“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 (Ephesians 3:17-19)”.
Walking with God
In this verse, we see that Paul wants us to be solidly connected to each other in love. More than being able to understand all the mysteries of the universe or the deep teachings of Scripture, knowing and sharing the love of Christ enables us to bring God’s full blessing to others. While knowledge can be good, love is greater still. While power can be helpful, love is more helpful still. While experience can teach us many things, love teaches us to use what we know to bless. Let’s be a people whose lives are lived in the environment of love.
As Pastor Chris Oyakhilome says: “To walk with God is to walk in love. All people are the same when it comes to love. Everyone has the capacity to give and receive love. Love is the greatest power in the universe. That’s Christianity!”
This prayer begins a transition from ideas to practice, the natural theme of which is an appeal for spiritual strength from God. Paul wants his readers to grow in understanding God’s love (Ephesians 3:18), something which requires God-given spiritual strength. This applied to each person individually.
Paul called love “the greatest of these [gifts of God]” (1 Corinthians 13:13). Scripture often speaks of God’s love, saying “God is love” (1 John 4:8).
Paul’s desire for his readers to grow in God’s love has a specific purpose. He wants his audience to be filled with Jesus as much as possible. He knows that love, in both thoughts and actions, is the key to this taking place in the life of a believer (Ephesians 3:18).
This ties into today’s Rhapsody of Realities – “the Sanctifier in you”.
“But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30)”.
Pastor Chris explains that “Christ isn’t in you, trying to sanctify you; He has sanctified you and continues to sanctify everything you do. He’s your separator; He has separated you from the rest of the world, from sin and evil, unto the glorious liberty of the sons of God. Just as you’re required to activate wisdom by speaking wisdom, you’re also required to speak sanctification—words that cleanse and purify”.
The Greatest Power in the Universe
The Christian life is a life of love freely given to us by God. That love makes us think of others and accept them just as they are, even when it seems they don’t deserve it. Pastor Chris teaches us that all people are the same when it comes to love. Everyone has the capacity to give and receive love. Everyone wants to be loved, though not everyone wants to give it or respond to it. Love is the greatest power in the universe. It goes beyond cultural divides, religious barriers, ethnic differences, and social stratifications.
And so he encourages us to “become conscious that God lives in us in His fullness, which means all His power and eternal might are domiciled in our spirit. You can bring that power to bear today on anything, or any area of your life”.
He continues by saying that “the power of God is available to us, and through that power, God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think. He can do far beyond our requests, expectations, and imaginations, through His power inside of us. Become God-inside conscious. Recognize and use His awesome power at work in you to your advantage”.