Summing-up: Knowing and Doing
A Call to Prayer on John 13:1-17
Originally preached Dec. 26, 1960
Scripture
1Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. 2And supper being ended, the devil having …
Sermon Description
Is it possible to know the truth yet remain unchanged by it? In this message titled "Summing-up: Knowing and Doing," Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones addresses the Westminster Ministers' Conference with a sobering challenge about the relationship between knowing and doing. Based on John 13:17, "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them"—Dr. Lloyd-Jones warns against the subtle danger of being content with mere intellectual knowledge while neglecting practical application. He challenges believers to move beyond reaction against error to positive pursuit of God, beyond discussion of doctrine to demonstration of power. Addressing concerns about missionary zeal, communion with God, and genuine spiritual joy, Dr. Lloyd-Jones calls the conference to examine whether their understanding of Reformed doctrine translates into intimate knowledge of God. This is not a traditional sermon but a pastoral exhortation before corporate prayer—a plea to stop limiting God to the boundaries of personal experience and to seek the pneumatic reality promised in Scripture.
Sermon Breakdown
- The greatest danger is being content with intellectual knowledge without practical application
- The Puritans always emphasized application after doctrine—we must not forget this essential element
- We must not merely react against error but be positive in our pursuit of truth and God
- The conference themes challenged: missionary activity, communion with God, prayer life, and rejoicing in the Lord
- Reformed believers should demonstrate the greatest joy since they know God most fully
- There is danger in allowing opponents to determine the grounds of argument rather than being proactive
- Knowledge that stops at understanding becomes useless and potentially harmful—it can drug us into complacency
- We must examine our prayer life: How much time? What quality? Do we know praying in the Spirit?
- People should recognize we have been with God, as Moses showed radiance after meeting with God
- The New Testament epistles, though doctrinal, were all written with pastoral intent and practical application
- There is danger in judging doctrine by our limited experience rather than by Scripture's promises
- We must not dismiss experiences like Whitefield's spiritual encounters simply because we haven't experienced them
- Caution against quenching the Spirit through excessive wariness and fear of excesses
- Today's churches lack the vibrant spiritual life that would require warnings about excess
- The pneumatic element—the dynamic work of the Spirit—must be prominent among us
- Doctrine is foundation and means, never an end in itself
- The goal is intimate knowledge of God, consciousness of His presence, and awareness of the Spirit's energies
- Fellowship and discussion are valuable but worthless if they don't lead us to encounter with God
- We need the Spirit upon the Word to transform dead letters into living flame
Sermon Q&A
Questions and Answers
Why did Dr. Lloyd-Jones devote this session to prayer rather than another lecture?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explained that several friends expressed desire for a prayer session, and since his was the only session without an announced subject, it seemed the most convenient time. He acknowledged that while some felt the primary object should be discussing matters together to pray more efficiently at home, he sensed on this occasion they should give the session to prayer. He emphasized they must remain fluid rather than set in their patterns, and noted it was fitting to remind themselves there must be an end to all their conference activities—knowledge must lead to action.
What is the greatest danger confronting Reformed believers according to this message?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones states: "I suppose in many ways the greatest danger confronting us, all of us, is the danger of being content with a knowledge of these things, an intellectual knowledge and apprehension." While such knowledge is valuable, if it stops at intellectual understanding it becomes useless and even harmful because it can drug believers into feeling nothing further is necessary. The Puritans were always insistent on application, but many modern Reformed believers tend to forget this essential element.
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones mean by being "reactions" rather than positive witnesses?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones warns against allowing opponents or wrong positions to determine our stance. He says: "Quite unconsciously we allow other people and other positions and other ideas and other movements to determine ours. That surely must always be wrong. We should always be in control, we should always be positive, and we shouldn't merely be a reaction against something." When believers only react against error without being positive in pursuing truth, their witness becomes nullified and ineffective. It's a bad state when we are just reactions against various things because having reacted, we stop.
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones challenge the conference regarding their spiritual condition?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones issues multiple challenges: Regarding missionary activity—do they have real zeal for God's glory and compassion for the lost, or just theoretical understanding? Regarding communion with God—what is the actual condition of their prayer life, how much time do they spend, and what do they know about praying in the Spirit? Regarding joy—people should recognize they've been with God, as was evident with Moses. He asks pointedly: "Is it going to be obvious to our families and our friends and our fellow Church members, as the result of these two days we've spent here, that we really have been with God?"
What danger does Dr. Lloyd-Jones see in people's reactions to Whitefield's journals?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones challenges the tendency to dismiss Whitefield's intense spiritual experiences as "excesses of youth" or youthful effervescence. He argues this reveals we are "reducing what is offered us and promised us in the New Testament to the level of our own experience." Because believers today rarely experience overwhelming manifestations of God's love or being lost in prayer, they criticize such experiences in historical figures. He asks: "What right have we to express our criticisms and to say, oh, this is just youthful effervescence, something which a man outgrows?" In fact, these men never outgrew such experiences—some had their greatest spiritual encounters during their final days.
How many churches today would need the warnings given to Corinth?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones poses a provocative question: "To how many churches do you think today it would be necessary to write the first epistle to the Corinthians? How many of our churches are so thrilling with spiritual life that you have to tell them about control and being aware of excesses?" He answers: "I don't know of any one." The reason is lack of life—when there's genuine spiritual vitality, there may be danger of excess, but most modern churches have no such problem because they lack the dynamic life of the Spirit.
What is the proper relationship between doctrine and experience?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones teaches that "Doctrine, after all, is a foundation and no more. It isn't an end, it's only a beginning. It's the means. We must never stop at it." Doctrine is designed to bring believers by faith into intimate knowledge and deep experience of the living God—to actually meet Him, know His presence, and be conscious of the Spirit's energies. The goal is not mere intellectual understanding but encountering God Himself. The danger is making doctrine an end rather than the means to knowing God personally.
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones mean by the "pneumatic element"?
By "pneumatic element," Dr. Lloyd-Jones refers to the dynamic, powerful work of the Holy Spirit that should be prominent among believers. He questions: "Is this kind of pneumatic element as prominent amongst us as it should be? That seems to me to be the great question." He points to the book of Acts and New Testament epistles describing believers praying in the Spirit, experiencing God's presence, being lost in prayer meetings where time is forgotten. This supernatural dimension—the Spirit coming down, demonstrations of God's power—should characterize the church but is largely absent today.
Puritan Conferences
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.