3:17
Taken with the previous verses we have another trinitarian statement. In the previous verses we had Paul bowing before the Father asking that He might strengthen us, then that this is achieved by the Holy Spirit, and now we have Christ dwelling in our hearts. The gospel is no mere set of ideas, no mere code for living, no mere philosophy. It is about Christ dwelling in our hearts through faith. So far it has all been about what God does. Does that mean we are merely passive? Absolutely not. We are to be rooted and grounded in love.
3:18
We are to have strength to comprehend the full extent of God’s love. When the Bible speaks about love we do need to remember that it is not talking about the mushy sentimental version of love that wee so often think about. Paul asks that we will have the strength to comprehend this love, it is far more than warm feelings. It involves going through difficult situations and seeing that God actually is faithful. And we do this “with all the saints”. Living with other people is difficult, sometimes a downright pain in the neck! But on our own we will never know the extent of God’s love. Together with other people we will get to know more and more of God’s love.
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