“That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge.” ~ Ephesians 3:16-19
God has promised us the knowledge of His love. First John 4:16 says, “We have known and believed the love that God hath to us,..” But, what does “believing” mean? Believing that love means acting upon it and putting it into operation in our lives. When we do, we reach out into areas and experience this special love that passes human knowledge.
We are to be rooted and grounded in the love of God. Ephesians 3:17 says, “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love.” In Mark 4:15,17 we read the parable of the sower. Jesus said those seeds (words) that have been sown into stony ground (hearts), will not be able to take root and stay. Those with stony hearts heard the Word with gladness, but when persecution and affliction came for the Word’s sake, they were offended. They didn’t respond in the love of God. Instead, they responded naturally and satan stole all the Word that was in them. They were not rooted and grounded in love.
God is telling us that we can have a comprehensive revelation of His love. It’s height, its depth, its width and its breadth! To know His love is to know God because He is love. Since the beginning of time, God has wanted to share Himself with us. He wants to share all of Himself with us, not just part, but ALL. God offers you and me understanding of the height, depth, width and breadth of Himself. Selah! (Think about that!)
Faith in God’s love gives the Word first place. Don’t be moved by feelings. To develop your faith in God’s love, or in anything else from God, you have to learn what the Word says about it. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). For example, Psalm 23:6 says, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” Put the Word first! DO NOT ever go by how you feel about the love of God. Be confident that God’s mercy and goodness will follow you all the days of your life. Don’t confess anything else!
Meditate on the scriptures concerning God’s love and it will develop your capacity for faith. As you meditate on God’s Word your faith capacity begins to increase. You will recognize the power God’s love can have in your life. The things of satan will begin to shrink and lose their grip in your life.
1 John 4:18—“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear:..” KJV
God’s love drives out fear! Act on the Word concerning the love of God. First John 4:11-12 says, “Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us.” As we practice this love on one another, the love of God is perfected in us. The word perfected means “allowed to run its full course.” You can let God’s love run its full course in your life. Love never fails, and we want to be reaching for a “zero failure rate.” This is possible, but it is not through our attempts to be perfect. This perfection is attained by acting on the Word of God and allowing the love of God, which is perfect, to run its full course in our lives.
Decide to live the love life! Making a quality decision is necessary in learning the love life. For example, to develop faith in divine healing, you have to make the decision to be well, or you never will be healed. A quality decision will not permit you to retreat. It simply means this: “With God as my helper, He that is within me is greater than he that is in the world. I refuse to allow anything to hinder me from walking in love. I make the quality decision to walk the love walk, whether anyone else does or not.”
It is essential to renew your mind to the supernatural power of the love of God. Developing your faith and renewing your mind will help you respond in love naturally. Learn to live in love, walk in love, talk in love and edify one another in love. Then when the pressures come, when the hard times come, when the disasters approach you, you won’t have to stop and think. You will immediately react in love.
The secret to combating satan successfully is to retaliate in the spirit, not in the natural realm. When you walk in love you are walking in the spirit 100 percent. It is God’s desire for His people to walk in love and be known by their love one for another. Developing your faith in the love of God and continuing to receive His personal love for you will bring about that “zero failure rate”.
Love takes practice and we can practice on each other. Trust me, you won’t operate perfectly in love at the very beginning. However, as you keep at it, you will continue to make progress. If you fail, confess it as sin, receive your forgiveness and go on.
KEEP ON LOVING!
