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LET CHRIST DWELL IN YOUR HEARTS (EPHESIANS 3:14-21)

REFLECTION

The theme for our reflection is “Let Christ dwell in your hearts” To let Christ dwell in our hearts means we have developed a personal relationship with Him and in Christ “….we live and move and have our being.’ (Acts 17:28). We shall reflect on the fact that to understand the depth of the love of God we must let Christ dwell in our hearts.

Beloved in the Lord, after explaining his calling to witness to the Gentile world and the nature of his suffering, Paul prayed for spiritual strength and the indwelling of Christ in the hearts of the believers in Ephesus, “I pray that out of his glorious riches, he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” (Ephesians 3:16-17). Again, he prayed for the believers in Ephesus to understand the depth of the love of Jesus Christ, “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge —that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:17-19). It is important to reemphasize the point that before we can experience the love of Christ and glory of God in our lives, we must first have a personal relationship our Lord Jesus Christ.

Knowing Christ means that He dwells in our hearts through faith. In other words, without faith, it is impossible to know Christ and be fully strengthened spiritually to understand God’s love, will and purpose for our lives. It is for this reason, that Paul prayed “…that according to the riches of his glory, he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” (Ephesians 3:16-17). In other words, we experience the love of God and receive His immeasurable blessings when we know Christ and He dwells in our hearts through faith. By knowing Christ, we come to appreciate God’s love which is more valuable than the knowledge of this world and its possessions. Again, we are filled with the fullness of God when Christ dwells in our hearts. The fullness of God is God’s glory or presence in our lives. How can a believer live in this evil and broken world without experiencing the love and fullness of God through Christ Jesus? This is why Paul wrote to strengthen the Ephesians, “to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:19). Like Paul, It must be our deepest prayer and desire that “I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:10-11). In other words, we must desire to experience and fully understand the love of God through Christ by dying and resurrecting with Jesus Christ into a new life of repentance and regeneration. Beloved in the Lord, do you know Christ or have a personal relationship with Him? Jesus assures us that “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:6-7). If we truly know Christ and He dwells in our hearts through faith, then we must do God’s will by following the examples and teachings of Jesus Christ to fully understand and experience the depth of God’s love for us. Jesus reminds us that It is only through Him, that we can please God, do His will and continue to experience His love and gift of eternal life.

Jesus assures us that, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”(John 3:16). This love is still available to us only if we turn to Jesus in repentance like the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32. Let us experience regeneration through the power of the Holy Spirit and also continue to experience the glory of God and the depth of His love by letting our Lord Jesus Christ dwell in our hearts forever.

In summary, we have reflected on the theme, “Let Christ dwell in your hearts” We have learnt that to understand the depth of the love of God we must let Christ dwell in our hearts. Shalom.

PRAYER

Almighty God, strengthen our faith to remain in relationship with Christ Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, so that we may continue to experience Your glory and the depth of Your Love through Him. Our greatest desire is to ever remain in Jesus who is the hope of our glory. Amen.