Able to Comprehend
A Sermon on Ephesians 3:18-19
Originally preached Feb. 17, 1957
Scripture
18May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
Sermon Description
How can one know the love of God? In this sermon on Ephesians 3:18–19 titled “Able to Comprehend,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preaches how the apostle Paul speaks of the knowledge of God’s love not simply as intellectual comprehension, nor as a result of abstract thought. But there is a real experience of God’s love and presence in the life of believers that creates this intimate and personal love of God and Christ Jesus. This is true of all biblical truth. For the word of God is a living and active source of teaching, rebuke, and reproof in the life of all God’s children. This is why the love of God that comes from knowing Him is not reserved for the scholars and thinkers of the church. True knowledge and worship of God is never a matter of the intellect alone, but it requires every human faculty. For ultimately this love is only received by grace through the working of God’s Holy Spirit in the lives of fallen men and women. For this reason, no one has any grounds for boasting in themselves. To do so would be to deny that it is entirely of God’s grace. This is both a humbling and an encouraging teaching because it shows how great God’s love is. It tells of what He has done in renewing hearts so that His people can receive this love.
Sermon Breakdown
- Knowing the love of Christ is the highest attainment in the Christian life.
- This knowledge is possible for all Christians.
- The way to this knowledge is by being rooted and grounded in love. Love recognizes love.
- Though we have love, we still need to comprehend the love of Christ more. The more we have, the more we get.
- We must start climbing the mountain of God's love and not get discouraged. Each step brings new revelations.
- God's love is inexhaustible and endless. We can spend eternity knowing more of it.
- We must ask God to strengthen us to know Christ's love.
- We must trust in Christ's love, obey his commands, and go deeper in our walk with him.
Sermon Q&A
Questions and Answers from Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' Sermon on Ephesians 3:18-19
What is the highest attainment in the Christian life according to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, knowing the love of Christ is the highest attainment in the Christian life. He emphasizes this by stating: "This is the highest attainment in the christian life to know the love of Christ." He distinguishes this from the preliminary awareness of God's love that one has at conversion, noting that this deeper knowledge is "so much greater than that, that every man who's ever had an experience of this is tempted to say at the beginning, I've never known the love of God until this moment."
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones explain the relationship between doctrine and experiencing the love of Christ?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that doctrine is essential but not an end in itself. He states, "No man has ever known this love of Christ that the apostle is defining here unless he has been deeply taught and well versed in doctrine." However, he warns against stopping with doctrine alone: "If you stop with your doctrine, you still don't know this." The purpose of doctrine is to lead us to the person of Christ and the experience of His love, not merely to intellectual understanding.
What does it mean to be "fully able to comprehend" the love of Christ?
The sermon explains that the phrase "fully able" (which he notes is a better translation than simply "able") indicates that special strengthening is required to comprehend Christ's love. Dr. Lloyd-Jones states: "We need strength and power and ability before we can know this." This strengthening is necessary both because of the overwhelming weight of God's love that we must bear and because "it is love alone that can recognize love" - we need love in our hearts to comprehend love.
Who can experience this deep knowledge of Christ's love according to the sermon?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that this knowledge is for "all saints" - meaning all true Christians, not just special or exceptional believers. He specifically refutes the idea that this knowledge is only for those in religious vocations: "It's for every single Christian" regardless of occupation or circumstance. He states, "Whatever our position, whatever our situation," this experience of Christ's love is available to all believers.
What is the significance of the phrase "rooted and grounded in love" in relation to knowing Christ's love?
Being "rooted and grounded in love" is the necessary preparation for comprehending Christ's love. Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains two reasons for this: First, we need this grounding to bear "the weight of God's love" which is so powerful it can be overwhelming. Second, "it is love alone that can recognize love" - we need to have love in our hearts to appreciate and receive love. This rooting in love makes it possible for all believers, regardless of intellectual capacity, to comprehend Christ's love.
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones describe the progressive nature of experiencing Christ's love?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones describes experiencing Christ's love as a progressive journey, citing Jesus' words: "Unto him that hath shall be given." He explains: "The more you've got in the christian life, the more you'll get." He uses the metaphor of climbing a mountain, where each step brings new experiences of Christ's love. He states, "You don't suddenly go from nowhere to the top of this mountain," but rather "every step you take up that mountain you'll begin to feel something new and fresh that you've never known before."
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones mean when he says the love of Christ "passeth knowledge"?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that the love of Christ is so vast and profound that it exceeds human comprehension. He describes it as inexhaustible and endless - a love that we will continue to explore throughout eternity. He states, "God is inexhaustible. His eternal love is endless." Even as we grow in our knowledge of it, there will always be more depths to discover, which is why he describes Christians as "like children pedling at the edge of an ocean."
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones contrast the world's understanding with a Christian's understanding of God's love?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones states that the experience of God's love is something "that the man who's not a Christian has no conception of at all." Quoting John 14, he explains that the world cannot receive the Spirit because it doesn't know Him. He describes this love as "a secret that is only enjoyed by the Lord's people" and compares it to "hidden manna" and "a white stone with a name written on it that nobody can understand" except those who receive it.
The Book of Ephesians
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.