Scripture

Sermon Description

What is the end goal of the church? How are believers and members of this church supposed to reach this goal? In this sermon on Ephesians 4:13 titled “Faith and Knowledge,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones provides helpful commentary. The overall plan is that the church becomes perfect as this is the final state of the church. The church, Dr. Lloyd-Jones says, will only reach this point after each individual member has reached the potential of spiritual growth that God has mapped out for them. Yet, he also teaches that there will be inequalities in this individual growth: “There is not the same amount in each, but each is full.” Dr. Lloyd-Jones helps understand that it is like completely filling two water bottles of different sizes— though they differ in the quantity of water that is held in them, they are both full. This, he says, is the end goal— but how is the church supposed to get there? First, it must achieve unity of faith through building up the body of Christ, the work of the ministry, and by growing in Christlikeness through sanctification. Second, it must attain the knowledge of God. This knowledge, explains Paul, goes far beyond mere intellectual assent of biblical doctrine because it involves really knowing God. When coupled together in a believer’s life, these two pathways serve to greatly grow believers in their relationships with the Lord.