Sermon of the Week#200830 – July 27, 2008

The Bible has two Testaments, the Old and the New, 66 books, 1,189 chapters, and 31,173 verses, it was written by forty different prophets or Apostles over a period of fifteen hundred years. The Old Testament writers for the most part lived in different generations, and different centuries, and most of them never knew each other; the New Testament was written by eight writers and they all knew each other, and lived in the same century, the first century AD.

The Bible tells us of the love of God in Ephesians 2:1-21. It tells us how long it is, how wide it is, how high it is, and how deep it is. And Paul says, “His love is beyond knowledge.”

While it is true we cannot know the extent of the length, breadth, height, and depth of God’s love, we can have the simple faith of the child who chants: Jesus loves me this I know-For the Bible tells me so-Little ones to Him belong-We are weak but He is strong.

While they don’t really understand much of the love of God they can go on in their learning. That is why Paul says four-dimensional love is beyond knowledge.

No matter how much we learn about the love of God the time comes when the greatest intellect will have to admit God’s love goes beyond our earthly comprehension.

Since faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God, the place to learn about the love of God is in the Word of God. The whole Bible is the Word of God. In the fifth verse of this chapter Paul states that the revelation of God was given to the Apostles and prophets. The whole Bible is the revealed Word of God.

We do not have the luxury of picking and choosing what we like and don’t like. Some pick and choose. One person may say, “I like what Paul said when he said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, but I don’t like what he said when he said he was told to arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins”. A person may say, “I like what the Lord said when He said, Neither do I condemn thee, but the same person may reject what the Lord said when He taught, Except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish”. Someone may say, “I like what the Lord said about preparing a place for you, In My Father’s House are many mansions”. But they reject what the Lord said about, “Depart from Me ye cursed into the eternal fire” Another would say, “I like what Paul said when he said, If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am become as sounding brass or a clanging symbol, But I don’t like what he said when he said, Reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and doctrine”.

Now hear about the four-dimensional love of God in the eighteenth verse, “That we may be strong to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge”.

THE BREADTH

How broad is the love of the Lord? How would you measure that dimension? We measure it one way by the Great Commission. The book of Acts contains the history of how the Apostles carried out the Great Commission of Jesus. It is the book of conversions of many elements of society. The gospel appealed to such a wide range of people as the unbelieving scholar, Saul of Tarsus, who became the Apostle Paul, and then a humble seamstress named Dorcas. Then there were at least two governors, and three kings, along with government officials like the Ethiopian eunuch, and the Philippian jailor, and also a business lady by the name of Lydia. Then, also there was the tent maker Aquila and his wife Priscilla who heard Paul, and became valuable assistants. There were members of the elite guards of Nero who heard Paul, and became Christians, and also other soldiers such as the centurion Cornelius, as well as Erastus the treasurer of the city of Ephesus. Did Jesus say, “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel only to all the people of Judea”? Did He say we are to go into all of the suburbs of America and preach the gospel to all the middle-class white people, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved”? Did He caution us to stay out of the inner city? Why is it that through the years we have seen Churches in the main part of town move out to the suburbs when the wrong people move into the area? People move out to the suburbs, and they take the Church with them.

In Luke thirteen, someone asked the Lord a loaded question, “Are there few who shall be saved?” Compare that with the statement in Revelation 7:9, 10, “After these things I saw, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could number, out of every nation and of all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne, and before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes, and palms in their hands.”

I knew of a preacher who did a magnificent job in a large city working with the inner city people. He told me, “I like grass. I like rabbits. I like birds. I like squirrels. I like to live in the suburbs, but that is not where the people are.” Did the Lord mean that we are to ignore the down and out, and preach the gospel only to the up and in? How broad is the love of the Lord? It is broad enough to take to the people of every race and every nationality. It is broad enough to take to every generation and every century. John tells us in Revelation, “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.” And that is the breadth of the love of God. But now consider the length of the love of God.

THE LENGTH

How long is His love? The length of God’s four-dimensional love stretches from Genesis the third chapter where God promised that the seed of the woman would bruise the head of the serpent and he would bruise His heel, and then slew an animal to make clothing for Adam and Eve, showing that there had to be the shedding of blood to cover their nakedness.

Fig leaves are very thick leaves and they thought the fig-leaf clothing was enough to cover their nakedness. Adam had a fig-leaf suit and the label inside the coat said: Genuine Fig Leaf Made in Hell. And the tailor was the Devil.

There are many today who think the fig leaves of good works is sufficient to cover the nakedness of their sin, but it will not be enough on the Judgment Day. Jesus told a parable in Matthew twenty-two about a man who tried to get into the king’s son’s wedding feast who was not wearing the wedding garment that had been provided and the king said, “Bind him hand and foot, and cast him out into the outer darkness.” The wedding garment of the blood of the slain Lamb of God is the only acceptable garment of righteousness that the King will accept. Galatians 3:27 is very suggestive about how one can wear the wedding garment when Paul says, “As many of us as were baptized into Christ did put on Christ.”

Another thought as to the length of God’s love is the length of time He will wait for anyone to become a Christian. He will wait until the end of your life. I know of one man who listened to this program and at the age of one hundred, believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and was baptized in the creek.

The love of God stretches all the way from Genesis to Revelation twenty to the point where John writes, “And if any was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire.” Then to the last chapter in the Bible where it is said, “Blessed are they who have washed their robes and made them white that they may have a right to enter in through the gates into the city.”

We note the length in the story of the cross. How far would Jesus go to show His love for us? He went as far as He could go; He gave His life. He said one time that greater love hath no man than this that a man would lay down his life for his friends. Jesus laid down His life for everybody. Not just for one person, but for everybody that ever lived. He tasted of death once for every man. Not just for me, but for you. Not just for you, but for everybody else. How long is His love? He not only died for every person, but He also bore all the sins of every person. Christ died for our sins; it wasn’t just for my sins that He felt the guilt. He felt the guilt of every sin that was ever done by anybody, anytime, anywhere. There is no person who has sinned to the extent that Jesus will not forgive if they turn to Him in faith, repentance, and obedience in immersion. John in Revelation refers to the book of life that has the names of the redeemed from the foundation of the world. In Hebrews Paul tells us that He is able to save unto the uttermost. That is the length of the love of Jesus. And that is the second dimension of the four-dimensional love of Jesus. And now the third dimension of the love of God is the height of His love.

THE HEIGHT

How high is it? If we look to the Great Commission to see the breadth, and to the cross to see the length, we need to look at the cradle to see the height of God’s four-dimensional love. Paul tell us in Philippians chapter two that Jesus considered not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking upon Himself the form of a servant, made in the likeness of man, found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself even unto death, yea the death of the Cross. Jesus left the highest point of Heaven, at the right hand of the Father, and came down to a stable.

The height was the right hand of the Father in Heaven. You can’t get any higher than that. I don’t know all that is going on in Heaven, but I know that there is nothing going on there that God has any more interest in than what is going on down here on this earth. You can’t get any higher than that. We have noted the breadth, length, and height of the love of God and now the depth of His love.

THE DEPTH

How deep is His love? We see the depth of it in the Resurrection. Jesus descended into the spirit world called Hades. On the day of Pentecost, Peter said in the first gospel sermon that the prophecy was fulfilled when He arose from the dead, “Thou will not leave My soul unto Hades”. Some may think that Jesus descended into Hell. Jesus did not descend into Hell after He died. He went to Hell before He died. He was suffering the torments of Hell on the cross when He died for our sins. We have instant coffee and we have instant tea. The cross was instant Hell, instant damnation. It was eternities of Hell compacted and telescoped into six hours on the cross. After He died He went into the spirit world. Jesus called the part where He went Paradise when He spoke to the thief on the cross. That is the depth of the four-dimensional love of the Lord Jesus Christ.

CONCLUSION

The final point Paul makes in Ephesians chapter three is when he says, “Now unto Him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be the glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus unto all generations forever and ever. Amen.”

Most folk don’t think God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we can ever ask or think according to the power that works in us. We sometimes think that God is limited to operating on our level. God’s level is much higher. The prodigal son thought he would be lucky to get back into the father’s house as a hired servant. The father did exceeding abundantly more than the prodigal thought. He ran to meet him, fell on his neck and kissed him, gave him a robe and a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet, and killed the fatted calf, and then the party began.

Sarah did not believe she could have a son at ninety. Humanly speaking it could not be done, but God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.

Mary the Mother of Jesus did not believe it was possible to have a Son as a virgin, “How shall these things be seeing I know not a man.” Gabriel said, “No word of God shall be void of power.” Jesus was born of the virgin because God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.

Nebuchadnezzar did not think Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego could survive in the fiery furnace, but God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.

Jesus said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.” The Apostles thought it was impossible for a literal camel to go through the literal eye of a literal needle. Modern-day unbelief is often shown in the attempt to make the camel kneel before entering a small gate called the eye of a needle. Over forty years ago we asked for a radio program on one large radio station; and today the preaching that was done in the days of the Apostles can be heard anywhere on this planet, because God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.

Think of the cross of the Lord Jesus. It reaches up to the highest point of the third Heaven, it reaches down to the lowest point of Hell, it reaches out to the east and the west and that distance is immeasurable because never the twain shall meet, but with Jesus east meets west, and west meets east, at Jesus’ pierced feet. 

There is no reason for us to doubt that God can and will deliver because: Thou art coming to a King-Large petitions with thee bring-For His grace and power are such-None can ever ask too much.

Think of that wonderful promise. God is able. But not only is He able, He is able to do. But not only is He able to do, He is able to do abundantly. But not only is He is able to do abundantly He is able to do abundantly above all. But not only is He is able to do abundantly above all He is able to do abundantly above all that we can ever ask. But not only is He able to do abundantly above all that we can ever ask, He is able to do abundantly above all that we can ever ask or think. God is able. Unto Him be the glory in the Church unto all generations forever and ever, Amen.