Rooted and Grounded in Love

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 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 3:14-19 ESV)

So, what should this look like, in all practicality, in our lives today? What is this saying to you? To me? What should it look like for us if Christ is, indeed, dwelling in our hearts through faith? What faith? What does this faith look like? I mean, there is a lot of meat in this paragraph if we take the time to unfold it all and to examine it and to see what it means and how that is to be applied to our daily lives. For this is not something we should just skim over and say, “yada yada yada.” For this is not empty talk.

For Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin and to self), and follow (obey) him. For if sin is what we practice, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if for Jesus’ sake we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow our Lord in obedience, then we have the hope of eternal life with God. For Jesus also said that not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven but the one DOING the will of God the Father in heaven (Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

The Scriptures also teach us that God’s grace, which is bringing us salvation, is training us to renounce (say “No!” to) ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return. For Jesus Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works, the works that God prepared in advance that we should walk in them, as his workmanship (Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 2:10).

For by this grace we have been saved through faith. But faith is divine persuasion, and it is gifted to us by God, and it comes from God, and it is perfected by Jesus Christ, and we can’t even come to faith in Jesus Christ unless God the Father draws us to Christ. So this faith is not of our own doing – not of the will nor of the flesh of man – so we do not get to define faith. God does. His word does. And his word teaches that by faith we die with Christ to sin so that we can live to God and to his righteousness.

[Hebrews 12:1-2; Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Peter 2:24; Romans 12:1-2; Ephesians 4:17-24]

So, if Christ is truly dwelling in our hearts through faith, which is of God and not of ourselves, it means that we are those who have died and who are dying daily to sin and who are living to God and to his righteousness in walks of obedience to his commands in holy living and no longer in sin. We are saying “No!” to sin and “Yes!” to God and to his will for our lives, and we are following him wherever he leads us in doing whatever it is he wants us to do. And we are doing the works God prepared for us to do, by his power.

And what does it look like if we are rooted and grounded in love? What love? The word is agapé, and it means to prefer what God prefers, which is what is holy, righteous, godly, morally pure, upright, honest, faithful, and obedient to our Lord and to his New Covenant commands. It means that we prefer to live through Christ, to choose his choices, and to obey them in his power. And when we love others with this love we will do for them what is honest, godly, and morally pure, etc., and we will not deliberately sin against them.

And if we want to know the breadth, length, height, and depth of God and of his divine character and will for our lives, and of his love, grace, and mercy, and of all that he requires of us in thought and word and in deed, so that we can be filled with all the fulness of God, then we need to be committed to learning to know God’s will and to doing it in his power. So we must be students of the Scriptures who study them in context and who make it our practice to obey them in the power, strength, and wisdom of God.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24] 

He Gives Purpose  

An Original Work / June 9, 2012

“Listen to Me when I’m calling to you.

Obey freely My word.

Follow Me in all of My ways.

Do all that I say.

Hear Me gently whisper to you

My will for your life and future.

Give all of your life and heart to

Follow Me always.”

Repent of your sins and worship Jesus.

He’s your Lord and Master.

He died for your sins so you could

Live with Him today.

He has a plan for your life and

He gives purpose and direction.

He gives meaning to your life,

So follow Him today.

“I love you so much I gave My life for

You to walk in My ways,

Living for Me each day as you

Bow to Me and pray.

Witness for Me of your love for Me and

Of My grace and mercy,

How I died to save you of your

Sins now and always.”

https://vimeo.com/119038798