Ephesians 2:4 “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,”
The word “great” has several connotations; such as, ‘large’, ‘many’, ‘outstanding’, and ‘powerful’. All these connotations apply in this passage, for our Lord’s “love” for His “chosen” (Ephesians 1:4) is ‘large’ in that His “love” is big enough to cover all His Children, it is ‘many’ in that our Lord has shown and continues to show us His Love in ‘many’ ways, it is ‘outstanding’ in that there is no other “love” equal to it, and it is ‘powerful’ in that it is strong enough to weather even our sinful behaviors. In the very next verse, Paul expounds upon this “great love”: “Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved)” (Ephesians 2:5). It strains our intellectual capacity to appreciate a “love” so “great” that it would reach through the “wretched” (Romans 7:24) mire of our human nature and behavior and tenderly lift us to a “glorified” (Romans 8:30) state. However, we joyfully know this “great love” “because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” (Romans 5:5). It is no wonder that it was prophesied that, “her saints shall shout aloud for joy” (Psalm 132:16)!