Love is not the outcome of ministry—it is the source.
When intimacy with Christ is restored, ministry becomes an overflow rather than an obligation.
The letter to the Ephesians reveals a church rich in calling, influence, and spiritual responsibility, yet deeply dependent on one essential foundation: love. As Paul intercedes for the saints in Ephesus, his prayer centers not on strategy, gifting, or outward success, but on the inner condition of the heart—that they would be rooted and firmly established in the love of Christ. This prayer is more than poetic language; it is a spiritual safeguard. Paul understood that without grounding in God’s love, even the strongest church could drift from intimacy into activity, from passion into process. His words invite us to examine not only what we do for God, but how deeply we are anchored in love as we serve Him.
“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 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, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:14-21
As I read this passage it struck me that Paul’s prayer uses two different words with basically the same meaning in his prayer for the saints at Ephesus. When things are repeated, it generally means it is important. In this case it is important that the saints be rooted and established in love.
Being Rooted – G4492 Rhizoo – to render firm, to fix, to establish, to cause a person or thing to be thoroughly grounded.
Established/grounded – G2311 themelioo – to make stable, establish, ground
Ephesus was the first church planted and the biggest, most influential congregation in the region. During New Testament times, the city had a population of about 250,000 people. It was from there that roads spread outward to all major cities. What happened in Ephesus would eventually reach all of Asia. Because of this it is not surprising that Paul would write to them telling e Ephesians they were chosen and the first to put their hope in Christ. The Lord is strategic in all He does; nothing He does is by accident. Jesus knew by establishing the first church in Ephesus that the gospel would travel to the entire Asian province.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1:3-12
Ephesus birthed the first church in all of Asia and the most notable, powerful and influential church in the entire region. Ephesus brought philosophy, education, culture and spiritual influence. It became an amazing center of God’s glory. evidence of a city shaping culture, thought, and faith across an entire region.
The second thing that stood out to me was that Paul was not writing of an individual love. Lets reread Ephesians 3:17-19.And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
It was the power together of all the Lord’s people. I immediately pictured the cartoon Care Bears I loved to watch growing up. They had something called “the Care Bear Stare” where all the bears would align their powers to spread love, kindness and light to overcome the darkness. Paul reminds the saints at Ephesus that there are things in this world that they will have to face with the strength of others.
Paul also warned them to grasp the power of God’s love. He wanted them to know how much God loved them. We don’t need to test His love by seeing how far we can go before He changes His mind, like so many people experience, but it is only when we have a true revelation of God’s love for us can we be grounded in our God given identity. Only when we know the width, depth, height and length of God’s love will it carry us when we do mess up.
We can’t be truly intimate with God if we don’t fully believe He loves for us. When we don’t believe in His love for us, it will cause us to hold something back from Him and keep us from walking in His fullness. If we don’t walk in His fullness we will be tossed back and forth and not able to walk in unity as a body.
Paul goes on to remind them that they have been given many people to help them reach maturity. Being filled with the fullness of God.
Fullness – G4138 pleroma – a body wholly filled with the fullness of God and flooded by God
“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” Ephesians 4:11-16
Paul knew that the Ephesians would need the five-fold ministry to equip the Church to work in service – to promote the Kingdom of God. The church of Ephesus was known as a hardworking church. They understood that God had entrusted them with a special responsibility based on their strategic location. The Church at Ephesus was inundated with people claiming to be apostles. Power hungry people wanted to control and manipulate others saw this as a golden opportunity and attempted to seize it. They didn’t bend, break, or surrender but patiently stopped those spreading a false message. They refused to endorse or tolerate those who were false prophets. The leaders would question them, probing them doctrinally and spiritually to determine if they were authentic or counterfeit.
Paul prayed that they would speak the truth in love, build each other up and help them the gain more knowledge of Christ so they would walk in unity with Christ and with each other. This would help them stand in the storm that they would be facing.
Speaking the truth in love can be difficult. It is easy to let our motive slide. We want to help others but sometimes, at least for me, the loving part can get in the way of me helping others grow in Christ. I want them to just do what I say and can easily get frustrated when they don’t. Sometimes, my motive is not love, it is just obedience, in my mind to get them to the desired result.
The other part of speaking the truth in love is that we really all have to work together and each has to do their part. I have realized with the fractured elbow how much other parts of my body and others have had to compensate for my weakness and injury. It is the same for the body. It is not loving to let others skip out on do their part. It is not love to avoid speaking the truth to avoid offense. It is not loving to let others fail to mature. When I see something, I need to speak in love – not just for me but for everyone else connected because we are one body.
Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:1-2
We are already loved children of God, so we can follow God’s example. We don’t follow His example to gain His love, we are loved. When we give ourselves for others in love, we are following Christ’s example and are a fragrant offering to the Lord. It is not just our actions that matter but that we walk in the way of love showing benevolence to others. It is not just our resources that God wants us to give; He wants us to have relationships just as He desires relationship with us. God will reveal to us where He wants us to serve.
Having just returned from Turkey, I wonder if this letter to the Ephesians is a prophetic warning of what John would eventually write to the church at Ephesus in Revelation.
““To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” Revelation 2:1-7
By the time John wrote this letter the Ephesians, just 30-35 years after Paul penned his letter, the Ephesians had lost their first love. Their hearts once captive for Jesus Christ had become so involved in the machinery of ministry they were going through the motions. They had lost their fiery passion. As their knowledge grew their intimacy waned. In Revelations, John wrote the words of God and told the Ephesians to remember back to the time where they had walked in His purpose, His passion and His power. They needed to repent. According to Revelations, the believers lost their first love. After faithfully serving Christ and pouring out their lives to see His kingdom advanced, their loved and excitement for Him was waning. Jesus called them to repent and return to Him, their first love.
I learned that Ephesus was a port city, but over the years the harbor was lost as the meandering river receded five miles. This is a natural representation of how the Ephesians had allowed the dirt of activity for God to remove them from relationship with God. Although the believers were hard working, patiently enduring, and protecting doctrinal integrity, they had been reduced to going through the motions. They were trafficking the machinery of ministry but had let the intimacy they once had shared with Jesus slip through their fingers. Their love had become buried under the clutter of many years of activity. Somewhere along the way, devotion became duty. Passion became process. Intimacy was replaced by activity. They were doing things for God… but drifting away from Him.
Like the harbor of Ephesus that slowly filled with silt and receded miles from the city, their hearts had been crowded by the accumulation of good works—until distance formed in the very place that once held closeness. He called them back to relationship with Him. He wanted them to dig their way back to the beginning, removing all the dirt of activity so they could resurrect the early memories of their love. The story of Ephesus stands as both an inspiration and a warning. It reminds us that it is possible to labor faithfully, defend truth courageously, and persevere through hardship—yet still lose our first love if intimacy with Christ is neglected. God’s call is not merely to return to right doctrine or diligent service, but to restored relationship. He invites His people to dig back through the layers of activity and responsibility to rediscover the love that first captivated their hearts. When we are rooted together in that love, walking in unity and speaking truth with grace, ministry becomes an overflow rather than an obligation. In returning to love, we return to power, purpose, and the fullness God intended from the beginning
Restoring Voice 
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