We want to explore the limitless riches that have been prepared for us in Christ. Ephesians 3:17-19 talks about the width, length, depth and height of the vast riches that are in Christ. Consider that you were standing on the bank of a great ocean that is beyond your ability to pass. I remember the first time I set foot into the ocean. I was immediately impressed by its power, depth, volume, and vastness. It appeared that it was endless and boundless. My knowledge told me that there were boundaries, but I could not reach them. My knowledge said it had limits, but it was beyond my ability to measure. I had trouble standing in the experience in which I had.
The Holy Spirit has brought us to Christ and is working to help us comprehend the width, length, depth and height of the riches of Christ. It is a daunting task to search out and attempt to comprehend the limitless riches of Christ. Watch the terms that are used to describe this.
Consider the depth of riches.
Romans 11:33 NKJV Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
The unsearchable or unfathomable riches of God are so vast that we are unable to discover all of His ways. That does not mean they cannot be experienced or enjoyed. They are deep waters that are beyond our ability to totally exhaust or know.
Ephesians 3:8 AMP To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was granted and graciously entrusted: to proclaim to the Gentiles the unending riches of Christ [wealth which no human being could have searched out],
The riches of Christ are: unending, boundless, fathomless, incalculable and exhaustless.
These words attempt to explain something that is greater than language can express. Each of these words helps us to begin to understand what we have got into.
We know that there are vast treasures in the deep.
To gain these treasures, we must plunge out past the safety of the shore. We never find the treasures in the shallows or on the bank. In the deep, we find treasures of the riches of Christ. Peter found the richness of the power of Christ when he stepped out of the boat into the deep. He found the power of Christ to be so real that it rescued him from death in the sea. In difficult and dark places, we find the richness of Christ.
We find that He can sustain and help us when we are surrounded by life’s impossibilities. Many of us have learned His power to save, heal and help when we were in deep waters and needed to be rescued.
Psalm 107:6 NKJV Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, And He delivered them out of their distresses.
Most of the time, we do not understand the reason for our distresses and difficult places. Have you ever attempted to find out why things happened? It is in those times that we discover the wealth of the riches, wisdom, and power that God has prepared for us in Christ. You should know that the deep and difficult things in life do not mean that we have been forsaken by God. It is easy to speak of God’s provision when we lack nothing, experience no testings, and are blessed on the left and right. It is in the fire and flood that we find how great is our God. It is when we are in the sea all night and day that we find our safety in Him. We learn the depth of the richness of His love and care when everyone else has abandoned and forsaken us. It is then that we discover that God is faithful.
Isaiah 43:1-2 NKJV But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.
We learn more about the limitless riches of Christ when we pass through difficulties. God is faithful and the riches of Christ are limitless when you are going through these things.
Ephesians 3:14-19 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, 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.
Have you noticed how many things of value are deep and difficult to find?
Rarely do we find things of great value lying in a field. Divers spend long hours in treacherous waters of the deep to find pearls of value. Miners dig deep to find hidden treasures of silver, gold, rubies, diamonds, emeralds, and sapphires in the earth. Rarely are limitless riches found without going deep.
What does it mean that the riches of Christ are unsearchable, unending, boundless, fathomless, incalculable, and exhaustless riches of Christ [wealth which no human being could have searched out]?
We experience them. We have known them in all of their wealth, value and meaning. None of us have exhausted everything that is available and provided in Christ. Only a small part is known or understood. The riches of Christ are of greater value than we may know in this life. The wealth is too great and past finding out. His power is greater than we can imagine. We are going look at some of the limitless riches in Christ.
The Bible reveals much of Christ’s limitless richness.
- The riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, Romans 2:4
- The riches of His glory, Romans 9:23, Philippians 4:19; Colossians 1:27
- The riches of wisdom and knowledge of God, Romans 11:33
- The riches of His grace, Ephesians 1:7; 2:7
- The riches of attaining the full assurance of understanding, Colossians 2:2
- Rich in mercy, Ephesians 2:4
How can we comprehend the limitless riches of Christ?
1 Corinthians 2:9-10 AMP But, on the contrary, as the Scripture says, What eye has not seen and ear has not heard and has not entered into the heart of man, [all that] God has prepared (made and keeps ready) for those who love Him … Yet to us God has unveiled and revealed them by and through His Spirit, for the [Holy] Spirit searches diligently, exploring and examining everything, even sounding the profound and bottomless things of God…
It is so important for us to know, understand, and experience the limitless riches of Christ that God reveals by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is diligently exploring and examining everything, even the bottomless things of God. The Holy Spirit is examining the things of God that are beyond our scrutiny.
1 Corinthians 2:11-12 NKJV For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
We have experienced some of the limitless riches of Christ. We have experienced and know His mercy and grace that has saved us. We have experienced special moments of His help in our times of need. We are going to dig down into the depth of the limitless riches of Christ. As we go deep, it is my prayer that you come to know and experience the profound blessing of this fellowship with God’s Son Jesus Christ. God is ready to show you His power to save, heal, and help. Whatever you are facing, the limitless riches of Christ are sufficient. God is able to help you and the Holy Spirit is present to help you know what God is freely giving.
