Christian deliverance ministry for SRA survivors
The following article presents the thoughts, interpretation, and experiences of Randy Goodwin. It is based on Randy’s personal experiences, his study of the King James Version Bible, and his understanding of the relationship between the brain, the inward man, the soul, and spiritual warfare. The specific neurological interpretation described here is Randy Goodwin’s understanding and should not be confused with an anatomical teaching explicitly stated in Scripture.
Understanding the Inward Man
When considering Christian deliverance ministry for SRA survivors, one of the most important subjects to understand is the inward man.
The Apostle Paul makes a remarkable statement in Romans 7:22:
“For I delight in the law of God after the inward man.”
— Romans 7:22, KJV
Paul is telling us that there is something he calls the inward man.
This is important because most people naturally identify themselves with the outward person—the body, the face, the personality, the thoughts they consciously recognize, and the behavior that other people can observe.
But Paul looks deeper.
He speaks about something inside that delights in God’s law while simultaneously describing another force that wars against it.
That internal conflict is central to Randy Goodwin’s understanding of deliverance.
Randy believes that most people have never seriously considered the possibility that the part of themselves they consciously recognize may not represent everything happening within their neurological system.
He believes there is a hidden component of the brain that people ordinarily do not recognize as existing—a component he calls the synthetic part.
The Hidden Synthetic Part
Randy Goodwin’s understanding is that there is a synthetic component toward the opposite side and back portion of the brain that operates outside ordinary conscious awareness.
The person does not normally see it.
The person does not normally think about it.
The person does not ordinarily experience it as a separate part of himself.
Yet Randy believes that this hidden synthetic component can produce activity that enters a person’s conscious experience as thoughts, impulses, reactions, resistance, fears, or other internal experiences.
This is what Randy believes is so significant about Paul’s words:
“But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind.”
— Romans 7:23, KJV
Paul describes something that is warring against him.
Randy believes that this language deserves serious consideration.
In his interpretation, the synthetic part is not simply another ordinary thought. It represents an opposing component that can work against the person’s desire to follow the true Lord God.
The person may consciously want God while experiencing something internally that pushes in the opposite direction.
The person may pray while experiencing resistance.
The person may read Scripture while experiencing thoughts that oppose what Scripture teaches.
The person may sincerely want to follow Jesus Christ while experiencing internal impulses that seem completely contrary to that desire.
Randy believes that understanding this distinction can be extremely important for SRA survivors.
The Opposite Side of the Brain
Randy’s experience has led him to focus specifically on what he describes as the opposite side toward the back of the brain.
His point is not simply that the brain contains many different structures.
His point is that there can be neurological activity occurring outside the person’s ordinary conscious awareness.
You cannot look at your own brain and simply see everything that is happening inside it.
You cannot visually observe every neurological process producing a thought.
You cannot consciously monitor every electrical or chemical process taking place within the brain.
Much of neurological activity occurs without conscious observation.
Randy believes that this provides an important framework for understanding what he calls the synthetic part.
The individual consciously experiences the result without necessarily knowing where it originated.
In Randy’s interpretation, this can lead a person to make a fundamental mistake:
The person assumes that everything occurring inside his mind is necessarily coming from the true inward self.
Randy does not believe that assumption is always correct.
The Synthetic Part and the War Against God
The central question becomes: What is the synthetic part doing?
According to Randy’s interpretation, it is an opposing component that can war against the person’s true desire for God.
This is where Romans 7 becomes particularly significant.
Paul says:
“For I delight in the law of God after the inward man.”
Then he says:
“But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind.”
These two statements appear together.
There is an inward man that delights in God’s law.
And there is another law that wars against the mind.
Randy understands this as describing an internal battle between the true inward person and an opposing synthetic component.
This is why Randy believes it is so important for survivors to learn not to automatically identify every thought or impulse as their true identity.
A thought can occur without being something the person consciously chose.
An impulse can occur without representing the person’s deepest desire.
A reaction can occur without being the person’s true will.
The question becomes one of discernment:
Is this coming from the true inward man, or is this part of the opposing synthetic activity?
Why People May Not Know It Exists
Randy believes one of the most significant aspects of this subject is that the ordinary person may have no conscious awareness of this hidden component.
People generally assume that they know themselves.
They know their name.
They know their history.
They know their personality.
They know what they consciously think and feel.
But Randy believes that this does not necessarily mean they understand everything taking place within their brain.
The hidden synthetic component is, by definition in Randy’s interpretation, something the person does not ordinarily recognize.
That is why it can remain unnoticed.
The person may spend years believing:
“This is just who I am.”
Randy believes that sometimes the more accurate statement may be:
“This is something happening within me, but it does not necessarily represent who I truly am.”
That distinction can be life-changing for someone who has spent years feeling condemned by unwanted internal experiences.
The Inward Man
Romans 7:22 gives us the phrase:
“after the inward man.”
Paul does not say that the inward man is irrelevant.
He does not say that the inward man should be ignored.
He identifies it as the part of himself that delights in the law of God.
For Randy, the inward man represents the deeper person who can turn toward God.
The inward man is therefore profoundly important in Christian deliverance.
Deliverance is not merely about getting rid of something.
It is also about discovering and strengthening what belongs to God.
It is about learning to distinguish truth from deception.
It is about learning to distinguish one’s God-given identity from internal activity that wars against that identity.
And ultimately it is about coming under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
The Outward Man and the Inward Man
Paul gives us another critical passage in 2 Corinthians 4:16:
“For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.”
— 2 Corinthians 4:16, KJV
Again, Paul gives us two expressions:
The outward man.
The inward man.
The outward man is what people can see.
The inward man is not visible in the same way.
The outward man can become weak, injured, aged, and eventually perish.
But Paul says:
“the inward man is renewed day by day.”
Randy believes this is one of the most powerful truths for survivors.
What happened to the outward person does not have to determine the destiny of the inward person.
The wounds of the past do not have to become the identity of the future.
There can be renewal.
There can be restoration.
There can be healing.
The Soul and the Brokenhearted
Psalm 147:3 says:
“He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.”
— Psalm 147:3, KJV
This is particularly significant for survivors of severe trauma.
Some wounds are visible.
Many are not.
A broken bone can be seen on an X-ray.
A wound on the skin can be observed.
But a broken heart is experienced inwardly.
Randy believes that the biblical concept of the soul points us toward this deeper dimension of human existence.
The Hebrew word often translated “soul” is nephesh. Depending on context, it can refer to life, a living being, the self, or the person as a whole.
Randy’s understanding is that the soul should therefore not be reduced to a simplistic picture of an invisible object sitting somewhere inside the body.
The biblical picture is deeper.
God sees the person.
God sees the heart.
God sees the wounds.
God sees what cannot be seen by other human beings.
And Psalm 147:3 says that He heals the brokenhearted.
SRA Survivors and the Inner Battle
For someone who identifies as an SRA survivor, the distinction between the inward man and the opposing synthetic activity can become especially important.
A survivor may experience internal reactions that appear completely inconsistent with his or her conscious beliefs.
There may be fear.
There may be anger.
There may be intrusive thoughts.
There may be intense resistance to prayer or Scripture.
There may be thoughts that appear to attack the person’s faith.
There may be internal reactions that seem to say things the conscious person does not believe.
Randy believes survivors should not automatically conclude:
“This is who I am.”
Instead, they can learn to examine the experience.
Where did this thought come from?
Does it agree with the Word of God?
Does it draw me toward Christ or away from Christ?
Is this consistent with the inward man that delights in God’s law?
These questions can help a person distinguish between identity and internal conflict.
The Synthetic Part Is Not the True Lord
Randy’s understanding is that the synthetic component is fundamentally opposed to the true Lord God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ.
That distinction is essential.
The Christian does not have two competing gods.
There is one true God.
There is one Lord Jesus Christ.
The battle is not about determining which God should be followed.
The battle is learning to recognize what is opposing the truth of God and refusing to give that opposition authority over one’s identity.
Paul’s answer at the end of Romans 7 is therefore crucial:
“I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
— Romans 7:25, KJV
Paul does not ultimately point people toward an endless examination of the conflict.
He points them toward Christ.
Deliverance Is About Truth
True Christian deliverance should not create greater bondage to fear.
It should lead toward truth.
A survivor does not need to become obsessed with every thought.
A survivor does not need to assume that every unusual sensation is supernatural.
A survivor does not need to live in fear of his or her own brain.
Instead, the person can learn to examine what is happening and bring it before God.
The Bible remains the standard.
Jesus Christ remains Lord.
And the inward man can be renewed day by day.
For Randy, understanding the synthetic component is useful only insofar as it helps a person recognize that not everything experienced internally necessarily represents the person’s true identity or true desire.
The Brain Is Not the Final Authority
One of the most important conclusions Randy draws from his experience is that the brain itself cannot be treated as the ultimate authority over truth.
The brain is part of the created human body.
God is the Creator.
Therefore, when there is a conflict between what an internal experience appears to say and what God has revealed through His Word, the Christian must ultimately submit to God’s truth.
The question is not:
“What does this thought tell me?”
The question is:
“What has God said?”
The question is not:
“What does this internal reaction demand?”
The question is:
“Who is Lord?”
For the Christian, the answer is Jesus Christ.
Renewed Day by Day
Second Corinthians 4:16 provides the hope:
“Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.”
This is not a promise that every struggle will disappear overnight.
It is a promise of ongoing renewal.
Day by day.
Step by step.
Prayer by prayer.
Truth by truth.
The survivor can learn to recognize what is true.
The survivor can learn to reject what contradicts God.
The survivor can learn not to identify with every internal experience.
The survivor can learn to bring the hidden wounds before God.
And the survivor can learn to place his or her trust in Jesus Christ.
The Purpose of Seeking the Inward Man
The purpose of seeking the inward man is not to become fascinated with something hidden in the brain.
The purpose is to discover the difference between the person who desires God and the internal opposition that Randy believes wars against that desire.
It is about identity.
It is about truth.
It is about discernment.
It is about healing.
And ultimately, it is about Christ.
Romans 7:22 says:
“For I delight in the law of God after the inward man.”
Second Corinthians 4:16 says:
“Yet the inward man is renewed day by day.”
Psalm 147:3 says:
“He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.”
These passages provide the biblical foundation for Randy Goodwin’s understanding of the inward man.
His interpretation of the hidden synthetic component is his attempt to understand the internal conflict described by Paul through the lens of his own experiences.
Whatever a person has suffered, the final answer is not found in the trauma.
It is not found in the synthetic opposition.
It is not found in fear.
It is found in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Conclusion
The outward man is visible.
The inward man is deeper.
The hidden neurological activity that Randy describes as the synthetic part is not something the ordinary person consciously recognizes.
Yet Randy believes that this hidden component can participate in an internal war against the person’s desire for God.
Paul’s words in Romans 7 give language to that struggle:
“For I delight in the law of God after the inward man.”
And:
“But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind.”
The answer to that war is not despair.
Paul asks:
“who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”
And then answers:
“I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
That is the hope at the center of Christian deliverance ministry for SRA survivors.
The survivor does not have to identify with every thought.
The survivor does not have to surrender to every internal impulse.
The survivor does not have to believe that the hidden battle defines who he or she is.
The inward man can be renewed.
The brokenhearted can be healed.
The wounds can be bound up.
And above everything else, the survivor can learn to look beyond the outward man, beyond the internal conflict, and toward Jesus Christ, the true Lord.
