Father of spirits; although this includes all spirits, only our regenerate spirits are formed after His image (as well as after Christ’s image, for Christ is the express image of the Godhead).

Ephesians 4:22 … put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Here also we see that the new man, after God (after His image and Being), is created in righteousness and true holiness. This is why, as per 1 John 3:9 “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” In our regenerate spirit, we cannot sin because we have been generated again/anew after the image of God. Christ is The Seed and yet we are the seed of God in Him. We as individual, elect souls cannot sin because our spirits (i.e. the seed of God yoked to The Seed of God) are kept from sin, kept in perfection, through eternal union with Christ, having already been made perfect by His finished work.

Final Thoughts

I do not claim to fully or deeply understand these things; there is an immenseness that I find overwhelming. I also do not want to detract from the greatness and glory of Christ; in a real sense, Christ in us is the inner man. But Christ in us, is Christ yoked with our regenerate, perfected spirits. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit yoked with our quickened spirit. Christ actually, not just legally, but actually made us righteous and keeps us righteous; this is why our spirit, upon death, can be absent from the body and present with the Lord.

He is our Righteousness, apart from Christ we would fall in an instant. There is no righteousness apart from God. There is none that are good, or righteous, but God. But we are made good and righteous in Him, through Him, and by Him. This is a poor analogy, but I see our spirits as a light bulb where Christ is the power and filament that causes us to light up and glow. If we deny our perfection in Christ, we deny the glory due Him in light of His great work.

To sum up, the inner man is the combination of our perfected, regenerate spirits, and Christ, through the Holy Spirit, who perfected us, energizes us, keeps us, and preserves us. I hope this feeble effort to address such an infinite and eternal topic has been of benefit. If I have erred or missed anything, I hope that God will quickly bring it to light.

To Him be the Glory, in Christ, forever.