Rooted in Love
A Sermon on Ephesians 3:17
Originally preached Feb. 3, 1957
Scripture
17That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
Sermon Description
How can one have an abundant life in Christ? What is the secret to living life to its fullest? In this sermon from Ephesians 3:17 titled “Rooted in Love,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones takes the listener through a section of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians to answer these questions. In this section, Paul is praying that Christians will know and seek Christ Himself, not solely the blessings that He offers. The Christian’s primary ambition in life, Dr. Lloyd-Jones says, should not be to aim merely at a good life since all religions have a version of this. Rather, the Christian should have a holiness that flows out of their relationship with Him, and this happens when He dwells in the heart. What occurs when the Christian allows this to take place? As Paul prayed for his readers, they become rooted and grounded in love. The language he uses reminds the readers of a tree and just like the roots of a tree, their love is to grow deeper and stronger every day. “Knowledge,” Paul says, “puffs up, but love builds up.” One’s knowledge of God must drive them to an increased love of God since God is love (1 John 4:8). Listen as Dr. Lloyd-Jones encourages Christians to grow in love and reminds the listener of why this is so important for the Christian life.
Sermon Breakdown
- The sermon is based on Ephesians 3:14-21, Paul's prayer for the Ephesians.
- Paul prays that Christ may dwell in their hearts by faith.
- The result of Christ dwelling in our hearts is that we become rooted and grounded in love.
- Paul uses the metaphors of a tree and a building to represent being rooted and grounded in love.
- A tree and building share the qualities of depth, firmness, strength, permanence and durability. However, a tree also represents life, vitality, growth and blessing. A building only represents stability.
- Love is the soil in which our Christian life grows. Love alone builds up the Christian life and makes us like Christ.
- Knowledge puffs up but love builds up. Knowledge should lead to love. The test of our Christian life is love.
- Love gives us power and strength in living the Christian life. Faith works by love.
- Love was Christ's motivation. It should be our motivation in all areas of life including holy living.
- Our work and activity is of no value unless rooted in love. Without love, we are nothing.
- God judges our actions by our motivation and love, not by amount or appearance.
- The Christian life arises from love, is energized by love and constrained by love.
Sermon Q&A
Dr. Lloyd-Jones' Sermon on Being Rooted and Grounded in Love: Questions and Answers
What does "rooted and grounded in love" mean according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, "rooted and grounded in love" means that love should be the predominating, prevailing element in our lives, conduct, and experience. He uses two pictures: being "rooted" like a tree and "grounded" (or founded) like a building. Both convey the ideas of depth, firmness, strength, permanence, and durability. The tree metaphor adds the elements of life, vitality, energy, and growth, while the building metaphor emphasizes stability and a firm foundation. He explains that "love is to be the soil in which our Christian life is set and in which it grows."
Why does Paul use both tree and building metaphors when describing being rooted in love?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that Paul uses both metaphors because each conveys something the other doesn't. They share similarities (depth, firmness, strength, and permanence), but also have important differences. The tree metaphor conveys "life and vitality and energy and growth," while the building metaphor emphasizes stability and firm foundation without the element of growth. He notes that Paul often uses these dual pictures when describing the church, as in 1 Corinthians 3:9 where he says "you are God's husbandry [farm], you are God's building." The two pictures together tell us about the centrality of love in the Christian life in a way one picture alone couldn't convey.
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones contrast knowledge and love in the Christian life?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that while knowledge is essential, it must never take priority over love. He cites 1 Corinthians 8, where Paul writes that "knowledge puffeth up, but love edifieth [builds up]." He warns that when knowledge becomes purely intellectual without love, a person can have "a head packed full of knowledge and of doctrine. But his heart is as hard as a stone and he's dry." He also references 1 Corinthians 13, where Paul states that possessing all knowledge without love makes one "nothing." True Christian knowledge is not merely intellectual but knowledge of a person (Christ) that leads to love. Dr. Lloyd-Jones states clearly: "if the knowledge that you and I have has not led to greater love in our lives, we'd better examine ourselves very seriously."
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones teach about love as a motive for Christian work?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones teaches that "love is the only true motive for work in the Christian life." He points out that God's own motive in salvation was love: "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son." Similarly, Christ was motivated by compassion and love in his ministry. The apostle Paul stated his motive clearly: "the love of Christ constraineth me." Lloyd-Jones warns that Christians may be busy in church activities but motivated by wrong reasons like personal reputation or importance. He even applies this to holiness, saying our motive for holy living should not be to uphold our own moral code but because we love God and don't want to grieve Him.
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, what happens to our Christian service if it isn't rooted in love?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones states emphatically that "there is no ultimate value at all in all our work and all our activity, unless it is rooted in love and grounded in love." Citing 1 Corinthians 13, he notes that even the most impressive spiritual gifts, acts of charity, or even martyrdom profit nothing without love. He warns that "the day of judgment will be a day of tremendous and of terrible revelation" where what seemed great may be nothing, while seemingly trivial acts done in love will be highlighted. He references Jesus' teaching about the widow's mite and the sinful woman who washed Jesus' feet with her tears as examples of how God values acts motivated by love more than outwardly impressive deeds. His conclusion is stark: "Nothing is of any value in this life unless it comes out of a heart of love."
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.