8/23/98
TAPE # 4940
DAVID W. ROTH PASTOR-TEACHER
EPHESIANS 3:18-19a

EPHESIANS
"KNOWING THE LOVE OF CHRIST"
(PART II)

(Eph 3:18-19 KJV) "May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; {19} And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God."

We are currently studying the subject of God's love for us. It has been my testimony that while preparing for these studies on the vastness of God's love for us that every time I reflect and meditate upon this subject, my spirit becomes uplifted. And the troubles that I may be facing at the time, suddenly seem to me of little importance in light of this awesome truth.

It is my prayer that as we study Ephesians together that we would grow in our knowledge and understanding of how great God's love is for us. For it is when we begin to comprehend this truth that we will see how great redemptions plan really is and we will be better suited to face all the outworkings of this life.

In our last study I introduced the four-dimensional way in which the apostle Paul sought to illustrate the vastness of God's love for the redeemed. We looked last time at the breadth and the length of God's love for us and in today's study we will look at the depth and the height of this love.

By way of a brief review I would like to set the main principles of the first two dimensions.

We saw that the breadth of God's love illustrated the all-encompassing love of God. By all-encompassing we mean that God's love is all-embracing. There will be redeemed out of fallen mankind peoples from every kindred, tongue, and tribe. God's love is not reserved for a special nation Israel alone. Rather it extends into all the nations of the world.

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you have been affected by God's all-encompassing love.

Not only is God's love all-embracing, but it is also eternal. The length of God's love for you began before time began and will continue in an unbroken line into all eternity. The prophet Jeremiah stated that God loves His people with an everlasting love.

Consider the length of God's love for us, there was never be a time that God did not love us. What an awesome truth!

Lesson, "KNOWING THE LOVE OF CHRIST," (PART II)

Having reviewed the breadth and the length of God's love for us I would like to now direct your attention toward the depth and the height of God's love for us.

DEPTH

In keeping with the two previous expressions of God's love for us, I would like to give you a simple aid to set before your eyes the truth regarding the depth of God's love. I would like you to draw two circles in a vertical position connected by a down-ward arrow. In the upper circle I would like you to place the letter "H" to represent heaven, and in the lower circle place the letter "W" to represent the world. The downward arrow represents the incarnation of Christ.

The term incarnation when used in a theological sense refers to the act of Jesus Christ whereby He left the glory which He shared with His Father and took upon Himself the likeness of man, and entered into this world through the womb of a virgin. And in so doing He became the spotless Lamb of God who was to take away the sin of the world.

If there had been no incarnation, there would have been no salvation.

The reason there would be no salvation is because the wages of man's sin is death and God demanded a perfect sacrifice to make atonement for man's sin.

We see this truth in symbolical or in picture form under the Old Testament economy by the sacrificial lamb. This lamb was to be spotless and without blemish. The high priest would lay his hands upon the sacrificial lamb which pictured the transfer of the peoples sins to the lamb. Then with one quick cut of the knife the lamb would be slain, and then blood of the lamb would then be placed upon the altar testifying of the lamb's death

(Lev 17:11 KJV) "For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul."

(Heb 9:22 KJV) "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission."

But the truth of scripture is that the thousands upon thousands of Old Testament sacrifices never atoned for one single sin.

(Heb 10:1-4 KJV) "For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. {2} For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. {3} But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. {4} For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins."

What the Old Testament sacrifices did do was to point to the one and only true sacrifice which can truly take away the sin of the world. That sacrifice being the very Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

(Heb 10:10 KJV) "By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."

(Heb 10:14 KJV) "For by one offering (the offering of Christ) he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified."

Perhaps the greatest chapter in the Bible which portrays the depth of God's love for us in seen in the second chapter of the book of Philippians. In particular verses six through eleven.

(Phil 2:6-11 KJV) "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: {7} But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: {8} And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. {9} Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: {10} That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; {11} And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

In this passage the apostle Paul describes the details regarding the incarnation of Christ. We see in this text that at a point in time Jesus Christ, who is equal with God, set aside the glory that He shared with His Father and took upon Himself the form and likeness of man.

Having done this He lived approximately thirty-three and a half years and without sin. Having lived a sinless life He demonstrated His worthiness to take upon Himself the sins of the world and to offer by His own volition or will Himself, in the place of death-deserving sinners.

(2 Cor 5:21 KJV) "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."

What depth of love!

We see in the book of Acts that the offering of Christ for the sins of His people began in the eternal purposes and counsel of God.

(Acts 2:23 KJV) "Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:"

For the first and only time ever, when the sins of the people were laid upon Jesus, He lost sight of His Father. God turned His back on His Son. We see the horror of this action when Jesus cried before giving up the ghost,"...My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46)

(Mat 27:50 KJV) "Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost."

(Heb 12:3 KJV) "For consider him (Jesus Christ) that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds."

Why did Jesus endure such a contradiction of sinners? Why would God allow this to happen to His Son?

The answer is found when one considers the depth of God's love for them.

The depth of God's love for us is further manifested when we consider the fact that there was nothing meritoriously good in us to call forth such love.

(Eph 2:4-5 KJV) "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, {5} Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)"

The scriptures declare that we were born into this world wicked and depraved sinners. But God loved us in spite of our great wickedness.

(Rom 5:6-8 KJV) "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. {7} For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. {8} But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

(1 Pet 3:18 KJV) "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:"

The more we come to understand the depravity of our own heart before salvation, the more we will come to understand the vastness of God's love for us.

Think about this for a moment, because of mankind's high treason against the God of the universe He could have sent the entire human race to hell and would have been perfectly righteous and just to do so. Yet, because of His great love for us God's righteous and just demands fell upon Christ. And rather then being recipients of God's wrath, we have become the recipients of God's mercy and grace.

Mercy and grace by definition describe the fact that we do so not deserve or merit this salvation which is freely bestowed upon us in Christ.

What depth of love that Jesus Christ has for us that He would descend from the height of glory He shared with His Father, and to take upon Himself the likeness of man and to suffer and die in man's place. What love!

HEIGHT

The final dimension that the apostles used to illustrate the vastness of God's love for us is that of height. As with the previous three dimensions I would like to give you a simple object-lesson that I believe will be helpful in our understanding of this wonderful concept.

What I would like you to do is again place two circles in a vertical position but this time place an arrow going from the lower circle upward toward the upper circle. In the upper circle place the "H" again representing heaven and in the lower circle place the letter "w" representing the world.

The upward arrow represents God's ultimate and final purpose for us. It represents the final resurrection when we will in both body and spirit enjoy the presence of Christ for all eternity.

You see, the purpose of Jesus Christ's incarnation and the leaving of the glory He shared with the Father was in order to bring us to the Father that we might enjoy the glory that He had enjoyed.

We see this concept in our Lord's High-Priestly prayer which is recorded in John's gospel.

(John 17:24 KJV) "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world."

That we will be brought into the eternal presence of both the Father and the Son is the culmination of God's love for us. That through the offering of His Son, man who was by nature in a state of radical depravity will one day be brought into the very presence of God's holiness and majesty. That is testimony to the unfathomable height of God's love for us.

The scripture is emphatically clear that we will one day enjoy the full presence and manifestation of Christ in both body and spirit.

There is a heretical movement today that has gained some popularity which denies the future physical bodily resurrection of the believer. This movement is known by terms such as "full-preterism" or "consistent preterism" i.e. "heretical preterism" or "hyper-preterism."

The physical bodily resurrection of both Jesus Christ as well as the believer has been the corner-stone of Christian orthodoxy since the early church. The church of Jesus Christ has always embraced this truth.

To deny the physical bodily resurrection of both Christ or the believer is a departure from the faith. It is not a doctrine of unimportance as the proponents of this heresy would have you to believe. The resurrection of both Jesus Christ as well as the believer goes to the very heart of the gospel.

(1 Cor 15:13-14 KJV) "But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: {14} And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain."

(1 Cor 15:17 KJV) "And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins."

The physical bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ as well as that of the believer is not a doctrine where the church can allow for compromise.

It is not within the scope of this message to go into all the dangers of heretical preterism. Rather it is my purpose that we would see the importance of the believers physical bodily resurrection as it is related to the vastness of God's love for us.

Throughout scripture we see the resurrection of Jesus Christ as a paradigm or pattern of the believers future resurrection.

It is important to understand that the resurrection of Jesus Christ involved His body of flesh. His was not simply a spiritual resurrection, but also a bodily resurection.

We see this evidenced in all four of the gospel records.

(Mat 28:5-6 KJV) "And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. {6} He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay."

(Mark 16:6 KJV) "And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him."

(Luke 24:12 KJV) "Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass."

(John 20:6-9 KJV) "Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, {7} And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. {8} Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. {9} For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead."

That Jesus experienced a physical bodily resurrection is also seen in His witness to doubting Thomas.

(John 20:24-27 KJV) "But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. {25} The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. {26} And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. {27} Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing."

In His resurrection body Jesus ate food with His disciples.

(Luke 24:42-43 KJV) "And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. {43} And he took it, and did eat before them."

We see in the book of Romans that our physical bodies will experience a physical resurrection.

(Rom 8:11 KJV) "But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you."

(Phil 3:20-21 KJV) "For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: {21} Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself."

Did you notice our resurrection bodies will be fashioned like Jesus' resurrection body?

(1 John 3:1-2 KJV) "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. {2} Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."

(1 Th 4:16-17 KJV) "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: {17} Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."

We see in Romans chapter eight that redemption is in a sense incomplete until the redemption of the body.

(Rom 8:22-23 KJV) "For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. {23} And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption
of our body."

That this body will be completely controlled by the Spirit of God is seen in I Corinthians 15:44.

(1 Cor 15:44 KJV) "It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body."

The description "spiritual body" does not indicate or imply a non-physical body. Rather it is a body that is completely controlled by the Spirit of God.

The same word for spiritual, pneumatikos, is used of the Christians in...

(1 Cor 2:14-15 KJV) "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. {15} But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man."

It has been clearly noted that Jesus Christ was resurrected in a physical tangible body, the very body in which He died, even though in His resurrection body He is controlled by heightened spiritual power.

What height of love that God has for us that one day we will be able to worship Him completely in body and spirit.

What a blessed day it will be when we shall see Jesus face to face and will be able to worship Him without even the slightest inclination toward sin. Oh, that we would grow in our understanding and comprehension of the height of God's love for us.

Before we close let us in one brief glance look again at this four-dimensional illustration of God's love for us.

BREADTH -"ALL-ENCOMPASSING"

LENGTH - "ETERNAL"

DEPTH - Jesus Christ descended to this world and died a horrible death in order to bring this love of God to us.

HEIGHT - Jesus has ascended unto the Father though the power of His resurrection making the way possible that we too will ascend unto the Father, enabling us by the power of the resurrection to enjoy His love for all eternity.

All of this and more because of the vastness of His love for us!

What love! May we never forget to meditate on a daily basis upon this vast love that God has for us.

As we conclude today's study I would like to close with a quote that I gave you last week by the late Dr. Martin LLoyd-Jones, "Have you been feeling sorry for yourself, and somewhat lethargic in a spiritual sense? Have you been regarding worship and prayer as a task? Have you allowed the world, the flesh or the devil to defeat you and to depress you? The one antidote to that is to meditate upon and to contemplate this love of Christ."

This message was preached by David W. Roth on 8/23/98 at Faith Bible Church in Va. Beach, Virginia. This is a rough transcript of the actual message, if you would like to hear this message in its entirety please order tape #4940. The cost is $1 plus postage.

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