Focus: Your Heart, His Home!

Text: Eph.3:16,17

"That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may DWELL IN YOUR HEARTS by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love."

Paul is deeply spiritual even as he is theologically sound. He is a man not only of the word, but of prayer and praise. In Paul there is no dichotomy between mentality and spirituality. In him all the properties of personality blend and yield to the command and control of Christ. He is a man of integrated personality. Indeed he is an advocate for mind renewal, not mind removal.

In this passage of Scripture, Paul is on his knees, fervently praying for God's people to encounter and grasp in their own lives the reality of Christ's spiritual presence and power. He prays for their inner man to possess the dynamic strength of the Spirit. This strengthening of the inner man by the Spirit will ensure that Christ would freely and fully reside and preside in the believer's heart.

The Greek word used by Paul for 'dwell' is 'katoikeo,' which is a compound word involving a prefix and a verb. The word means literally, to settle down, to permanently live in a place or house as one's own, and to be at home. In that house you live as the owner, not as a stranger, sojourner, or foreigner. If you buy a house and become its owner, then you have the right to renovate it to your taste and standard. You are free to trash a whole lot of things that you don't want. You make internal and external changes to suit your standard, so that as you live in it you feel totally at home and enjoy the comfort of your space and surroundings. And you don't only reside, but also preside.

Paul is praying for Christ to take up residence in the believer's heart, to freely and fully take charge of his space. The same way that the fullness of the Godhead dwelt in Christ, even to the point where God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, so Christ desires to take control of the believer's space and rule from there. He wants to feel at home in our hearts with nothing that is out of order in His residence. He doesn't want to live in a morally or spiritually dirty environment. He doesn't want to be restricted to a corner or limited to the periphery. 

Christ wants to settle down in our hearts, and He wants us to trust Him.

The word 'heart' is a biblical metaphor for the deepest level of the self, a level below our thinking, feeling, and willing. It is the home of our intellect, emotion, and volition. The heart is at the base of the human personality. The heart is deeper than the head, deeper than our conscious self and the notions we have in our heads. The Scripture says that from the heart flows all the issues of life (Prov.4:23). It is the center of selfhood. It is the engine room of human existence. 

Paul is praying for Christ to take over the realm and reign of the heart, so that our intellect, emotion, and volition will become His own means or medium of expression and manifestation.

Paul says, "Let the word of Christ DWELL in you richly…" (Col.3:16). He says, "For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I WILL DWELL IN THEM, and WALK IN THEM…" (2Cor.6:16). He wants freedom of movement and expression in His own space or home. Our heart is His sacred home. Again, Paul says, "Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the SPIRIT IN OUR HEARTS" (2Cor.1:22). Also, he says, "And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth THE SPIRIT OF HIS SON INTO YOUR HEARTS, crying, Abba, Father" (Gal.4:6). In Rom.5:5, he declares, "And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad IN OUR HEARTS by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." In Col.3:15, he says, "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts…" And you know that Christ is the Prince of peace. His peace rules from our sacred hearts. 

Christ wants to own the whole space of our hearts without any restrictions or limited access. He wants liberty and control.

I pray for you to let God answer Paul's prayer in your own life. Give up the space of your heart to Him! He can't be less than the Lord in your heart. He is either Lord of all, or He is not Lord at all.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter