Ephesians 3:14–16 NKJV For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,
Ephesians 3:17–19 (NKJV) that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
This reveals another expression of the unsearchable riches of Christ. Being “rooted and grounded in love” may “know the love of Christ which passes knowledge.”
We are excavating into the depths of Christ’s love. The “fullness of God” is related to this expression of Christ’s unbounded love. In this text, we are rooted and grounded in love, the love of Christ.
The Bible teaches us that the essential nature of God is love. God’s zeal or intense emotion is expressed most clearly to us by His love. The love of God is the driving force behind the passion of the Christ. We do not have the salvation of our souls or the blood that cleanses from our sins without the love of God. When we become fully rooted and grounded in His love, we may be able to comprehend what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge. It is difficult to imagine unlimited or boundless love.
Ephesians 2:4-5 NKJV 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),
God’s great love for us is demonstrated in the passion of the Christ. Compare Ephesians 2:1 with verse 4 to see the depth of God’s love for us.
Ephesians 2:1 NKJV And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins.
How did He make us alive, or give us life?
John 3:14-16 NKJV And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 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.
The incarnation of Christ is an integral part of the manifestation of the love of God.
God has revealed His love in various ways. God’s lovingkindness and tender mercies are the source of our life and care. The Psalmist praised God for His watchful care and supply of lovingkindness. The Psalmist knew that God’s faithfulness and lovingkindness were the source of his strength and protection. In consideration of everything else that God does for us, the clearest expression of God’s love is revealed in the birth, life, and sacrifice of Jesus Christ the Son of God.
Romans 5:8 NKJV But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
1 John 4:9 NKJV In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.
The gift of Christ was the unmistakable expression of the love of God. Jesus was sent and anointed to demonstrate the extent of God’s love, thought, and plan. Within the expression of His love, God sent His Son into this world. We cannot know the depth of God’s love without the revelation of His Son. The entrance of Christ into the world was an unveiling and revealing of the depth of God’s love.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His Son.”
This is a tremendous testimony of width and length and depth and height of the love of God. The full extent of the measure of God’s love is revealed by the width and length and depth and height of His giving.
To comprehend the width and length and depth and height, we must be rooted and grounded in the love of Christ. Rooted suggests the plant world. A tree must get its roots deep in the soil to have nourishment and stability. Years ago we had a tree in our back yard that was at the end of its life cycle. When we removed the tree, we found a deep root system that was tremendous in size. The tree had been supported by a root system that was as large as the tree.
We must have spiritual roots that go deeply into the love of Christ. Our roots into Christ and His love introduce us to the life and substance of His fullness. Psalms 1 gives us an image of this.
Psalm 1:1-3 NKJV Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.
Where do you get your nourishment and stability?
To enjoy the benefit of the unbounded love of God, we must be rooted and grounded in His love. When we are planted and partakers of the boundless love of God, our roots go down into the rivers and life of God’s love. If we are going to survive the spiritual heat and drought that is in this world, we must go deep into the love of Christ. When we go deep, we will not only be sustained, we will be filled with His blessing, fruitfulness, and strength. Our joy, peace, contentment, and love come from going deep. Vitality and resurrection life come from being rooted and grounded in His love.
Being rooted and grounded produces all of the necessary things for victorious life.
Consider the infinite depth of the love of Christ.
Ephesians 3:19 NKJV To know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:16-19 “All the fullness of God”(vs19) and “strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man” (vs16) are associated with “rooted and grounded in love”(vs17).
Being “rooted and grounded in the love of Christ” — causes us to be — “filled with all the fullness of God” — and “strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man.
The only way a tree gets nourishment and strength to stand, live, and flourish is by going deep and being rooted and grounded.If you want to be strong in the Lord, you must go deep into the love of Christ. “In His love” is where we get filled and strengthened. The power of His Spirit is given “according to the riches of His glory.” The concept may be ambiguous to our minds but the depth of richness of life is a life changing experience.
Consider what happens when a tree grows down into rich soil. The source of life for the tree is pulled up into every part of the tree. When we plunge down deeply into the love of Christ, we come up experiencing His resurrection life.
Ephesians 3:17 NKJV That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love…
“Dwell” literally means, “to settle down and feel at home, to live in.” Your roots must be soaked in Christ’s love.
Paul is praying for increased spiritual depth and association in Christ’s love. This spiritual depth is into the love of God. Love is an essential character or nature of God. When we are “dwelling in Christ” and are “rooted and grounded in love,” we are experiencing the vitality of God’s life and love. Nowhere is the love of God more known than in Jesus Christ. In Christ Jesus, God is revealing to us the depth of His love for us.
When Paul was telling the church to be rooted and grounded in love, he was telling us to be rooted and grounded in Christ. Love is the atmosphere that dominates and surrounds the church. The love of Christ in its immeasurable scope is the substance we are rooted and grounded in. When we are rooted and grounded in the love of Christ, we produce fruit that is a testimony that Christ is in us. The fruit testifies of the root.
Ephesians 5:2 NKJV 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.
Watch this verse closely. Christ’s love for us caused Him to give Himself for us. His offering and sacrifice is a sweet-smelling aroma to God. God the Father was well pleased in the offering of His Son.
2 Corinthians 2:14-15 NKJV Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.
This is no small undertaking. When we are rooted and grounded in the love of Christ, we will demonstrate God’s love in every situation. The fragrance of the knowledge of Christ comes out of our lives.
God set aside a special fragrance for use in the ministry of the Priests and the Holy of Holies. God gave them fragrant incense and anointing oil. The fragrance of that incense was only to be used in the worship and service of God. The anointing oil was a special blend of spices and fragrances that were set apart unto God. Now we are told that there is a fragrance of Christ and that the fragrance of His knowledge is diffused through us.
Our whole being is filled with what we gain by going deeply into the love of Christ. We can only know the depth, width, length and height of the love of Christ by plunging deeply into His love. This goes beyond a surface expression or knowledge of Christ. We must search out the fullness of God’s love. Down deep we get the power we need for living. Down deep we are strengthen and established. Down deep we find the abundant life of God working in us.
His power that works in us is comprehended in the depth of His love. This is where miracles and life are generated. This is where grace and mercy originate. This is the source of the flow of the Holy Spirit. The fountainhead of God’s power comes through His love that is fully expressed in Christ.
We comprehend the boundless love of Christ by being rooted and grounded in His love. We cannot know the boundless nature of His love without being rooted and grounded in it.
Ephesians 3:17–20 NKJV That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— To know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us…
To help us understand the fullness of the love of Christ, we need to know that God’s love flows to us through Christ.
The love of God was not caused by Christ’s death. Christ was given and died as a result of God’s great love for us. God loved us so much that He gave His Son to die so that we would not be destroyed. God’s love comes to us through Jesus.All of the fullness of God’s love comes to us through Jesus.
God loves everyone!
- He loves everyone, not just religious and good people.
- He loves people who love Him and He loves those who do not love Him.
- He loves the lovely and the unlovely.
- He loves the believing and the obstinate.
- He loves the generous and the selfish and greedy.
- He loves the kind and the spiteful and vengeful.
- He loves the obedient and the disobedient.
This is hard to take in. God loves the world. While we were yet sinners, God expressed His love for us by giving His Son to die for our sins. The only way we can realize the depth of the fullness of God’s love is by abiding in Jesus.
Ephesians 2:4-6 NKJV 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.
He included you in His abundant mercy, grace and unbounded love. Eternity can never exhaust His boundless love. God is encouraging each of us to plunge down into the depth of His love that is in Christ Jesus.
