First part of Sermon LXIII. for the Sixteenth Sunday after
Trinity.
Eph. iii. 13-21. St. Luke vii. 11-17.
And to know the love of CHRIST,
which passeth knowledge.—EPH.
iii. 19.
IN the Epistle for to-day St. Paul appears, as it were, lost in contemplation
at the unspeakable vastness and majesty of the Church, and the incomprehensible
love of Christ. I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you,
which is your glory. To himself his own tribulations were but light,
but his only fear was that his sufferings might become to others a cause
of offence, like the cross of Christ itself was. But as the cross of Christ
was become the glory of the believer, so also might be the sufferings of
His servants, who drank of their Master’s cup. For this cause, he adds,
breaking forth into very glowing eloquence at the thought of that great
mystery by which all things are drawn unto Christ by His cross,— for
this cause I bow my knees, as in heartfelt solemn supplication, unto
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of Whom the whole family in heaven
and earth is named; the family not of Abraham only, but of all angels
and saints united in service of one common Lord. That He would grant
you, according to the riches of His glory; not according to the thought
of man, but according to that abundant goodness which is in Christ beyond
all thought; to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner
man. This is his very earnest prayer for them, kindled and quickened
by his own tribulations. And as explaining this strength in the inner man
of which he speaks, he adds, that Christ, the New Man, after the unspeakable
Image of God, may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye being rooted
and grounded in love; not as if faith were the root only, and love
the fruit, but as rather love itself were the very root and ground of all,
while it is also the immeasurable expansion and height. That, rooted in
love, ye may be able to comprehend with all saints, what is the breadth,
and length, and depth, and height, that love of God which is boundless
every way as the heavens, by which, far as the east is from the west, He
hath set our sins from us; or, as St. Paul more distinctly adds the same,
and to know the love of Christ, and as if to correct himself, as
speaking of that which no man can understand, as being in every way infinite,—
which passeth knowledge. To know that “which passeth knowledge,”
to know that which cannot be known, this sounds like a contradiction; as
if it were to understand that which heart of man cannot understand, and
yet which may, in a manner, be understood by the Spirit of God within.
As in another place, St. Paul speaks of those things which have not entered
into the heart of man, but God hath revealed them unto us, he says, by
His Spirit. [1 Cor. ii. 10.] And this he here further states, by
an expression singularly eloquent and comprehensive, that ye might be
filled with all the fulness of God.
And then, bringing down the same mystery of Godliness to bear upon themselves,
by supplication and thanksgiving, he carries on this exceeding loftiness
of expression, as if words were unequal to contain it, and adds: Now
unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask
or think,—to do more than we ask or think were much, but to do “exceeding
abundantly” above, this is a very strong expression,—not only greater,
but abundantly greater, and not that only, but exceeding abundantly. [St.
Chrys. ad loc.] So vastly does the gift of God surpass the highest
conception of our weak faith and love; and as if to mark such Divine power
as shown, not in outward miracles in this perishable world, as that of
removing mountains, but in that inward and marvellous work of indwelling
grace, which, by experience, they knew, he says, according to the power
that worketh in us. And in speaking of a gift so amazing, so transcendent,
so unspeakable, he passes into worship and praise, unto Him be glory
in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end.
Amen.
Now, one great point in running through the whole of this passage, of
St. Paul is, that this love of Christ of which he speaks, and this indwelling
power of His Spirit connected with it, is something far beyond what we
can understand. We know what love is, we understand its nature, but this
love exceeds all that we understand, not in kind, but in degree; it is
something beyond what we can comprehend, from the greatness of it; it is
like the vastness of the natural world, the material universe, or like
the vastness of eternity, ideas which we cannot grasp, because they are
infinite and without end. So is the love of Christ: we know what love is,
from a parent’s love to his children, a bride to the bridegroom, friends
to each other, and the compassionate love of a kind heart; and from these
we apprehend what the love of God is, as manifest in Christ’s Incarnation;
and yet St. Paul seems to say, that while knowing we know it not, not on
account of its nature but its greatness, except that even this, according
to our degree, is by the Spirit shed abroad, and manifested to the heart.
It is evident, therefore, that this, the love of Christ, is not to be
measured, or entered into, by any ardent imagination, no strong feeling
or sublime conceptions of men; nor even by exceeding greatness of understanding
and “largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the seashore;" but
it is spiritually discerned by faith. It is not different from, or unlike,
what we ask or think; but above, or beyond, what we ask or think. The more
we ask of God, the more we think of Him, the nearer do we approach to it.
It is prayer which gives the knowledge. Do you wish to know whether God
is love? pray to Him, and this will tell you, as no words of man, no teaching
can do. Do you wish to know how great the love of God is? pray to Him more,
and you will know better. Pray to Him more humbly, and you will know more
the height and depth of that love; pray to Him more earnestly, and you
will know more the intensity of that love; pray more constantly and perseveringly,
and you will know the unfailing steadfastness and strength of that love;
let your prayers be longer, and you will know more the length of that love;
pray more frequently, on all occasions, and you will know more how encompassed
you are on all sides by that love. Deny yourself when you pray, and you
will find out the mystery, how that love is connected with the Cross.
It is, therefore, not with the understanding, but with faith and prayer,
my brethren, that I would ask you to attend to that account of the love
and power of Christ which is recorded to us in the Gospel for to-day....
.... (for the second part, on the
Gospel.)
