- INDWELL
ɪn'dwɛl verb. Be permanently present in someone [namely their soul or mind]. Possess spiritually. - [Indweller
ɪn'dwɛl'ər noun.]
There’s a hymn we sang in my church growing up; “He Lives” by Alfred Henry Ackley. Chorus goes like yea:
- He lives! He lives! Christ Jesus lives today!
- He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way
- He lives! He lives! Salvation to impart
- You ask me how I know he lives; he lives within my heart
’Cause that’s the common
As a boy I was taught Jesus knocks at the door of our hearts, asking to come in. (Much later, I read that particular bit of Revelation and found out
Where’d this live-in-our-hearts idea come from? One part bible, 99 parts popular Christian culture. And the bible part is dependent on
Ephesians 3.14-19 KJV - 14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19 and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
“That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith” in verse 17 is the only passage in the bible which refers to Christ Jesus living in anyone’s heart. It’s not that good a translation of the original,
But you know how we humans are: We take the germ of an idea and go nuts with it.
Hence the idea of Jesus in our hearts is really popular. You’ll find it all over English-speaking Christendom—and thanks to English-speaking missionaries, everywhere else. You’ll find it in Christian testimonies: “I know he’s real because he lives in my heart.” Sometimes they mean this metaphorically: Jesus occupies my thoughts, has my loyalty, I’m devoted to him, I love him. And okay, it’s fine to describe “Jesus in my heart” thataway. But does Christ Jesus, in whole or in part, materially or spiritually, dwell in me?
Nope. Wrong person
Ephesians 1.13-14 KWL - 13 In Christ you heard the truthful word—the good news of your salvation!
- In Christ you believed; you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit!
- 14 He’s the down payment of our inheritance—
- releasing our trust fund—praising God’s glory.