Questions and Answers from Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' Sermon on Knowing the Love of Christ

What does Lloyd-Jones mean by "experimental knowledge" of Christ's love?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones distinguishes between conceptual knowledge and experimental knowledge of Christ's love. Experimental knowledge refers to a direct, personal experience of Christ's love rather than merely understanding it intellectually. As he explains, "We've established, I think, the fact that this is an experimental knowledge, that it is not that which he describes in the word comprehend, which is conceptual, but that this is truly experimental." This experiential dimension involves a personal encounter with Christ's love that goes beyond mere mental understanding.

How should Christians approach reading the Bible according to Lloyd-Jones?

According to Lloyd-Jones, Christians should approach Bible reading with deliberate concentration and expectation of meeting Christ. He states, "You know, it's possible even to read the scriptures in a thoroughly profitless manner. If you simply read the scriptures mechanically." Instead, we should: - Talk to ourselves before reading about what we're seeking - Apply all our intelligence and faculties - Pray for the Holy Spirit's illumination - Read with "an air of great expectation" - Look for Christ himself in every passage - Remember that the Bible is "the heaven drawn picture of Christ, the living word"

What are the key principles Lloyd-Jones gives for experiencing Christ's love?

Lloyd-Jones outlines several principles for experiencing Christ's love:

1. Seek Christ through the Word of God with expectation
2. Pray with self-examination and thanksgiving
3. Please Christ in all things and avoid what displeases Him
4. Practice importunity (persistent seeking) with wholehearted concentration
5. Be responsive to Christ's approaches, however slight they may be

As he summarizes: "These are the principles, my friends. You see what a delicate, sensitive thing it is. O may God fill us with his spirit and with wisdom and with understanding that we may be alive and alert and sensitive."

What warning does Lloyd-Jones give about approaching this experience mechanically?

Lloyd-Jones warns against viewing the experience of Christ's love as mechanical or automatic. He states, "We must never conceive of this in a mechanical manner. It's not something that happens automatically. If we do something, then we have it. No, it isn't that." He emphasizes that we are dealing with a personal relationship with Christ, not a formula. This means Christ reveals His love in His sovereign timing and way, often surprising us: "That so often when we think we deserve the manifestation of his love, we don't get it. But when we are feeling lost and hopeless and abandoned, and at the end of ourselves, suddenly he reveals himself to us."

How does Lloyd-Jones explain the importance of thanksgiving in prayer?

Lloyd-Jones emphasizes thanksgiving as a vital part of experiencing Christ's love. He warns against only making requests without expressing gratitude: "Oh, what a fallacy that is. It's like the child who's always making demands and requests of the parents and never shows any appreciation whatsoever." He advises: "If we believe and go by faith, well, then thank him. Pour out your heart unto him in thanksgiving and praise if you believe that he has died for you." He adds that "The more you thank him and express your feeble love to him, the more likely you are to know his love to you."

What does the story of the farmer's son teach about experiencing Christ's love?

Lloyd-Jones uses the story of a farmer's son who gave up drinking to win the woman he loved as an illustration of the choices we must make to experience Christ's love. The man had to decide between his love for the woman and his attachment to alcohol. Similarly, Christians must decide what they value most: Christ or those things that displease Him. Lloyd-Jones explains: "There are certain things that the Lord Jesus Christ hates and abominates. It's simple logic, therefore, to argue that if we hold on to them and indulge in them, we rarely have no right to expect the manifestation of his love."

What lesson does Lloyd-Jones draw from the Song of Solomon regarding responsiveness?

From Song of Solomon 5:1-6, Lloyd-Jones draws a crucial lesson about being immediately responsive to Christ's approaches. In the passage, the bride delays answering her beloved's knock, and when she finally opens the door, he has gone. Lloyd-Jones applies this to our spiritual lives: "The whole essence of wisdom in this matter is... whenever he makes an approach, it is to be grasped at, to be held on to immediately with a ready response. Don't delay it, don't postpone it." He warns that if we delay responding to Christ's gentle approaches, we may miss opportunities for deeper communion with Him.

What does Lloyd-Jones mean by having "importunity" in seeking Christ's love?

By "importunity," Lloyd-Jones means persistent, wholehearted seeking of Christ. He references Jesus' parable of the importunate widow from Luke 18 who kept bringing her petition to the unjust judge until he granted her request. Lloyd-Jones advises: "Go on. Don't merely start. Don't be content with just feeling occasional, oh, I'd like this. And then make a spurt and then forget. Keep on going on and on. Don't give up." He also points to Jacob's example at Peniel who said, "I will not let thee go except thou bless me" as the spirit we must cultivate.

Why does Lloyd-Jones say we should be sensitive to Christ's slight approaches?

Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that Christ often approaches us gently and subtly at first: "The Holy Spirit is, compared to a dove, the most gentle of all the birds... He doesn't always manifest the fullness of his love. No, he just gives you very, very slight indication." Therefore, we must be vigilant and responsive to even the smallest signs of His presence. He advises: "Never despise the day of small things. And therefore, the moment you feel the slightest drawing or indication of Islam, act upon it at once." This responsiveness allows Christ to come "more frequently, and the manifestations will be plainer and clearer."

Who is the intended audience for this sermon by Lloyd-Jones?

The sermon is intended for believers who already know Christ but have not yet experienced the depths of His love. Lloyd-Jones makes this clear when he says: "Let me again remind you that the people for whom the apostle offers this prayer were converted people. They had already been brought from darkness to light... this is not a prayer for unbelievers, it's a prayer for Christians. The apostle says you were Christians, but you at the moment seem to know very little about what is possible for you in a knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and of his love in a direct, immediate, and personal sense."