Ephesians 3:19 - Experiencing the Love of Christ and the Fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:19 (NLT) May you experience the
love of Christ, though it is too great to
understand fully. Then you will be made complete with
all the fullness of life and power that comes
from God.
Ephesians 3:19 (AMP) [That you may really
come] to know [practically, through experience for
yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere
knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled
[through all your being] unto all the fullness of God
[may have the richest measure of the divine
Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded
with God Himself]!
COMMENTARY PEARL
Anchored In Christ
Roots anchor a plant. They draw water and
nutrients from the soil and store them, and they also
transport those elements to the plant's leaves so that
photosynthesis can occur. The looser the soil, the more the
root system can spread, improving the plant's
performance and ability to survive during a dry season.
As the roots grow, they have a greater capacity
to absorb water, oxygen, and nutrients from the
soil. In the desert, some plants have roots that
are extremely deep so they can absorb water far
from the thy surface. A South African evergreen
called Shepherd's tree grows in the Kalahari Desert
and can have roots up to sixty-eight meters
deep.
In the parable of the sower (see Matthew
13), Jesus told a story about seed that was
scattered on the ground. Some fell on the path and was
snatched up by birds, while some fell among thorns
and was soon choked by weeds. Other seed fell on
rocky places with little soil, and at first it
grew quickly. But when the sun beat down, the
little plants withered because they had shallow
roots or no roots at all - no way to receive
life-giving water. Only the seeds that fell in good soil
were able to take full root and grow.
As Christians, how do we keep from
withering? How do we become the seed that produces a
crop? We do it by putting down roots. In Ephesians
3:17-19, Paul reminded believers that Christ was
living in their hearts through faith, and that God
had "rooted and established" them in His love.
It was only through those deepening roots that
they could have any understanding of the
immensity of that love and what it meant for them. The
same is true for us. Only by being rooted in
Christ - connected at our very core, knowing we
cannot survive without Him - can we begin to grasp
who He is and what He is like.
When we live in Him, study His Word, and
pattern our lives after His, we receive all the
"nutrients" we need to grow. We are built up and
strengthened. His living water sustains and instructs us.
And as time goes by, we become more firmly
entrenched in Him, so that we can endure whatever
comes. We are evergreen.
Lord Jesus, thank You that I am rooted
and established in You. You are building me up,
strengthening me, and helping me grow. Help me to seek to
deepen my roots in You every day. [Earth Psalms by
Francine Rivers re Ephesians 3:17-19]
COMMENTARY
Heart Of The Matter
Look at your hand and make a fist. That's
about the size of your heart. Protected by your
ribs, this muscle weighs as much as an apple. Yet
this amazing organ beats around 100,000 times a
day and pumps more than 2,000 gallons of blood
every twenty-four hours. Nearly 60,000 miles of
blood vessels weave throughout your body,
delivering blood packed with life-giving oxygen and
nutrients to all of your organs and tissues.
Some blood vessels, such as the aorta,
can be pretty big. The aorta connects to the
heart and is the largest artery in the body,
measuring as big around as a garden hose. But it takes
ten capillaries, the smallest blood vessel, to
equal the width of a human hair!
God's design of the circulatory system is
amazingly complex and powerful. But without a heart,
it doesn't work. If you remove your heart, your
body dies. In the same way, if you remove Jesus
Christ from Christianity, then the faith is dead.
Craig A. Evans, PhD, founded the Dead Sea Scrolls
Institute and has written or edited more than fifty
books about Christianity. Evans says the heart of
Christianity can be summed up in two words: Jesus
Christ.
"So the core message of Christianity ...
is that Jesus is the Messiah," Evans said.
"He's God's Son, he fulfills the scriptures, he
died on the cross ... saved humanity, he rose
from the dead."
Christ is the key to the Christian life -
just like the heart is key for physical life. And
when you put Jesus and your heart together, you
get eternal life. In Ephesians 3:17 the apostle
Paul writes, "Then Christ will make his home in
your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will
grow down into God's love and keep you strong"
(NLT).
Isn't it amazing to think that Jesus
lives in you? The author of life gives you life
and makes you strong. Put your hand over your
heart and feel it beating. Then take a moment to
pray and thank Jesus for giving you life now and
throughout eternity. [Case For Christ For Kids by Les
Strobel re vs. 17]
Experience God's Love
I sense the Holy Spirit urging me this
morning to meditate on how much God loves me, and I
want to urge you to do the same thing. God
doesn't love us because we deserve it, but simply
because He is love, and He delights in loving us.
Although we walk by faith and we don't base what we
believe on mere experience or what we see with our
natural eyes, it is nonetheless encouraging and
energizing when we do see and experience the
manifestation of our faith. God's Word teaches us to pray
to experience His Love, and to be conscious and
aware of His Love (see 1 John 4:16; Ephesians
3:19).
Watch daily for all the ways in which God
reveals His love for you. It may be in giving you
favor, or providing something you enjoy, or giving
you great joy. He can reveal Himself in
countless ways, and learning how to recognize them is
not only an exciting adventure, but it also
feeds and builds our faith.
God loves you more than you can imagine.
He loves you every moment of your life, and He
is reaching out to you right now with His
healing and energizing love. Receive it!
Father, teach me to recognize all the
ways in which You reveal Your love to me. Let me
experience it, enjoy it, and share it with other
people. [My Time with God by Joyce Meyer re vs. 19]
PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
I want you to know the depth and breadth
of My Love that surpasses knowledge. There is
an enormous difference between knowing Me and
knowing about Me. Similarly, experiencing My loving
Presence is vastly different from knowing facts about
My character. To experience My Presence, you
need the empowering work of My Spirit. Ask Him to
strengthen you with Power in your inner being so that
you can know My Love in full measure.
Since the moment of your salvation, I
have been alive in your heart. The more room you
make for Me there, the more I can fill you with
My Love. There are several ways to expand this
space in your heart. It's crucial to take time
with Me - enjoying My Presence and studying My
Word. It is also vital to stay in communication
with Me. As the apostle Paul wrote, pray
continually. This joyful practice will keep you close to
Me. Finally, let My Love flow through you to
others - in both your words and your actions. This
makes My Love in you complete. (Eph. 3:16-19; Acts
4:12; 1Th. 5:17; 1Jo. 4:11, 12) [Jesus Always by
Sarah Young]
I am before all things, and in Me all
things hold together. I have always been and will
always be. All things were created by Me: things in
heaven and on earth, visible and invisible. I am
Lord over creation, over the church, over
everything! Worship Me as your vibrant Lord, the living
God. I want My loved ones to thirst for Me - as
the deer pants for streams of water.
Do not be satisfied with only thinking
about Me or knowing Me intellectually. Thirst for
experiential knowledge of Me, grounded in sound biblical
truth. Seek to know My Love that far surpasses mere
knowledge. You will need the help of My Spirit to
accomplish this.
You must be strengthened with mighty
Power by the Holy Spirit, who indwells your
innermost being and personality. Invite Him to empower
and guide you in this amorous adventure. But
remember that I am the goal of your searching - make
Me central in your quest. You will seek Me and
find Me when you search for Me with all your
heart! (Col. 1:16, 17; Psa. 42:1, 2; Eph. 3:16-19
AMP; Jer. 29:13) [Jesus Always by Sarah Young]
CLOSING THOUGHTS
An Unearthly Love
Your goodness cant win Gods love.
Nor can your badness lose it. But you can resist
it. We tend to do so honestly. Having been
rejected so often, we fear God may reject us as well.
Rejections have left us skittish and jumpy. Like my dog
Salty. He sleeps next to me on the couch as I
write. Hes a cranky cuss, but I like him.
Weve aged together over the last fifteen years,
and he seems worse for the wear. Hes a wiry
canine by nature; shave his salt-and-pepper mop,
and hed pass for a bulimic Chihuahua. He
didnt have much to start with; now the seasons
have taken his energy, teeth, hearing, and all
but eighteen inches worth of eyesight.
Toss him a dog treat, and he just stares
at the floor through cloudy cataracts. (Or, in
his case, dogaracts?) Hes nervous and edgy,
quick to growl and slow to trust. As I reach out
to pet him, he yanks back. Still, I pet the old
coot. I know he cant see, and I can only wonder
how dark his world has become.
We are a lot like Salty. I have a feeling
that most people who defy and deny God do so more
out of fear than conviction. For all our chest
pumping and braggadocio, we are anxious
folk"cant see a step into the future, cant hear the
one who owns us. No wonder we try to gum the
hand that feeds us.
But God reaches and touches. He speaks
through the immensity of the Russian plain and the
density of the Amazon rain forest. Through a
physicians touch in Africa, a bowl of rice in India.
Through a Japanese bow or a South American abrao.
Hes even been known to touch people through
paragraphs like the ones you are reading. If he is
touching you, let him.
Mark it down: God loves you with an
unearthly love. You cant win it by being winsome.
You cant lose it by being a loser. But you
can be blind enough to resist it.
Dont. For heavens sake, dont.
For your sake, dont.
Take in with all Christians the
extravagant dimensions of Christs love. Reach out and
experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the
depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full
in the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:18-19).
[Max Lucado Daily Devotional at maxlucado.com]
Living Loved
Many people tell us to love. Only God
gives us the power to do so. We know what God
wants us to do. This is what God commands
that we love each other (1 John 3:23). But how
can we? How can we be kind to those who are
unkind to us? How can we love as God loves? By
being loved. By following the principle: receive
first and love second. God loves you personally
powerfully passionately! He loves you
with an unfailing love. Others have promised and
failed. But God has promised and succeeded! [Max
Lucado Daily Devotional at maxlucado.com]
LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS PASSAGE
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2017/20170114-1740.html
EXCELLENT VIDEO SERIES ON 28 REVELATIONS OF
JESUS
1st of 28: Divine Dining:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_7j1QIKqmY
2nd of 28: Pictures of the Divine:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lNI-OQ7-eQ
3rd of 28: A Dirty Bible:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMkPvBuuFd4
4th of 28: Cared For:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztXyJVdcCds
5th of 28: Saved:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HX45kGRe1HI
6th of 28: You Can Change:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xd0gkvK18fo
7th of 28: Reprogramming Our Brains:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ov36f_RapXc
8th of 28 Our Holy Father:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XabXLEXsxbY
9th of 28 Gifts of Service:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtuGZviodkA
10th of 28 The Holy Spirit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=in89XVs4cGo
11th of 28 The Law of God:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_Q601HjogI
12th of 28 The Sabbath:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sakgnKoTzZI
13th of 28 The Church:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkFw2XsTW-w
14th of 28 The Gift of Prophecy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiO2VC09NPI
15th of 28 Stewardship:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z_lNLAataw
16th of 28 Marriage and the Family:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EybxvMQ0K7E
Live ongoing series in progress.
YOUR COMMENTS
If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in
hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred
Gibbs
