In St. Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus, he startles the Christian believers there by saying this to them – “I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 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. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 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.” (Eph 3:16-19)
What a powerful blessing this is!
How could such a thing be possible, to have Christ in our hearts, our roots to grow deep in God’s love, and a special power to understand things that only God can really understand?
Paul here is presenting a WORD PICTURE. Describing something to create a picture in their minds using words.
Let’s give an example: Bob said to Mary – there was a big red thing driving fast down the road with flashing red lights and a loud siren making noise and a bunch of men hanging onto it. They were headed towards the smoke on the edge of town.
This example paints a picture of a firetruck, doesn’t it?
Paul’s picture is this…. God has a powerful blessing for those who follow Him through Jesus Christ. It is a special understanding of how deep and wide His love really is, and how powerfully it can influence and bless our lives! Like a tree that has deep roots draws much nourishment from the soil.
I especially love weeping willow trees. My father planted one in our yard when I was young and I watched with amazement how quickly it grew! They grow best near the water, by the way, because they need lots of water to grow.
When we are in Christ, we will grow in Him when our nourishment comes from His Word (the Holy Bible). It’s like building a house on a firm foundation – it will stand the test of time!
When Paul emphasizes “Christ in your heart” he is referring to the condition that you have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ during your lifetime. (if not, what are you waiting for?)
When Paul emphasized “comprehending the love” he is talking about grasping the vast, immeasurable love of Christ, which goes beyond human understanding. It can only be done in faith. We can’t begin (with our limited human minds) to fully understand God or His love. This then is again a call to us to experience God’s love firsthand through faith.
Our goal then as believers in Christ, is to be filled with God’s fullness. How is THAT possible? What does this mean? I don’t know – but I want it!
One thing I do know is this, God calls for us to be ROOTED and GROUNDED in HIS LOVE.
How do we do that? First by making sure we are believers in Christ (and not doubters), then by following the teachings of the TEACHER, JESUS. We then become DISCIPLED by living a DISCIPLINED LIFE IN CHRIST!
Now when I ask most people, “what do I have to do to get to heaven”, they will answer…
• Do good. “I’ve lived a pretty good life” they say.
• Do more good than bad, they proclaim
• Others will say, “I hope to go there when I die”
• But if there is one sin in our life, one sin in our heart – are we not like spoiled fruit?
• James 2:10 says “For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws.
• Romans 3:10 reminds us – There is no one righteous, not one
Since God’s standard for heaven is perfection…. we need an intercessor, Jesus, the one who died for our sins. We need to ask Him to be our Savior, to forgive us, since He died bearing the sin of the world on His body, and on a cross.
IT’s NOT A MATTER OF US DOING SOMETHING – IT’s A MATTER OF BELIEVING IN SOMEONE WHO ALREADY DID IT FOR US.
Jesus is the one who died in our place, taking our punishment for sin and the penalty for our guilt. When we come to Jesus, and seek His forgiveness, we start on a Journey of Faith and Growth in Jesus Christ!
Did you realized that Christians need to grow up from their “new birth” to maturity in Christ? It’s just like growing from a child to old age.
In fact, did you know that there are four stages of physical life? Do you remember them?
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Childhood
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Youth
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Middle Age
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“You look good!”
Ok, ok, a little fun there. Most of us are in that last category around here. When you meet someone you haven’t seen in a while, just tell them “you look good” then chuckle under your breath!
Well, there are also four stages of spiritual life to consider… these are ones that Jesus taught us.
First, we need to be born again – In John 3:3 Jesus told Nicodemus, a respected religious leader, “truly I say to you, unless a person is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God”.
This is our starting point into the Kingdom of God, by making Jesus our Lord and Savior.
Secondly, we need to grow from our childlike position and develop into mature Christians. The transition from “spiritual childhood” to “maturity” is viewed as an intentional, supernatural process of becoming increasingly like Jesus Christ in character and conduct. This growth is not measured by chronological age, but by one’s submission to (reading and studying) God’s Word and by the leading of God’s Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the one who will teach us the Bible when we get into a quiet place to read and study it, and pray.
In Hebrews, Paul asserts to the believers that (Hebrews 5:12–14) he is “rebuking those who should be teachers by now but still need “milk” rather than “solid food.” It defines mature believers as those who have “their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil”.
Thirdly, we are taught by Jesus to move into an area of love for all people. In John 13:34-35 he defines a “new commandment” to love one another – as the primary identifying mark of His disciples. Love is an action word, not a feeling, we are to actively show love to others.
Fourthly, we are taught to “go and make disciples”. This is His last and perhaps most important command! In Matthew 18 He gives a commission, which we know as the GREAT COMMISSION to the eleven remaining disciples – meeting with them atop a mountain in Galilee. Jesus does this because of His universal authority, stating “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me”. Because He is God’s Son, He has the right to send His followers into every nation to reclaim people for His kingdom.”
Jesus does this also to fulfill God’s plan for a global community of followers. Christianity was never meant to be restricted to one nation (like Israel). Jesus’ vision was to fulfill God’s ancient promise to bless “all nations” through His people.
Thoughtfully, Jesus does this as an expression of His immense love for the world! Sharing the gospel is viewed as an act of love and truth-telling, giving others access to the same grace and eternal life the disciples received. And, He wants to use folks just like you and me to do this!
Someone loved you enough to share the gospel with you, Christian. It’s your turn to do the same!
Craig Valley Baptist Church, at 171 Salem Ave in New Castle, welcomes you to visit and share in the love of God we have experienced. We meet Sundays at 11AM, with an upbeat service of music, sharing and preaching. You don’t need to dress us, and you won’t be asked to speak, so just come and hang out and meet new and old friends! Questions? Call 540-864-5667 or email pastor@cv-bc.com.
– Pastor Scott Gabrielson
