Ephesians Devotionals
Bob Morris
Power to Make a Home for Christ (Ephesians 3:16-17a)
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
Once again, the Triune God is at work in us, the Father strengthening us through the Spirit so that Christ may dwell in us. In Ephesians 1: 17, Paul’s prayer to the Triune God was that we would know him better. Here he prays that Christ will actually live in us and make his home in us as Jesus had commanded. Make your home in me just as I do in you (John 15: 4 The Message). The old adage is “It takes a heap of living to make a house a home”. That is precisely what the word “dwell” implies. That takes more than human will alone; it comes through faith. And the supernatural power of the Spirit must work in our inner being to make that a reality.
When Jesus had risen from the dead he met the women running from the tomb and said to them, “Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” Galilee was home, where they had all come from, where they had lived and ministered together – a real place, in real time. So it is with disciples now. Jesus promises to make his home in us, not simply in a “virtual” way but in real space and time, by his Spirit. As Norm Allen has put it,
He chooses to live in us individually and in our various gatherings of faith community…His work of putting God’s love in skin and bone continues in you and me. It’s a mystery, but Jesus dwells in us in the board room, in the law office, in the sick room, at the trading desk…wherever we are, we are his body.
Jesus goes even further:
Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them and we will come to them and make our home with them (John 14: 23).
The question is, does God feel at home in us? The answer is, yes, to the extent we love him and obey his teaching. When we remember how much follows from our living in him and his living in us, it is clear that mission depends on it. In John 15 Jesus said that our remaining in him leads to bearing fruit (15: 5), answered prayer (15: 7), proof of discipleship (15: 8) and unlimited joy (15: 11) – all critical to effective mission in his name. It is for this reason that Paul prays that “he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being so that Christ will dwell in your hearts through faith”.
We have the awesome privilege of inviting others by faith to join in being built together to become a dwelling in which Triune God lives by his Spirit (Eph. 2: 22).
Come, Holy Christ, and make your home in us. Come, Father, and make us fit for your presence in every day of our lives by your Spirit’s power.
Print
Email
