God loves you! If you’ve been in church for any length of time; if you’ve listened to Christian teaching or watched Christian videos, if you have followed my brother Franklin’s evangelistic events such as a God Loves You Tour, you have heard that phrase multiple times. God loves you. 

But when was the last time you truly pondered that truth? Think about it. The God of Creation. The same God who strides the winds of the earth. Who sets boundaries for the waves of the sea. The same God who hung the stars in space, who spins our planet so that the sun comes up in the morning and goes down in the evening. The God of thunder and lightning, of sunshine and rain … the God of gods who is all powerful … who fills the universe with Himself … who has never had a new thought because He has always known everything … that God loves you!

As the New Year unfolds, bringing with it unique challenges: delights as well as disasters, diseases, disappointments, and perhaps even death, I don’t want to just be told that God loves me. I don’t want to just intellectually agree that God loves me. I don’t want to just think about His love. I want to experience the love of God in a fresh way. This was the Apostle Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian believers, and it is my prayer for myself … and for you.

Read Ephesians 3:12-21

I. THE SURETY OF GOD’S LOVE
Ephesians 3:12-13

What are the two criteria for truly experiencing the love of God? 3:12.

How do the following verses underscore the criteria? Give phrases from: Ephesians 1:3; 1:7; 1:11.

How can you be sure you meet the criteria? Ephesians 2:6-9; Romans 10:8-13. 

How can we be sure God really does love us? 1 John 4:9-10.

What was one reason the Ephesian believers doubted the love of God? 3:13.

Give reasons from John 11:1-44 for the fact that Mary and Martha seemed also to doubt God’s love as expressed through Jesus. In the end, what was their experience?

What has caused you to doubt the surety of God’s love? Name it________________.

As you confess your doubt, would you refocus your faith on God’s character and God’s Word?

II. THE INTIMACY OF GOD’S LOVE
Ephesians 3:14-15

How does Paul refer to God? 3:14.

How did Jesus teach His disciples, and you and me, to address God? Luke 11:1-2.

What gives you the right to address God in this way? John 1:12-13; 1 John 3:1; Romans 8:14-17; Galatians 4:4-7.

What was your earthly father like? If he was an alcoholic, or abusive, or absent, or an adulterer, is it hard for you to think of God as your Father? What else could be implied by the name father?

What is more intimate than the relationship between parent and child? Apply this to your relationship with God. 

Take a moment to think about how you address God in prayer. How do you start your prayer? What do you “call” Him? Now bow your head and pray, “Father God …” thanking Him for inviting you into a personal, intimate relationship with Himself.

III. THE GENEROSITY OF GOD’S LOVE
Ephesians 3:16

What phrase indicates that God is not stingy with His love? 3:16.

What is the difference between a beggar and a billionaire giving you something “out of their riches?”

Give one reason it’s impossible for God’s love to run out or be used up. 1 John 4:16.

Besides God’s love, give phrases that describe different aspects of His generosity from: Romans 2:4; 9:22-24; Ephesians 1:7-8. Which ones are you most grateful for?

Take a moment now to praise and thank God for His generosity to you. 

IV. THE SECURITY OF GOD’S LOVE
Ephesians 3:17

What two words indicate we are secure in God’s love? 3:17.

Give other phrases that describe our security: John 10:28-30; 8:35; 14:15-17; 1 John 4:17-19.

Paraphrase Romans 8:31-39 phrase by phrase in your own words. 

What aspect of the security of God’s love is most meaningful to you from Romans 8:31-39? Explain why.

V. THE SUFFICIENCY OF GOD’S LOVE
Ephesians 3:18-19

How does Paul describe the dimensions of God’s love? 3:18.

How does the psalmist apply these dimensions? Psalm 139:5-10.

If you belong to God, is there anything in your life that is outside His love?

What do we need to pray for in order to truly experience and grasp the sufficiency of God’s love? 3:16, 18; Romans 5:1-5.

Pray now for …

VI. THE GLORY OF GOD’S LOVE
Ephesians 3:20-21

Before we can experience God’s love in a fresh way, what action do we need to take? 3:20.

How do we know God is not reluctant to give us a fresh experience of His love? Underline the superlatives in 3:20.

What is our ultimate aim in any prayer, including this one? 3:21.

How is this aim accomplished as we experience God’s love? John 13:34-35; 1 John 4:11-12.

As we celebrate Valentine’s Day in this new year, would you praise and thank God for loving you? Would you ask Him to give you a fresh experience of His love that is more than you could even think to ask for … then in a world that is filled with hatred, fear and division, would you choose to be a channel of His love to those around you? ©2024 Anne Graham Lotz

This article was adapted from a study that was originally published in February 2016. 

Anne Graham Lotz has proclaimed God’s Word worldwide for more than 40 years. Her newest book, which she co-authored with her daughter Rachel-Ruth Wright, is Preparing to Meet Jesus—Moving From Salvation to Transformation. It can be ordered from major booksellers online.

Photo: Ron Nickel / ©2024 BGEA