Young People's Group

Appreciating the Love of Christ at Easter

by Mitchell Tan
April 08, 2020

A FOUNDATIONAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE LOVE OF CHRIST

As we enter into Easter week amidst this “circuit breaker”, let’s focus on the love of Christ. What better way to begin this one month long “stay at home” than to dwell on the Lord Jesus and His love. Our Saviour demonstrated great love through His death on the cross. This was something Paul took up in his epistle to the Ephesians as he prayed for them to understand the love of Christ further.

“That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love …”
Ephesians 3:17

As we exercise faith in all that we have learned about the Lord Jesus (from Ephesians 1 to Ephesians 3), there is so much that can fill our hearts. There are more than 40 mentions of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and the personal pronouns used to refer to Him. Furthermore, the extent of spiritual blessings and salvific ramifications because of Christ’s work on the cross are truly staggering. These things help us to understand a basic yet foundational truth of the love of Christ.

WHEN THE LOVE OF CHRIST BECOMES CONCRETE

“… May be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height …”
Ephesians 3:18

The next level of comprehension that Paul prayed for was for the love of Christ to be concrete. It is an understanding that goes beyond just the theoretical. It is also more than just appreciating the love of Christ as real and personal. When we truly experience and comprehend the extent of the love of Christ through Him and His people, it becomes a powerful entity in our life. This can be seen in the following concrete ways:

1. When the Church, which includes both Jew and Gentile, can be one entity in peace and love (Ephesians 2).

2. When the Church can grow and be built together as a dwelling place of God in love (Ephesians 2:19-22).

The church can have a strong and mature understanding of the love of Christ. This is something that we can see in Bethany. It is extensive, concrete and measurable in terms of love shown to each other in Christ. Let’s continue to show love to each other during this one month of staying at home. Let’s keep in touch and seek to encourage each other with love by all means possible.

WHEN THE LOVE OF CHRIST GOES BEYOND BOUNDARIES

“… To know the love of Christ which passes knowledge …”
Ephesians 3:19

There is an even higher level of understanding concerning the love of Christ. When we try to really understand why the Lord Jesus loves us, it really goes beyond our own human boundaries. First, it is a love that goes beyond mental boundaries. Second, it is a love that goes beyond emotional boundaries. Why the Lord would love us at all is truly amazing! The Lord Jesus had all the rights and privileges of being the Son of God in heaven. Yet He set them all aside so that He could come to earth and die for our sins! What kind of love is this! It goes beyond human understanding.

BEING FILLED WITH THE FULLNESS OF GOD

“… That you may be filled with all the fullness of God”
Ephesians 3:19

Ultimately, Paul’s goal for making this prayer is for us to be filled with all the fullness of God. It is through having a greater understanding of the love of Christ that we can be filled with the Lord’s fullness, His works, and His attributes. Paul had the fullness of God in his life and ministry. This is something we too can pray for that His fullness can be in us bit by bit. We too can pray for this fullness to fill us such that we can become more and more like Him. Let’s pray to God to help us have a deeper understanding of Christ’s love, and show that love to each other that we may be filled with His fullness incrementally.

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