#111 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE HUMAN SPIRIT 9-9-26
There is a difference between the Holy Spirit and the human spirit, but the Bible brings them together in a beautiful way. The Holy Spirit is God’s Spirit. The human spirit is that inward part of us through which we think, feel, choose, worship, and respond to God. Paul said, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Romans 8:16). God’s Spirit speaks to our human spirit through His word, and our spirit responds in faith and obedience.
Our human spirit can become troubled, discouraged, joyful, or renewed. David prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10). Proverbs says, “The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, but who can bear a broken spirit?” (Proverbs 18:14). There is something deep within every person that cannot be satisfied merely by possessions, entertainment, success, or the approval of other people. “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).
But our human spirit needs the influence of God’s Holy Spirit. We are not simply physical creatures trying to make our way through a physical world. Paul reminds us that “the things of God knows no one except the Spirit of God” (1 Corinthians 2:11). The Holy Spirit reveals the things of God, teaches us through the word of God, and produces spiritual fruit in those who walk according to God’s will. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).
This is why the Christian life is more than changing our outward behavior. God wants to transform us from the inside out. “Be renewed in the spirit of your mind” (Ephesians 4:23). When the mind is renewed by God’s truth, the human spirit is strengthened, the heart is redirected, and the life begins to change. We learn to think differently because we have learned to see life differently.
There will be days when our human spirit feels weak. There will be moments when we are discouraged, confused, or weary. But God does not abandon us in those moments. Paul prayed that Christians would be “strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man” (Ephesians 3:16). That is where we need strength—not merely in our circumstances, but in our inner person. The Holy Spirit strengthens the human spirit so that we can keep walking, keep believing, keep loving, and keep serving.
So let us not neglect the inner man. Take time to listen to God through His word. Take time to pray. Take time to examine your heart. Take time to remember what Christ has done. “Though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16). The body grows tired, circumstances change, and earthly things pass away. But God can renew the spirit within us every single day.
The Holy Spirit is not merely a doctrine to study. He is God’s divine presence working through His truth to accomplish God’s purposes in our lives. And our human spirit is not something to ignore while we concentrate on outward appearances. God desires truth in the inward parts (Psalm 51:6). When our spirit is surrendered to God and our lives are shaped by His word, something beautiful happens: what God has placed within us begins to show itself through everything we do.
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Lord, renew our spirits. Strengthen us in the inner man. Teach us to walk according to Your truth, to follow Your Spirit, and to let the life of Christ be seen in us. Amen.
BDD
