The Dimensions of God’s Love
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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.(Ephesians 3:17-19)
This was part of a wonderful prayer Paul prayed for the Ephesians. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Paul gave us more than an eloquent prayer; in a special way this prayer reveals what God wants for His people.
Here is one small nugget from this glorious prayer. In verse 18, Paul prayed that believers would know the dimensions of the love of Christ (width and length and depth and height). This means that the love of Jesus has dimensions and that it can be measured. It is a solid, substantial thing; not merely a beautiful fiction, a sentimental believe, or philosophical theory. The love of Jesus is a measurable fact.
The love of Jesus has width. You can see how wide a river is by noticing how much it covers over. God’s river of love is so wide that it covers over my sin, and over every circumstance of my life, so that all things work together for good. When I doubt His forgiveness or His providence, I am narrowing the mighty river of God’s love. His love is as wide as the world (John 3:16).
The love of Jesus has length. When considering the length of God’s love, ask yourself, “When did the love of God start towards me? How long will it continue?” These truths measure the length of God’s love. Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3).
The love of Jesus has depth. Philippians 2:8 tell us how deep the love of Jesus goes: He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. You can’t go lower than the death of the cross, and that is how deep the love of Jesus is for us.
The love of Jesus has height. To see the height of God’s love, ask yourself, “How high does it lift us?” The love of Jesus lifts the believer to heavenly places where they are seated with Christ. He has made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6).
Can we really comprehend the width and length and depth and height of God’s love? To come to any understanding of the dimensions of God’s love, we must come to the cross. The cross pointed in four ways, essentially in every direction, because:
God’s love is wide enough to include the whole world.
God’s love is long enough to last through all eternity.
God’s love is deep enough to reach the worst sinner.
God’s love is high enough to take His people to heaven.
Look to Jesus Christ and His cross and live in all the dimensions of God’s love.
Click here for David’s commentary on Ephesians 3