Day 18: Ephesians 3:17-19: Rooted and Grounded in Love

The love of Christ is deeper and greater than we can fully comprehend.

Paul prays that believers would be rooted and grounded in Christ's love and begin to grasp how vast and immeasurable that love truly is. God's love is not simply something to study- it is something to experience and live from.

Reflection: Where have you most experienced God's love through others?

Transcript

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Happy 1st of July, everyone. We've reached day 18 in our study, and today we are talking about the topic rooted and grounded in love. We're in Ephesians chapter 3, verses 17 through 19. Let's read together. And that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God's love, and to know Christ's love that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Amen. That is God's word. In this passage, Paul is combining two images, rooted and grounded. One comes from agriculture, the other comes from architecture. Roots nourish and stabilize trees. Foundations support buildings. Paul is saying believers need both, because storms will come. And roots matter before storms arrive. Remember Ephesus. The temple of Artemis was one of the wonders of the ancient world, massive columns, beautiful marble, impressive architecture. People looked at it and thought, now that is permanence. Yet today that temple lies in ruins. Why? Because foundations built on created things eventually crumble. Paul offers believers something stronger, the love of Christ. Then he reaches for dimensions: width, length, height, depth. He almost sounds like someone trying to describe something beyond words. Because he is. Paul isn't giving measurements, he's worshiping. The width reminds us no one is beyond Christ's reach. The length reminds us his love spans generations and eternity. The depth reminds us Christ descended into suffering and death for sinners. The height reminds us he has been exalted above every power and authority. Then Paul says, this love surpasses knowledge. How do you know something beyond knowledge? Because biblical knowledge is more than information, it's experience. You can know facts about love without experiencing love. Paul wants believers to experience Christ's love personally and corporately, corporately referring to together. Remember, many Gentile believers had grown up fearing gods, appeasing gods, offering sacrifices, seeking protection, using charms and incantations. But Jesus reveals a God whose relationship with his people is built not on fear, but on covenant love. Today, our culture often defines love as affirmation, chemistry, or feelings. Biblically, love is covenantal, steadfast, faithful, sacrificial. The cross is the ultimate picture of that love. Perhaps Paul's greatest desire is that believers would stop treating Christ's love as a theological concept and begin resting in it as a present reality. Because the love of Christ is deeper and greater than we can even fully comprehend. So I'll leave you with this question today Where have you most experienced God's love through others? Amen.