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to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.<\/strong><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n You can only really know God\u2019s love by experience.<\/p>\n There is a tiny Greek particle that is left out of our translation here. It is the word te<\/em><\/span>, which is a particle of connection meaning \u201cand, also, or even.\u201d Thus, this verse should start out, \u201cand to know \u2026<\/span>\u201d<\/p>\n The word translated \u201cto know<\/span>\u201d is the infinitive form of gin\u014dsk\u014d<\/em><\/span>, which refers to \u201cknowing something completely, usually by experience.\u201d So, we could say \u201cto fully know.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPasses<\/span>\u201d is from huperball\u014d<\/em><\/span>, which is made up of huper<\/em><\/span> (or hyper), meaning \u201cabove\u201d or \u201cbeyond\u201d and ball\u014d<\/em><\/span>, meaning \u201cto throw.\u201d Thus, we see that huperball\u014d<\/em><\/span> literally means \u201cto throw beyond.\u201d In general usage the meaning is \u201cto exceed\u201d or \u201cto go beyond.\u201d It is expressed here as a participle (being beyond).<\/p>\n \u201cKnowledge<\/span>\u201d is from gn\u014dsis<\/em><\/span>. This is derived from gin\u014dsk\u014d<\/em><\/span>, which we just looked at.<\/p>\n Putting all this together we see that the opening part of this verse could be translated, \u201cand to know by experience the love of Christ which is beyond knowing \u2026<\/span>\u201d<\/p>\n We are in the middle of a worshipful prayer of the Apostle Paul which he is praying for his beloved friends in the church at Ephesus. By extension, this prayer is presented on behalf of all Christians. The first two of the four petitions in this prayer were that God the Father would strengthen our inner man by means of God the Holy Spirit and for Christ to dwell in our hearts through faith.<\/p>\n The third petition began in verse seventeen and ends in today\u2019s verse; it is \u201cthat you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is<\/em> the width and length and depth and height\u2014 and<\/em><\/span> to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge<\/span>.\u201d<\/p>\n The crux of all this is in today\u2019s verse: \u201cfor us to fully know (by experience) the love of Christ which is beyond intellectual knowledge\u201d [my paraphrase]. Not only does Paul pray that we might understand how huge and all-encompassing (width, length, depth, and height) God\u2019s love is, he also prays that we might know that which is unknowable.<\/p>\n There are many people (saved and unsaved) who talk about the love of God but who don\u2019t really know God\u2019s love. According to Paul, it is not something that you can study and learn about by reading books and listening to others talk about. Sure, you can recognize God\u2019s love at work, but you can\u2019t gain a full understanding of it that way. Only those who have experienced God\u2019s love through His mercy, His grace, His miraculous provision, and His comfort in times of need, can really know what it\u2019s like.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve never gone through times of difficulty in your Christian walk, if you\u2019ve never felt helpless and had to rely completely on Him, if you\u2019ve never felt trapped by your own sinfulness, begging for His mercy, if you\u2019ve never fallen before God with a completely broken spirit, then you don\u2019t really understand His love. If you have, then you know by experience the kind of love that only God can show! Praise be to God!<\/p>\n In God\u2019s service, for His glory,<\/strong><\/p>\nTruth to Learn<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
Behind the Words<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
Meaning Explained<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
Application<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
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