Knowing His Love
Ephesians 3:14-21
As humans we can only visualize the world around us in three dimensions. Our nervous systems are equipped to conjure images in merely three dimensions. We can visualize height, width, and depth. It is difficult for us to imagine a fourth dimension. Mathematicians and scientists are working on ways for us to visualize objects four dimensionally. Paul tells us that there are four dimensions to Christ’s love that we need to not only perceive but to comprehend. These can not be understood naturally but require the Holy Spirit to illuminate our eyes for us to be able to grasp the wonder of Christ’s love. May God open our eyes this morning as we consider the breadth, depth, length and height of Christ’s love.
I. The Breadth of Christ’s love
A. The breadth of Christ’s love is as expansive as the world’s circumference
B. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world That He gave His only Begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
C. The most common meaning for world in the Gospel of John is the created and fallen totality of mankind. It is the great mass of fallen humanity that needs salvation. It is you and I. - copied
D. Christ loves even the unlovely.
E. 1 John 4:10 “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
F. Get a hold on this truth. Jesus Christ loves those who hate Him. He loves those who purposefully jeer and mock Him, those who despise Him. Christ reaches out in love to the objectionable, the obnoxious, unlovely; to those people whom most people pay no attention to. He loves the outcast, the downtrodden, the unwanted, the unimportant, the overlooked and forgotten, and the unloved.
G. Ephesians 5:2 “And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.”
H. I have heard of a story of a visitor who was supposed to be a resident of heaven, who spent some time with a family on earth. The people of this family noticed that whenever this heavenly visitor went abroad he seemed to find even in the lowliest and most repulsive men and women something that was exceedingly attractive and toward which his heart went out. Upon asking him what it was that caused him to love these seemingly unlovely persons, he answered, "I have spent all of my time with Jesus, and love him with all my heart and soul. I have been with him so much that I have come to know the demeanor of his form and the look of his eye and almost every one of his gestures; and as I looked at these people that seemed to you so repulsive I could detect in every one of them some gesture or some expression of the face or voice that reminded me of Jesus, and I could not help loving them." – Chapman
II. The Length of Christ’s love
A. Jeremiah 31:3 “The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: ‘Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with loving-kindness I have drawn you’.”
B. The length of Christ’s love extends from eternity to eternity. Christ’s love is boundless and eternal. Nothing you do can cause Him to love you more. Likewise nothing you do can cause Him to love you less. There is only one way to respond to this His love - walking in it.
C. 1 John 1:7-9 “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
D. He loves us even when we stumble or fall, when we fail to live up to His expectations for us. There is no end to His love.
E. Georgia Tech played the University of California in the 1929 Rose Bowl. In the game a player recovered a fumble, but became confused and ran the wrong way. A teammate tackled him just before he would have scored a touchdown against his own team. At halftime all of the players went into the dressing room and sat down, wondering what the coach would say. This young man sat by himself; put a towel over his head, and cried. When the team was ready to go back onto the field for the second half, the coach stunned the team when he announced that the same players who had started the first half would start the second. All of the players left the dressing room except for this young man. He would not budge. The coach looked back as he called him again, and saw that his cheeks were wet with tears. The player said, "Coach, I can't do it. I've ruined you. I've disgraced the University. I can't face that crowd in the stadium again." Then the coach put his hand on the player's shoulder and said, "Get up and go back in. The game is only half over." When I think of that story, deep inside I say, "What a coach!" When I read the story of Jonah [in the Bible], and the stories of thousands like him, I say, "To think that God would give me another chance!" – Billy Graham
F. Luke 17:3-4 “Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him."
III. The Depth of Christ’s love
A. The depth of His love caused Him to leave the glory and splendor of heaven and His exalted position there and come to this earth to be born as a baby.
B. Romans 5:6-8 “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
C. What does he see in me that even though he knows my sinfulness, he says, "You are precious to my heart"? – Anthony de Meool, Wellsprings p227
D. Philippians 2:6-8 “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”
E. Calvary shows how far men will go in sin, and how far God went for man's salvation. – H. D. Trumbull
F. I asked Jesus, how much do you love me?" Jesus replied, "I love you this much."
And he stretched out his arms on the cross and died for me.
G. Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
H. It was Dr. R. T. Williams who related the following beautiful incident A ship was wrecked. There were only half enough lifeboats for the passengers. What could be done! The captain fell on this plan: A hat was placed. The passengers were informed of the situation. Said the captain, "We have just enough lifeboats for half of the passengers. This hat there are just as many cards as there are passengers. Babies not counted. On half of these cards is a cross. Half of them are blank. We want all to pass by and draw a card. Those who get a card with a cross on it will be permitted to enter the lifeboat. That is your ticket. Those who draw a blank must remain on the sinking ship." The passengers said, "It is fair." Thus they filed by. The hat was covered. Were they drawing life or death? It was a solemn hour. Among those who passed were a father, mother and child. They solemnly drew their cards and passed. Almost afraid to look. Finally the husband looked and he was happy. He had drawn a cross. The wife looked and she had drawn a blank. One ticket to life. The other a ticket to death. The husband exchanged his ticket with her. She hesitated. He said, "Yes, you must I have just one request. Be true and meet me in heaven. Take care of our baby and the day she is twelve years of age tell her of this tragic incident." There was no time to lose. The ship was listing. The man kissed his wife and baby good-bye and tenderly helped them into the boat. Soon the old ship sank and he with it. The years sped by, and the day the little girl was twelve years old arrived. True to her promise, the mother took her into the living room and related the sad experience to her. Told her how her father took their place. The father's picture was near by. As the mother talked, the little girl wept bitterly. She took the picture up and kissed it and pressed it against her cheek and said, "Oh, Daddy, dear Daddy. You were a good daddy. You died for us and I love you so." That was gratitude. But think of the sacrificial love of Jesus; He did not die for His friends but for his enemies. "While we were yet sinners Christ died for us." It is base ingratitude to refuse to love and serve Him. – William Moses Tidwell, "Effective Illustrations
I. In a small town in rural America, a pastor of a small church was well-known around his county as using unconventional methods to drive home a point in his sermons. Once he brought in a live sheep to represent the relationship between believers (sheep) and the Lord (the Shepherd). Another time he rented a giant globe and placed it on stage to impact his congregation about the need for worldwide missions. No one knew what his next illustration would be. One Sunday morning after the service, this pastor announced to his congregation that he would be preaching a special sermon that night on the love of God. The words "special sermon" caused everyone to imagine what the pastor would do next to help illustrate the love of God. That night, church members entered the church to see a large picture of the Cross with a depiction of Jesus on it. As the service reached the point when the pastor's sermon was about to begin, the pastor simply stood, pointed to the picture of Jesus' hands and feet, motioned to the crown of thorns, and sat down. Nothing else needed to be said about the love of God.
IV. The Height of Christ’s love
A. The height of Christ’s love is seen in His reaching down from the throne of Glory to the heart of the believer and lifting him to sit with Christ Jesus in Glory as a heavenly citizen.
B. Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ”
C. Ephesians 2:4-7 “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
D. The Height of Christ’s love is seen in His humbling Himself to elevate us and seeking what is best for us while He transforms us to His likeness.
E. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NLT) “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
F. The Height of a Christian’s love is seen when he humbles himself to elevate others and seeking what is best for them and desiring to seem them grow into Christ’s likeness.
G. 1 Corinthians 10:24 “Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor.”
