The human spirit is made alive to God at salvation, but spiritual maturity does not happen automatically. A child is fully alive at birth, yet still requires nourishment, exercise, and development in order to grow into maturity. Likewise, although we receive the fullness of life in Christ at the new birth, we must still be fed, strengthened, and nourished spiritually to grow into maturity.

This is why Paul prayed for believers “to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man” (Ephesians 3:16). Notice carefully who does the strengthening: His Spirit. The inner man does not become strong merely through human determination or religious activity. The Holy Spirit is the divine agent who supplies strength within the believer.

This distinction is important. Prayer, Scripture, worship, fellowship and obedience matter greatly, but they do not manufacture spiritual life or strength independently of God. Rather, they place us in a posture of fellowship, attentiveness and surrender through which the Holy Spirit works within us. Paul says, “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). Spiritual growth is therefore neither passive nor self-produced. God works within us, and we learn to cooperate with His work.

The place of the Word cannot be overemphasised. Jesus said, “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). Scripture does more than provide information for the mind; the Holy Spirit uses truth to renew our thinking, correct our understanding and shape our inward responses. This is why Paul writes, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom” (Colossians 3:16). The Word must move from something we merely know into something by which we increasingly think and live.

Prayer also strengthens our fellowship with God. Jude writes, “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost” (Jude 20). Prayer turns our attention towards God, creates room for dependence and helps train the inner man away from self-sufficiency. It is not the length or intensity of prayer alone that produces maturity; it is the work of the Spirit in a heart that is continually yielded to Him.

Obedience is equally important because spiritual sensitivity grows as we respond to what God shows us. Jesus said, “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine…” (John 7:17). There is a relationship between willingness and spiritual understanding. When truth continually confronts us, and we continually resist it, we can become less responsive. But when we obey, the inward life becomes increasingly aligned with God.

Draw From the Spirit

As the Holy Spirit strengthens the human spirit, that spirit should increasingly influence the inward life. The mind must be renewed, the will should desire to please God, and the emotions should be brought under truth. Paul writes, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit…” (Romans 8:16), while also telling us to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). The spirit may receive from God, but the soul must learn to interpret and respond in agreement with what God is doing within.

This means the mind should not function independently of spiritual life, nor should the emotions become independent of the spirit. David could say, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? … hope thou in God” (Psalm 42:5). His soul was troubled, yet it was being brought back under truth. In the same way, spiritual maturity involves the soul learning to draw from the life of God within rather than continually dictating the direction of the person.

This is why Paul says, “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). The goal is not merely to have a regenerated spirit, but to allow the life of the Spirit to increasingly shape the whole inner man until the mind thinks differently, responds differently, and chooses differently.

Paul describes another dimension of this work when he says, “If ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live” (Romans 8:13). Again, notice the balance: you act, but you act through the Spirit. The Christian life is not the believer trying harder in isolation. It is the believer learning to depend upon the indwelling Spirit for strength to respond rightly.

A Strengthened Inner Man

A strengthened inner man should eventually become visible in the life we live. This is where spiritual maturity must be distinguished from spiritual fascination. A person can be deeply interested in dreams, revelations, impressions and supernatural experiences while remaining undeveloped in character. Spiritual sensitivity without transformation is incomplete.

Paul gives us a much clearer picture of the Spirit's work when he describes “the fruit of the Spirit” as “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance” (Galatians 5:22–23). These are not merely inward sensations. They become visible in the way we live.

Love affects how we treat people. Longsuffering affects how we respond when others frustrate us. Meekness affects how we handle correction and power. Self-control affects what we do with our appetites, emotions and desires. This is why the evidence of spiritual strength cannot simply be, ‘I hear God clearly,’ but rather, ‘Is Christ being formed in me?’

Paul says, “We all… are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18). The work of the Holy Spirit is ultimately transformational. He does not merely increase our awareness of spiritual things; He conforms us increasingly to the image of Christ.

A person may claim to be spiritually perceptive, but if they remain consistently proud, dishonest, bitter, unloving and unteachable, something is out of order. Genuine spiritual maturity should produce increasing agreement between the inward life and the outward conduct.

From Within to Without

Paul writes, “Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16). God's work begins within, but it does not remain there.

As the Holy Spirit strengthens the inner man, the mind becomes increasingly renewed by truth. The conscience becomes more accurately informed. The emotions become less controlling. The will becomes more willing to obey. Our reactions begin to change because something deeper within us is changing.

This is why the strongest believer is not necessarily the person who has the most dramatic spiritual experiences. It is the person who has learnt to remain responsive to the Holy Spirit.

They can obey even when their emotions are unsettled. They can receive correction without immediately defending themselves. They can remain faithful without applause. They can choose truth when desire is pulling in another direction.

That is strength in the inner man.

The goal, therefore, is not merely to develop greater spiritual perception. It is to allow the Holy Spirit to strengthen, govern and transform the inward life until Christ increasingly finds expression through us.

Before the fruit becomes visible, the Spirit has been working at the root.

And the more the inner man yields to Him, the more the outward life begins to reveal who has been at work within.

Happy New Month!