Ephesians 3:17-19
“…that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
Paul continues to pray for us, and in this passage the focus of his prayer is that we will be “rooted and grounded in love,” and that we will have “strength to comprehend” the love of Christ.
First, Paul prays that love would be the very foundation of our lives. Not love as defined by the world, but love as defined by God. Love is such a popular word. Such a common word. Such an important word. Such a misunderstood and manipulated word.
Love is at the heart of every relationship we have. Its presence or absence determines the quality of our relationships.
- God defines love. Love does not define God. I John 4.8
- Loving God is the great commandment. Mt.22.34-40
- Love is the mark of the Christian. John 13.34-35
- Love should motivate and direct all that we do. I Corinthians 13
God’s love is not soft. In fact, it is love that motivates us to do the hard things in life, work, and relationships. God’s love is what energizes and animates a high-impact life. People who avoid difficult things suffer from a deficiency of love. It was love that motivated God to send His Son to the cross, and it was love that motivated Jesus to go to the cross. That level of love – that kind of love – is tough and courageous.
At the same time, the love of God also motivates and empowers us to do the tender things in life: Care about others; listen with empathy; provide for those in need; be kind to people. These are also acts of love.
Finally, when we are rooted and grounded in love, we have the wisdom to discern when to be tough and when to be tender. That is because the love of God is not an emotional impulse, it is an action that is motivated to benefit others. Love sees the need and takes action, irrespective of how it “feels.”
Paul’s reference to the breadth, length, height, and depth most likely refers not to different aspects of the love of Christ, but to the expansiveness and fullness of it. This is in great contrast to the terribly over-simplified way the world defines love. Most of the time the world portrays love as sentiment and romance. And while there are certainly times (wonderful times) when love involves deep sentiment and heart-racing romance, the love of God must never be confined by or reduced to those occasional experiences. God’s love is bigger — much bigger — than sentiment and romance. That is because true love is not a feeling, it is a character-driven action. True love is not motivated by mere sentiment; it is motivated by the breadth, length, height, and depth of the very character of God Himself.
To know and experience the fullness of God’s love requires that we walk with him. It is the result of a very deep spiritual relationship. It is the cumulative effect of many experiences with God over time. It goes significantly beyond simply knowing facts about God. Indeed, in this passage Paul says Christ’s love “surpasses knowledge.” Bible knowledge plays a role; so does worship and prayer, adversity and struggle. success and failure. We discover and learn the fullness of God’s love as we live for Him, walk with Him, and navigate life in a fallen world.
In v.19 Paul communicates the goal of his prayer: “…that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” This is simply a restoration of the life for which God created us. Paul prays that we would fully understand and experience the fullness of the purpose for which God created us, as well as the fullness of His presence in our lives.
The request is not for some kind of perfect life devoid of problems and difficulties. Rather, Paul is praying that we would experience the fullness of God’s presence and power so that we can be effective and fruitful in our jobs, our families, and communities.
God’s love is not romantic. It is real.
