Paul the
apostle prayed for the Lord Jesus to “grant” unto the
Ephesians, “according to the riches” of His “glory”,
“to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man”.
He also desired for “Christ” to “dwell in”
their “hearts by faith” that they “being rooted and
grounded in love” would know “the breadth, and length, and
depth and height” of something very special. In chapter three
and verse eighteen of his letter, Paul continues this thought for
them. We read:
May be
able to comprehend with all saints
what is
the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
The
verse begins, “May be able to comprehend with all
saints...” Paul began with the
words, “May be able”
which means “to be eminently able and have full strength” “to
comprehend” or “seize upon,
take possession of, obtain, make one's own and appropriate” “with
all saints” which refers to
“each, every, any, all, the whole and everyone sacred, pure,
morally blameless, religiously and ceremonially consecrated”.
Paul's desire was for “all” “believers in Jesus” to “know
and take possession of” what he is about to declare.
The
verse goes on to say, “...what
is the
breadth, and length, and depth, and height;” Paul
continued, “what is the breadth”
which means “width which suggests great extent”, “and
length” or “shadowing forth the
greatness, extent, and number of blessing from Christ”, “and
depth” which refers to “deep, extreme,
profound and by implication the extent of the mystery”, “and
height” or “rank, high station, altitude
and exaltation”. Four expanses were desired for the Ephesians, and
each of them speaks to the limitless potential for these church
members.
When
we consider these words of Paul, we understand we are in the midst of
a great passion of Paul. There is a great “expanse” that reaches
farther than we can imagine to what Paul expounded. We should be
excited to know the availability that God has provided for those who
believe in His Son Jesus Christ. May we give praise and glory to our
God and ready ourselves for the awesome and passionate desire God has
afforded those who put their trust in Him.
Next
time Paul shares how he wants the Ephesians to know the “love
of Christ”, so read ahead, and
we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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