Isaiah - Verse By Verse

Thought:  To me, knowing God is everything.  God is love; therefore knowing love is everything.

Question:  How can one "know" something that "surpasses knowledge"?

Scripture:  Ephesians 3:19 (NIV):  "and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

First we must come to know how big God's love is, then we must move closer to knowing the love itself.  It is a quality "that surpasses knowledge."  (How can one "know something that surpasses knowledge??)  Once we "know" love this way we will "be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."  Can we be filled fully with God?  God is love.  To know God is to become so full of love that love rules all our behaviors, speech, desires, goals, etc.  The laws of God boil down to one word:  love.

I suppose God will fill us as much as we let Him.  If not quite full, or barely full, it would be our fault, not His.  Our job is to be fillable.  To me, making ourselves fillable is the key to successful Christianity because it diminishes self and magnifies God in us.  Our role is to let God be Himself in us.  We become channels only, earthy pots into which His glorious love is poured to fullness.  Our role is relinquishment, passivity, receptivity, submission, yieldedness, etc., to be filled.  Self must be emptied out to make room for Him.  Our will must be replaced by His will.  Then we will begin to "know" Him--He Who "surpasses knowledge."

Acquiring His love is quantitative, it has "measure."  One can actually "feel" the fruits of His love begin to work inside, begin to "fill up" the tragic void of lonely emptiness we all experience.  Love brings its accompanying sisters of joy and peace, patience and gentleness, kindness, meekness and self-control, faithfulness and goodness.  One may have some of these sisters, another more, and the more full person, all of them.  Or some may have them all the time but others only occasionally; but still in developing process, increasing their influence into every part of their lives.  This is why Paul prays.  He asks for the process to enlarge in all Christians, that love may grow and grow.  Paul seems to regard us Christians as empty, needy souls, hungry to be filled up.  And indeed, we are.  This is why Christ came:  to satisfy us, complement our spirits with His Holy Spirit that we were created to know originally, but lost in Eden.  Now we can have it all back--IN CHRIST.

How does love "surpass knowledge"?  To me, knowledge is a hard, cold, technical thing.  It is having all the facts.  Proverbs says, in all your getting, get wisdom.  To know alot of things is not the same as having wisdom.  Wisdom is the ability to apply knowledge.  To me, love is the ability to both see God in your wisdom and also please Him in your application of it, using all your knowledge.  Because knowledge alone is not enough without the guidance of wisdom and the purpose of love, we thus can see how love is more valuable than knowledge, "surpassing" it.  An unknowledgable person can still have behaviors and attitudes that know God and please Him because He can be led of the Spirit.  Spirit-leading supercedes acquired knowledge.

Therefore we can "know" this thing that surpasses "knowledge."  When touched, led and filled by God's Spirit of love, we can "know love".  To "know love" (from God and in Christ) is to be better equipped, superior to, regular "knowledge."  Adam and Eve acquired the knowledge of good and evil, but it did not bring them nearer to love or to God Who is love.  Knowledge of evil separates people from God.  This is another way love surpasses knowledge:  it is pure.  Knowledge, by definition, must include the evil things:  they are facts that exist and cannot be overlooked.  But love is always overcoming the "facts" isn't it?  Love often operates very unpredictably, very scandalously, very extravagantly, very unreasonably, very unfairly.  I'm glad it does!

Prayer:  Father, I am so grateful that the "knowledge" of You surpasses earthly "known facts" and involves discovering the realm of Your Love.  Teach me all about Your Love, Father!  Amen. 

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