Ephesians 3:1818may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
The third purpose clause of this prayer is given in v. 18. This clause has a strong result sense to it. The result of the indwelling Christ through the Holy Spirit is the strength to know the love of Christ even more. The Holy Spirit does a deeper work in our hearts as we come to give ourselves more and more to Christ. There is no bottom to discover of this love. The faith we have in Christ opens us to the powerful work of the Holy Spirit who then gives us this strength to comprehend. Comprehend (katalabesthai) can mean to catch, win, or grasp in understanding. This love of Christ is our prize. It is what we must grasp in our thinking and living. It goes deeper than simply a cursory knowledge–“Sunday School responses.” This will become all consuming of us.
We join with all the saints who have also grasped this crucial concept of the Christian life. It is for everyone but sadly, not everyone pursues it. It is more precious than gold, silver, or any possession of this world. It is worthy of our full commitment, even coming to the point of putting ourselves on the cross. This pursuit is echoed in Philippians 3:12 where Paul uses the same word for comprehend: “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.”
The last clause of v. 18 has no object but is an open-ended statement: the breadth and length and height and depth. The context at the end of v. 17 and the beginning of v. 19 suggests that the goal of this is the love of Christ. These four dimensions cover all the area and are a comprehensive and metaphoric way to describe the essence of being in the sphere of “in Christ.” This is a sphere or area that cannot be defined and is as infinite as the Creator God from all of this originates (v. 14). There is no higher goal in life than to pursue the experience and knowledge of the love of Christ.
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