Ephesians 3:17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, To be in the heart of anyone is to be the object of cordial affection; to dwell in His heart is to be the object of that affection constantly and habitually; and to dwell in the heart by faith is to be the object of an intelligent and enlightened affection. I. In the first place, then, THIS IS NOT THE DESIRE THAT CHRIST MUST BE IN THEIR MIND AND UNDERSTANDING, AS THE OBJECT OF SIMPLE, ABSTRACT, UNINFLUENTIAL KNOWLEDGE. Many may be the persons and opinions in our minds that are not objects of attachment, but, on the contrary, of indifference, or even of aversion. We know merely that they are there, and what they are. Some of them we would rather have absent from our minds, and some of them we would banish from them altogether; but to be in the heart is to be admired, esteemed, loved — loved with cordiality and ardour. We cannot express fervent attachment in more energetic terms than in the language of the apostle, "I would that Christ might dwell in your hearts." And what is expressed here, that we are in our hearts to do? Can anything be stronger than the attachment which shares life and death with its object? "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend." The love, then, that Christ demands of His people is fervent love; not a lifeless indifference, a mere negation of hatred, a lukewarm, spiritless neutrality. No. He must be in the heart, and must have the chief place there. II. Rooted and grounded in love are meant to express in another form the same idea, FIRMLY FIXED IN THE EXPERIENCE AND MANIFESTATION OF THIS SACRED AFFECTION. The figure is double, and is taken from a tree and a building. To the stability of the former a root is necessary, proportioned to the expansion of the branches; to the stability of the latter a foundation is necessary, corresponding to the magnitude of the superstructure. Great profession of attachment, without real firmness of inward principle, is like a wide-spreading tree with short roots, with little hold of the soil, that may stand for a little and be admired, but is in danger of falling from every blast that assails it; or like a house with little foundation, built on the sand or on soft ground, presenting a very imposing appearance to the eye, but when the rain descends, and the winds blow and beat violently against it, immediately it comes to the ground, and involves its inmates in ruin. And what is the love that promises that stability? It is love that is rooted and grounded in knowledge — that has not been the product of a hasty examination or of a superficial observation. III. And this leads me to the third feature of love, THAT IT BE INTELLIGENT AND ENLIGHTENED, THAT CHRIST MAY DWELL IN YOUR HEARTS BY FAITH. It is very obvious that there must be knowledge in order to faith, and faith in order to love. That cannot be loved which is not known, and that person cannot be loved, the qualities of whose character, fitted to attract affection, are not believed. It is only by faith that Christ can enter the heart; it is only as the object of faith that He can be the object of love, and faith will be in proportion to spiritual intelligence, and spiritual intelligence in proportion to faith. It is an enlightened attachment that can show good cause for its ardour and its glow. Connected inseparably with love to Christ for what He is, is love to Christ for what He has done; and this, too, is founded in knowledge: "Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ; that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich." It is when this grace is known that love takes possession of the heart, and it is by the faith of it that He continues to dwell there; and as knowledge grows, and faith is strengthened, love is invigorated. That love to Christ, as one of the great principles of all active obedience, is founded in knowledge and rooted in faith. "The love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: and that He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them and rose again." Thus have I endeavoured to show what the nature of the principle is which the apostle prays for in behalf of the believing Ephesians — that it is a fervent, constant, intelligent, and enlightened attachment to the Lord Jesus, that Christ might dwell in their hearts. In conclusion, allow me to remark. 1. That the prayer implies, that this state of heart must come from above — from the Spirit of the living God. 2. The heart in which Christ dwells must be a purified heart. Jesus Christ is the brightness of His Father's glory, and the express image of His person; He is the holy one and the just. An unrenewed and unholy heart would be no fit residence for Him. When the Holy Spirit introduces Himself into any heart, He purifies that heart from dross and corruption. Christ has said, "Blessed are the pure in heart." If any heart remains impure and shows itself so by what proceeds from it, it is quite evident that Christ has no hold there. 3. I would just notice, that the heart in which Christ dwells must be an undivided heart. (R. Wardlaw, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, |
    |