Dimensions of God’s Love
“And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” Ephesians 3:18-19 (NLT)
This past weekend we celebrated Valentine’s Day in the U.S. It’s a day to celebrate love. In keeping with the theme of the holiday, I had been reading and studying some scriptures on love. As I was reading some of the scriptures, something came to mind about the dimensions of God’s love as I read John 15:12.
“This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.” John 15:12 (NLT)
The phrase in this translation “in the same way I have loved you” stood out to me. I thought to myself, “In what way does God love us?” Then some verses in Ephesians 3 immediately came to mind about the dimensions of God’s love…
“And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” Ephesians 3:18-19 (NLT)
I also started thinking about how Paul was praying here that they (the people of Ephesus) would come to know, understand and experience God’s love firsthand for themselves. As I thought back to John 15:12, I had a recognition that we can’t fully love others the way God intended until we have fully recognized, become aware of, and/or known God’s love. We are called to KNOW and SHOW God’s love. However, we have to know God’s love first before we can love others properly.
4 Dimensions of God’s love: Wide, Long, High, and Deep
I started thinking about these dimensions of God’s love mentioned in Ephesians 3:18: wide, long, high, and deep. Then I started mentally visualizing what these dimensions might look like. This is by no means a literal translation of what these dimensions or this verse means. It’s more of a thought or explanation of what came to my mind as I was thinking of and praying about these dimensions of God’s love. This may not be theologically accurate, but thinking about it this way was helpful for me, nonetheless.
I imagined these dimensions of God’s love as being in front and behind, beside and all around, above and below, inside and out. There’s no escape from this kind of love. Then, Psalm 139 came to mind.
Psalm 139:1-18 (NLT)
O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.
You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do.
You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD.
You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!
I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence!
If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there.
If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.
I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night—
but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you.
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!
I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!
I started to think further on these four dimensions of God’s love and tried to understand what they might mean or look like, practically.
Width–God’s love is wide
When imagining width, I first thought of God’s love as all-encompassing. This is similar to the first impression that I mentioned above of it being beside us and all around us and inescapable. Then I pictured myself turning around and looking behind me, both literally and figuratively, almost as if into my past. I saw that God’s love is far behind us. It’s always been there. It was even there planning and preparing for us even before we were born. God’s love has always been there even knowing our mistakes and sins, even knowing them beforehand and still loving us.
I also understand that the width and vastness of his love means it is for everyone. All are included—each and every human being on this earth. Not one person is excluded from God’s love. It’s big enough, and he has enough for us all.
“You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.” Psalm 139:5 (NLT)
“You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.” Psalm 139:5 (NIV)
“..For the LORD will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard.” Isaiah 52:12b (NIV)
“You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” Psalm 139:16 (NLT)
“For those whom He foreknew [and loved and chose beforehand], He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son [and ultimately share in His complete sanctification], so that He would be the firstborn [the most beloved and honored] among many believers.” Romans 8:29 (AMP)
“Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.” Ephesians 1:4-5 (NLT)
“In Him also we have received an inheritance [a destiny—we were claimed by God as His own], having been predestined (chosen, appointed beforehand) according to the purpose of Him who works everything in agreement with the counsel and design of His will” Ephesians 1:11 (AMP)
“For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.” 2 Timothy 1:9 (NLT)
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 (NIV)
“This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” 1 John 4:10 (NLT)
“But—When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.” Titus 3:4-5 (NLT)
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (NLT)
“And they sang a new song with these words: “You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it. For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” Revelation 5:9 (NLT)
“After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands.” Revelation 7:9 (NLT)
Length–God’s love is long
When considering length as one of the dimensions of God’s love, I thought of how long God’s love will last. Here I pictured myself looking ahead and in front of me. I remembered that God in his love goes before us and prepares a way for our future. His love is ongoing, never ending, unfailing, and everlasting. It will go on and on and on forever, and there’s nothing we can do to stop it. God’s love is unending and unstoppable. His love endures forever (see Psalm 136).
When imagining length of God’s love in this way, I pictured myself looking out onto an ocean where I can see no end in sight. I also pictured myself looking out into the night sky into space where I can see no end.
(There are more scriptures than I have room to list here acknowledging God’s everlasting, faithful, unfailing, enduring, and infinite love, but I’ve listed a sampling below.)
“The LORD your God is going ahead of you. He will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt.” Deuteronomy 1:30 (NLT)
“The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8 (NIV)
“The LORD went ahead of them. He guided them during the day with a pillar of cloud, and he provided light at night with a pillar of fire. This allowed them to travel by day or by night.” Exodus 13:21 (NLT)
“You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.” Psalm 139:2b (NLT)
“You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.” Psalm 139:5 (NLT)
“If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.” Psalm 139:9-10 (NLT)
“I will go before you and make the rough places smooth…” Isaiah 45:2a (NASB)
“..The LORD will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard.” Isaiah 52:12b (NIV)
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
“I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.” Exodus 20:6, Deuteronomy 5:10 (NLT)
“The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.” Psalm 33:5 (NIV)
“From everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children” Psalm 103:17 (NIV)
“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.” Psalm 136:1 (NLT)
“The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.” Jeremiah 31:3 (NIV)
“The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease.” Lamentations 3:22 (NLT)
Height—God’s love is high
As I think about the height of God’s love I picture myself looking up, and I think about how unreachable, unattainable, and incomprehensible it is. It’s over my head so to speak. I know I’ll never be able to reach or achieve this kind of love—First for myself because I know I am undeserving; secondly in giving this kind of love to others because I am not capable. We can never earn God’s love because it’s too high and holy for us to reach, but he gives it to us freely. Additionally, we’ll never be able to love like he does on our own, and no one can love us like this on their own.
It’s also over our heads in the sense that we will never be able to fully understand and comprehend a love so great. It’s also mind-boggling to attempt to fathom how someone could love us this much because we’re so undeserving of it. Only by and with the help of God’s Spirit can we understand and get revelation of these things, and only with the help of God’s Spirit can we expect to love others like God loves us.
“If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.” Psalm 139:8 (NIV)
“You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve. This is God’s gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own. It isn’t something you have earned, so there is nothing you can brag about.” Ephesians 2:8-9 (CEV)
“May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” Ephesians 3:19 (NLT)
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” Ephesians 3:20 (NIV)
““My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9 (NLT)
“So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe.” 1 Corinthians 1:20-21 (NLT)
“This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.” 1 Corinthians 1:25 (NLT)
“But God has selected [for His purpose] the foolish things of the world to shame the wise [revealing their ignorance], and God has selected [for His purpose] the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong [revealing their frailty].” 1 Corinthians 1:27 (AMP)
“What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.” 1 Corinthians 2:12 (NIV)
“But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.” 1 John 2:27 (NLT)
“And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” Romans 5:5 (NLT)
“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT)
Depth—God’s love is deep
When I pondered this last element of the dimensions of God’s love I imagined a few different scenarios. First, I pictured myself looking below me and realize that God’s love is under my feet as a deep foundation. It is stable, reliable, trustworthy and supports me.
However, I also looked inside me where God’s love is deeply embedded and cannot be removed or separated from us. Depth here is also the intensity with which he loves us. His love can also cut deep into us, to our very core, to our heart and spirit. When we are out of relationship with him we feel like something is missing. Our soul, deep down, longs for him. When he’s in relationship with us it’s deep, never surface level.
Furthermore, we can feel his love deep inside, like a well of life and love coming up and out from inside of us. This also helps us love others with HIS capacity and ability coming THROUGH us from inside of us where he’s placed it deep within our spirit.
“If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.” Psalm 139:8 (NIV)
“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” 1 John 4:16 (NIV)
“No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” 1 John 4:12 (NIV)
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (NIV)
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the intense love which He bestowed on us” Ephesians 2:4 (WNT)
“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” Romans 5:8 (NLT)
“God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” 1 John 4:9-10 (NLT)
“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39 (NLT)
“And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” Romans 5:5 (NLT)
“But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again–ever! In fact, the water I will give him will become a well of water springing up within him for eternal life.”John 4:14 (HCSB)
“Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” John 7:38 (NLT)
Take Some Practical Steps to Understand the Dimensions of God’s Love:
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First, know that God’s love is wide. It’s all-encompassing, inescapable, and there in spite of your mistakes and sins.
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Secondly, understand that God’s love is long. It’s unending, unstoppable, and it endures forever.
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Third, realize that God’s love is high. It’s unattainable in our own efforts and incomprehensible.
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Fourth, recognize that God’s love is deep. It’s our foundation. It’s also intense, deeply embedded and cannot be separated from us.
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Then, ask God to help you know and understand his love better.
The Bible says “you have not because you ask not” (James 4:2). Pray Ephesians 3:16-21 for yourself.
“God, I pray that from your glorious, unlimited resources you would empower me with inner strength through your Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in my heart as I trust in him. I pray that my roots would grow down deep into YOUR LOVE and keep me strong. I pray that I would have the power to understand how wide, how long, how high and how deep YOUR LOVE is. May I know and practically and tangibly experience the LOVE OF CHRIST and be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from you. Now I say Glory to God who is able, through his mighty power at work within me to accomplish infinitely more than I might ask or imagine!”
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Finally, read these other helpful posts on the topic of God’s love:
How to Overcome Feeling Unloved or Unwanted
Recognizing God’s Love By Building Your Relationship With Him–Part 1
Recognizing God’s Love By Building Your Relationship With Him–Part 2
What If God’s Love Isn’t Enough?
How do you imagine the dimensions of God’s love? Tell us about it by leaving a comment below!
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