Ephesians 3:18,19
“may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.”
As Christians we are to be knowledgable. God wants us to be students of Him. The primary way we are to do that is to read the bible. God gives us a natural appetite for it when we accept Christ. If we don’t feed these spiritual needs, we don’t grow. 1 Peter 2:2 says, “like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation”. We are to feed that appetite.
Hebrews 5:12-14 addresses those that ignore this growth.
“In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!
Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.
But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” It’s very discouraging when a parent see his child fall behind the other children.
Today’s passage says we are to know all the dimensions of the faith. It sounds like a dimension is given twice, height and depth. I see it as a house. If we are on the ground floor, we are to know the floors above (height) and those below (the depth). Just like one handy with measurement understands area and volume, so we are to know our faith.
Paul pushes this into the relational area, “to know the love of Christ”. This is more than “knowing about Christ”, it’s “knowing him”. We may know about people, but we know our friends. Reading the bible in an open manner is the main way we listen to Him. We pray for His help through our daily circumstances. These prayers become desparate at times, depending on the need. As He comes through, we learn of His reliability. We sit with Him in quiet communion. He fills us with His love and joy. The end of today’s passage speaks of us being “filled up to all the fullness of God.”
This is the purpose of life, knowing Christ. God created our first parents to enjoy one another, enjoy and tend the garden and to be a friend of God. It’s then that we are fully alive.
Lord, help us to be dedicated to reading Your word and learning more about our faith. Help us to have a close walk with You. Help us to be fully alive.