FIRST PETITION: "That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man" (v.16).
1. EVERY CHRISTIAN HAS AN "INNER MAN."
2. OUR INNER MAN NEEDS TO BE "STRENGTHENED WITH MIGHT."
3. GOD WILL "GRANT" US INNER STRENGTH IF WE ASK HIM FOR IT.
4. GOD WILL GIVE US INNER STRENGTH "ACCORDING TO THE RICHES OF HIS GLORY."
5. GOD WILL GIVE US INNER STRENGTH "BY HIS SPIRIT."
SECOND PETITION: "That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith" (v. 17a).
1. EVERY CHRISTIAN HAS CHRIST LIVING WITHIN HIS HEART.
2. NOT EVERY CHRISTIAN HAS CHRIST DWELLING WITHIN HIS HEART.
3. FAITH IS THE KEY TO HAVING CHRIST DWELL WITHIN OUR HEARTS.
THIRD PETITION: "That ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge" (vv. 17b-19a).
I. WE MUST LONG FOR A DEEPER LOVE.
"THAT YE, BEING ROOTED AND GROUNDED IN LOVE" (v. 17b)
"ROOTED" gives us the picture of a tree with deep roots. "GROUNDED" ["established" (NIV)] gives us the picture of a building with a strong foundation. We know that roots and foundations depend greatly on the soil. Paul prays that the Ephesians will be "rooted and grounded IN LOVE." What soil is to a tree and a building, love is to the Christian life. If a tree is not deeply rooted in good soil, it may die. If a building is not grounded in good soil, it may collapse. If the Christian life is not "rooted and grounded in love," it will be a failure.
1 Corinthians 3:1-3
A. We must long for a deeper love for God.
A man once asked Jesus, "Master, which is the greatest commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, THOU SHALT LOVE THE LORD THY GOD WITH ALL THY HEART, AND WITH ALL THY SOUL, AND WITH ALL THY MIND" (Matt. 22:36-37).
Luke 7:36-50
"To whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little" (v. 47). In other words, "He who has been forgiven little loves little" (NIV). We could turn that statement around and say, "He who has been forgiven much loves much." Every Christian has been forgiven much; therefore we should all long for a deeper love for God.
B. We must long for a deeper love for others.
Jesus declared that the second great commandment is "THOU SHALT LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR AS THYSELF" (Matt. 22:39).
Our Lord also went a step further and said, "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, LOVE YOUR ENEMIES, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you" (Matt. 7:43-44).
C. We must long for a deeper love for the Christian life.
The Christian life is a life of obedience to God, a life of keeping His commandments. "THIS IS THE LOVE OF [for] GOD, THAT WE KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS: AND HIS COMMANDMENTS ARE NOT GRIEVOUS" (1 John 5:3). There is a connection between loving God and keeping His commandments. If we love God, we will keep His commandments. If we keep His commandments, we show that we love God. "YE THAT LOVE THE LORD, HATE EVIL" (Ps. 97:10).
"Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and THEY SEEMED UNTO HIM BUT A FEW DAYS, FOR THE LOVE HE HAD TO HER" (Gen. 29:20). Is that how the Christian life seems to you, or not? Is it a pleasure to obey God because you love Him?
II. WE MUST LONG FOR A DEEPER UNDERSTAND OF CHRIST’S LOVE.
"MAY BE ABLE TO COMPREHEND WITH ALL SAINTS WHAT IS THE BREADTH, AND LENGTH, AND DEPTH, AND HEIGHT" (v. 18)
Paul is no longer dealing with OUR love but with CHRIST’S love.
Why does Paul pray that Christians may comprehend the love of Christ? Certainly every Christian knows about the love of Christ. IT’S A MATTER OF DEGREE. We must never fall into the error of imagining that because we are Christians we therefore know everything about Christ’s love.
Paul stated that his great desire was "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death" (Phil. 3:10). Obviously Paul knew Christ; he knew about His resurrection; he knew about His sufferings. What he longed for was a deeper knowledge of Christ.
THE COMPREHENSION OF CHRIST’S LOVE IS POSSIBLE FOR ALL SAINTS.
"May be able to comprehend with ALL saints"
There are some who believe that only certain Christians are saints. But Paul wrote this epistle to "the saints which are at Ephesus" (1:1).
If you are a Christian, you are also a saint. All saints are to seek to comprehend the love of Christ.
In the nineteenth century, when Napoleon’s armies opened a prison that had been used by the Spanish Inquisition they found the remains of a prisoner who had been incarcerated for his faith. The dungeon was underground. The body had long since decayed. Only a chain fastened around an anklebone cried out his confinement. But this prisoner, long since dead, had left a witness. On the wall of his small, dismal cell this faithful soldier of Christ had scratched a rough cross with four words surrounding it in Spanish. Above the cross was the Spanish word for "height." Below it was the word for "depth." To the left the word "width." To the right, the word "length." Clearly this prisoner wanted to testify to the surpassing greatness of the love of Christ, perceived even in his suffering (James Montgomery Boice, Ephesians: An Expositional Commentary, p. 111).
Let’s consider "THE BREADTH, AND LENGTH, AND DEPTH, AND HEIGHT" of the love of Christ.
A. The love of Christ is broad enough to encompass all mankind.
". . . for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation" (Rev. 5:9).
B. The love of Christ is long enough to last forever.
Once, while riding in the country, Charles Spurgeon saw on a farmer’s barn a weather vane with the words "God is love" inscribed on the arrow. Spurgeon stopped and asked the farmer, "What do you mean by that? Do you think God’s love is changeable; that it veers about as that arrow turns in the winds?" The farmer said, "Oh, no! I mean that whichever way the wind blows, God is still love" (Illustrations Unlimited, p. 324).
"I have loved thee with an EVERLASTING love" (Jer. 31:3).
1. His love for us began before the creation of the world.
Revelation 17:9 talks about those "who names were not written in the book of life FROM THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD."
2. His love for us continues today.
"Jesus Christ [is] THE SAME YESTERDAY, AND TO DAY, AND FOR EVER" (Heb. 13:8). If He loved us in the past, He loves us in the present because He always remains the same. "God is love" (1 John 4:8, 16).
3. His love for us will continue forever.
Paul asks in Romans 8, "WHO SHALL SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF CHRIST?" (v. 35). His answer is, "I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 8:38-39). In others words, absolutely nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.
C. The love of Christ is deep enough to reach the most degraded sinner.
Ephesians 2:1-3
D. The love of Christ is high enough to exalt a sinner to heaven.
Ephesians 2:4-7
Was it for crimes that I have done
He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!
Thus might I hide my blushing face
While Calv’ry’s cross appears,
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness
And melt mine eyes to tears.
But drops of grief can ne’er repay
The debt of love I owe.
Here, Lord, I give myself away;
‘Tis all that I can do.
III. WE MUST LONG FOR A DEEPER EXPERIENCE OF CHRIST’S LOVE.
"AND TO KNOW THE LOVE OF CHRIST, WHICH PASSETH KNOWLEDGE" (v. 19a)
There is a difference between "COMPREHEND" and "KNOW." To "comprehend" means to know MENTALLY. To "know" means to know EXPERIENTIALLY.
How can we expect to know a love that "PASSETH KNOWLEDGE"?
It’s similar to our knowledge of God. "Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know? The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea" (Job 11:7-9). God is not unknowable, but He is so great that He cannot be completely known.
CHRIST’S LOVE IS NOT UNKNOWABLE, BUT IT’S SO GREAT THAT IT CANNOT BE COMPLETELY KNOWN—IT SURPASSES KNOWLEDGE.
CONCLUSION
I. WE MUST LONG FOR A DEEPER LOVE.
II. WE MUST LONG FOR A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF CHRIST’S LOVE.
III. WE MUST LONG FOR A DEEPER EXPERIENCE OF CHRIST’S LOVE.
When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small.
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all!
"WE LOVE HIM, BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US" (1 John 4:19).
THE AMAZING LOVE OF CHRIST
Eph. 3:14, 18-19; 1 John 3:16; John 15:13; 1 John 4:19;
Rom. 8:38-39; So. of Sol. 8:7; Rev. 1:5-6
I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge.
Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us.
Greater love hath no man that this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
We love him, because he first loved us.
I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it.
Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
