The Outward Man

 For though our outward man perish…

At his creation, man was a spectacle of grace, wonderful in every way. He was a multidimensional being who had a spirit, had a soul and lived in a body Gen 1:27, 1 Thess 5:23; when God breathed into the nostrils of man Gen 2:7, it was the Spirit of God (housing the spirit of man) activating other faculties of man. 

The body of man in that state isn't exactly the same that we see today, there was a greater exertion of the spiritual life over that body, it wasn't sown in corruption, it was yielded to God. The man was naked but he wasn't edged by weather, he lived in the open garden but wasn't endangered. 

After the fall of man in the garden of Eden, the body of man became incurably earthly, it adjusted perfectly to all the configurations of outward natural life; it lost its eternal value and became acutely responsive to nature and satanic influences through nature, it was sown in corruption and had to follow the course of nature. 

All bodies must and will die, in fact, it loses value every day whether we like it or not, it is only obeying a set law, the law of sin and death. This body (outward man), otherwise referred to as the body of death has been sown in corruption even sickness does remind that the body is losing its value every time and with passing time.

What to do with the body

1. Feed the body  1 Corr 6:13
2. Nourish /nurture the body
3. Exercise the body 1 Tim 4:8
4. Protect the body from physical harm

However, we are severally admonished not to make beautifying our bodies our primary focus, rather fortifying our spirit man and renewing our minds. Don’t waste resources on cosmetics and reconstructive surgeries; whether you do it or not, the body is losing value every day, even bodily exercise profits but little. Instead, pay attention to the inner man which after God is recreated in righteousness and in true holiness. Pay more attention to spiritual growth and spiritual things. The spirit doesn’t age