That you... may be able to comprehend
with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height – to know
the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the
fullness of God. Ephesians 3:18,19
The mark
of a life governed by the Holy Spirit is that such a life is continually and
ever more and more occupied with Christ, that Christ is becoming greater and
greater as time goes on. The effect of the Holy Spirit's work in us is to bring
us to the shore of a mighty ocean which reaches far, far beyond our range, and
concerning which we feel – Oh, the depths, the fullness, of Christ! If we live
as long as ever man lived, we shall still be only on the fringe of this vast
fullness that Christ is.
Now, that at once becomes a challenge to us before we go any further. These are
not just words. This is not just rhetoric; this is truth. Let us ask our hearts
at once, Is this true in our case? Is this the kind of life that we know? Are
we coming to despair on this matter? That is to say, that we are glimpsing so
much as signified by Christ that we know we are beaten, that we are out of our
depth, and will never range all this. It is beyond us, far beyond us, and yet
we are drawn on and ever on. Is that true in your experience? That is the mark
of a life governed by the Holy Spirit. Christ becomes greater and greater as we
go on. If that is true, well, that is the way of Life. If ever you and I should
come to a place where we think we know, we have it all, we have attained, and
from that point things become static, we may take it that the Holy Spirit has
ceased operations and that life has become stultified.
