The Geometry of Christ’s Love

so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,  may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. – Ephesians 3:17-19

In the Church we often speak of how we are to love God and how we are to love each other. Now this is absolutely necessary because these are the two great commandments which our blessed savior has given us, but it is highly important that we meditate and meditate often on God’s love for us. This is Paul’s purpose in writing these above verses, that we would be strengthened as we comprehend and contemplate how much our God loves us.

He says “that we being grounded in love may be able to fully comprehend the breadth, length, height, and depth of Christ’s love.” This statement of the geometry of Christ’s love is to display the vastness of it. It is to arouse every fiber of our soul to contemplate how mighty our God’s love is for us. Paul prays that “we might know the love of Christ which passes all knowledge.” This statement seems to come off very contradictory. How can you know something that cannot be known? How can you define something so great it cannot be defined? Why use measurements for something that is immeasurable and eternal? However, like with all other Scripture, there is no contradiction here.

What Paul is saying is that though this love of Christ’s is completely immeasurable, though it is beyond all computation, it is our business to learn as much as we can about it, and to receive as much of it as we can possibly contain. This forces us to dive deeper into the description Paul gives us of Christ’s love.

I want you to note that we are about to look into something so glorious and endless, that it will be the theme of praise for every believer not only in this world, but the world to come. We will spend our entire eternity gazing upon it, wondering at it, and being astounded by the incredible love of our Savior, but this contemplation of God’s love must start in your life this very second. My friend nothing brings greater joy to all God’s people than to meditate on how much their Savior loves them. One of the greatest failures as believers is to not meditate on God’s love. How are you doing in this area? You see when the church has meditated and spoken out on the vastness of God’s love it has been the spring and source of some of the greatest revivals the world has ever known. So now let us look deeper into the variables of this Heavenly geometry given to us by Paul.

Have you ever considered the breadth of God’s Love?

This literally means the span or width of God’s love. The book of revelation seems to be particularly interested in portraying the breadth of God’s love. Revelations 5 tells us that “by His blood He redeemed us out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation,” and “that they number ten thousands time then thousands and thousands of thousands.” Later in Revelations 7, it would be described “as a great multitude which no man could number.” I want you to know that there are many today who have a very narrow view of the Lord’s love. They consider it a very narrow stream, but they have not seen it for what it really is, a mighty, flowing, abounding, and rejoicing river which He immerses His children in. I know that we live in a very discouraging time in History and that we seem to make up a very small percentage of the population; but one day we will stand in Heaven completely amazed as we realize what the love of God has accomplished in spite of sin, in spite of Hell, and in spite of the devil. Oh how He loves us!

Have you ever stretched your mind to the lengths of His love?

The length conveys the endlessness of God’s love. We read in Scripture of the everlasting love of God. Jeremiah 31:3 reads, “I have loved you with and everlasting love.” The length of God’s love for you began in eternity, meaning it has always been there. Christ’s love for us did not suddenly come into being; it was there before the beginning of time. Therefore, we read in Revelations 13:8 “that our names were written in the Lamb’s Book of Life from the foundation of the world.” What dignity this adds to life and our very existence to know that God had set His heart and affections on us even in eternity past. The love of Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. In it there is no variation. It is a love that never gives, and a love that never lets go (Romans 8:38-39). Such is the length of His love.

Have you ever dove deep into the depths of His love?

The depth of this great river of love is most greatly seen in the incarnation; that is that God became a man. As a man, God bore our sorrows, our grief, our pains, and most of all our sins. He took upon Himself the iniquities of all His people; the greatest of burdens was laid upon His shoulders as He stood as our substitute. He bore our punishment, and on a bloody cross He bowed His head being obedient to death. He bore the wrath of God, the wrath which each of us rightly deserve. Oh the agony our Savior bore for us. I want you to know that you can never go too deep for Christ’s love to reach. You may be in the foulest and deepest pits of sin, but the depth of Christ’s love is still deeper.

Have you ever climbed to the heights of His Love?

Some think that the love of Christ only purchased forgiveness of sins, but that does not touch the full height of His love. He died not only that we be forgiven, but that we be made righteous. He died not only that our sins be blotted out, but that we be given a new birth. He died not merely to save us from punishment, but to make us children of God. Even so, the greatest representation of the height of His love has yet been revealed to any of us still alive. For this most splendid moment will occur when our souls are brought into the heights of heaven, and we awake in the blessed arms of our savior; and as we tear up with joy, He wipes away those precious tears. Oh the heights of His love!

So what does this mean to us? Beloved, we have been called and saved by divine love to display divine love. When asked how people would know His true followers, Christ answered, “You shall know them by their fruits.” What does your fruit say about you? Does it taste bitter, rotten, unhealthy, and poisonous; or is it dripping with the sweetness of divine love and God’s glory? Let us never forget how much He loves us!