Sermon Central
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The Infinite Love Of Christ
Contributed by Paul Davidson on May 20, 2016 (message contributor)
Summary: How can we begin to comprehend what cannot possibly be measured? Let's explore the many dimensions of the love of Christ and try our best to wrap our minds around how infinite His love is for us.
INTRODUCTION
My wife and her brother inherited some land in the United States after their father died several years ago. I can tell you some facts about the land… it’s about 180 acres… about half of it is forest with a stream running across the property… the rest is pasture land for raising cattle… but that doesn’t really give you much understanding of what the property is really like. To really understand, you would need to go there yourself… walk the fence lines… walk across the fields… experience crossing the stream to the back part of the property… after you walk all around and through the land, you begin to really comprehend what a special place it is.
In Genesis 13:17, God tells Abraham to “walk the length and width of the land I have given you”. In Joshua 1:3, God instructs Joshua to go into the Promised Land and tells him… “Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses.”
God wanted Abraham and Joshua to comprehend (understand) the incredible magnitude (or size) of His promise to them.
Today, we’re also going to take a walk…
Our main passage tonight is Ephesians 3:17-19…
17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; 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 depth and height— 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
How wide… how deep… how high… how long is the love of Christ? How can we possibly comprehend something that cannot really be measured?
Creation/universe attempts to show us how to comprehend the measure of Christ’s love for us. Which of us can measure the length, width, height, and depth of the universe? We can’t even measure the universe, yet it is just a created thing… So how can we possibly understand something like the love of Christ which is so vast… so huge… that it cannot be measured?
Yet the Apostle Paul prays for us that we can comprehend the immeasurable love of Christ along with all the saints (or the believers/followers of Jesus Christ). So let’s do our best to walk the width, the depth, the height, and the length of Christ’s love we can truly understand the magnitude of His love for us.
HOW WIDE IS THE LOVE OF CHRIST?
First, let’s try and understand how wide the love of Christ really is. To begin to understand this dimension, let’s think of it in terms of North/South/East/West just for illustration. If I handed you a compass and asked you to go North, you would eventually arrive at the North Pole… The compass would indicate at some point that you were traveling South because you had gone too far and passed magnetic North. Same if I asked you to go South… You would eventually reach your destination.
But what if I asked you to go East? Would you ever arrive? No, the compass will continue to indicate that you are traveling Eastward forever… You would circle and circle the earth forever without ever reaching a specific point called “East”. Same if I asked you to go West… Now imagine that East and West is the measurement of the width of Christ's love for us… It extends forever in both directions… It encompasses (includes) the entire world.
Christ’s love for us extends around the entire world… His love includes all people, all nations, all tribes, all tongues…
46 Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”
9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
We cannot truly measure the width of God’s love, but we know the love of Christ is wide enough to reach all people… including each one of us here today… and our families… and our friends and neighbors. As we walk the width of Christ’s love, we begin to understand how wonderful… how amazing His love is for us.
