Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Can You Comprehend God's Infinite Love?


By Dawn Ford
http://www.infiniteloveministries.com/

With a ministry named Infinite Love, what else would I be talking about on Valentine’s Day, but God’s infinite love for us?  There is no better way to do that then to study the scripture that sparked our name. 

Scripture

Ephesians 3:16-19

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

Back Story

Paul is writing to the church in Ephesus and all believers everywhere to strengthen their Christian faith.  He does this by explaining the purpose of the church and the body of Christ as a whole. 1

Paul is in prison in Rome under house arrest. In the day he was free to move around the house with the supervision of soldiers, but every night he was chained to a soldier to make sure he did not escape before his trial before Caesar.  His crime was his missionary efforts on behalf of the Gentiles (non Jews, as in us).  Paul suffered for the very truth he would explain to the Ephesians in this six chapter book, but this did not make him back down one bit.  The last thing Paul wanted was people to feel sorry for him because he was imprisoned. He wanted his readers to realize that it is a benefit for them that he was a prisoner. 2

Paul opens Ephesians Chapter 3 describing himself as, “a prisoner for Christ Jesus for you the Gentiles,” (Eph 3:1).  Paul might have been physically chained to a Roman solider, but he knew that Jesus was the Lord of his life, not the Roman government, so if he was a prisoner, he was Jesus’ prisoner.3  The scripture quoted above is part of a prayer Paul speaks of the Ephesians and us.

Treasures and Truths for Us

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being.”  Paul has experienced many trials and tribulations up to this point but, he also knows how God has sustained and strengthened him abundantly.  God through the Holy Spirit wants to strengthen us in the same way.  As a member of God’s family He promises His love and power to every member of His family.4  Just like Paul, all we have to do is believe and receive.

“...so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith...”  In the Greek language there are two words that mean “live in.”  One denotes live in a place as a stranger, the other refers to settling in and making a permanent home.  Dwell, katoikeĊ, means a permanent home.  Jesus wants to settle down in our hearts forever, not just visiting as a stranger.5

“...being rooted and established in love...” Paul is asking the Ephesians (and us) to be rooted and grounded in their love for one another.  Spurgeon put it this way,  “Two expressions are used: ‘rooted,’ like a living tree which lays hold upon the soil, twists itself round the rocks, and cannot be upturned: ‘grounded,’ like a building which has been settled, as a whole, and will never show any cracks or flaws in the future through failures in the foundation.” 6

“...to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ...”  
  •  The love of Jesus is so wide that it covers all our sins, our failures and our shortcomings.  It covers every circumstance in our life and works it all out for good.
  • God’s love is so long, it covers us before we were born and it will be with us after we die.  Jeremiah 31:3 tells us “...I have loved you with an everlasting love.”  We can’t out love God and we can never lose His love. 
  • God’s love is deeper than any human's could be.  Philippians 2:7-8 tell us how deep the love of Jesus goes;  “...but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” No one can go lower than the death of the cross, and that is how deep the love of Jesus is for us.   
  • God’s love lifts us to great heights.  “How high you might ask?” It lifts us to heavenly places where we are seated with Christ.  “...He has raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6).
“...and to know this love that surpasses all knowledge.”  There is no way to really comprehend God’s love for us, but we get a somewhat better understanding when we look at the cross.  The cross pointed in four ways, essentially in every direction, because . . .

  • God’s love is wide enough to include every person.
  • 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 us to heaven.7

God’s love for all of us is infinite.  On this Valentine's Day, whether you get a card, flowers, dinner or chocolate know beyond a shadow of a doubt that your God is crazy in love with you and has already given you the greatest gift he could ever give, His son.  


1. Life Application Study Bible, New International Version, 1991, p 2128.
2. http://www.blueletterbible.org/, David Guzik commentary on Ephesians 3.
3. D. Guzik
4. D. Guzik
5. D. Guzik
6. http://www.spurgeon.us/
7. D. Guzik


Dawn Ford is the VP and Co-founder of Infinite Love Ministries, INC. A non-profit dedicated to showing all the infinite love of Christ.  For more information please visit our website, http://www.infiniteloveministries.com/
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