Rooted in Love Ephesians 3:13-21 October 5, 2025

Rooted in Love
Ephesians 3:13-21
St. Peter’s Anglican Church
October 5, 2025

The other day I saw a great picture of a beautiful sunrise with the caption “A Sunrise before the government shutdown.”

And then another picture of a beautiful sunrise with the caption — “A sunrise after the government shutdown.”

Surprise! — both pictures were identical!

Despite what happens in our government … unless Jesus returns — God’s promise that He made to Noah after the flood … still holds true:

““While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease.””

When our children were little … before personal computers … smart phones … and the weather channel apps … my wife would say “watch the weather” … especially if she was going somewhere with the kids the next day.

More often than not … my response was … unless Jesus returns we’re going to have weather and there’s nothing we can do about it.

Now … I know she wanted to know the weather so should would know how to dress the kids.

The main point being that there are certain things that we have control over … and things that we DON’T have control over … such as the government shutting down … or the weather for tomorrow.

But for us — as Christians … those who have been adopted into God’s family … while the government and weather do have some temporary effect on us … ultimately we know that God is still in complete and absolute control.

As I have said … nothing surprises Him … there are no “what if’s” or “if only’s”.

I reminded you a couple of weeks ago when we were still in shock about the assassination of Charlie Kirk, that as Christians we can rest in knowing that nothing happens by accident … and nothing happens outside of God’s divine will and purpose.

As Christians … we can say with the Apostle Paul:

““For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.””
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““NOTHING shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.””

Regardless of the events in our individual lives … the lives of our families and friends … the events in our cities … our states … our nation … our world …

We know that as Christians … ““NOTHING shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.””

In our Epistle Lesson from Ephesians 3 … the Apostle Paul … writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit emphasizes this love the Christ has for his children.

Earlier in chapter 3 Paul talks about the mysteries of the Gospel being revealed to the Gentiles … remember Paul was the Apostle to the Gentiles … where he says … in part …

““that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel,””

We know as we compare Scripture with Scripture … that if we know Christ by faith it is because the mystery of the Gospel has been revealed to us by the Spirit of God.

As Paul tells us at the beginning of his letter to the Christians in Ephesus AND to us:

““Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, …””

And God’s love for is stated as Paul continues:

““But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ …””

Notice the theme of love …

““that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love … But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, …””

We see the love of God through the Lord Jesus Christ.

It should bring to mind the familiar words of John:

““For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.””

As we continue in our Epistle lesson we see that it is the love of God through the Lord Jesus Christ that enables us to be strong regardless of the events that are happening around us.

Look again at what he says in his prayer for the Ephesian Christians … and for us

““For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.””

Paul uses two illustrations to describe our faith in our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ … so that we can fully comprehend what God has done for us through Christ.

We see first that our faith is rooted and grounded in love … love for Christ and love for God.

Just as a tree is strong and steady because of it’s roots which are in the ground … so our faith is rooted in the love of Jesus Christ.

And how was that love revealed.

It was revealed when the pre-existent 2nd person of the Trinity … took on human flesh … and came to earth as a baby … with the specific purpose of dying for the sins of those who believe in him as Savior and Lord.

This love of our Savior for us is summarized in Philippians 2:

““Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.””

As John tells us in his first epistle:

““In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.””
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There it is — ““not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.””

God has done it all … ““He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.””

That’s why I dismiss you from the rail with: ““Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!””

God has done it all … just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world!

The 2nd illustration is that the love that God has for his children is compared to a building … a complete building … the width and length and depth and height …

This 2nd illustration shows the completeness of God’s love for us … we see the dimensions of God’s love for us … it encompasses the whole building … the width and length and depth and height …

Then … what is the purpose of these illustrations … ““to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.””

Do we fully comprehend the love of Christ for us … for all who believe??

Think about it … the mysteries of the Gospel have been revealed to us … and this is not true of everyone.

The love of Christ for us … gives us the assurance of our salvation … of the forgiveness of our sins … of the privilege of prayer … of the place reserved in heaven for us … and much more!

As I have said concerning our salvation … the question should be … why has God chosen me?

Why me …? Why can I believe …? Why can I confess that Jesus died on the cross for me … ?

The answer is simply the love and grace of God … who has called us out of darkness into the light of his salvation.

Last week we watched as Erika Kirk publically forgave the man who killed Charlie.

The reason she forgave hims was rooted in Christ and the forgiveness that he had for those who crucified him … ““Father forgive them for they know not what they do!””

A couple of days later, the comedian … Tim Allen … in response to Erika’s forgiveness … said that he was finally able to forgive the man that killed his father SIXTY YEARS AGO … when he was 12 years old.

We saw the love of Christ manifested in the words of Erika … and it had a profound effect on those who heard it.
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In 1956 … 5 missionaries went to the Auca Indians in Ecuador. Soon after landing … the 5 missionaries were killed.

Jim Elliott was one of the missionaries. After his death … his wife Elisabeth and other missionaries went back to those same Auca Indians … and soon the whole tribe became Christians.

We see love and forgiveness in action!

This is the love of Christ … the love that God has for us … and the love that we are to show others.

Do we have that same depth of love? A love that understands what God has done for us through the Lord Jesus Christ? And the love that we are to have for others.

When we acknowledge this love … when we fully understand the love that God has for us … what is the result?

Paul tells us: ““that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”” (REPEAT)

I one commentator said:

“Among all the great sayings in this prayer, this is the greatest. To be FILLED with God is a great thing; to be filled with the FULNESS of God is still greater; but to be filled with ALL the fulness of God, utterly bewilders the sense and confounds the understanding.””

To have all the fulness of God means that we understand — in part — all that God has done for us through the Lord Jesus Christ.

We understand that He has loved us with a love that shows His grace and mercy …

We understand that He has loved us with an everlasting love …

We understand that we are the recipients of His many promises …

To be filled with all the fulness of God means that we can be exhibit the fruit of the Spirit … meekness, gentleness, goodness, love, justice, holiness, mercy, and truth.

Again … and as I noted last week … the direction is from God to man.

God has done it all … He has chosen us before the foundation of the world …

He has called us out of darkness into the light of His salvation …

He has made us alive who were dead in our trespasses and sins …

I could go on and on with what God has done for us … but Paul summarizes it so beautifully as he concludes his prayer for the Ephesian Christians and us:

““Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.””

We will never comprehend fully the love of God through Christ completely …

We will never comprehend fully what Jesus has done for us …

We will never comprehend fully God’s plan for our lives …

And so we say:

““Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.””

Praise be to God. AMEN