Built Together by the Holy Spirit
A Sermon on Ephesians 2:20-22
Scripture
20having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, 21in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, 22in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God …
20And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of …
Sermon Description
How can something be one and yet many different things? This is the nature of the church where each member is different, but part of one body. In this sermon on Ephesians 2:20–22 titled “Built Together by the Holy Spirit,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones probes into how this can happen and who produces it. First, Dr. Lloyd-Jones makes a distinction between individuals and being individualistic. The former is, as he notes, a beautiful aspect of the church. Each stone is hewn differently—every Christian is different—but each stone does not pursue isolation. Each stone needs the others to be a temple. The differences in the church, according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, spotlights the nature of a living God. However, who is the one responsible for the unity in the diversity? As he observes from Ephesians, the builder of the temple is the Holy Spirit (vs 22). As Dr. Lloyd-Jones notes, the church is a miracle. The Holy Spirit must bring all to the conviction of their depravity and sin in order to shape and mold them into stones for the temple. Also, the Holy Spirit is the one who opens eyes to the truth of the gospel, gives understanding, produces the same fruit, and gives different gifts to members of the church. No one is able to do anything apart from Him.
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.