14 For this reason I bend my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner self, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to all the fullness of God.
—Ephesians 3:14-19
The Holy Spirit makes possible a deep knowing and intimate experience of God’s love which floods every corner of our personhood.
“Inner self” and “heart” in the text tip us off to a mind, emotions, affections, and will overwhelmed by a love that “surpasses knowledge.”
This is the birthplace of faith. It is from this experience of encounter that faith arises.
This is contrary to our instincts, where we scrunch up our face and bite down hard to muster up faith. Without encounter we are left with nothing but religion and a sore face.
Faith, resulting from an encounter with magnanimous love, then blows through us like a refreshing wind, propelling us forward in life.
