Blessed Me Posted November 26, 2006 Report Share Posted November 26, 2006 Q1. (Ephesians 3:16-17) Do the concepts of (a) strengthened by the Spirit in the inner person, and ( Christ dwelling in our hearts say the same thing, or are they separate and distinct ideas? What do you think? (John 14:17) Jesus told His disciples, the Holy Spirit is with us, but He shall be in you. It is by the Spirit we are drawn to salvation. It is by our "faith" our will to believe in Christ Jesus that we are saved. Once we opened our heart to Jesus, the Holy Spirit came into us, He indwelled in us, we are born again. Jesus instructed the disciples to go to Jerusalem and wait for the promise of the Father. They will need the power of the Holy Spirit, for they are to be a light to the world. Acts 1:4-8 The Spirit is in you, but when the Spirit comes upon you, you will be empowered for unique ministry and service, and then you will be My witnesses. The Spirit draws us to salvation, and once our heart is opened we are empowered to serve Him. The Holy Spirit is a person, He can be grieved. Ephesians 4:30 Paul writes "Grieve not the Holy Spirit whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Christ has come to change our "hearts" for it is there He would like to dwell, feel at home. It is not in our head, not in our traditions but in our hearts He is able to perform His wonders on our lives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbcrna1 Posted November 29, 2006 Report Share Posted November 29, 2006 In Ephesians 3:14, Paul talks about the Father from whom we derive our name. The Father is the creator the originator, the Spirit is the power and Jesus is the Word manifest in the world, the truth or the gospel. The way to the Father. In another prayer Paul talks about us knowing our hope, our inheritance and the power available to us who believe. The vehicle is faith. God calls us to him and we make a free will decision to believe the truth of Jesus, then the Spirit is the power of our new life, to change ourselves and the world. God loves us, Jesus saves us and the Spirit changes us and everything through our faith in action. It is not that simple, but it is so beautiful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda Stanley Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 Yes ,the concepts of what Paul is praying is the same.Paul is just explaining it to us in the same truth.Now we are made alive with Christ who is in us which Paul is praying for our inner strength.We can pray that same prayer ,having faith to believe that we need Christ's inner strength to help us in our every day life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelOnLine Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 Q1. (Ephesians 3:16-17) Do the concepts of (a) strengthened by the Spirit in the inner person, and ( Christ dwelling in our hearts say the same thing, or are they separate and distinct ideas? What do you think? Christ and The Spirit are one so I believe these two statements are the same. When I invite Christ into my heart and accept Him as my Lord and Savior, I am then strengthened by the Holy Spirit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candygoo58 Posted December 30, 2006 Report Share Posted December 30, 2006 Q1. (Ephesians 3:16-17) Do the concepts of (a) strengthened by the Spirit in the inner person, and ( Christ dwelling in our hearts say the same thing, or are they separate and distinct ideas? What do you think? I think they are the same thing. Both cause us to be strengthened by the Holy Spirit and by Christ. The Holy Spirit encourages our inner man in prayer, and Christ gives us strength in knowing he is there for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymond Posted December 31, 2006 Report Share Posted December 31, 2006 They are complementary ideas. Christ must first dwell in our hearts before He can fill us with His Spirit. the filling of the Holy Spirit is an act of grace that is completed once a believer decides to accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior; while the life of the spirit is a day to day act of surrendeer by one in whose heart already dwells. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sis. dee Posted February 2, 2007 Report Share Posted February 2, 2007 Q1. (Ephesians 3:16-17) Do the concepts of (a) strengthened by the Spirit in the inner person, and ( Christ dwelling in our hearts say the same thing, or are they separate and distinct ideas? What do you think? I believe they say the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewell Posted March 10, 2007 Report Share Posted March 10, 2007 I believe these two concepts are inter-related in that when we accept Christ into our hearts he sends the Spirit who provides our strength. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucy T Posted March 22, 2007 Report Share Posted March 22, 2007 Q1. (Ephesians 3:16-17) Do the concepts of (a) strengthened by the Spirit in the inner person, and ( Christ dwelling in our hearts say the same thing, or are they separate and distinct ideas? What do you think? The spirit's inner strengthening is the same thing as Christ dwelling in our hearts; this is just two ways of expressing the same truth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua Ofosu Anim Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 Q1. (Ephesians 3:16-17) Do the concepts of (a) strengthened by the Spirit in the inner person, and ( Christ dwelling in our hearts say the same thing, or are they separate and distinct ideas? What do you think? I think the two are the same because when you read the verse critically you will realise that it was one sentence that was broken into two verses. Take the verses out and you have: "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith". Now I believe the meaning is obvious - For Christ to dwell our hearts we need the Spirit to empower (by convicting us to repent and accept Christ) our inner being (spirit). Simply, the Spirit empowers our inner being so that Christ may dwell in our hearts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meandean Posted May 18, 2007 Report Share Posted May 18, 2007 Q1. (Ephesians 3:16-17) Do the concepts of (a) strengthened by the Spirit in the inner person, and ( Christ dwelling in our hearts say the same thing, or are they separate and distinct ideas? What do you think? i think they are separate and distinctive ideas. why? well you can have a toaster all nice and pretty but unless it is plugged in, it aint of much use. the moment we believed, christ entered our hearts, but the only way we are gonna defeat this here flesh is only by his holy spirit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beadie Posted October 9, 2007 Report Share Posted October 9, 2007 To me, the spirit is the Holy Spirit, one manifestation of the Trinity. Christ as the Son is another manifestation of the Trinity. At the same time, our inner person, being the spiritual, loving, feeling person, is the same thing as the heart in this context. The heart in ancient times referred to the center of all our emotions, including love and faith, and even today carries that connotation. As a result, in this context, the inner spirit and the heart are simply two different ways of referring to the same thing. Basically what is being said here in both passages results in asking that the Trinity dwell in us and infuse us with love and faith. The love and faith of the Son, given to us through the power of the Holy Spirit as children of the Father - Wow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suellen Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 I believe that they are the same thing just two different ways of getting the same point across to be able to understand it better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryon Posted January 21, 2008 Report Share Posted January 21, 2008 Q1. (Ephesians 3:16-17) Do the concepts of (a) strengthened by the Spirit in the inner person, and ( Christ dwelling in our hearts say the same thing, or are they separate and distinct ideas? What do you think? Strengthened by the Spirit seems to imply that over time, we get discouraged or weakened and we need to be Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXII Posted December 23, 2008 Report Share Posted December 23, 2008 Q1. (Ephesians 3:16-17) Do the concepts of (a) strengthened by the Spirit in the inner person, and ( Christ dwelling in our hearts say the same thing, or are they separate and distinct ideas? What do you think? Of course they are different. Probably one of the best prayers in the Bible that touches on a great lesson that can be learned. One that I feel many religions lost sight of. The heart, in the way people view it, is tangilble but the inner person is not and cannot be understood by the mind. The inner person, some may call it your true self, is the soul and our soul is surrounded by our spirit. It is within all of us and it is here where the God in all of us lives. It is the 'I am' and when Christ dwells in our hearts the Holy Spirit leads us to want to re-discover this presence. I say re-discover because everybody has it and it was never lost just forgotten by the lives we live. Therefore, everybody has a true self, a soul. Everybody has a heart. But without Christ in your heart you will not find your inner person. You will always have the two and to find the inner person you need the heart. Our inner person/self is where God lives. Where there is no pain, all peace. XXII Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edler Posted May 13, 2009 Report Share Posted May 13, 2009 I think as we are strengthened by power thru His Spirit in our inner being we are increaingly aware of Christ's presence in our heart more and more. Such as when we go thru trials. In Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image in the image of God created he him male and female created he them. Here God put his spirit into man inner being.Adam broken the link between man and God by sinning. and Jesus Christ put it back together from the cross to the grave the cord are back together againt as it was in Gen:1:27. So from our heart flow the issue of life from Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit in our being. were our strengthened come from proverbs 4:23 apart b "for out of it are the issues of life." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicki Higgins Posted July 1, 2009 Report Share Posted July 1, 2009 I think the concepts of (a) strengthened by the Spirit in the inner person, and ( Christ dwelling in our hearts say the same thing, yet are separate and distinct ideas in the same way that the Spirit and Christ are the same, and yet separate and distinct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanMary Posted July 15, 2009 Report Share Posted July 15, 2009 Q1. (Ephesians 3:16-17) Do the concepts of (a) strengthened by the Spirit in the inner person, and ( Christ dwelling in our hearts say the same thing, or are they separate and distinct ideas? What do you think? They seem to say about the same thing but perhaps have a different "twist" in how our lives are affected: Strengthened by the Spirit and reinforced with mighty power (Amp.) is a prayer for our spiritual strength and reinforcement. (v.16) I think Paul is praying for our spiritual stability and maturity in the face of constant attacks from our enemy who tries to turn us away from faith and away from God. That we would walk in His power and not in the flesh. Our inner being is where Christ dwells, and once He's been invited in at conversion, He stays. ("Never, never, never will I leave you nor forsake you.") (v.17) this prayer is for our faith to recognize that Christ dwells in our hearts...not just for head knowledge, but for revelation knowledge so that we know that we know that we know..and against the lie that Satan tells new believers "Jesus didn't REALLY come into your heart"...faith unshakable! Then goes on to say "May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love"... or in other words, that we are so constantly aware of christ dwelling in us that we allow His love to permeate our very foundation, which would then flow out to those around us. (We can't give what we don't have!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanks Posted August 31, 2009 Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 Q1. (Ephesians 3:16-17) Do the concepts of "strengthened by the Spirit in the inner person", and "Christ dwelling in our hearts" say the same thing, or are they separate and distinct ideas? What do you think? I think they mean the same; as Pastor Ralph says "these are two ways to express the same truth". Christ and the Spirit cannot be separated. When we as believers have the Spirit within ourselves we have Christ within ourselves, as is very clear from Romans 8:9-10," You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness." Christ's precious indwelling is through faith; and faith is full surrender to God in Christ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sasquatch Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Q1. (Ephesians 3:16-17) Do the concepts of (a) strengthened by the Spirit in the inner person, and (Christ dwelling in our hearts say the same thing, or are they separate and distinct ideas? What do you think? As discussed in the text, the heart refers to the center and source of inner life. Christ dwelling in our hearts is very similar to God strengthening us with power through his Spirit in our inner being. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmars Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 Q1. (Ephesians 3:16-17) Do the concepts of (a) strengthened by the Spirit in the inner person, and ( Christ dwelling in our hearts say the same thing, or are they separate and distinct ideas? What do you think? These two statements are paired,to reinforce the understanding that it is christ that strenthens (the holy spirit)that causes Christ to dwell. This is understood because the first part of this verse states "I pray that out of HIS glorious riches HE may strengthen you with power through HIS Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith." (3:16b-17a) HIS, HE, HIS refers to the indwelling Holy Spirit (Christ)Which we receive at baptism to do the work of empowering us which sustains (keeps Christ secure in our hearts because our faith is anchored in HIM). So, begins the second part of this verse and indicates as a result of this, HE dwells (present tense). HIS presence (Christ)is secured in us. These 2 concepts are not seperate and distinct ideas but one conveying the idea that it is the fullness of Christ that every believer would have for which Paul prays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wifee Posted June 16, 2010 Report Share Posted June 16, 2010 8a) The 2 concepts say broadly the same thing, with a slightly different emphasis. Christ and the Spirit cannot be separated. When we as believers have the Spirit within ourselves we have Christ within ourselves from point of conversion and there He stays. Never I will leave you or forsake you.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RLL Posted June 28, 2010 Report Share Posted June 28, 2010 Q1. (Ephesians 3:16-17) Do the concepts of (a) strengthened by the Spirit in the inner person, and ( Christ dwelling in our hearts say the same thing, or are they separate and distinct ideas? What do you think? I think they relate. Because the only way we can be strenthened by the spirit in our inner being is through Christ dwelling in our hearts. When we receive Him as our Lord and Savior He strengthens us in our inner being and changes our heart and way of thinking to become a new person. Praise God!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jripper Posted August 15, 2010 Report Share Posted August 15, 2010 Q1. (Ephesians 3:16-17) Do the concepts of (a) strengthened by the Spirit in the inner person, and ( Christ dwelling in our hearts say the same thing, or are they separate and distinct ideas? What do you think? I think so, Jesus and the HOLY SPIRIT are the same. When JESUS returned to the apostles, HE came as the HOLY GHOST. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyP Posted November 7, 2010 Report Share Posted November 7, 2010 Q1. (Ephesians 3:16-17) Do the concepts of (a) strengthened by the Spirit in the inner person, and ( Christ dwelling in our hearts say the same thing, or are they separate and distinct ideas? What do you think? Do the concepts of a strengthenend by the Spirit of the inner person, and Crhist dwelling in our hearts say the same thing or are they separate adn distinct ideas. Whew this is hard: I feel that they are two different ideas because our inner spirit is not right unless we have repented and ask Christ to come in our hearts and dwell. If not then how can your inner spirit which is crowded by sin because the flesh being in charge,know Christ. He will not come and dwell in our hearts because we will not know him and he will not know us, we will be in darkness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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