The Love of Christ

How great is the love of Christ, the love that surpasses knowledge? (Eph. 3:19) In the preceding verse, Paul refers to it as having a breadth, and length, and height, and depth; and that we may be able to comprehend with all the saints what that is. This is worth thinking about and contemplating for a while. Since Paul says the love of Christ surpasses knowledge, we can look at Eph. 2:7, and find that it will take ages to come to show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. We have much to learn!

If we can contemplate height for a moment with the Psalmist in 103:11, "For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him."  The closest star to us on planet earth is roughly 4.25 lightyears away. A lightyear is calculated to be 6 trillion miles away. So that closest star is roughly 25.5 trillion miles away! I believe that would be love that surpasses knowledge! In all His attributes He is beyond all measure.  Job 22:12 states, "Is not God in the height of heaven? Look also at the distant stars, how high they are!" 

So what does this love of God look like? The greatest attainment as to the understanding of the love of Christ that we can arrive at here, is to know that this love surpasses knowledge. It is most expressed to us though in the fact that God gave the Son, Jesus Christ to be a Savior, and through this act of love we may be happy through Him. "The One who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Tim. 1:10).  On Him we have set our hope (2 Cor. 1:10). And this hope will not disappoint (Rom. 5:5).  And this is all based on grace. Grace, grace, God's grace. That favor that comes to us as pure charity, unasked, undesired, and undeserved.

Grace is more than unmerited favor. A.W. Pink says, "To feed a tramp who calls on me is unmerited favor, scarcely grace. But suppose after robbing me, I should feed this starving tramp, that would be grace."  You and I were like that tramp to the Almighty God.  Titus 3:3 says, "We were once foolish, disobedient, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another."  The following verses 4,5, and 6 share that He poured out the Holy Spirit upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.

To close, English Puritan John Bunyan (Author of Pilgrim's Progress) states, “The more a man knows, or understands of the greatness of God towards him, expressed by the terms of unsearchable breadth, length, depth, and height, the better he will be able in his heart to conceive of the excellent glory and greatness of the things that are laid up in the heavens for them that fear Him."  You will get to know of Him better; let the Spirit tell you of Him through the Word. He will testify about Me (John 15:26).

Elder Randy Slak