Grasping God's Love
Ephesians - The Secrets of the Church • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 27:02
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· 224 viewsPaul explains God's love in spatial terms to emphasize, not merely its immeasurable vastness, but its multi-dimensionality. But despite Christ's love being unknowable, we are asked to know it, to immerse ourselves in this limitless sea of beauty, because by this we will find our stability, our security. Listen as Malcolm and the people of Renew explore how this works in our lives.
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Bible Reading
Bible Reading
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.
20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Introduction
Introduction
This week I saw a number plate much like this. It made me realise that, for many Gold Coasters, their worldview of Secular Materialism seems to be working well for them. They don’t believe in God and are focused on material goods such as health and wealth, and they seem to have all that they want. And yet there are increasing cases of anxiety and depression. People seem more harried and worried than ever. Something is missing from their lives.
What Paul is praying for here is what all human beings are missing, even when we think we are “living in paradise.”
I want to do something a little different today. I want us to really grasp the message of this passage for ourselves, so I’m going to do this:
Ask you to write about how you know the love of Christ
Talk briefly about this prayer of Paul’s
Look at how we can continue growing together in Christ’s love
Let’s get started.
How do I know the love of Christ
How do I know the love of Christ
Please grab a pen and a piece of paper and write down your answers to the following question:
How do I know the love of Christ? In it’s:
Breadth
Length
Height
Depth
What I’m asking is for your experiences or practices through which you have come to know Christ’s love. It may be through the love of others, the beauty of creation, the Word of God, whatever. And if you’re wondering which category a particular experience fits into, whether it’s breadth, length, etc. I can only suggest you go with the metaphor. For example, I might say that I’ve experienced the breadth of Christ’s love by encountering loving Christian brothers and sisters wherever I go in the world.
So let’s put down those answers, and please try to think of at least one for each category.
What Paul’s prayer means
What Paul’s prayer means
Like most of the prayers in Ephesians, this one is a long, single sentence from verse 14 to 19 (the last two verses, 20 & 21, are a beautiful poem praising God, what theologians call a doxology). Paul pours out his desires for the Ephesian church. But there is still a structure here: what is Paul asking for?
19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
It’s easiest to work backwards: Paul’s greatest desire is that the Ephesians be filled with the fullness of God.
How do we manage that? By knowing the love of Christ. Oh, and we’ll never actually fully know the love of Christ. Even with an eternity in heaven we’ll never finish exploring the magnitude of Christ’s love! It’s that big! How big?
18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
In verse 18 Paul tries to emphasize the magnitude of Jesus’ love by talking about it in spatial terms. His point is, Christ’s love is not merely large, it is also multidimensional. It transcends our understanding in every way. Nonetheless, it is worth contemplating it, because that is how God fills us.
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,
You see, God doesn’t merely muscle his way into a Christian with an abrupt baptism of the Spirit or whatever. When we give our lives to Christ, he comes to dwell in us by the power of the Spirit, but that doesn’t mean that we are instantly transformed into people completely given over to God. Rather, God desires our participation in that process. Sanctification, the process of becoming more and more filled with God’s presence, and so becoming more and more like him, is a cooperative work.
And through this transformation by God we become strengthened and rooted and grounded in love.
Think about what that means.
COVID-19 has been a very difficult time for many people. They have struggled with the isolation, the uncertainty, the potential loss of their job, and so on. Everyone is feeling weary, anxious, uncertain. I have to confess that the constant changes have exhausted and discouraged me, too. I didn’t expect that.
But if the God of the universe, the God who loves us with such boundless love that we can never even imagine its limits—if this God has made his home in us, what can shake us?
1 God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
Psalm 46 starts with this incredible claim: [read].
For us, God is, indeed, “very present,” because he’s right here, right inside us! We can rest in him, and wherever we go, he’s there. As David says in Psalm 139:
7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
As children of God, when we truly grasp God’s love for us, we are unshakeable. Our circumstances might be scary or exhausting. Our loved ones might leave us. Our bodies might betray us. But God is always there for us. We need not fear. How different is that to the wave of anxiety and uncertainty that our culture is experiencing?
Coming to know Christ’s love
Coming to know Christ’s love
But of course, as Paul’s prayer indicates, it is the extent to which we know Christ’s love that allows us to demonstrate this power, this groundedness.
So, take a look at the things you have written on your paper, and let’s share some ideas of how we can continue to grow in knowledge of Christ’s love.
Let me suggest one: the practice of Spiritual Disciplines. Actually, I’m cheating, because there are several Spiritual Disciplines. However, the point is, that we engage intentionally and regularly in a range of activities that bring us into God’s presence and focus us on him.
When I was young, I used to ride a lot, and I enjoyed the feeling of freedom it gave me. When I moved to the Gold Coast, I bought a bicycle and rediscovered that (and also the fitness benefits that it brings). But for years I didn’t ride much at all. Any time I rode I felt horrible. How do you think I rediscovered my joy in riding? Yes, by spending time riding! And doing it with other people made it so much easier to get back into it.
The same is true with our walk with Jesus. If we don’t keep on walking our spiritual feet get soft, and it’s hard to do. But joining others helps.
Last year we did a course called Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, which taught us many practices which help us walk daily with Jesus. How can we encourage one another to keep going in these important practices?
Any ideas?
20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Finally, let me repeat Paul’s doxology, because it reminds us that it’s not just up to us—God is ever able to help us: [read]
Let’s pray.