Filled to the Full

Ephesians 3:17-19 — "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."

Before we look at Paul's requests, see this. Paul says in verse 16 that God gives "according to the riches of His glory." Not out of His riches. That distinction matters. Say a millionaire walks into a campaign to build a building for the glory of God. He pulls out his checkbook and writes a check for $100. He has given out of his riches. But he has not given according to his riches. $100 dollars to a millionaire is pocket change. God never gives out of His riches. God gives according to His riches. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. When He answers your prayer, He reaches into an inexhaustible supply.

On the basis of those resources, Paul makes three bold requests.

First, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. Let me ask you a pointed question. Is your heart a home or a hotel for Jesus? A hotel is temporary. It is on your terms. Check-in and check-out times are set. But a home is where someone lives permanently, with access to every room.

Adrian Rogers told a story about inviting a friend over and saying, "Just make yourself at home." When he came back, he found his guest in his private bedroom, thumbing through a drawer that held his bills, his private papers, and his checkbook. And he said, "What are you doing?" The guest said, "Well, you told me to make yourself at home." The person didn't really mean to make yourself "at home" because that would mean entering every part of the home.

That is exactly what Jesus demands when He wants to make His home in your heart. He wants access to every crevice. Every closet. Every room. For most of us, there is that one closet, that one door we keep locked, where we say, "Jesus, You can have everything else, but this one is mine." But Jesus demands Lordship over all, or He is not Lord at all.

Second, Paul prays we would know the love of Christ which passes knowledge. That word "know" refers to experiential knowledge, not just intellectual. It does not mean your regular Sunday school answers. We can talk in all the right terms about how high and wide and deep and long God's love is, but never actually experience it. Paul says, "I want you to experience it. I want you to feel it." The love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). It is already inside every believer.

My father talked about his own experience of getting saved and giving his life to Jesus in his thirties. About two weeks later, he was driving in his pickup, and the love of God came over him and overwhelmed him. He loved so much he just wanted to get out and hug a tree, because he loved everything he saw. Charles Finney, whom God used during the second Great Awakening in the 1800's, described his own spiritual experience (which I would call "being filled with the Holy Spirit") as "waves of liquid love" pouring over him like honey.

When the love of God comes into your life, you have the strength to forgive. You have the strength to overcome temptation. First comes love, then comes obedience.

Third, and finally, Paul prays you would be filled with all the fullness of God. A newborn baby breathes in as deeply as those little lungs allow, and they are full. A grown man breathes in, and he is full too. Both are filled. But the capacity is different. As you grow in your walk, your capacity grows. He wants you filled, right where you are, to the full. Spiritual newborns can be filled with the fullness of God, and spiritually mature believers can, too. Praise the Lord! Jesus Christ does not want to play some small part in your life. He wants to fill it.

Reflection Question: Is your heart a home or a hotel for Jesus, and what room are you still keeping locked from Him?

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, come into every room of my heart and make Your home there. Let me not just know about Your love but feel it, and fill me with Your fullness. In Jesus' Name, amen.

Adapted from "More Love, More Power": https://www.joshfranklin.org/media/98862zy/12-more-love-more-power-eph-3-14-21