Sunday, March 25, 2018

Ephesians 3:16-17 and Jesus Dwelling in One's Heart


In Eph 3:16-17 we read the following:

That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love.

In this text, Paul promises the faithful that Christ will dwell in their hearts. Notwithstanding, in the New Testament, even after his resurrection, Jesus is presented as being embodied (which is accepted by Trinitarians—it is part of the Hypostatic Union and the teachings of Chalcedon) and whose body exists in one place (e.g., Acts 1:11; 7:55-56; Phil 3:21; Heb 7:24-25; 8:1, 3; Rev 5:5-6, etc). So, Paul is not teaching that the person of Jesus will dwell in one’s heart, but that he will dwell therein spiritually. This is similar to how Latter-day Saint apologists (myself included) answer the purported contradiction about whether God can dwell in hearts based on Alma 34:36 and D&C 130:3. For a fuller discussion, see: