Ephesians 3:17

That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, THAT - so that. DWELL, [ katoikeesai (G2730)] - abidingly (John 14:16; John 14:18; John 14:23). Where the Spirit is, there Christ is. BY FAITH - Greek, 'through faith,' which opens the door of the heart to Jesus (Rev. 3:26 ). It is not enough that He be on the tongue or flit through the brain: the heart is His proper seat-the seat of the soul [ psuchee (G5590)] in respect to the affections (Calvin)....

17._That Christ may dwell. _He explains what is meant by “the strength of the inner man.” As “it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell,” (Colossians 1:19,) so he who has Christ dwelling in him can want nothing. It is a mistake to imagine that the Spirit can be obtained without obtaining Christ; and it is equally foolish and absurd to dream that we can receive Christ without the Spirit. Both doctrines must be believed. We are partakers of the Holy Spirit, in proportion to the intercourse which we maintain with Christ; for the Spirit will be found nowhere but in Christ, on whom he is said, on that account, to have rested; for he himself says, by the prophet Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me.” (Isaiah 61:1; Luke 4:18.) But n

13-19 The apostle seems to be more anxious lest the believers should be discouraged and faint upon his tribulations, than for what he himself had to bear. He asks for spiritual blessings, which are the best blessings. Strength from the Spirit of God in the inner man; strength in the soul; the strength of faith, to serve God, and to do our duty. If the law of Christ is written in our hearts, and the love of Christ is shed abroad there, then Christ dwells there. Where his Spirit dwells, there he dwells. We should desire that good affections may be fixed in us. And how desirable to have a fixed sense of the love of God in Christ to our souls! How powerfully the apostle speaks of the love of Christ! The breadth shows its extent to all nations and ranks; the length, that it continues from everlasting to everlasting; the depth, its saving those who are sunk into the depths of sin and misery;...

Verse 17. _THAT CHRIST MAY DWELL IN YOUR HEARTS BY FAITH_] In this as well as in many other passages, and particularly that in Ephesians 2:21, (where see the note,) the apostle compares the _body_ or _Church_ of true believers to a _temple_, which, like that of Solomon, is built up to be a _habitation of God_ through the Spirit. Here, as Solomon did at the dedication of the temple at Jerusalem, 2 Chronicles 6:1, c., Paul, having considered the Church at Ephesus _completely formed_, as to every external thing, prays that God may come down and _dwell in_ _it_. And as there could be no indwelling of God but by _Christ_, and no indwelling of Christ but by _faith_, he prays that they may have such _faith_ in Christ, as shall keep them in constan...

THAT CHRIST MAY DWELL IN YOUR HEARTS BY FAITH - see the notes, Ephesians 2:22. Expressions like this often occur in the Scriptures, where God is said to dwell in us, and we are said to be the temples of the Holy Spirit; see the John 14:23, note; 1 Corinthians 6:19, note. THAT YE BEING ROOTED - Firmly established - as a tree is whose roots strike deep, and extend afar. The meaning is, that his love should be as firm in our hearts, as a tree is in the soil, whose roots strike deep into the earth. AND GROUNDED - θεθεμελιωμένοι tethemeliōmenoi -

EXPOSITION EPHESIANS 3:1 DIGRESSION ON THE ADMISSION OF THE GENTILES TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. EPHESIANS 3:1 FOR THIS CAUSE. The reference is not merely to the last statement or illustration, but to the whole view of the purpose of God toward the Gentiles unfolded in Ephesians it. The apodosis does not come in till verse 14, at the beginning of which this conjunctive clause is repeated. I PAUL, THE PRISONER OF CHRIST JESUS FOR YOU GENTILES. He introduces himself in order to make known the feelings which w

THAT CHRIST MAY DWELL IN YOUR HEARTS BY FAITH,.... This is another petition put up by the apostle for the Ephesians, which is for the inhabitation of Christ in them: the inhabitant Christ is he who dwells in the highest heavens, who dwells in the Father, and the Father in him, in whom all fulness dwells, the fulness of the Godhead, and the fulness of grace; so that those in whose hearts he dwells cannot want any good thing, must be in the greatest safety, and enjoy the greatest comfort and pleasure; and this inhabitation of Christ prayed for is not to be understood in such sense, as he dwells everywhere, being the omnipresent God; or as he dwells in the human nature; nor of his dwelling merely by his Spirit, but of a personal indwelling of his; and which is an instance of his special grace: he dwells in his people, as a king in his palace, to rule and protect them, and as a master in his...

3. THE MYSTERY MADE KNOWN Chapter S 2:11-3:21 _ 1. The condition of the Gentiles (Ephesians 2:11)_ 2. But now in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:13) 3. The new and great relationship (Ephesians 2:19) 4. The Mystery made known and Paul's ministry (Ephesians 3:1) 5. The prayer (Ephesians 3:14) 6. The doxology (Ephesians 3:20) With the eleventh verse of the second chapter we reach a new divisio

THE WRITER'S PRAYER FOR HIS READERS. Kneeling, in a very ecstasy of prayer, before the Father who is the source and prototype of all fatherly relationship whether on earth or in heaven, the writer prays that, in a degree commensurate with the wealth of the Divine glory, his readers may be granted power and strength through the Spirit unto inner spiritual growth; that the indwelling of Christ in their hearts may through faith be realised; that Christian love may come to be the very root and foundation of their being; and that so they may be given strength to share with all God's holy people the comprehension of the length and breadth and height and depth (of God's glorious purpose) and the knowledge of that love of Christ which is beyond all knowledge, and be made spiritually full unto the measure of the fulness of God Himself (Ephesians 3:14). God can do that and more: His power the po

PRISON AND PRIVILEGES (Ephesians 3:1-13) To understand the connection of thought in this passage it has to be noted that Ephesians 3:2-13 are one long parenthesis. The for this cause of Ephesians 3:14 takes up again and resumes the for this cause of Ephesians 3:1. Someone has spoken of Paul's habit of "going off at a word." A single word or idea can send his thoughts off at a tangent. When he speaks of himself as "the prisoner of Christ," it makes him think of the universal love of God and of his part in bringing that love to the Gentiles. In...