If someone were to ask us, “Just what are you rooted and grounded in?” what answer would we give? The writer (Ephesians 3:17) was talking to the Gentiles; people like us. The ones he had been called from his mother’s womb to reach and minister to. We might respond with, the apostle’s doctrine. That’s good, but only if we can recall what the doctrine of Jesus Christ was. Some things were not His doctrine; He said so. They did not come from Him.

Throughout the years, we have tried to comprehend many things. Our first mistake, was to try and use our own understanding, or following only that which someone else had spoken to us. The mystery of Christ, can only be revealed through the Spirit. This apostle, said his revelation and ministry, had been given him by God; and no one else. Disappointing some, Paul said that his ministry, did not need the approval of men. He directly said, that he had been taught by the Holy Ghost; not with men’s teaching.

For ages, we have been so quick to proclaim what we believe, to others. Many people rejected the message we sincerely attempted to give; too often, because of the way we presented it. Where did this idea come from, that if others did not believe exactly as we did, they were hell bound. Sadly, we often told them so. What hurts a lot, is that many of those who taught such, do not even believe many of those things today. Many were shoved out, for not complying. The lack of scripture, didn’t seem to matter much.

Paul said, it didn’t matter if we could speak the tongues of angels, how much we gave to the poor, or even if we could move many mountains. None of that meant anything, if there was the most important ingredient of all, missing. Many omitted something the Lord said, about the commandments of men. It never seemed to get taught, that another apostle used the same term. I have often wondered why. The writer here, said nothing about being rooted and grounded, in our doctrines, our rules and regulations, all of our by-laws, dress codes and our belief of having all of the truth.

There was only one way we could know the breadth, and length, and depth, and height of the love of Christ, or of anything else for that matter. That was to be rooted and grounded, in love. If we are not grounded in love, all of our work and trying, is in vain.

The truth is, we cannot be truly rooted in anything of the Spirit, without that love that was spoken of here. Jesus proved His love for us; He went way out of bounds, so we could comprehend what this was really all about. Christ and the writer of this epistle, stood firm on one major key. Without that love, what we really have, is nothing.

~ Robert Blackburn

Robert Blackburn