follows. Human strength and ability would be less than useless here. This empowering

would be measured by no less than the overwhelming riches of God's glory, which

measure defies description and explanation. The "inward man" is a phrase describing the

new nature given to the believer, "the new man" as opposed to the old nature or the flesh.

This great preparation by God is with a view to Christ dwelling in our hearts by or

through faith (17). To dwell means to take up one's abode, and here is an anticipation of

the permanent dwelling of Christ, the holy Temple which He is now building and will

occupy when it is complete. Each individual member of that Temple need not wait for

that future day; every one of us who are members by grace of the Body of Christ, can be

miniature temples into which He is graciously pleased to enter and make His home.

Let us not pass over this lightly. It is all very well to teach young people who are

unsaved to sing "Come into my heart, Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for Thee".

But such a tremendous experience is not for the unsaved, or even the immature believer,

but for those children of God who are growing up spiritually and have had this necessary

preparation of Divine strengthening, for without this who would be adequate to receive

such an exalted Guest? We do well too to remember the practical consequences of this

indwelling. We may be sure that the Lord Jesus Christ will not take up His abode within

us in any other place than the first. In other words He is coming in to take His rightful

place as Lord, and as such must take control of us completely. Are we willing to accord

Him this pre-eminence, the first place in our lives? (Col. 1: 18).

One might think that the indwelling Lord would be the climax, but there is a further

purpose in view: "to the end that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be strong to

apprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth" (17, 18

In 2: 21 we have the two figures of building and growing and similarly here the

Apostle uses "rooted" as of a plant, and "founded" (better than grounded) as of a

building. Col. 2: 7 is a parallel passage. In Eph. 3: 17 the rooting and the grounding

is in and upon love, the love of God shed abroad in our hearts. Here is no sentimental

thing. The great characteristic of Divine Love is that it continually gives and spends

itself for others and this is shown best of all in the greatest of all gifts, the unspeakable

gift of God's beloved Son (John 3: 16; II Cor. 9: 5). It is upon such love as this that

the believer is founded and rooted and it is only in this way that he can come to a

personal experience of this great prayer, and get to know "the love of Christ which

passeth knowledge" (19) with its breadth, length, depth and height. Here is veritable

limitless ocean which no one can fully plumb. It "exceeds (passeth) knowledge". Yet

the Apostle prays that the saints at Ephesus may know it for themselves. Here is a

seeming paradox, yet it is clear what Paul is seeking to convey. While it is impossible to

fully grasp what is infinite, yet each one of us can be filled up to our capacity in

understanding, whatever sized vessel we are. This is expressed in the last phrase of this

prayer: "that (in order that) ye may be filled unto all the fullness of God" (19 R.V.).

Here the R.V. is much to be preferred to the A.V., "filled with all the fullness of God".

How can any puny sinner contain all the fullness of God which is limitless? Not even