KNOWING THE UNKNOWABLE

" . . . that you . . . may be able . . . to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God" (Eph 3:17-18)

In Christ Jesus, we gain access to things beyond the reach of the natural man. Though fearfully and wonderfully made (Psa 139:14), man's natural capacities are wholly inadequate when it comes to God's great salvation. There are matters essential to our salvation that require Divine intervention and assistance. Our text speaks of one of them: knowing the love of Christ. Knowing the love of Christ has to do with comprehending it, or having a joyful and beneficial understanding of it. It involves being able to view the extent of it, ponder that expanse, and perceive various aspects of it that are hidden to "the natural man" (1 Cor 2:14).

Think of it: knowing what passes, or surpasses, knowledge–knowing what is unknowable. There is a capacity to know that must be received from God. It is an aspect of faith, which brings evidence and conviction (Heb 11:1). This knowledge involves study, but does not come by study. It illuminates the Bible, but does not come from the Bible. It is experienced to the degree that Christ dwells in our heart by faith. That indwelling results from the strengthening of our "inner man" by the Holy Spirit (3:16-17). In other words, the Holy Spirit fortifies our inner persons so that Christ can reside in us. Then Christ Himself opens His unbounded love to us, revealing that it is both personal and powerful. Jesus said he would "manifest" Himself to the person who had His commandments and retained them. He does not provide an explanation, but illumination–and there is a difference.

This is another way of saying God has provided a way for us to be raised above ourselves and the world. We can know more than we are capable of knowing in ourselves. The Lord gives us a new heart for this (Ezek 36:26), and then enlarges it to take hold on realities beyond the reach of mortals (Psa 119:32).

By saying "passes knowledge," the Spirit does not mean it cannot be known, but that it cannot be known through natural capacities. You cannot comprehend the love of Christ intellectually, or academically. It is the peculiar faculty of faith to cause the love of Christ to make sense, and then make it accessible to us. When we know it, there is no question about that love being for us. This is called "spiritual understanding" (Col 1:9).

God's people must seek to live higher than nature, and lay hold of things that extend beyond the realm of human knowledge. God will answer such a quest with spiritual enablement through His Holy Spirit. The outcome of this knowledge is glorious. Ponder its greatness: "to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; THAT YOU MAY BE FILLED WITH ALL THE FULNESS OF GOD."

PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Christ. I thank and praise You for a salvation that provides for the involvement of our intellect, yet is transcendent to it.

-- MONDAY: SENSITIVE HEARTS --