Eph 3:18 [you] May be full of strength to apprehend with all the saints what the breadth and length and height and depth are (19) And to know the knowledge-surpassing love of Christ...
In our experience of Christ, we firstly experience the breadth of what He is, and then we experience the length. This is horizontal. When we advance in Christ, we experience the height and depth of His riches. This is vertical. If we have only the length of Christ, without any breadth, our experience will be a "line," that is, an experience that is long and narrow to an extreme... If we have only a "line" experience of Him, this "line" will eventually continue until it reaches an extreme. If you experience Christ properly and normally as the breadth and the length, you will be kept from going to an extreme. Some examples... For a number of years, I listened to a certain great Bible teacher. He was extremely knowledgeable in the Scriptures. Although he spent very little time in prayer, he was constantly reading the Word and writing notes in his Bible. After talking about the Bible for a period of time, he would excuse himself in order to smoke his pipe. Then he would resume his discussion of the Scriptures.... A sister in my home town also had a "line" experience. She did not read the Bible, but devoted a great deal of time to prayer. Being extremely earnest in prayer, she decided to fast and pray for many days. When we visited her, she was in bed, weakened because of seven days of fasting. We encouraged her to take care of her health, but she was offended by our suggestion. On the very next day, she died. This is an example of how a "line" experience can lead people to an extreme, even lead them astray. Therefore, we need to be balanced. These two examples show that we need to take time both to pray and to study the Word.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 286-287. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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