That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith
This is another petition put up by the apostle for the Ephesians,
which is for the inhabitation of Christ in them: the inhabitant
Christ is he who dwells in the highest heavens, who dwells in the
Father, and the Father in him, in whom all fulness dwells, the
fulness of the Godhead, and the fulness of grace; so that those
in whose hearts he dwells cannot want any good thing, must be in
the greatest safety, and enjoy the greatest comfort and pleasure;
and this inhabitation of Christ prayed for is not to be
understood in such sense, as he dwells everywhere, being the
omnipresent God; or as he dwells in the human nature; nor of his
dwelling merely by his Spirit, but of a personal indwelling of
his; and which is an instance of his special grace: he dwells in
his people, as a king in his palace, to rule and protect them,
and as a master in his family to provide for them, and as their
life to quicken them; it is in consequence of their union to him,
and is expressive of their communion with him, and is perpetual;
where he once takes up his residence, he never totally and
finally departs: the place where he dwells is not their heads,
nor their tongues, but their hearts; and this is where no good
thing dwells but himself and his grace; and where sin dwells, and
where he is often slighted, opposed, and rebelled against: the
means by which he dwells is faith; which is not the bond of union
to Christ, nor the cause of his being and dwelling in the hearts
of his people; but is the instrument or means by which they
receive him, and retain him, and by which they have communion
with him:
that ye being rooted and grounded in love;
either in love to God, and one another; for faith and love go
together; and love is sometimes weak, and needs establishing; and
what serves to root and ground persons in it, are the discoveries
of God's love, views of Christ's loveliness, the consideration of
blessings received, and the communion they have with God, and
Christ, and one another, and a larger insight into the doctrines
of the Gospel: or rather in the love of God to them; which is the
root and foundation of salvation; this is in itself immovable and
immutable; but saints have not always the manifestations of it,
and sometimes call it in question, and have need to be rooted and
grounded in it; which is to have a lively sense of it, and to be
persuaded of interest in it, and that nothing shall be able to
separate from it.