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]!
WORD STUDY
GOD'S LOVE is total, says Paul. It reaches
every corner of our experience. It is 'wide' - it
covers the breadth of our own experience, and it
reaches out to the whole world. God's love is
'long'--it continues the length of our lives. It is
'high' - it rises to the heights of our celebration
and elation. His love is 'deep' - it reaches to
the depths of discouragement, despair, and even
death. When you feel shut out or isolated, remember
that you can never be lost to God's love. [Life
Application SB]
SURPASSES KNOWLEDGE; Not unknowable, but so
great that it cannot be completely known. [NIV
SB]
THE FULLNESS OF GOD is fully expressed only
in Christ (Colossians 2:9, 10). In union with
Christ and through his empowering Spirit, we are
complete. We have all the fullness of God available to
us. But we must appropriate that fullness
through faith and through prayer as we daily live
for him. [Life Application SB]
Filled with all the fullness of God: To be
so strong spiritually, so compelled by divine
love, that one is totally dominated by the Lord
with nothing left of self. Human comprehension of
the fullness of God is impossible, because even
the most spiritual and wise believer cannot
completely grasp the full extent of God's attributes
and characteristics His power, majesty, wisdom,
love, mercy, patience, kindness, and everything He
is and does. But believers can experience the
greatness of God in their lives as a result of total
devotion to Him. Note the fullness of God, here; the
fullness of Christ in 4:13; and the fullness of the
Spirit in 5:18). [MacArthur Daily Bible 2003]
INTRODUCTION
The Apostle Paul began his prayer for the
Christians at Ephesus with these words. Well might we
follow his example when praying for ourselves and
for others. Praying for others is vital to our
own spiritual growth. If we pray for them at
all we often get bogged down with the material
or the trivial and do not move on to the
spiritual and the eternal. We need to pray that
others will: realize their present exalted
position in Christ; present themselves as living
sacrifices; be filled with the Holy Spirit; be regular
and systematic in the study of God's Word; have
the mind of Christ; grow daily in Christian
maturity; appropriate the full armor of God; be alert
to satan's strategy; not love the world system;
have a spirit of brokenness and humility; have a
servant's heart; build a scriptural family. Today is a
great day to begin praying for ourselves and for
others! [In His Time; Walk With Wisdom]
COMMENTARY PEARL
Have you ever wondered if you are a
"whole person"? We all have struggles in life that
could make us feel incomplete, but the apostle
Paul says we can be "filled up to all the
fullness of God" (v. 19). What does that look like?
A "whole person" is generally satisfied
with life. He feels loved and is able to love
others in return. Difficulties and hardships don't
devastate him, because he is able to go through them
with confidence in God. He isn't a complainer or
someone who is quick to blame others. A positive
attitude guards his mind since he knows that the Lord
will work everything out for good (Rom. 8:28).
Being a Christian doesn't automatically
make us feel complete. Fullness comes only when
we experience God's love for us. For many
years, I knew theologically that the Lord loved me.
I even preached about it, but I didn't really
feel it. Only after I took a deep look at my life
and started dealing with events that had
fractured my soul in childhood did I begin to
experience His love in an intimate way. Once I felt the
security of His love for me, I discovered great joy
in walking in obedience to His will. The reason
was that I knew I could trust Him to meet all my
needs in His time and way.
Do you feel God's love, or is it just a
biblical fact to you? If you long for wholeness, the
key is to experience an intimate relationship
with Jesus Christ. This is possible only when
you're willing to open up and let the Lord search
your heart. He'll reveal what's holding you back
from accepting His love. [In Touch Daily
Devotional by Charles Stanley at www.intouch.org]
COMMENTARY
Truth in Christ and through Christ is
measureless. The student of Scripture looks, as it were,
into a fountain that deepens and broadens as he
gazes into its depths. Not in this life shall we
comprehend the mystery of God's love in giving His Son
to be the propitiation for our sins. The work
of our Redeemer on this earth is and ever will
be a subject that will put to the stretch our
highest imagination. Man may tax every mental power
in the endeavor to fathom this mystery, but his
mind will become faint and weary. The most
diligent searcher will see before him a boundless,
shoreless sea.
The truth as it is in Jesus can be
experienced, but never explained. Its height and breadth
and depth pass our knowledge. We may task our
imagination to the utmost, and then we shall see only
dimply the outlines of a love that is
unexplainable, that is as high as heaven, but that stooped
to the earth to stamp the image of God on all
mankind.
Yet it is possible for us to see all that
we can bear of the divine compassion. This is
unfolded to the humble, contrite soul. We shall
understand God's compassion just in proportion as we
appreciate His sacrifice for us. As we search the word
of God in humility of heart, the grand theme of
redemption will open to our research. It will increase
in brightness as we behold it, and as we aspire
to grasp it, its height and depth will ever
increase.
Our life is to be bound up with the life
of Christ; we are to draw constantly from Him,
partaking of Him, the living Bread that came down from
heaven, drawing from a fountain ever fresh, ever
giving forth its abundant treasures. If we keep the
Lord ever before us, allowing our hearts to go
out in thanksgiving and praise to Him, we shall
have a continual freshness in our religious life.
Our prayers will take the form of a conversation
with God as we would talk with a friend. He will
speak His mysteries to us personally. Often there
will come to us a sweet joyful sense of the
presence of Jesus. Often our hearts will burn within
us as He draws nigh to commune with us as He
did with Enoch. When this is in truth the
experience of the Christian, there is seen in his life
a simplicity, a humility, meekness, and
lowliness of heart, that show to all with whom he
associates that he has been with Jesus and learned of
Him. COL128-130
What love, what matchless love, that,
sinners and aliens as we are, we may be brought back
to God and adopted into His family! We may
address Him by the endearing name, "Our Father,"
which is a sign of our affection for Him and a
pledge of His tender regard and relationship to us.
And the Son of God, beholding the heirs of
grace, "is not ashamed to call them brethren." They
have even a more sacred relationship to God than
have the angels who have never fallen.
All the paternal love which has come down
from generation to generation through the channel
of human hearts, all the springs of tenderness
which have opened in the souls of men, are but as
a tiny rill to the boundless ocean, when
compared with the infinite, exhaustless love of God.
Tongue cannot utter it; pen cannot portray it. You
may meditate upon it every day of your life; you
may search the Scriptures diligently in order to
understand it; you may summon every power and
capability that God has given you, in the endeavor to
comprehend the love and compassion of the heavenly
Father; and yet there is an infinity beyond.
In all His children God beholds the image
of His only-begotten Son. He looks upon them
with a love greater than any language can
express. He enfolds them in the arms of His love. The
Lord rejoices over His people. ML289
ILLUSTRATION APPLICATIONS
My son Addison just turned fourteen. He
is our youngest and tallest son. He has passed
everyone in the family and is very proud of that
fact. He is also very proud that he just passed
the six-foot mark. We have a wall where we
measure each of our boys. The growth has been fun to
watch. My husband, Scott, who has been passed by
all three sons, has told them that whoever is
the shortest son is his favorite. None of them
want to be his favorite. They want to be as tall
as possible. It is not just their bodies that
are growing; their personalities, hearts, and
minds are still in the process of reaching their
full potential too. But then that is true of me
too.
As long as I am alive, Jesus will
continue to work in my personality, my heart, and my
mind. There is so much room for growth. Jesus
wants me to reach my full potential. The more I
grow in Him, the greater capacity I have to fill
up with His love and pour it out on those
around me. I never want to stop growing. Susanna
Foth Aughtmon
Faith Step: Are you filled to the measure
of the fullness of God? Ask Jesus to fill you
to overflowing today, so that as you encounter
others, they might sense the overwhelming power of
His love for them. [Mornings With Jesus 2022
Devotional by Guideposts and Zondervan]
I was almost done with a sewing project
when I realized I had sewn an entire seam, and it
didnt hold because the bobbin thread had run out.
I stopped everything, rewound the bobbin with
fresh thread, and began sewing again.
It reminded me of when I first taught
myself to sew. I called my sister in frustration.
What is a bobbin and is it really even
necessary? She laughed and explained that the thread
from the bobbin loops with the thread from the
main spool to secure the stitches in place.
You could sew without it, but the fabric
wouldnt hold together. All of your stitches would
unravel.
This is the image that comes to mind when
I feel unraveled myself. Its like Im
going through all of the right motions, but
nothing is sticking. All my efforts are in vain and
nothing I do has staying power. Its then that I
remember to check my bobbin. Have I given so
much of myself that Ive become empty? Have I
forgotten to replace that which has run out?
When the answer is yes, I know I
have to pause and rewind. Not rewind as in
go backward, but rewind as in wind
again. Replenish. Refill. Restock. I rewind by
spending time with Jesus and reflecting on how much
He loves me. I read Scripture. Pray. Walk.
Listen. Sing. Only with Him do my efforts have
staying power once again. Emily E. Ryan
Faith Step: Make a list of five ways you
can rewind with Jesus, then do one of those
today. [Mornings With Jesus 2022 Devotional by
Guideposts and Zondervan]
ONE LINER
To know (have a relationship with) God is to
love Him; DA22
LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY
Ephesians 3:19: Experiencing the Love of
Christ and the Fullness of God.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2022/20221010-0845.html
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2019/20191212-0906.html
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
https://abible.com/links/
