The Love of Christ
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people.
Ephesians 1:18
Does God love us? If we performed better, would God love us more? Does God love one person more than another? Do we really know the rich inheritance that we have in Christ? Such questions trouble every defeated Christian.
Paul addresses these issues in the book of Ephesians by modeling how we should pray for all the saints—and possibly ourselves. Paul first prays that our knowledge of God would increase and that we would know the rich inheritance that we have in Christ (see Ephesians 1:17-18). Then, in Ephesians 3:14-21, he asks that we be filled with the power to comprehend the love of Christ that goes beyond knowledge. He desires that all believers be rooted in the love of Christ, established and “filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (verse 19).
The two dominant Greek words in Scripture translated as love are agape and phileo. Phileo is brotherly love. It represents the natural affection we show among family, friends and countrymen. Agape is God’s love. It reflects the nature of God, because “God is love” (1 John 4:16). God loves us not because we are lovable, but because it is His nature to love us. The love of God is not dependent on its object. That is why the love of God is unconditional.
It is imperative that as a believer, you know that God loves you and why. If you performed better, God wouldn’t love you any more than He does now. If you performed poorly, He would still love you the same. He may discipline you for your sake, “because the Lord disciplines the ones he loves” (Hebrews 12:6). Further, “If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are illegitimate, not true sons and daughters at all” (Hebrews 12:8).
Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another” (John 13:34). Before salvation, we loved one another as well as we humanly could. But with Christ in us, we have a new capacity to love because we have become a partaker of His divine nature (see 2 Peter 1:4). “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Our ability to love others is due to the presence of God in our lives and is the measure of our maturity. Paul says, “The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Timothy 1:5). As we grow in Christ, our nature takes on the nature of love and our capacity to love others increases.
To further your understanding of God’s love, personalize Paul’s prayer for yourself: “Heavenly Father, I pray that out of Your glorious riches You would strengthen me with power through Your Spirit in my inner being, so that Christ may dwell in my heart through faith. I pray that I may be rooted and established in Your love. Grant me the power with all the saints to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is Your love. Enable me to know Your love that is beyond my mental ability to understand. Fill me to the measure of Your fullness. You are able to do immeasurably more than I could ask or imagine, according to Your power that is at work within me. May You be glorified in Your Church throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen.”
questions to consider:
In Ephesians 3:14-21, how does model how we should pray for ourselves and other believers in Christ?
What does phileo love represent? What does agape love represent?
Before we met Christ, we loved as much as we humanly could. What capacity do we now have to love after becoming partakers in Jesus’ divine nature?
Why does God love you? How do you know He does?
Are there people in your life that you struggle to love? Does that struggle have more to do with you or the other person? Explain.
Neil T. Anderson is the founder of Freedom in Christ Ministries. He began the ministry in 1989 and continues to spread the message of freedom to this day.