Ephesians 3:16-17

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. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love

From Background Notes [BN] for July 26th & 27th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

How are we made strong? Paul leaves no doubt that God's plan for our growth has already been initiated when Christ came to live in our hearts. He is not talking here about our initial salvation...

...which he accepts as a settled fact, but about the kind of relationship we are cultivating with the "indwelling Christ.” The Greek word, translated by most versions as "dwell,” is really the word katoikēsai, having the root oikos which means "house,” as we have already encountered in Ephesians. Compounded as it is with kata, the emphasis is on intensifying the action of the verb. In our translation (right box above) we have opted for "might be at home.” That is, Christ may live in our hearts, but the real question is, has he made our hearts his home? Throughout his letter/sermon, Paul has been reminding the readers about things they already know, with the intention of deepening that understanding. "Is Christ at home in our hearts?" Paul asks. That is the "sanctification" question.  [BN,7]

Join us this week in Study, Worship, Praise and Celebration at Chicago First Church of the Nazarene:

* Saturday 6:00pm
* Sunday 8:30am & 11:00am