Ye fools, did not He that made that which is without make that which is within also?.
—Luke 11:40
The outward is the visible expression of the hidden, inward life. The outward is generally known before the inward. Through it the inward is developed and reaches its full perfection. The apostle Paul said, “Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual” (1 Corinthians 15:46). To maintain the right relationship between the inward and the outward is one of the secrets of the Christian life.
If Adam in the Garden had not listened to the Serpent, his trial would have resulted in the perfecting of his inward life. Adam did not seek his happiness in the hidden, inward life of a heart in which God’s command was honored. Instead, he fixed his desire on the world around him, on the pleasure that the knowledge of good and evil could give him.
All false religion, from idolatry to the corruption of Christianity, has its root in this desire. Deception takes place when the outward—that which pleases the eye, the mind, or the taste—takes the place of truth in the inward part.
Christianity is a matter of the heart—a heart into which God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son, a heart in which the love of God is poured out (see Romans 5:5) and true salvation is found. The inner chamber, with its secret communion with the Father “who seeth in secret” (Matthew 6:4), is the training school for the inner life. The daily use of the inner chamber will make the inner, hidden life strong.
In religion the great danger is giving more interest to outward experiences than to inward reality. It is not the intensity of your Bible study, or the frequency of your prayers or works that make for a true spiritual life. We need to realize is that God is a Spirit. There is also a spirit within us who can know and receive Him.
Look in your heart, and your heart will find its Savior, its God. If you see and feel nothing of God, it is because you seek Him in books, in church, in outward religious exercises. You will not find Him there until you have first found Him in your heart. Seek Him in your heart, and you will never seek in vain, for He dwells there in His Holy Spirit!