Christometry

Exploring the immeasurable love of Christ through the revealed measure of His descent and ascent.

Christometry — from Ancient Greek (christos), “Christ,” and (metron), “measure” — is a branch of theology concerned with the relationships between the breadth, length, depth, and height of the love of Christ.

Well, I made this up….

---

At school, my daughter has been introduced to “trigonometry.” Of course, when I learned of this, I immediately began to rack my brain about what I remembered from “trigonometry” class. Not much came to mind but that which I could gather from the etymology of the word having the prefix “tri.” This made sense later when I learned trigonometry has to do with triangles.

Later, I began to ask my daughter’s teacher, my wife, more about “trigonometry,” and as she began to communicate the basics, I was also looking it up online. Wikipedia states,

Trigonometry — from Ancient Greek τρίγωνον (trígōnon), “triangle,” and μέτρον (métron), “measure” — is a branch of mathematics concerned with relationships between angles and side lengths of triangles.

Beyond my intrigue and curiosity for this mathematics subject, and because my daughter is learning it and my wife is teaching it, the word “measure” in Wikipedia’s description of trigonometry caught my attention. The word “measure,” and in the Greek, metron, is what I have been faced with in my study of Ephesians 4:7.

“But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.”
— Ephesians 4:7

Here, “measure” is metron in Greek. Thus, the connection was made, and a “word idea” was birthed. Besides not getting too many of these clever ideas — this may not be clever to you, but silly or even foolish — I thought my idea may serve as a kind of “click bait,” an attention grabber to prick the curiosity for the love of Christ presented from some mathematic angle.

Thus, “Christometry” was thought of: a term denoting what so many have thought about, known, taught, and studied before. Of course, my goal isn’t to deceive, be silly, nor foolish, but to point one to Jesus Christ and His love.

There has always been a lot of silly, superstitious, and unnecessary numerology — our faith is in the Word of God, not numerology. If you need numbers, or you use numbers to defend the Word, something is amiss — and I don’t intend to add to the mix, but to insert Christometry as a worthy equation to comprehend and pursue, and one that is based upon Christ and truth.

Therefore, I took the Wikipedia definition of “Trigonometry” and adapted it for the love of Christ, which I call “Christometry.”

Christometry — from Ancient Greek (christos), “Christ,” and (metron), “measure” — is a branch of Christology, the study of Christ, that is more specifically concerned with the relationships between the breadth, length, depth, and height of the love of Christ.

But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
— Ephesians 4:7

I readily admit this verse had always served some trouble to my understanding. I know the context and see the words; however, for a long time, I was never satisfied with any answer to my own question: “Why now, in chapter 4, does Paul describe the gift of Christ with measure?”

My initial findings and learning were and are true; that is, in Ephesians 4:7, God has the apostle Paul begin to introduce the oneness within the body of Christ concerning “grace,” which in this context is spiritual gifts. The oneness of the spiritual gifts is that “unto every one of us is given grace,” not to some of them, but in the sense he speaks, “every one of us is given grace.”

Yet the detail given after this initial content, which I had learned from others, I found to be lacking substance based on the words used. I don’t blame them, nor do I think this understanding isn’t out there. It is just what I had learned and remembered. I had learned, or was taught, that this “grace” given, of spiritual gifts, was “according to a measure of the gift of Christ.”

Of course, no one read it this way, but it seemed to be taught this way. I probably do this and don’t know it with other scriptures. In fact, it does make sense that “every one of us is given grace” — spiritual gifts when they were first given — according to a measure of the gift of Christ. In other words, when the spiritual gifts were given, some were given this measure, another given that measure, and so on.

However, it says, “according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” Therefore, it isn’t a bunch of measures or gifts of the gift of Christ, nor measures that proceed from the gift, but rather the grace given is according to “the measure of the gift of Christ.” Numerous gifts were given according to the singular measure of the gift of Christ.

For me, this begged the question: “What is the measure of the gift of Christ?” Or, my original question, “Why now does Paul describe the gift of Christ with measure?” If the numerous spiritual gifts — grace — given isn’t the answer or connection for the expression “the measure,” then what is?

CHRIST DESCENDED AND ASCENDED

Christometry — “chris-ta-metry” is how I pronounce it — looks at terms of measure concerning the immeasurable One, Jesus Christ, His work, and faith, not simply numbers.

How can we measure Christ? In one obvious sense, we cannot, because He is God. Yet, He took on flesh and came into this world, and therefore, in another sense, we can. We can only see “the measure” according to what is revealed in the text.

As I asked my questions, and with my mind on “the measure” — which, unknowingly, was really on “a measure” — I began to read Ephesians 4:8–10. As I read these verses, a slight shift from “a” to “the,” and the proper attachment to “measure,” began to take shape in my understanding and make more sense.

Instead of “a measure,” it is “the measure.” And instead of attaching “the measure” to multiple gifts, it needed to be attached to “Christ,” or better yet, “the gift of Christ,” which is exactly what the text says.

And before I could even investigate and study this further, my mind quickly remembered Ephesians 3:17–19. It all started to click, and before I got into the details, I began to realize Ephesians 4:7–10 was part of the answer to Paul’s Ephesians 3:17–19 prayer.

What is it that Paul prayed?

“That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”
— Ephesians 3:17–19

The combination and further understanding of these words and verses highlight Christometry. “The gift of Christ” has measure; it is “the measure of the gift of Christ.” Thus, it is an expression used given Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3, and an expression that encompasses the sum total of the gift of Christ.

Thus, we can know and comprehend the gift of Christ, which is exactly what Paul prayed for in Ephesians 3:17–19, according to what is revealed.

Paul, in Ephesians 4:8–10, then begins to describe part of “the measure of the gift of Christ” concerning the grace — spiritual gifts — given to the church. Therefore, “the measure of the gift of Christ” would include “what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height” of “the love of Christ.”

The breadth, length, depth, and height comprise “the measure.” And when that breadth, length, depth, and height concerns “the love of Christ,” then the measure concerns “the gift of Christ.”

Ephesians 4:8–10 describes the height and depth of that love, of that gift of Christ. Christ first descended — depth — into the lower parts of the earth, and then ascended — height — up on high, far above all heavens.

Even more thrilling is asking the question, “Why did Christ descend and ascend?” The answer: “that He might fill all things” — the very thing Paul requests in Ephesians 3:19, “…that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”

The reason Paul can pray “that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God” is because “the measure of the gift of Christ” is that He descended into the lower parts of the earth and ascended far above all heavens, that He might fill all things.

When we know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, to comprehend the measure that passeth knowledge and is to be believed, we can be filled with all the fulness of God. In part, when we know the measure of the gift of Christ concerning the depth or height of His love, we are filled with the fulness of God. However, when we comprehend the breadth, length, and height along with its depth, then we might be filled with all the fulness of God.

Yet all this begs more questions!

As Paul asks, “What is it” that Christ first descended and ascended? Paul prays that we may comprehend “what is” the breadth, length, depth, and height of the love of Christ, but why is that connected to Christ descending and ascending?

We commonly attach, and rightly so, His love to His death, but not His descent to the lower parts of the earth and ascent far above all heavens. How is this part of His love? How do we comprehend “the love of Christ” by His descent and ascent? And most importantly, how does this fill us with God’s fulness in connection with Christ’s descent and ascent?

I look forward to answering these questions in subsequent posts.

Until then, explore Christometry to comprehend the measure of the gift of Christ concerning the breadth, length, depth, and height of the love of Christ, their relationships to each other, and the sum total of all its fulness.

Look Up,

—Josh Strelecki, Pastor-Teacher