Ephesians 3:17

“that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end that ye, being rooted and grounded in love”

“May dwell”: To house permanently, to reside or inhabit. “That Christ may take up residence in your hearts” (Bruce p. 327). “To make one's home, to be at home” (Robertson p. 533). “Settle down and abide. Take up His permanent abode, so that ye may be. habitation” (Vincent p. 383). Stott points out that of the various Greek words used to mean "dwell", God had Paul write. word which meant to "settle down somewhere”. It refers to. permanent, as opposed to. temporary, abode. Thus Paul prays to the Father that Christ by His Spirit will be allowed to settle down in their hearts. and from His throne there both control and strengthen them” (pp. 135-136). “In your hearts”: “The center of feeling, thinking, and willing” (Gr. Ex. N.T. p. 314). “Through faith”: “And the means or channel through which it takes possession of the heart is faith... indicating the receptivity which is the condition on our side” (Gr. Ex. N.T. p. 314).

Paul is speaking to Christians. This "indwelling" is conditional and is not automatic. Neither is this indwelling against our will. Most realize that Christ dwelling in us and our being strengthened through the Spirit are not two different experiences. Compare with Romans 8:9. Note: Even in those passages, which are addressed to Christians the "indwelling" is conditional for people who are already Christians. Caldwell makes. good observation concerning those passages that talk about deity "indwelling" the Christian (1 Corinthians 6:19; Ephesians 5:18). “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. We do not literally inhabit the person of the Father. Neither does He abide in us by physically possessing our bodies” (pp. 136-137). On this point consider 1 John 4:13 “By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us” (Ephesians 4:15; 1 John 3:24; John 15:4 “Abide in Me and. in you” (5-6); John 17:21. Caldwell further says, “Strikingly, the passages which deal with Christ's indwelling in us also repeatedly affirm that we dwell in Christ. The question to be asked again is this: ‘Is the indwelling literally personal referring to direct possession of another's personhood?' Reading the passages impresses the reader with the representative character of divine indwelling. The Lord is speaking of the intimate relationship or communion between the Divine Being and obedient, loving Christians. The relationship is so strong and close that each is said to dwell in the other! Christ ‘dwelling in us' is, therefore, metaphorical suggesting oneness, harmony, unity of purpose, communion and close association. Christ dwells in us through His words abiding in us (compare John 15:4; John 15:7; Ephesians 5:18 and Colossians 3:16)” (pp. 138-139).

As stated above this "indwelling" is conditional even for the person who is. Christian. It demands that we fully trust Christ, that we keep His commandments (1 John 3:24; John 14:23) love other Christians (Ephesians 4:12), confess Jesus (Ephesians 4:15); follow the teachings of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:5); remain in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5); and completely give up selfish living (Galatians 2:20). When God is truly influencing you, when His words are being allowed to "settle down" in our hearts the following happens: You think about God and His will all the time (Colossians 3:17). You are constantly talking to God in prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:17). You have the very same attitudes, views, and opinions that God has expressed in His word, and you do not argue, criticize, or complain about anything that the apostles wrote. You gratefully embrace and accept it (1 Corinthians 14:37; John 17:17). God and His will is always placed first (Matthew 6:33). You treat others in the same way that God treats them, which means that you love your brethren fervently (1 Peter 1:22). When Christians become lax in attendance, it is proof that Christ is no longer influencing them. You are "eager" to do God's will. “When another dwells in you, you readily respond when he asks you to do something”. Apathy towards the church or the will of God is another proof that Christ hasn't been allowed to settle down in the life of. Christian.

“To the end that ye”: “Those in whose hearts Christ has made His abode are ‘rooted and well founded in love'” (Bruce p. 327). When Jesus is allowed to "settle down" in our lives, when we allow His will to control us (Galatians 2:20), the results are great (Galatians 5:22). We cannot escape the connection in this passage. The necessary inference is, if we are failing to properly "love" God, others, and especially our own brethren, then we are refusing to let Christ control our lives. Hence,. failure to properly love other Christians is proof that one does not really love God. The apostles would agree (1 John 4:8; 1 John 4:20). “Rooted”: “So that having your roots deep and your foundations strong in love” (Wey). “Grounded”: At this point Paul uses two figurative expressions, one from agriculture and the other from architecture. “It means simply to establish something firmly. So here the two words probably express the one simple idea of being securely settled and deeply founded. Thoroughly established in love, having it not as an uncertain feeling changing with every change of experience, but as the constant principle of their life” (Gr. Ex. N.T. p. 314).

“In love”: “Love is the soil in which believers are ‘rooted' and on which foundation is ‘established'. The two-fold metaphor of. tree and. building emphasize that love is the necessary base to support the superstructure” (Boles p. 257).

Remember that when we see the word "love" we always are to think of the definition of "love" given in 1 Corinthians 13:4. This is true love, the type of love that obeys God at all costs (John 14:15). When Christ is really being allowed to settle down in our lives, we start placing God and the spiritual interests of others as. top priority (Matthew 22:36). Being rooted and grounded "in love" means that we place the spiritual interests of others ahead of what we may want (John 13:35). We serve God because we love Him, rather than merely serving Him out of the fear of going to hell. We cannot call sin the loving thing to do (Romans 13:8). We place the spiritual needs of others ahead of our own personal feelings and comforts (Matthew 18:15; Galatians 6:1). We refuse to let anger, bitterness, resentment, and envy rule or fester in our hearts (Ephesians 4:31). We tell people what they need to hear and not what they want to hear (Ephesians 4:25), and we place the unity of the body of Christ ahead of our own personal opinions.