How can we be rooted and grounded in love (Ephesians 3:17)?

If we are to enter into the riches of the Father's glory, we must be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; and it is for this that Paul prays for the beloved saints at Ephesus. All that which is of God within us is called the "inner man," and it is this which enters into the truth of God. We have been formed in the divine nature by the Spirit of God, so that we can delight in God and respond to all that God makes known to us.

Our hearts are to be the dwelling place for Christ; He is to abide in the seat of our affections, and control our thoughts and lives. It is by faith that Christ has this place; it is as we are occupied with Him in relation to all that has been brought before the saints in this Epistle, that this becomes true of us. Communion with Christ, in the place where He now is, in all His unsearchable riches, will give Him His desired place in the hearts of His own. And we are to be rooted and grounded in the divine nature; firmly attached to Christ in divine love, and growing in the love that we have learned in Him, all our springs being in what will enable us to bring forth fruit for the glory and the praise of God.

But is not the tree known — outwardly — by the fruit thereof, such as holiness, righteousness, etc.? Certainly. But how does the tree in your garden bring forth fruit? Through your standing before it and looking at it? No, but by being rooted in a good soil, and having the light of the sun and the air above and around it. The apostles prays for his beloved Ephesians, that the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ would grant them, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might, by His Spirit in the inner man. And how? By looking within? "That Christ may dwell in your hearts by" — love? No, but by — "faith, and ye being grounded in" what? faith? No, but — "love." Faith does not look at self, nor even at the new nature within us, but it looks off, and looks up to Christ. And so does love. It looks not within, but at its lovely object, that draws it forth — even Jesus Christ — and so loves Him. Effort is no love. How are we to run the race that is set before us, in patience? By looking off unto — Jesus. The Holy Spirit never occupies us with ourselves, except for self-judgment, if we have grieved Him and when we have judged ourselves, He at once points upwards. "He shall glorify me, for He shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you." The tree bears fruit, because it is rooted in the ground, and the sun shines upon it. It instinctively turns towards the sun as does every plant. The Spirit of glory, if not grieved, keeps the eye of faith (that looks at Jesus Christ, and sees Him up there, crowned with glory, and honour) fixed on His glory, and beauty, and we know, beloved, if the eye rests upon a lovely object, the heart soon begins to feed and feast upon it. And thus it is that Jesus Christ "dwells in the heart by faith, as He has entered there by faith. And how do we, like a good tree, get rooted and grounded in love?" Why? through the very looking of the eye of faith at Him, and the feeding of the heart upon Him, Who is altogether lovely. Thus the heart is feasting upon the "hidden manna," upon His all-gracious, and all-beauteous Blessed Person, by Whom "grace and truth," came into this world, where He was always love amidst hatred, as He always was light amidst darkness, and Who is now up there above, "the brightness of glory," and the image of the Father in holiness and truth, in goodness and grace, and all that is divine; and not only so, but He is as the perfect Man there above, with perfect human sympathy entering into the smallest details of the trials, and sufferings of each of His members here below, knowing the very house and streets, where they are living. (Acts 9, 10.) Beloved, will not our hearts, whilst pondering and feasting upon all that is good, and gracious and true and holy, and lovely in that ever Blessed One, by getting filled with the sense of His love, reflect and manifest His love towards others, (always remembering, however, that His love cannot be disconnected with truth,) and shall not we thus become "rooted and grounded in love," and bear the fruit of a good tree, in the warm sunshine of the Presence of Him who is light and love and in the atmosphere of His holiness, grace and truth, "rooted and built up in Him," who to us is our soil, sun and air. Poor and feeble though our love may be, yet we can say, through grace, like Peter, who did not look at his own heart, nor at the new nature within him, when the Lord asked him: "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?" But he looked at the altogether lovely Person of his thrice denied, yet ever gracious and ever loving, but faithful Master before him, and said: "Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee." It is the same apostle, that afterwards wrote: "Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit, unto unfeigned love of the brethren: see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently, being born again not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever."

(Eph. 3:17). Moreover, if the Spirit works "in the inner man," it is in order "that the Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith." The Spirit conies, as the Lord tells His disciples, to take of the things of Christ and show them unto us. As we hear of the things of Christ we become attracted to Christ, and attracted to Him He becomes the object of our faith, with the result that Christ will have a dwelling place in our hearts by faith. The actual words of the prayer are, "that the Christ may dwell, through faith, in your hearts." "The Christ," not only presents Christ personally, but Christ as the One Who, according to the counsels of the Father, is the Anointed Man to be the centre of the vast universe of bliss.

The inner man is strengthened, not that we may perform miracles that may make a show before the world, or that we may become great preachers in the eyes of others, but that the Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith. As natural men self is the great object of our hearts, and everything is pursued that would gratify and exalt self. But the effect of the work of the Spirit in our hearts is to strengthen the inner man against every intrusion of the flesh, every temptation of the world, and every snare of the devil, so that self may be set aside and Christ have the supreme place in our hearts, and thus the One Who is the centre of the Father's counsels may become the centre of our thoughts and affections. Christ dwelling in our hearts would lead to our being "rooted and founded in love" (N. Tn.). The root is that from which the plant draws its nourishment; the foundation is that upon which we build. All the blessing of which the Apostle speaks is traced up to the heart of God — "His great love wherewith He loved us" (Eph. 2:4). Moreover we do well to be "founded in love," building not on our love to God and to Christ, but on divine love to us. "We love Him because He first loved us." It is ever God's way to teach through the affections. Spiritual apprehension depends not upon human intelligence, but comes through divinely wrought affection in the soul.

The main burden of the prayer is that Christ may dwell by faith in our hearts, that He may be abidingly the controlling centre of our deepest affections. This can only be as we are strengthened by the Spirit's mighty power in the inner man, for naturally that which is selfish controls us, and we are fickle and uncertain. Christ dwelling in our hearts, we become rooted and grounded in love, His love not ours. Only as rooted and grounded in love can we proceed to know the love of Christ which surpasses all knowledge.

The result of Christ dwelling in the heart is to root and ground us in love. If Christ, the One in whom, and through whom, all the love of the Father has been made known, is dwelling in our hearts, He will surely fill the heart with a knowledge and enjoyment of divine love.

(V. 18). Christ dwelling in the heart prepares the way for the third great request, that we may be “fully able to apprehend with all the saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height.” God teaches us through our affections, so that the way to this apprehension is not only by faith, but by “being rooted and grounded in love”. Through the work of the Spirit, Christ dwells in our hearts by faith; dwelling there by faith He fills our hearts with love, and love prepares us to apprehend. Further, this love leads us to embrace “all saints”, for the more we enjoy the love of Christ, the more our hearts will go out to all who are loved by Christ.

The Holy Spirit strengthens us in the inward man that Christ might dwell in our hearts through faith. It is always the way of divine love, having given divine assurance to our hearts, to lead us on in the knowledge of the beloved Son of God, in whom divine love has been made known; and thus, being rooted vitally ourselves in that love, and founded in it, too, as to our character, we may prosper in what is vital, abiding and eternal, for the glory of God.

In Ephesians 3:17 the Apostle prays that "Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith." The word translated 'dwell' is the same word as in Matt. 2:23, "He came and dwelt at Nazareth." The Greek word is kat-oikeo. The first part is the same word as is used in kata-luo, — to-be-guest; and the other part is from oikos, 'a house.' The whole word means 'to settle, to dwell.' Some think 'To make one's home' is nearer the true meaning; or, perhaps, 'to settle down.' Either translation seems to bring a lovely thought: "That Christ may make His home in your hearts." When I am in my 'home' every part of the house is open to me: nothing is hidden or closed: all is, in a sense, mine. I doubt not this is the meaning here in Ephesians. But before He can do this we need to receive Him joyfully, like Zacchaeus, and He must be able to claim my heart as His Guestchamber. And not only will He come in and sup with us, and we with Him: but we will find He makes our hearts His very home. In John 14:23 He tells us much the same: "If a man love Me he will keep my words: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him." The word for 'abode' is the very same word translated 'mansions' in Verse 2. "In My Father's house are many mansions: … I go to prepare a place for you." He is preparing the mansions for us in the Father's House; shall not we prepare a 'home', an 'abode', for Him now, down here? And the secret of preparing that 'mansion' for Him is to keep, not His commandments, as in Verse 21; but His words: which go further. Lord, help us so to do, for Thy Name's sake!

This was not all Paul prayed for, but "that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith." This is quite a different thought from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This is always true, in virtue of redemption, whatever the spiritual state may be; but here we have the conscious enjoyment of Christ within — Himself and His love the stay and delight of the soul. What do we know of it? We become thus "rooted and grounded in love," and able to look out calmly, yet with wonder, upon the boundless sphere of glory opened, in the counsels of God, to our view.

But we comprehend the breadth, and length, and depth, and height (that is, of the mystery) "with all saints." But there is more. The rich enjoyment of Christ's love, and the understanding of the varied counsels of God enlarge the affections: our hearts share with all the objects of the same wondrous grace — with all who are to have a part in the same glory with Christ. In chap. 1 the apostle speaks approvingly of their "love to all the saints", and in Eph. 6:18, he exhorts to prayer "with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints." This is Gods way, though love does not necessarily show itself in the same way toward all. "We know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep His commandments" (1 John 5:2).

"That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith" (v. 17). This is not having happy feelings, or suavity of character, etc. It is one thing to be safe in the ark on the Ararat of God, and another thing for Christ to dwell in the heart by faith. Oh what a quantity of care goes out when Christ is there! If Christ is the master of the house, and dwelling in it, He does not let the dust and cobwebs accumulate, but He fills it altogether: and should a sudden start come to the heart, there will be found not fear, but Christ.

But in Ephesians 3 he prays, not merely that they should know what grace had thus wrought and given, but what God could now work by Christ in them, not what He had wrought for them in Christ. This leads him to show the all-importance of Christ dwelling in the heart by faith. It is not the Spirit of God dwelling in us; it is just as sure now that He has come and abides, as the work of Christ for us. The Holy Ghost, in virtue of that work, never leaves the Christian; when given, He never departs. But Christ may not be always dwelling in our hearts. Let us look well to it that we do not make this to be a part of the standing privilege of the believer. It is not so, but a question of spiritual experience after we are established in our place before God. He prays for them that the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ would grant them according to the riches of His glory to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man. It is not a place that is conferred. It is not our standing before God; but something that ought to be renewed day by day — to be "strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man." And how would this be proved? "That Christ," says he, "may dwell in your hearts by faith." Now we all know alas! what failure in respect of this is. We know what it is to have other objects occupying us, instead of our heart fixed on the Lord. We know what it is to have all kinds of objects that plead for notice, and that claim our thought and affection, distracting us from Christ. Then and thus we are weak, not "strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man."