I pray that He may grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power in the inner man through His Spirit, and that the Messiah may dwell in your hearts through faith. I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, and to know the Messiah’s love that surpasses knowledge, so you may be filled with all the fullness of God.Ephesians 3:16‭-‬19 HCSB

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4.Being rooted and firmly established in love.

The church in Ephesus already had love figured out. Paul is telling then and us that they were already rooted and established in love.

The anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you don’t need anyone to teach you. Instead, His anointing teaches you about all things and is true and is not a lie; just as He has taught you, remain in Him.
1 John 2:27 HCSB
https://bible.com/bible/72/1jn.2.27.HCSB

About brotherly love: You don’t need me to write you because you yourselves are taught by God to love one another. In fact, you are doing this toward all the brothers in the entire region of Macedonia. But we encourage you, brothers, to do so even more, to seek to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, so that you may walk properly in the presence of outsiders and not be dependent on anyone.
1 Thessalonians 4:9‭-‬12 HCSB
https://bible.com/bible/72/1th.4.9-12.HCSB

“Write to the angel of the church in Ephesus: 
The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand and who walks among the seven gold lampstands says: I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate evil. You have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and you have found them to be liars. You also possess endurance and have tolerated many things because of My name and have not grown weary. But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place — unless you repent. Yet you do have this: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 
Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will give the victor the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in God’s paradise."
Revelation 2:1‭-‬7 HCSB
https://bible.com/bible/72/rev.2.1-7.HCSB

What was the love of the Ephesians? Revelation tells us they left their first love and if they did not do their first works He was going to remove their lampstand. The lampstand represents their church. So to remove their lampstand from its place would be to remove their church from His presence.

The first, first love would be Jesus. And the second, first love was obedience to Jesus.

When they reached Ephesus he left them there, but he himself entered the synagogue and engaged in discussion with the Jews. And though they asked him to stay for a longer time, he declined, but he said good-bye and stated, “I’ll come back to you again, if God wills.” Then he set sail from Ephesus.
Acts 18:19‭-‬21 HCSB
https://bible.com/bible/72/act.18.19-21.HCSB

It was here in Ephesus that Paul left Aquilla and Pricilla. Who then inturned instructed Apollos more accurately in the ways of Jesus, for he knew accurately the message of John (Acts 18:24-28). It was here in Ephesus that Paul found 12 disciples of John who eagerly received the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:1-7). It was here that he started the Biblical school in the lecture hall of Tyrannus for three years (Acts 19:8-10). And it was here that regular pieces of the cloth that touched Paul were taken to the sick and they recovered (Acts 19:11-12). These people loved to learn and practiced what they learned and God moved freely in their midst.

Ephesus knew God's word and eagerly showed it in the way they acted - in Love! But between Acts 18-19 to Revelation 2:1 they have let Love for Jesus and obedience to His word slip from their main focus. They continued to hold to some things that mattered to God, but that would not be enough to save their church if they did not return to their love of Jesus and to obey Him.

“If you love Me, you will keep My commands. The one who has My commands and keeps them is the one who loves Me. And the one who loves Me will be loved by My Father. I also will love him and will reveal Myself to him.” Jesus answered, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. The one who doesn’t love Me will not keep My words. The word that you hear is not Mine but is from the Father who sent Me.
John 14:15‭, ‬21‭, ‬23‭-‬24 HCSB
https://bible.com/bible/72/jhn.14.15-24.HCSB

What about you and me? Have we lost our love for Jesus? Have we stopped obeying Him and found "new" teaching to follow? Beware the "new" teaching will lead you away from Jesus!

I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from Him who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel — not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling you and want to change the good news about the Messiah. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel other than what we have preached to you, a curse be on him! As we have said before, I now say again: If anyone preaches to you a gospel contrary to what you received, a curse be on him!
Galatians 1:6‭-‬9 HCSB
https://bible.com/bible/72/gal.1.6-9.HCSB

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