The Inner Being as a Place of Individual Relationship with God in 2Cor 4:16 and Rom 7:22
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Abstract
Paul’s letters to 2 Corinthians and to Romans afford deep insight into the “inner and outer human being.” Until now, the Platonic concept of the “inner/outer human being,” which is specially oriented towards the soul, has been of pivotal importance for New Testament Exegesis. This article argues instead that the principle of an inner and outer human being was used in Hellenistic times with differing connotations and in differing contexts and that Paul’s elaborations on the topic should also be analyzed in light of this diverse medical-philosophical tradition. The phrase “the human being inside and outside” should neither be equated with the soul and the body nor reduced to a simply dualistic notion.