Ephesians 3.14-19 14 For this reason I bow my knees
before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,
16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be
strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that
Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and
grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what
is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of
Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness
of God. (ESV)
I probably need to read this sentence (a long one) over
and over again, so that, I get it. Whoever numbered the Scriptures, assigning
chapters and verses blew it here: this is one complete thought, so that: we get it. They should have stopped at Ephesians 3.14 and let us
have the whole enchilada. Sometimes what gets started, imperfect as it is,
cannot be stopped.
Well, what Paul, what do we get? We get the strength
to comprehend with all the saints what is
the breadth, length, and height of love. And we get the knowledge of the
love of Jesus Christ which surpasses knowledge that we may be filled with the
fullness of God. That takes divine strength – which we don’t by nature have;
and it takes divine knowledge, which we’re short on as well.
So, we need to be
strengthened with power from God for Christ to dwell in our hearts by faith and
we need God’s strength to comprehend the incomprehensible. The fact that
God loves us at all is a miracle beyond words and the fact that this is all
because of His grace is simply a marvel – how could God do such a thing for
people like us!?
God’s power is immense but it isn’t off limits. God
desires that we catch even a glimpse of how good and great He is so that we’ll
quit trying to substitute the things of this world for the things of His
presence. If we all spent one whole day simply meditating on the fact that
Jesus loves us this we know; for the Bible tells us so, it would make a huge
difference in our lives and how we approach this old world with all its weird
whackiness. It doesn’t matter what is going on in our lives – no matter how big
or severe – God loves us in Christ, and that’s what makes all the difference in
any and every situation.
And we can’t (or shouldn’t) take this lightly – our eternity
depends on our getting it: by His grace; by His love; by His presence. All the
human power and ingenuity in the world cannot compare to one whisper of His
love. It’s no wonder Paul spent so much time trying to explain this to people –
IT”S IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And we need to know; and we can only know by
God’s strength, and that’s why Paul prayed for them (and us) that the power of
God open our feeble hearts and minds to the majesty of its truth.
And that is why I need to read it over and over again: so
that I get it!
Father, help me, and the people I know, to get it – we need
it – and You know it.
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