Strength for the Inner Being
Strength for the Inner Being
Thursday
That according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
— Ephesians 3:16-19 (ESV)
— Ephesians 3:16-19 (ESV)
We spend enormous energy strengthening what is external. We exercise our bodies, develop our skills, build our careers, and improve our circumstances. None of this is wrong, but Paul’s prayer points us to something far more essential: the strengthening of our inner being.
What is this “inner being”? It is the true self, the spiritual core, the part of you that will exist forever. It is where you think, feel, choose, and relate to God. And Paul prays that this inner person would be strengthened with power through God’s Spirit. Not human willpower. Not positive thinking. Not discipline alone. Divine power, mediated by the Holy Spirit, flooding the deepest parts of who we are.
Notice the purpose of this strengthening: “so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” The word “dwell” suggests permanent, settled residence—not a brief visit but a making of home. Christ wants to take up residence in the command center of your life. And from that place of settled presence, everything else flows.
Paul then describes what becomes possible when Christ dwells within: comprehension of love that surpasses knowledge. This is a beautiful paradox. We are to know something that exceeds knowledge. We are to grasp what is ultimately beyond grasping. This tells us that knowing Christ’s love is not merely intellectual but experiential. It is not just information but transformation.
And the dimensions Paul describes—breadth, length, height, depth—suggest that Christ’s love extends in every direction. There is no place you can go where His love does not reach. There is no circumstance that exceeds His care. There is no failure that exhausts His mercy. His love is wider than your wandering, longer than your life, higher than your aspirations, and deeper than your darkest moments.
What is this “inner being”? It is the true self, the spiritual core, the part of you that will exist forever. It is where you think, feel, choose, and relate to God. And Paul prays that this inner person would be strengthened with power through God’s Spirit. Not human willpower. Not positive thinking. Not discipline alone. Divine power, mediated by the Holy Spirit, flooding the deepest parts of who we are.
Notice the purpose of this strengthening: “so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” The word “dwell” suggests permanent, settled residence—not a brief visit but a making of home. Christ wants to take up residence in the command center of your life. And from that place of settled presence, everything else flows.
Paul then describes what becomes possible when Christ dwells within: comprehension of love that surpasses knowledge. This is a beautiful paradox. We are to know something that exceeds knowledge. We are to grasp what is ultimately beyond grasping. This tells us that knowing Christ’s love is not merely intellectual but experiential. It is not just information but transformation.
And the dimensions Paul describes—breadth, length, height, depth—suggest that Christ’s love extends in every direction. There is no place you can go where His love does not reach. There is no circumstance that exceeds His care. There is no failure that exhausts His mercy. His love is wider than your wandering, longer than your life, higher than your aspirations, and deeper than your darkest moments.
1. What does it practically look like to have your “inner being” strengthened by the Spirit? How have you experienced this?
2. Which dimension of Christ’s love do you need to comprehend more fully right now—its breadth, length, height, or depth?
2. Which dimension of Christ’s love do you need to comprehend more fully right now—its breadth, length, height, or depth?
Holy Spirit, I need Your strengthening power in my inner being today. I cannot manufacture spiritual vitality on my own. Come and do what only You can do. Deepen Christ’s dwelling in my heart. Expand my comprehension of His love. Root me and ground me in His care. May I know experientially what exceeds all knowledge—the love of Christ that transforms everything. Fill me with the fullness of God. Amen.
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