All Spiritual blessings ...
A Sermon on Ephesians 1:3
Originally preached Oct. 31, 1954
Scripture
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Sermon Description
How does one come to enjoy spiritual blessings? What are the spiritual blessings in Ephesians 1? In this sermon on Ephesians 1:3 titled “All Spiritual Blessings…,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones focuses on two themes. He insists that the Christian only enjoys blessings through Christ. While acknowledging God gives common grace to everyone, the Holy Spirit gives unique grace that only Christians enjoy. Dr. Lloyd-Jones connects Paul’s words in Ephesians to his other letter to the Colossians (1:19; 2:3), showing the absolute necessity of going to God through Christ, the mediator. A second blessing Christians enjoy through Christ is that His grace flows through the Holy Spirit. The sovereign work of the Spirit quickens, convicts, enables, and keeps the Christian. Dr. Lloyd-Jones recaptures the “other-worldly” nature of the Christian’s blessings by criticizing movements that insist that blessings are of this world. The Christian, says Dr. Lloyd-Jones, does not deny or despise the world, but this is different from setting their affections upon it. If they do not keep an appropriate distance, they forget that this is a fallen world and that their citizenship is in heaven.
Sermon Breakdown
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The sermon begins by emphasizing the importance of praise and worship. The measure of our spirituality is the extent to which we are conscious of praise and thanksgiving.
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God has blessed us, and the blessings come through the covenant of grace that God made with Jesus before the foundation of the world. Salvation was planned before creation.
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God is now the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is our representative in the covenant. All blessings come through Jesus.
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The blessings are spiritual blessings that come through the Holy Spirit. The Spirit applies the work of Jesus to us.
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The blessings are in the heavenly places, not primarily earthly. The Christian faith is otherworldly. We are citizens of heaven, though still on earth.
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The blessings include all spiritual blessings, from forgiveness to being filled with the fullness of God. They include forgiveness, reconciliation, adoption, fellowship, sanctification, strength, peace, joy, comfort, and support.
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We have these blessings now, though not yet in fullness. We have the first fruits and foretaste of them now through the Holy Spirit. They will continue increasing until we are with Jesus in glory.
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We should be enjoying these blessings now, though still imperfectly. God has blessed us, and the blessings are meant to be enjoyed now.
Sermon Q&A
Martyn Lloyd-Jones Sermon Questions and Answers on Spiritual Blessings
What does Lloyd-Jones mean by "all spiritual blessings in heavenly places"?
According to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, "all spiritual blessings in heavenly places" refers to blessings that are different from the Old Testament blessings. While Old Testament blessings were largely "material, temporal, and external" (measured by possessions like cattle, sheep, land), New Testament blessings are spiritual in nature and located "in heavenly places." These blessings come through Christ and are mediated by the Holy Spirit. They are otherworldly in the sense that they belong to a different realm than the visible world. As Lloyd-Jones explains, "The blessings that we enjoy in Christ are in the heavenly places. We look for these blessings not so much in this realm or in this earth, but very much in that other realm, in the heavenly places, beyond sight unseen."
How does Lloyd-Jones describe the Christian's relationship to the world?
Lloyd-Jones describes the Christian's relationship to the world as being "in the world but not belonging to it." He states, "The Christian, according to the New Testament, is in a very strange and wonderful position. He is still in this world, but he rarely doesn't belong to it." Christians are described as "strangers and pilgrims" who are "passing through this world." This doesn't mean Christians should despise the world, as it is God's creation, but they should view it differently from non-Christians. Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that Christians should "never conform to its outlook" but instead become "transformed by the renewing of the mind." He describes the Christian attitude as one of "detachment" from worldly concerns and political affiliations, with heavenly citizenship as their primary identity.
What is the proper order for approaching God according to Lloyd-Jones?
Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that we must approach God in the right order. He states that "the apostle starts with his praise of God. He then goes on to that eternal counsel and the covenant and the eternal purpose. And it is only after doing that he rarely comes down, as it were, to our level, and begins to deal with the actual blessings that we enjoy." This order is "of extreme importance" according to Lloyd-Jones. He criticizes our "wretched subjectivity" that makes us "go at once to the blessings" because we are "self-centered." Instead, we should "start with God, and start with worship" rather than rushing into God's presence primarily concerned with what we can get. He compares improper approaches to God with rushing into Buckingham Palace without showing proper respect.
What does it mean that our blessings come "in Christ" according to the sermon?
According to Lloyd-Jones, the phrase "in Christ" indicates that every blessing Christians enjoy comes exclusively through Jesus Christ. He emphasizes, "All God's blessings to the Christian come of necessity in and through the Lord Jesus Christ." These blessings come "exclusively" through Christ with "no assistant" and "no second name." Lloyd-Jones stresses that "You can't be a Christian without being in Christ. You can't start as a Christian and go on to, no, no, Christ is the beginning as well as the end." This exclusivity means that any attempt to add other sources of blessing or salvation is a "denial of Christianity." Lloyd-Jones cites Colossians where Paul says "in him should all fullness dwell" and "in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." This mystical union with Christ is what enables Christians to draw from his fullness.
What specific spiritual blessings does Lloyd-Jones mention in his sermon?
Lloyd-Jones provides an extensive list of spiritual blessings that Christians receive:
- Forgiveness - "your past blotted out, your sins erased, gone"
- Reconciliation - "on speaking terms with God"
- Adoption as children - "taken into God's family"
- Fellowship with God - "This is life eternal, that we might know thee"
- Progressive sanctification - "being made clean inside" and "conformity to the image of Christ"
- Strength and power - "to withstand sin and Satan"
- Peace - "peace with God...peace within and peace with others"
- Joy - "unspeakable and full of glory"
- Comfort in affliction and support in trial
- Ultimately, being "filled with all the fullness of God"
Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that these blessings are not future promises but present realities: "Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us. He's not going to. He's done it."
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.