The Authority of The Holy Spirit
A Sermon on 1 Corinthians 2:4-5
Scripture
4and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of mankind, but on the power of God.
4And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: 5That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
Sermon Description
Biblical authority lies at the center of evangelical identity. Without the authority of the Scriptures, the normative claims of the faith are severely undermined. While the authority of the Scriptures should be fought for, defended, and part of convictional orthodoxy, in this sermon on 1 Corinthians 2:4–5, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones reminds believers it is possible to hold to the authority of the Scriptures and yet have a dead, lifeless orthodoxy. It is only when the authority of the Holy Spirit is affirmed and applied that we see the Christian faith lived with power. In this message, Dr. Lloyd-Jones teaches in the hard truth that evangelical Christianity, in its concern over “enthusiastic” religion and emotionalism, responded negatively by down-playing the importance of the Holy Spirit’s power. Instead of searching for the God-given means of power for evangelism and cultural impact, the church sought it in education, social reform, advertising, and other dignified or respectable means. Dr. Lloyd-Jones questions if Christians are guilty of quenching the Spirit through such action. In this sermon, Dr. Lloyd-Jones also surveys the Scriptures, noting the authority of the Spirit in the believer’s conversion, assurance, Scriptural illumination, apologetic, and evangelism. Listen as he makes a compelling case to reassert the authority of the Holy Spirit in the life of the church.
Authority
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.