Solving the Problem of Faith and Love

“Solve for x.”

Do you remember that common instruction in high school math? The teacher would give you an equation with lots of numbers and symbols, and you had to figure out what x stood for. Sometimes, the problems seemed simple, but often, they looked impossible!

I want to apply that format to a Scripture passage. I don’t think God had math in mind, but we can use this approach to discern the point the Spirit is making in this paragraph.

The verses are from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.

“So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and height and depth, ¹⁹and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to all the fullness of God.” – Ephesians 3:17-19 (NASB)

To discern the pattern here, let’s break up the passage into four parts. We’ll split verse 17 into two halves, and keep verses 18 and 19 as distinct parts. Here’s the arrangement:

Vs. 17a – “So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith;”

Vs. 17b – “and that you, being rooted and grounded in love,”

Vs. 18 – “may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and height and depth,”

Vs. 19 – “and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to all the fullness of God.”

Problem

When we divide the verses this way, a particular order begins to emerge. Each section has a theme.

• Vs. 17a – faith
• Vs. 17b – love
• Vs. 18 – x
• Vs. 19 – love

What’s x?

We have to solve this!

In the past, I’d taken the dimensions the apostle Paul mentions in vs. 18 as describing the extent of God’s love. This interpretation makes sense–the love of God is boundless! But while I agree with this idea, I’m not sure that’s what Paul intended to convey.

Contrary to what I’d assumed, I’m going to suggest that vs. 18 refers to faith. 

Pattern

These three verses follow an ABAB pattern. Vss. 17b and 19 highlight the love of Jesus. Vs. 17a covers the importance of faith in the life of the believer. If the pattern holds, vs. 18 should relate to faith in some way. This doesn’t prove the contention, but it makes the idea credible.

Plan

Considering the context is a sound principle of biblical interpretation. And in this case, the context of the passage is God’s plan to bring the Gentiles into His people through Jesus Christ.

To receive His offer of salvation, we have to believe the gospel. Our faith rests in God’s Word and as a result, we’re joined to the Father through Christ’s indwelling Spirit. As vs. 17a points out, Jesus lives in our hearts through our faith in Him. This is what it means to be members of God’s household; this is the heart of His plan of redemption.

 But vs. 18 doesn’t appear to be talking about the parameters of our trust in the Lord. That’s because faith in the Bible has two aspects. It’s subjective and objective. The former refers to our inner disposition toward God and His Word. The latter denotes the content of what we believe. In vs. 18, Paul emphasizes the dimensions of God’s plan for our salvation. This is the gospel of who Jesus is and what He’s done for us.

Love

Vs. 19 tells us that Christ’s love exceeds our capacity to understand it. It sounds like Paul is repeating what he discussed in the previous verse, but I think a better explanation is that vs. 19 reveals God’s motivation to develop and enact His plan. Our love for fellow believers gets mentioned in vs. 17b. 

Conclusion

To summarize, we have two patterns embedded within Ephesians 3:17-19. The first follows an ABAB format about faith and love:

• A – faith (vs. 17a)
• B – love (vs. 17b)
• A – faith (vs. 18)
• B – love (vs. 19)

The second is an AABB structure of the subjective and objective dynamics of the spiritual life:

• A – subjective: Christians believing (vs. 17a)
• A – subjective: Christians loving (vs. 17b)
• B – objective: the Christian faith (vs. 18)
• B – objective: the love of Christ (vs. 19)

When we take the time to ponder the Scriptures, we open ourselves to hearing and receiving what the Lord has for us. In His great plan, faith and love belong together. And in the lives of His people, faith and love work together.

Stay curious about the Word and Jesus will teach you His truth. Even the “problems” of the Bible are solvable when we trust the guidance of the Holy Spirit. He inspired the Scriptures, and He will show us what they mean.

To God be the glory!