Free Bible Commentary
“Ephesians 3:14-19”
Categories: Ephesians“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.”
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Quoting Colly Caldwell from his Guardian of Truth Foundation commentary on Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, pages 135-137, about the idea of “Christ dwelling in our hearts through faith” (verse 17):
“Christ dwelling in us and our being strengthened through the Spirit are not two different experiences performed through different processes (cf. Rom. 8:9f; Gal. 2:20). The Spirit reveals the great truths about Christ and his will (Col. 1:9-11). That leads to our being filled with Christ. The metaphor of Christ dwelling in us involves the picture of Christ making his home within our hearts, living in us, abiding continually in our lives as a result of our having been strengthened through the Spirit. Paul here prayed for closer communion, more submission, and greater commitment to Christ. Notice the emphasis upon our knowledge and comprehension of truth in the following verses (17-21). Christ comes into our hearts by faith, when we hear his voice and open the door to him (Rev. 3:20).
“The Scriptures teach that each of the three Divine Persons dwells in each true Christian. It further teaches that Christians dwell in the persons of deity. The New Testament clearly affirms that God dwells in some men… (1 John 4:12-16; see also 1 John 3:24). Not only does God dwell in some men, but the same passages teach that we abide in the Father. That should make it obvious that literal, personal possession of our persons is not being considered... ‘The human heart, which has accepted the word of faith, the summons of the promise, the wisdom of the demands and the commandments of the doctrine, becomes the temple of God in us’ (TDNT V:154)…'”
Please stay with this prayer in Ephesians 3:14-19 for tomorrow.
Have a great day!
- Louie Taylor
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