¹⁶ I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, (or inner man) (Ephesians 3:16 NIV)

Most modern translations use “in your inner being” rather than “in your inner man”. I am sure this is so that the text relates to both man and woman alike. And we do need to be cognizant that scripture relates to anyone and everyone as long as it is not watered down.

To be sure, for each of us there is the outer being and the inner being. I have always been a relatively introspective person. I recognize my inner foibles, of which I have many. However, I seek ever for improvement of the inner man so that it may be reflected in the outer man. We are truly the sum of our parts, but what we reflect outwardly comes mostly from who we are inwardly.

If I am chasing after being more like Christ then I should be improving the inner man. I should be working on my spiritual state first. This also opens room for the Spirit to work more readily in my life. Developing this union between the Spirit within, my spirit and my being is paramount in an outward life worth living.

To be sure this requires a lot of me repressing the inner person I know I can be. Letting the Spirit sand off all my thorny edges and I have many and those that tend to grow back. There is a constant battle for the inner man that requires much work and introspection.