Our Great High Priest
A Sermon on John 1:16
Scripture
16And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
Sermon Description
Everyone seems to accept the phrase “Jesus loves you,” but far fewer people are willing to accept the fact that God the Father loves them. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones addresses this fallacy and others in his sermon on John 1:16 concerning our great high priest, Jesus the Christ. The Father is the one who sent the Son to save His people. Dr. Lloyd-Jones spends much of this sermon discussing the depth and height of Christ’s ability to save. Moreover, he elaborates how Christ can be a priest after the order of Melchizedek despite the Old Testament law that required priests from the tribe of Levi. Anyone who doubts that their sins can actually be wiped clean should look no further than the sacrifice of Christ and His perfect fulfilment of the office of high priest. His perfect sacrifice is more than sufficient to be the perfect plea before God.
Sermon Breakdown
- Jesus came from heaven to earth so that we can receive from his fullness.
- We receive grace upon grace from Jesus.
- We must understand how we can receive from Jesus's fullness. We receive through understanding, not primarily through experience.
- Jesus had to exercise his fullness on our behalf before we could receive it.
- Jesus presented his blood as an offering and sacrifice in heaven. He ratified the new covenant with his blood.
- Jesus continues to exercise his fullness on our behalf as our intercessor and advocate. He is always there to answer accusations against us.
- Jesus does not have to plead with the Father to forgive us. The Father sent Jesus to save us. Salvation was the Father's idea.
- The imagery of Jesus as our advocate in a heavenly law court is just an illustration. We should not turn illustrations into doctrine.
- Jesus's role as intercessor comforts us and assures us of our salvation. His presence in heaven is the answer to every accusation against us.
- Jesus has an unchanging priesthood because he has endless life as the Son of God. Human priests come and go, but Jesus remains forever.
- Because Jesus's priesthood is unchanging, he is able to save us completely. He will finish the work he started in us.
- Jesus purchased gifts for us through his death and resurrection. He received these gifts when he ascended to heaven and gives them to us.
- We receive gifts of grace from Jesus according to the measure he has given to each of us.
- Jesus had to descend to earth and die before he could ascend to heaven and receive gifts to give us. His fullness enables him to fill all things.
- Everything we have comes from Jesus's fullness. He gives us every gift and grace.
The Book of John
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.