PT-1 "Christ's Indwelling"

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/9/2019 10:14 AM

My Worship Time                                                                     Focus:  PT-1 “Christ’s Indwelling”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                  Reference:  Ephesians 3:17a

            Message of the verses:  “so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith;”

            MacArthur writes “so ‘that’ translates hina, a Greek word used to introduce purpose clauses.  The purpose of being ‘strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man’ is ‘that Christ may dwell in [our] hearts through faith.’”

            Paul is not writing about Christ’s indwelling believers in salvation here, but indwelling them for the purpose of sanctification.  We have mentioned that sanctification involves three stages:  First we are sanctified at salvation, that is set apart to Christ, second we have what is called a progressive sanctification, that is speaking of our spiritual growth, and thirdly we will be perfectly sanctified when we get to heaven.

            MacArthur writes “katoikeo (‘dwell’) is a compound word, formed from ‘kata (Down) and oikeo (to inhabit a house).  In the context of this passage the connotation is not simply that of being inside the house of our ‘hearts’ but of being at home there, settled down as a family member.  Christ cannot be ‘at home’ in our hearts until our inner person submits to the strengthening of His Spirit.  Until the Spirit controls our lives, Jesus Christ cannot be comfortable there, but only stays like a tolerated visitor.  Paul’s teaching here does not relate to the fact of Jesus’ presence in the hearts of believers but to the quality of His presence.”

            It looks like that I will make this rather short section of Scripture into two Spiritual Diaries because of the fact that it is the week-end and I try to do shorter SD’s on the week-end because of studying more intensely for my Sunday school class.  I will close this SD with a story that goes along with Christ feeling at home in our hearts, and it comes from Genesis chapters 18 and 19.

            In the eighteenth chapter of Genesis we find a story that tells of the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ and two angels coming to meet with Abraham and his wife Sarah.  It was the heat of the day when they came to meet Abraham and Sarah and so it was a time of resting and keeping out of the sun, but as soon as they got there Abraham asked Sarah to get food for them.  It did not take too long for Abraham and Sarah to realize that they were being visited by God, and so they tried to make Him home in their house, or in this case “their tent.”  The second Person of the Godhead was telling Abraham what He was planning to do to Sodom and Gomorrah as there were wicked people in that city.  Abraham fearing for his nephew Lot began to talk to the Lord, actually trying to bargain with Him beginning with saying if there were fifty people would He destroy the city, and going down to ten, but there were not ten righteous people there. 

            The Lord did not go to visit Lot even though he was a believer as He sent His two angels to visit Lot and his family.  The Lord did not feel at home in Lot’s house as He did in Abraham and Sara’s house.

            In our next SD we will look for a bit at a book that was written by Robert Munger, My Heart Christ’s Home.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It is a very important thing for Christ in the Person of the Holy Spirit to be at home in my heart, in my home.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to learn more about Romans 12:3.

Today’s quote:  “Worry is an old man with bended head, carrying a load of feathers which he thinks are lead (Corrie Ten Boom).”