Knowing the Love of Christ
A Sermon on Ephesians 3:18-19
Originally preached March 3, 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
In this sermon on Ephesians 3:18–19 titled “Knowing the Love of Christ,” Dr. Lloyd-Jones states that there are two wrong ways to think about love. One is to see love as purely intellectual and mental. The other is to see love as nothing more than emotional feelings. He says that the biblical view of love, as found in the New Testament, is a much richer expression than either of these false views. Love causes one to seek to understand it and apprehend it. It prompts the hearts of those who have been touched by it to respond in joy and love. This particularly is the case with the love seen in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The love of God in Christ transforms and renews all who believe in the gospel. Testament to this experience is found in the lives of saints and faithful believers all throughout the history of the church. There are many uneducated, ordinary Christians who came to know the love of God and the gospel in a deep and personal way. These were not great theologians and preachers but everyday Christians. This should prompt people of faith to abandon all views of spiritual superiority and see that this great knowledge and experience of love is available to all of God’s children.
Sermon Breakdown
- The apostle Paul is praying for the Ephesians to know the love of Christ.
- This is the greatest knowledge possible for humans to attain.
- This love is open to all believers, not just certain people.
- Paul describes this love with the dimensions of breadth, length, depth and height.
- This knowledge of Christ's love is conceptual - it involves grasping ideas and truths mentally.
- There is no contradiction between emphasizing being rooted in love and this conceptual knowledge. Love has an intellectual element.
- We must meditate on and study Christ's love. We must survey the wondrous cross.
- The second word Paul uses is "know" - this is knowledge gained through experience, not just concepts.
- This knowledge is direct, immediate and personal. It is knowing Christ's love for us personally.
- Christ's love surpasses knowledge - it is inexhaustible and unsearchable. We can always know more of it.
- This knowledge of Christ's love is possible for all believers in this life.
- The Bible and testimony of saints show this is possible. We can have peace, joy and transport in this love.
- We should pray for ourselves and others to have this knowledge of Christ's love.
Sermon Q&A
Questions and Answers from Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' Sermon on Ephesians 3:14-21
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones mean by "comprehending" the love of Christ?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, to comprehend means "to take a firm mental grasp of something, or if you prefer it, it means to lay hold of something with the mind." He explains it's a conceptual knowledge - a deliberate process of mentally grasping the dimensions of Christ's love. It involves meditation and intellectual effort, not just passive feelings. As he states, "You don't just wait to have a feeling. No. You go through your scriptures and you see this manifestation of the love of God objectively there externally in the scriptures, and you apply your mind to it."
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones differentiate between "comprehending" and "knowing" Christ's love?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that while "comprehending" is conceptual knowledge (mental understanding), "knowing" refers to experiential knowledge based on personal experience. In his words, "This is no longer conceptual knowledge... This is knowledge which is gained by experience. Or knowledge, if you prefer it, which is grounded in personal experience." He describes this knowing as "direct knowledge" and "immediate knowledge" - not just understanding Christ's love intellectually but experiencing it personally.
What does the phrase "love which passeth knowledge" mean according to the sermon?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that "passeth knowledge" means "surpassing knowledge" - not bypassing the mind but transcending it. He describes it as "the knowledge surpassing love of Christ." In his words, "it surely means something like this, that though you may come to know it, you still only know something of it. It's like a never ebbing sea. It is inexhaustible. It is unsearchable. It's always much bigger than you think it is." It indicates Christ's love is always greater than our comprehension of it.
Is the knowledge of Christ's love possible in this present life according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones?
Yes, Dr. Lloyd-Jones firmly asserts this knowledge is possible in this present life. He states, "He prays that the members of the church at Ephesus, every one of them and all saints everywhere else, may come to have this knowledge of the love of Christ, the conceptual and the experimental. It is possible in this life and in this world." He then provides multiple scriptural references and testimonies from believers throughout church history to demonstrate this is a real possibility for all Christians.
What examples does Dr. Lloyd-Jones give of people who experienced this knowledge of Christ's love?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones provides several powerful testimonies, including a hymn writer who spoke of "this full, this perfect peace, o this transport, all divine"; William Williams who prayed "Speak, I pray thee, gentle Jesus"; a philosophy professor who experienced God's love so powerfully that it made his "brain throb and my whole being, soul and body grown beneath the strain of the almost insupportable plethora of joy"; and Edward Payson, who wrote that "The celestial city is full to my view. Its glories beam upon me, its breezes fan me, its orders are wafted to me."
What is the common misconception about love that Dr. Lloyd-Jones addresses?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones addresses the misconception that love is purely emotional or sentimental without an intellectual component. He states, "Our whole notion of love is seriously defective. We tend to regard love in a kind of sentimental manner, as if it was something purely emotional." He clarifies that true love (agape) includes understanding: "Love has understanding. Love can give reasons for itself. Love is not unintelligent, it's not unintellectual. There is this very definite intellectual element in love."
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones describe the progressive nature of experiencing Christ's love?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones describes it as an ever-deepening experience. Using the apostle's words, he explains it's "knowledge surpassing" - meaning that "however much we've got, there is always so much more. So we forget that which is behind, and we press onwards and forwards, and we are always experimenting, as it were, and always making fresh discoveries." He quotes Edward Payson who described the process: "The son of righteousness has been gradually drawing nearer and nearer, appearing larger and brighter as he approached."
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones recommend Christians do to grow in their knowledge of Christ's love?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones recommends meditation as a primary practice, asking "How often do we meditate upon the love of Christ?" He encourages believers to deliberately apply their minds to studying Christ's love through Scripture, comparing it to climbing a mountain for a view: "Apply your minds, scale the heights. Go and have a look at it." He also encourages praying Paul's prayer for the Ephesians for ourselves "until...we can say with utter honesty that we dwell in the land of Bula, and that Christ personally has made known his personal love to us."
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.