The importance of the essence of our being is that it was designed to be the dwelling place of the Spirit of God. It is who we are in the very depths of ourself for we were created to be authentic worshippers of God.

Who among men knows the thoughts of a man, except the spirit of the man which is in him? 1 Corinthians 2:11. Only you know the real you, for the essence of your being is your spirit, not your body or soul.

Created in God’s Image

God is Spirit, John 4:24, the One who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, 1 Timothy 6:16. We are created in the image of God, Genesis 1:27. The God who is the great I Am That I Am, Exodus 3:14, self-existent and uncreated. We were created to fellowship Him for His good pleasure, Philippians 2:13.

Man can only truly worship God, who is Spirit, when we adore Him in spirit and in truth, John 4:24. It is our spirit that communes with the Spirit of God, not our head or our mind. The Holy Spirit communicates with us through our spirit. He is that still small voice, 1 Kings 19:12.

Inner Sanctum

Every person has a deep inner sanctum, the person’s ‘I Am’, which is our human entity. It is what makes us unique and privileged above all other creatures. It is called the spirit in man.

That deep inner sanctum, the mysterious essence of our being, is a gift from God who created us. We are dependent upon Him for our continued existence for He is the author of Life, John 14:6.

Private

Think of a sanctum as being like the lair of an animal. It is well hidden where the wild animal can live and rest. It is a secret retreat that provides shelter and protection from predators and outside disturbances.

Our private sanctum is total in itself and not related to any other part of our complex nature. We are a spirit, with a soul, living in a body, IThessalonians 6:23. Man is not a body that has a spirit.

We have the ability to retreat into our private inner sanctum where none but God can enter. It is the place where we gain restoration and rest for our soul.

Adam’s Tragedy

Adam disobeyed God and sin entered the whole human race, Genesis 3. He forfeited the indescribably wonderful privilege of a personal relationship between God and himself.

Many describe the essence of our being as being God-shaped but God is absent. Is that how Adam felt? We can only wonder how much that grieved Adam in the long years following his disobedience.

God Indwelling

The Israelites were fully aware of God dwelling among them, Exodus 25:8.  God desires to dwell in the essence of every person, just as He once dwelt in the Most Holy Place of the Tabernacle of Moses. We are to be people of the Presence.

Jesus said for a man to see the kingdom of heaven the man’s spirit must be born again, John 3:3. Only then can the relationship between the Creator and the created be restored, through what Christ did at Calvary. Then the Spirit of God takes up residence in the essence of our being, John 14:23.

Christ can only enter the private inner sanctum of a person when he or she gives an invitation by faith. Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him and he with Me, Revelation 3:20.

The Battle

Those who follow Christ experience an endless battle between the spirit and the flesh. Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God, Romans 8:14. The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses, 2 Corinthians 10:4.

We are to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, 2 Corinthians 10:5. The flesh has its own desires and needs, but the true overcomer will submit every thought to the will of God. 

Worldly-minded man places man at the centre of all things, not the Creator. The ‘I am’ of man reigns supreme to the point where man tries to prove there is no God. Such people deny the essential spirituality of mankind. Man in his stupidity tries all kinds of things to fill that ‘God-need’ everyone has.

Only God

Only God can enter the private sanctum of a person. When the Bible speaks of a person being possessed it refers to a person’s mind being taken over by an external entity. This in turn controls the person’s actions and behaviour.

Consider the demoniac in the land of the Gerasenes, Luke 8:26. After Jesus cast out all the demons the townspeople were frightened. They found the man sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed in his right mind, Luke 8:35.

The man had been forced to live among the tombstones and been unsuccessfully bound with chains and shackles. He had been kept under guard until the demons drove him into the desert. Once the man was sane again, what were the townspeople greatly afraid of? Was it the fact they had been illegally keeping a herd of swine, or did the power of Jesus from Galilee terrify them?

God Our Sanctum

The Psalmist talked of God as being a hiding place for the believer, Psalm 32:7-10. He is our inner sanctum from a world that is tossed and torn by sin. A very present help in times of trouble, Psalm 46:1.

The true value of understanding the essence of our being has an effect into eternity. In knowing the essence of who we are, we recognize that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23. Only through Christ’s death and resurrection can we be restored and made whole, body, soul and spirit, 1 Thessalonians 5:23.

Essence of Our Being

The importance of the essence of our being is that it was designed to be the dwelling place of the Spirit of God. This privilege of being in a personal relationship with God is in the promise Jesus gave. He who overcomes I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My father on His throne, Revelation 3:21.

God has prepared for those who love Him, things never before discovered or heard of. Things which have not entered the heart of man.1 Corinthians 2:9-12. Let the Spirit of God fill the very essence of our being to overflowing every day for the essence of our being makes us totally unique.

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Dr. Wendy Stenberg-Tendys is a freelance writer who enjoys researching a topic and sharing words of encouragement from the Word of God.

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