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

The Inner Man is the spirit of a man who is the real you. Man is a spirit being; he has a soul and lives in a physical body. He is a spirit being because he is made in the likeness of God.

There is an outward man and an inward man. The outward man is not the real you; the outward man is the house or the body you live in. The inward man is the real you. Apostle Peter called the inner man the hidden man of the heart (But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price – 1st Peter 3:4).

When the Bible speaks of the heart, it speaks of the spirit, the inward man, or the hidden man. When our spirit has been changed, we become a new creation (Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new – 2nd Corinthians 5:17). This verse is talking about the inward man. You didn’t receive a new body when you were born again, but your spirit man became new in Christ.

Until we become spirit-conscious, we cannot understand what God is saying to our spirit. Spiritual things will be indistinct, but the more spirit-conscious we become, the more natural the Lord’s leading will be to us. We must think of ourselves as spirits, possessing souls and living in bodies. The Lord does not speak to our flesh. He speaks to our spirit; we are to be led by His Spirit speaking to our spirit.

King Solomon stated in the Book of Proverbs that the spirit of man is the candle [lamp] of the Lord, meaning that God will enlighten and guide us through our spirit. Far too often, we seek guidance in every other way except how God said it would come. We judge by our physical senses, but nowhere in the Bible does God say He would guide us through our senses.

The Inward Man has a voice, which we call the conscience, intuition, inner guidance, or inward witness. As a born-again believer trains and develops his spirit, this voice becomes clearer; his spirit becomes a surer guide. One thing that has held back the Christian community is that we are more physical-conscious [body-conscious] and mental-conscious [soul-conscious] than we are spirit-conscious. We have developed the body and soul but ignored the spirit man.

Our spirit can be educated, just as our mind can be educated. Our spirit can be strengthened and trained, just as our body can be built and trained. If a person has not been born-again, it would not be feasible to be led by their spirit because their spirit is unregenerated. People of the world do the things that are of the world, but those who are born-again do the things of the spirit by being led by God’s Spirit.

When you have the nature and life of God in you, your conscience won’t permit you to do just anything. Your spirit will convict you if you’re doing something offensive to God. If you’re a born-again Christian, the Holy Spirit lives and abides in your spirit. The Holy Spirit does not communicate directly to our minds because He is not in your mind but in your spirit (Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him: and We will come unto him and make Our abode with him – John 14:23). If God is dwelling in us then that is where He is going to speak to us.

Holy Spirit, bear witness with our spirit (The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God – Romans 8:16). The Scripture does not say the Spirit would bear witness with our body, [feelings are the voice of the body], reason [ voice of the soul or mind. Conscience is the voice of the spirit, our spirit. We must base our faith on the Word of God, not on feelings.

The Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit, and then He leads us (For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God—Romans 8 14). We’re not God’s children when we’re led by our emotions or anything other than the Spirit of God. His children know His voice, and they will only follow His voice.

We build our minds and our bodies, and that’s good; the most important thing we can do for our soul’s departure is to develop our spirit. We do that by praying, fasting, reading, and studying God’s Word, which we apply to our daily lives. Attend Sunday School, where you can get grounded in the Word of God, do more than Sunday Worship, attend Bible Study, where you can learn and ask questions.

When our spirit is developed, we’re growing spiritually, and then we will truly understand that we are in this world, but we are not of this world (They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth – John 17:16-17).