Ephesians 3:17-19 (NIV) I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Have you ever tried to measure something and come up short? You pull out a tape measure for a backyard project or to fit new furniture in your living room, only to realize that the tape isn’t long enough. Years ago, I had to manually measure a twelve-story building in downtown. From the basement to the penthouse, I measured every room by hand with a clipboard and a tape. But when I got to the basement tunnel system, hundreds of feet long, my 100-foot tape couldn’t stretch far enough. I kept having to stop, find a new reference point, and start again. The tools I had weren’t sufficient for the scale of the job.
That’s the picture Paul gives us in Ephesians 3:18 when he invites us to measure the love of Christ. He prays that we might “grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.” But then he reminds us that this love “surpasses knowledge.” In other words, no tape measure on earth can capture it. No tool or intellect is sufficient. And that’s actually good news. Because if Christ’s love surpasses our ability to measure, then there’s more than enough of it for our deepest wounds, biggest failures, and most haunting questions. But God doesn’t leave us completely guessing either. The most famous verse in the Bible, John 3:16, gives us a vivid glimpse of this divine love. I believe Ephesians 3 and John 3:16 fit together beautifully, almost like Paul is offering a theological commentary on that verse. Let’s take a fresh look at four dimensions of God’s love as revealed in Scripture.
1. The Width of God’s Love – “For God so loved the world…”
God’s love is wide enough to embrace the entire world. Every tribe, tongue, and nation is included in his redemptive plan. There’s no one too far, too broken, or too different.
Jesus modeled this wide love. He touched lepers, dined with outcasts, welcomed sinners, and also told the truth. And now we’re called to do the same: to love widely, beyond comfort zones, church walls, and cultural boundaries.
2. The Length of God’s Love – “…that he gave his one and only Son…”
Love that is real is always backed by action. And God didn’t just speak love from heaven, he gave his Son.
The cross is the ultimate expression of love’s length. Jesus didn’t just teach and perform miracles. He laid down his life. At St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, there’s a life-size statue of the crucified Christ with this inscription: “This is how God loved the world.”
In a culture where the word “love” in many ways lost its meaning. John puts it this way: “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.” (1 John 3:16) If we claim to love others, it has to show. In our marriages. Our parenting. Our friendships. Love isn’t just what we say, it’s what we do.
3. The Depth of God’s Love – “…that whoever believes in him…”
Jesus didn’t say “whoever never messes up” or “whoever is good enough.” Just, whoever believes. That’s the depth of God’s love. It reaches to the lowest places and the darkest pits.
Have you ever felt too far gone? Too broken? Too ashamed? God’s love dives deep enough to find you there. Isaiah 38:17 says, “In love you have delivered my life from the pit of destruction, for you have cast all my sins behind your back.”
God doesn’t hold your failures in front of your face. He casts them behind His back. That means you don’t have to live in guilt and shame. If you’re in a pit right now, take heart. He’s the God who meets you there, and lifts you out.
4. The Height of God’s Love – “…shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Here’s the high point: eternal life with Jesus! His love doesn’t just pull us out of sin, it lifts us into glory.
But this isn’t only a future hope, it’s a present reality.
Ephesians 2:6 tells us, “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms.”
Did you catch that? Seated—past tense. Spiritually speaking, you’re already lifted and secured. The height of God’s love means your future is settled, your present is shaped by grace, and your identity is rooted in heavenly reality.
Can You Measure God’s Love?
Paul says this love surpasses knowledge, it goes beyond what you or I can grasp. But in Jesus, we get the clearest picture of it. His love isn’t something to calculate or quantify, it’s something to receive.
John 3:16 says it best: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Photo by patricia serna on Unsplash