Ephesians 3:17

That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
That	τὸν ton	G3588	the (sometimes to be supplied · article — accusative singular masculine
Christ	Χριστὸν Christon	G5547	anointed · noun — accusative singular masculine, a title
dwell	κατοικῆσαι katoikēsai	G2730	to house permanently · verb — aorist active infinitive
in	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
your	ὑμῶν hymōn	G5216	of (from or concerning) you
hearts	καρδίαις kardiais	G2588	the heart · noun — dative plural feminine
by	διὰ dia	G1223	through (in very wide applications · preposition
faith	πίστεως pisteōs	G4102	persuasion · noun — genitive singular feminine
rooted	ἐρριζωμένοι errizōmenoi	G4492	to root (figuratively · verb — perfect passive participle, nominative plural masculine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
grounded	τεθεμελιωμένοι, tethemeliōmenoi	G2311	to lay a basis for · verb — perfect passive participle, nominative plural masculine
in	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
love	ἀγάπῃ agapē	G26	love · noun — dative singular feminine

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Colossians 2:7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make…
1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by th…
Romans 5:5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
Ephesians 2:21-22 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he wi…
2 Corinthians 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and w…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Ephesians 3:14–end

We now come to the second part of this chapter, which contains Paul's devout and affectionate prayer to God for his beloved Ephesians. - For this cause. This may be referred either to the immediately foregoing verse, That you faint not, etc., or, rather, the apostle is here resuming what he began at the first verse, from which he digressed in those which are interposed. Observe, I. To whom he prays - to God, as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of which see Eph 1:3. II. His outward posture in prayer, which was humble and reverent: I bow my knees. Note, When we draw nigh to God, we should reverence him in our hearts, and express our reverence in the most suitable and becoming behaviour and…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Ephesians 3:17

That--So that. dwell--abidingly make His abode (Joh 14:23). Where the Spirit is there Christ is (Joh 14:16, Joh 14:18). by faith--Greek, "through faith," which opens the door of the heart to Jesus (Joh 3:20). It is not enough that He be on the tongue, or flit through the brain: the heart is His proper seat [CALVIN]. "You being rooted and grounded in love" (compare Eph 3:19), is in the Greek connected with this clause, not with the clause, "that ye may be able to comprehend." "Rooted" is an image from a tree; "grounded" (Greek, "founder," "having your foundations resting on"), from a building (compare Notes,, see on Eph 2:20-21; Col 1:23; Col 2:7). Contrast Mat 13:6, Mat 13:21. "Love," th…

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Adam Clarke on Ephesians 3:17

That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith - In this as well as in many other passages, and particularly that in Eph 2:21 (note), the apostle compares the body or Church of true believers to a temple, which, like that of Solomon, is built up to be a habitation of God through the Spirit. Here, as Solomon did at the dedication of the temple at Jerusalem, Ch2 6:1, etc., Paul, having considered the Church at Ephesus completely formed, as to every external thing, prays that God may come down and dwell in it. And as there could be no indwelling of God but by Christ, and no indwelling of Christ but by faith, he prays that they may have such faith in Christ, as shall keep them in constant possess…

The Church Fathers

Thus when, writing to the Ephesians, he spoke of "Christ dwelling in their inner man," he meant, no doubt, that the Lord ought to be admitted into their senses. He then added, "in your hearts by faith, rooted and grounded in love,"-making "faith" and "love" not substantial parts, but only conceptions of the soul.
— Tertullian, On the Resurrection of the Flesh

Paul prays that believers be made more steadfast, not doubting but believing increasingly that Christ dwells in them even when they do not see him with their physical eyes. He prays that the Spirit which has been given them might infuse into them a certainty that Christ lives and is the Son of God, so that he lives by faith in their hearts. Thus when we have faith in him we behold him in our hearts. The benefit of this is that we grow more sure of his blessing. He does not desert us. He is always present through that faith in him which he guards in us. The gift of the Spirit, which is also the gift of God the Father, is given to us that he may keep us safe, to his glory.
— Ambrosiaster, EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 3.17.1-2

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Dwell — Tents were in primitive times the common dwellings of men. Houses were afterwards built, the walls of which were frequently of mud (Job 24:16; Matt. 6:19, 20) or of sun-dried bricks. God “dwells in…
Fellowship — (1.) With God, consisting in the knowledge of his will (Job 22:21; John 17:3); agreement with his designs (Amos 3:2); mutual affection (Rom. 8: 38, 39); enjoyment of his presence (Ps. 4:6);…
Prayer — Is converse with God; the intercourse of the soul with God, not in contemplation or meditation, but in direct address to him. Prayer may be oral or mental, occasional or constant, ejaculatory or…
Faith · Produces: Christ dwells in the heart by — Produces: Christ dwells in the heart by
Love · 21:13; — 21:13;
Paradox · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Paschal Lamb, Typical Nature Of · Not taken out of the house — Not taken out of the house
Prayer, Intercessory · By ministers for their people — By ministers for their people
Union With Christ · Described as: Christ being in us — Described as: Christ being in us

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Ephesians 3:17

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Ephesians 3:14–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Ephesians 3:17

Adam Clarke on Ephesians 3:17

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Ephesians 3:17

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Ephesians 3:14–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Ephesians 3:17

Adam Clarke on Ephesians 3:17

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Ephesians 3:17

John Calvin on Ephesians 3:14-19

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Ephesians 3:17