Strengthened With Might
16” that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,” Ephesians 3:16-17 NKJV
Did you read that? If you weren’t enthralled, then look at it once more because God is telling you that He Himself will strengthen you with His own might, in your inner man. If it is in your inner man, it’s not going anywhere and it can’t get lost. It is securely housed within you! Do you feel like you lack strength in this life? It tells you here that you need to grab hold of His might to strengthen you.
God is promising to re-enforce you with His strength from the “rich” treasury of His glory. That means He has plenty for you. This strength comes from the might of the Holy Spirit within us. This is the inner man He refers to in this verse. This strength is already yours because you are plugged into His power, the Holy Spirit. That is because the Holy Spirit came to dwell within you at the moment you accepted the sacrificial work of Jesus at your salvation.
Now you may say that you don’t feel His strength in you, but your feelings will not perceive the things of the spiritual realm. You have to “know” it in faith, accept and believe that His Spirit is in you, with all that is promised from the Spirit, regardless of whether you feel anything or not. When you stand in faith and believe, you likely won’t feel it, but it will manifest in you and you will then see and realize what you “know” in faith.
In verse 16, Paul speaks of the “inner man. This is both your soul and your spirit, two-thirds of who you are. It is the combination of your spirit (where the Holy Spirit dwells within you, the part of you made alive at salvation), and your soul (your mind, will, thoughts and personality). When your soul (which is where your will is), agrees with the Spirit of God that is in you, then that mighty power of the Holy Spirit flows.
Verse 17 says believe in faith the Word you have and not what you feel, so your soul agrees with what is in your spirit from His Spirit and then this causes Christ to settle in your heart with His strength for you. This is your secure foundation of His strength and according to the Amplified Bible, His love rooted in you.
Do you need His strength in your life? He has a rich abundance for you through His Holy Spirit that dwells within you already. Tap into that strength and its corresponding love.
J Todd Hostetler