Bible Strands
Ephesians 3:17
so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. Then you, being rooted and grounded in love,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul addresses the Ephesian believers while continuing a prayer he began in Ephesians 3:14, asking that Christ would take up permanent residence in their inner lives.
The words — κατοικῆσαι (katoikēsai) denotes a permanent dwelling or settled residence, and διὰ τῆς πίστεως (dia tēs pisteōs) literally translates to "through faith."
The thread — The metaphor of being "rooted" reappears in Colossians 2:7 alongside the instruction to be built up in Christ. The theme of divine indwelling through love and faith connects to the promise in John 14:23 and the abiding principle in 1 John 4:16.
Why it lands — The text requires believers to maintain active trust as the mechanism for Christ's permanent occupancy, which then fixes their position within a settled foundation of love.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
Cross-references
- Colossians 2:7 rooted and built up in Him, established in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
- John 14:23 Jesus replied, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
- 1 John 4:16 And we have come to know and believe the love that God has for us. God is love; whoever abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
- Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
- Romans 5:5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.
- Ephesians 2:21 In Him the whole building is fitted together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord.
- Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him, and he with Me.
- 2 Corinthians 6:16 What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.”
- 1 John 4:4 You, little children, are from God and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
- Isaiah 57:15 For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in a high and holy place, and with the oppressed and humble in spirit, to restore the spirit of the lowly and revive the heart of the contrite.