may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
English Standard Version (ESV)
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Ephesians 3:18
What does Ephesians 3:18 mean?
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Ephesians 3:18
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The verse doesn't just ask us to comprehend these vast dimensions, but to do so "with all the saints." This highlights that understanding the immeasurable love of Christ isn't a solitary pursuit, but a collective endeavor, a shared discovery within the community of faith. It also implies that our individual capacity to grasp this love is amplified when we stand alongside other believers.
may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
English Standard Version (ESV)
Paul is praying that the believers in Ephesus might be strengthened in their inner selves to grasp something beyond their natural ability. This prayer stems from his deep concern for them, especially after detailing God's grand plan to unite Jews and Gentiles in Christ and build them into a spiritual temple. He desires for them to fully comprehend the immense scope and depth of God's work, a concept he illustrates with spatial dimensions.
How can we possibly grasp something as vast as God's love? Paul prays for a divine enablement, a spiritual power that goes beyond our natural capacity.
The verse speaks of being strengthened to "comprehend." This isn't just about understanding with our minds, but apprehending with our entire being – our spirit, emotions, and will.
Breadth, length, height, depth – these aren't just abstract concepts. Paul uses spatial dimensions to help us picture the immensity of God's love.
Paul doesn't define the love of Christ with precise measurements, but uses these four dimensions to convey its all-encompassing nature:
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Understand the original words
hagiōn · Greek Noun
Those who are sanctified and set apart as God’s holy people. It refers to the entire community of believers who share in the grace and calling of God.
c. AD 40-50— this verse
Paul's Ministry in Ephesus
The Apostle Paul establishes a significant ministry in the city of Ephesus, a major center of trade and culture in the Roman province of Asia. He spends over two years here, teaching and leading the growing Christian community.
c. AD 50-52
Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians
While at Ephesus, Paul writes his first letter to the church in Corinth. This letter addresses various issues within the Corinthian church, including divisions, immorality, and questions about spiritual gifts and the resurrection.
c. AD 55-57
Paul Writes Ephesians from Prison
Paul is likely imprisoned in Rome and writes the Epistle to the Ephesians. He addresses themes of unity, the church as the body of Christ, and the believer's spiritual inheritance and calling.
c. AD 60-62
Paul's Imprisonment Continues
Paul remains imprisoned, possibly in Caesarea or Rome, while awaiting trial. During this time, he continues to write letters, including Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon, offering encouragement and guidance to various churches.
This passage calls for all nations to praise the Lord, emphasizing His great steadfast love and faithfulness, echoing the expansive nature of Christ's love described in Ephesians 3:18.
Isaiah 55:8-9These verses highlight the vast difference between God's thoughts and ways and human thoughts and ways, suggesting that God's infinite nature, including His love, is beyond human comprehension, similar to the dimensions Paul describes.
Jeremiah 29:11This verse speaks of God's plans for His people, plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give them a future and a hope. This aligns with understanding the immense scope and good intentions of God's love as dimensions of His plan.
1 John 4:9-10This passage explicitly states that God sent His only Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins, revealing the profound depth and ultimate expression of God's love, which Paul seeks for believers to comprehend.
Romans 8:38-39Paul declares that nothing can separate believers from the love of God in Christ Jesus, underscoring the unshakeable and all-encompassing nature of God's love, which matches the immense dimensions Paul urges believers to grasp.
bengelEphesians 3:18: "May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;"
Ephesians 3:18 . Ἐν ἀγάπῃ , in love ) of Christ: Ephesians 3:19 , note.— ἐῤῥιζωμένοι καὶ τεθεμελιωμένοι , rooted and founded [ grounded ]) The root is, of a tree—the foundation , of a house. A Syllepsis[49] precedes, which must thus be explained: that you may have Christ dwelling in you, being rooted , comp. Colossians 2:2 , note; unless the Nominative rather agrees with you may b…
pulpitEphesians 3:18: "May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;"
Verse 18. - May be made strong to comprehend with all the saints. The subject to be comprehended is not only beyond man's natural capacity, but beyond the ordinary force of his spiritual capacity. The thing to be grasped needs a special strength of heart and soul; the heart needs to be enlarged, the mental "hands of the arms" need to be made strong (Genesis 49:24). But the attainm…
The verse doesn't just ask us to comprehend these vast dimensions, but to do so "with all the saints." This highlights that understanding the immeasurable love of Christ isn't a solitary pursuit, but a collective endeavor, a shared discovery within the community of faith. It also implies that our individual capacity to grasp this love is amplified when we stand alongside other believers.
Paul is praying that the believers in Ephesus might be strengthened in their inner selves to grasp something beyond their natural ability. This prayer stems from his deep concern for them, especially after detailing God's grand plan to unite Jews and Gentiles in Christ and build them into a spiritual temple. He desires for them to fully comprehend the immense scope and depth of God's work, a concept he illustrates with spatial dimensions.
Paul is praying that the believers in Ephesus might be strengthened in their inner selves to grasp something beyond their natural ability. This prayer stems from his deep concern for them, especially after detailing God's grand plan to unite Jews and Gentiles in Christ and build them into a spiritual temple. He desires for them to fully comprehend the immense scope and depth of God's work, a concept he illustrates with spatial dimensions.
"may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth," — The verse doesn't just ask us to comprehend these vast dimensions, but to do so "with all the saints." This highlights that understanding the immeasurable love of Christ isn't a solitary pursuit, b…
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Last reviewed October 2026