An Habitation of God

A Sermon on Ephesians 2:20-22

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Scripture

Ephesians 2:20-22 ESV KJV

built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. (ESV)

Sermon Description

In his continued exposition of the analogies that are used for the church, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones comes to what he views as the deepest analogy of them all—a temple of God. In this sermon on building the temple of God from Ephesians 2:20–22 titled “A Habitation of God,” Dr. Lloyd-Jones points to the two themes of unity and privilege. Unity can be seen by the closeness and necessity of each brick of a building. Each brick can be different, but if one begins to take away bricks, the building will start to fall apart. The privilege of the church can be seen by the nearness to God. “God dwells within her” and this is the greatest privilege. Also, this is a temple being built by God, not by people, and it is a vital building. He exhorts grabbing hold of the nature of the church because a false view leads, and has lead, to issues in the church.

Sermon Breakdown

The church is a building in the process of being built. God has been building his church throughout history by adding people to it.
This building process is vital, not mechanical. The church grows through the work of the Holy Spirit, not through human efforts to increase membership.
The church is a holy temple, not focused on size, influence or ordinate character. Holiness is the main characteristic of the church.
The church can only be understood in terms of the Trinity: Jesus Christ the cornerstone, God the Father dwelling within, and the Holy Spirit enabling the indwelling.
There is no church apart from Jesus Christ. He must be at the center, the beginning and the end.
God now dwells in the church, his new temple, and people come to know God through the church. The church shows God's holiness and presence to the world.
The church must be built according to Scripture, not human ideas, so that it will stand the test of fire on the last day.

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.