Christ Dwelling in Our Hearts Ephesians 3:17

Paul the apostle prayed for the Ephesian church members to be “granted” “the riches of” God's “glory” and “to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man”. In chapter three and verse seventeen of his letter to them, Paul continued his prayer by desiring that “Christ may dwell in” their “hearts by faith” where we read:

That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

The verse begins, “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith;” Paul began with the words, “That Christ” which refers to “the anointed One, Messiah and the Son of God” “may dwell” or “inhabit, settle, pervade, prompt and govern” “in your hearts” which means “the center and seat of spiritual life” “by faith” or “assurance, belief, fidelity, conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and bestower of eternal salvation through Christ”. Paul desired for Jesus Christ to live within the “hearts” of the Ephesians through their “belief” in Him.

The verse goes on to say, “that you, being rooted and grounded in love,” Paul added, “That you” which refers to the Ephesian church members, “being rooted” or “strengthened, rendered firm, fixed, established and thoroughly grounded” “and grounded” which means “found, laid foundation and settled” “in love” or “affection, goodwill, benevolence and brotherly unconditional love”. Paul confirmed the “sure foundation” that was present in the Ephesian church members.

When we think through these word of Paul, we see his desire for the Ephesians to be intimate with God. He wanted them to have Jesus “living” within their souls so they may be “grounded” by their faith in Him. We should also desire for “Christ” to live within us in this manner, and as we do, we will have all the foundation of “unconditional” love we need.

Next time Paul shares how he wants the Ephesians to know the “breadth, and length, and depth and height”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.