Who Is The Real You?

The Bible often speaks of the heart. I’m surprised at how many think God is speaking of the beating organ inside their chest. Is that what God is referring too? No, of course not, and most of us realize He’s speaking of the inward being.

Unless the scripture is specifically speaking of the blood pumper, God is referring to the human spirit.

Peter calls the spirit of man “the hidden man of the heart” (1 Peter 3:4). Hidden because we don’t see it with our natural eyes, and yet, it’s the real us. Consider this scripture:

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Notice the apostle speaks of spirit, soul, and body. There’s a difference. Man is a spirit, he has a soul, and he lives in a body. That’s important to know.

In Romans, Paul says this, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:1–2)

Note that you are to present your body holy and your mind renewed. YOU are the hidden man, the real you. You are the person that is born again when you accept Jesus. You are a spirit. God is a spirit (John 4:24), and you are created in His image.

You are to renew your mind. What does that mean? It means you are to change the way you think to be in line with God’s word. Your mind is part of your soul. Your spirit is born again, but your soul isn’t. Your mind must be renewed to think in line with God’s thinking. As long a your mind is thinking like the world, you’ll act like the world: “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Romans 8:6).

“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you” (1 Corinthians 6:19). The Holy Spirit is in you, not your mind. The reason that the Holy Spirit is in your body is because you are in your body.

“So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:6). As long as you are in your body, you are absent from the Lord. But when you leave your body, you will go be with the Lord. And the Holy Spirit will still be in you!

Knowing that you are a spirit will help your walk with God. Your emotions are not where God lives. Your mind is not where God lives. Your body is not where God lives. He lives in you. When God communicates with you, it’s from from where He lives inside you — your heart, your inner being, your spirit. His leading may be that “intuition”, or inward leading, or a “gut feeling” that “floats” up to your mind. But down inside, you believe it’s the right way to go or thing to do. Consider this scripture:

“The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD,
Searching all the inner depths of his heart” (Proverbs 20:27). What does a lamp do? It enlightens the way. God enlightens our way through our spirit. Even when He may do other things to help us along our way, that inward witness will always be there.

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Romans 8:14). His Spirit that lives in our spirit leads us through our spirit. Our mind may receive thoughts and instruction, but it comes from our heart: not from the outside, but from the inside. Many times the outside world is chaos and noisy, making it hard to hear from God. But we must learn to listen to the inside, because that’s where God is at.

Who is the real you? The real you is the person on the inside where God has made His home!

Stay strong and prepared!