The Work of the Spirit in the Church
A Sermon on Ephesians 4:4-6
Scripture
4There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Sermon Description
What exactly is a church? Perhaps some are tempted to reference the building where people gather together to worship God. In this sermon on Ephesians 4:4–6 titled “The Work of the Spirit in the Church,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones shows from Scripture that the church is actually the body of believers in Jesus Christ. But if the church is a body, where did it come from and who or what gives it life? The answer is the Holy Spirit and Dr. Lloyd-Jones helps explain the role that the Holy Spirit plays in the life of the church. First, He brings unity through the conviction of sin— this unites believers because when people realize how sinful they are before God, they realize that they have nothing of their own accord to cling to, thus driving them to their knees before the cross of Christ. Second, the Holy Spirit is the one who gives people a new life in Christ. Third, He gives people faith and enables them to understand the ways of God. Fourth, He unites people to Christ and incorporates them into the church. Finally, Dr. Lloyd-Jones says that the Holy Spirit animates the life of the church. Like the blood in the body, He is the unifying presence that makes all believers one. Listen as Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains the importance of the Holy Spirit to the vitality of the church.
Sermon Breakdown
- The apostle Paul gives reasons for unity in Ephesians 4:4-6.
- There is one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father.
- The unity of the church is in terms of the Trinity: Spirit (v. 4), Lord Jesus (v. 5), God the Father (v. 6).
- We must think of unity in terms corresponding to the Trinity.
- There is only one Holy Spirit, not many. He is a person, not a force.
- The Holy Spirit does the same work in all of us, though with superficial variations. His work is essentially the same.
- The Holy Spirit must do a work of preparation in us before we can join the body of Christ.
- Many in the visible church have not undergone this preparation. They belong to the visible church but not the invisible church.
- To become part of the body of Christ, the Holy Spirit must convict us of sin, make us aware of God's holiness, humble us, quicken and regenerate us, enable us to exercise faith, incorporate us into the body, animate the body, animate each part of the body, sanctify each part, and produce fruit in each part.
- The Holy Spirit produces the same fruit in all of us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
- Our natural personalities divide, but when governed by the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit shows through them, producing unity.
- The works of the flesh divide, but the fruit of the Spirit unites.
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.