Christ Might Indwell Our Hearts by Faith (1)

The second of four prayer petitions that the Apostle Paul makes in Ephesians 3:16-19 is that Christ might dwell in Believer’s hearts by faith in verse 17: That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love.

A fact that is hard to accept, but one we must realize, is that the many Christians today grow very little in spiritual depth. Many do not get enough of the Word of God to produce any depth, staying instead on the surface. Sometimes this is caused by pastors who do not adequately feed God’s people, and sometimes it is caused by Christians who just do not concentrate on the Word that is given. How imperative spiritual depth is! Paul gives three pictures in verse 17 that show us what spiritual depth is and how we can have it.

First, Christ must dwell in our hearts. The Greek for dwell (katoikeō) a compound word: kata, “down,” and oikeō, “to inhabit a house.” Within the present context, however, the word is intensified. It doesn't just mean that Christ is in the house of our hearts, but that He is at home there. As one Greek scholar translates: “That Christ might finally settle down and feel completely at home in your hearts.”

May this prompt each of us to ask, “Is the Lord Jesus part of my household or just a visitor?” Several years ago there was a popular plaque that decorated many Christian homes and perhaps still does. It read: “Christ is the Head of this house, the unseen guest at every meal, the Silent Listener to every conversation.” That is a nice sentiment, but He should be more than just a guest. Our Savior is a part of the family.

Now comes the question, How do we make our Savior feel at home? Our text gives the answer—by faith. Only when we trust Him and lean upon Him can He be at home. When we are living like the world, holding on to the same values and atti­tudes, the Lord cannot feel at home in our hearts. If we are trusting in “self” instead of Him, He feels like He is merely a visitor whose presence we only tolerate.

Second, we must be rooted . . . in love. Paul’s second picture is that of a tree. The third picture, which we will see later, is that of a build­ing. We mention it here because there are many similarities between a tree and a building: both have firmness, durability, and a certain degree of permanence. But there is also one major difference: while a building is strong and durable, and can withstand great stress, a tree is alive; it can grow. So, the picture Paul is giving here is that a Christian grows because he is rooted like a tree.

This brings us to the question, in what is the Christian to be rooted? Here is an amazing truth! A tree, of course, is rooted in the soil. It is from the soil that it receives water and nutrients. The roots go deep so the tree cannot easily be uprooted and therefore destroyed. The parallel is that love is the soil in which we are deeply rooted. Therefore, our spiritual nutrition, all that builds us up and makes us strong, comes from the soil of the love of Christ. Perhaps you are thinking, “But I thought the Word of God is where we get our spiritual food.” Yes, but while the Word of God is the seed, love is the soil. The Word of God is placed in the soil of the love of Christ; the two are inseparable. Ponder it this way: How can we grow in the Word if we do not love the Word?  Many today say they “love Jesus,” but they don’t love His Word. What a staggering contradiction! If we don’t love the Word of God and want to grow through It, we do not love the Lord Jesus, because it was He who was the Word who became flesh (Jn. 1:14).

Psalm 119 is David’s absolutely fascinating Psalm on the Word of God, born out of his love for It. Of its 176 verses, all but two mention the Word of God using one of eight synonyms. David mentions four out of the eight when writing of his love for Scripture: “O how love I thy law!” (v. 97); “I love thy testimonies” (v. 119); “I love thy commandments above gold” (v. 127); and “I love thy precepts” (v. 159). Why are Christians today shallow? Why is church ministry geared toward entertainment? Because people don’t love Scripture. Scripture alone is not enough to keep them coming back. Such people simply do not love the Lord. So, before we can grow in the Word, we must love the Word.