We may say that Ephesians 3:16-19 is the highest and most central word in the Bible. This portion says, “That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit into the inner man, that Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be full of strength to apprehend with all the saints what the breadth and length and height and depth are and to know the knowledge-surpassing love of Christ, that you may be filled unto all the fullness of God.”
This portion of the Word shows us the Holy Spirit, Christ, and God, who fills all things. Although the words are simple, what is spoken of here is very mysterious, and what is included here is extremely rich. Not only is God Himself mentioned, but the riches and the fullness of God are also mentioned. Here we should not only pay attention to the fact that we may be filled, but also to the fact that we may be filled unto all the fullness of God.
We all know that the eternal intention of God is to work Himself into us and to be mingled with us. Unable to comprehend this, some say, “How can God and man be mingled together? And how can God mingle Himself with man?” There is at least one verse in the Bible that shows us this matter, saying clearly and emphatically, “that you may be filled unto all the fullness of God” (v. 19). Not only does God want to come into us and be mingled with us, but He also wants to fill us with all His riches-all that He is and all that He has-that we may become His fullness and expression. This, the ultimate purpose of God, is marvelous and mysterious.
All Bible scholars acknowledge that Ephesians is the highest book in the Bible and that verse 19 of chapter three is the highest point, the center, of the book of Ephesians. Paul prayed before God on behalf of the church in Ephesus day after day. Even though the church in Ephesus was already very high and spiritual, God still had His highest desire and purpose for them. From this we see how much God’s desire for His children is neglected and how hard it is for man to reach God’s desire. What God has desired throughout the ages is that we would be filled with Him unto His fullness.
How can we be filled with the riches of all that God is? This requires the work of the Holy Spirit within us. If the Holy Spirit does not work in us, we cannot be filled, nor can we have God’s riches mingled with us. In other words, unless we allow the Holy Spirit to work in us, the riches of God cannot possibly become our inward element. The Holy Spirit works in us so that we may know the Christ who is making home in our hearts. Hence, here it mentions that the Holy Spirit dwells in us and that Christ is making His home in our hearts in order to reveal Christ to us little by little so that we may experience Him in a practical way. When we experience Christ inwardly, we will be able to taste and experience the riches of all that God is.
God has put Himself into Christ. Moreover, after Christ’s death and resurrection, He enters into us and dwells in us through the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 3:16 says, “That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit into the inner man.” This verse tells us that the Spirit who is in us is working in us. The result of the Spirit’s working in us is that Christ indwells us, making His home in our hearts. It is the Spirit who indwells us, but when the Spirit is working in us, He gives us the feeling that it is Christ who is making home in our hearts. Why is this? It is because through the Spirit that Christ indwells us.
When the Spirit works in us, Christ makes His home in our hearts so that we may be filled unto all the fullness of God. Here we see a wonderful sequence: the Spirit’s working in us gives us the sense that Christ is in us, and Christ’s being in us is God’s filling us inwardly. What is the reason? It is because God is in Christ, and Christ dwells in us through the Spirit. When the Spirit is in us, Christ is in us; when Christ is in us, God is in us.
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