God in the Flesh
A Sermon on Ephesians 6:10-13
Originally preached March 26, 1961
Scripture
10Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against …
Sermon Description
What is one of the greatest dangers to the church? In this sermon on Ephesians 6:10–13 titled “God in the Flesh,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones warns about the devil’s attack upon the church by introducing false teaching about the person of Christ. The early church in the time of the apostles had to battle those who denied that Jesus truly came in the flesh. In later times, the church had to oppose those that said Jesus is just a creature sent by God, not the Creator God Himself. Heresy is dangerous because it is not merely an academic question of theology, but it affects the gospel proclamation of the church. When the church has lost sight of who Jesus is and what He has done, it loses itself and becomes fatally compromised. What does this mean for the Christian? This answer is simple: it matters because it is Jesus Christ who saves from sins and redeems people by His death. It is Jesus who saves through the Holy Spirit’s gift of faith. The importance of Jesus Christ is the reason that the church must always be clear and bold in its proclamation of God’s truth as found in His word.
Sermon Breakdown
- The devil attacks the mind and understanding of Christians in order to confuse and weaken them.
- The devil specifically targets Christians' understanding of Jesus Christ and his work.
- The devil has promoted many heresies about the person of Jesus Christ, including:
- That Jesus was just a myth
- That there is only one person in the Trinity who appears in different forms
- That Jesus was a created being, not co-eternal with God
- That Jesus only appeared to be human (docetism)
- That Jesus was only a human, not divine
- The devil has also promoted false views about Jesus's work, including:
- That the meaning of Jesus's death is too vague or mysterious to understand
- That Jesus's death was just to provide a moral example
- That Jesus's death was to provide vicarious repentance for our sins
- That Jesus's death was for expiation (removing sin) but not propitiation (satisfying God's wrath)
- It is vital for Christians to understand the truth about Jesus's person and work in order to withstand the devil's attacks.
Sermon Q&A
Understanding Martyn Lloyd-Jones' Teaching on Spiritual Warfare and False Doctrines
What does Ephesians 6:10-13 teach us about spiritual warfare?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, Ephesians 6:10-13 teaches that believers are engaged in a spiritual battle against the devil and his forces. He emphasizes that "the devil and all these forces gathered round him, and which he governs and controls, are intent always upon trying to destroy God's work." Christians must "be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might" and "put on the whole armor of God" because we are not fighting against flesh and blood but against spiritual principalities and powers. The devil attacks believers through three main avenues: through the mind, through experiences, and through our conduct and behavior.
How does Lloyd-Jones describe the devil's attacks on the mind specifically?
Lloyd-Jones explains that the devil attacks believers through the mind by confusing their understanding of truth. He says the devil would "make us misuse the mind and the understanding." The enemy might turn believers into "pure intellectualists or into traditionalists," causing them to "take a purely academic interest and lose sight of the blessed person himself and our relationship to him." One of the primary ways this happens is through the production of heresies - false teachings that distort essential Christian doctrines, particularly regarding the person and work of Christ.
What are the main heresies about Christ's person that Lloyd-Jones identifies?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones identifies several major heresies about Christ's person:
- The "Jesus myth" theory - claiming Jesus never existed
- Modalism - the idea that there is only one person in the Godhead who appears in different modes (Father, Son, Spirit)
- Arianism - teaching that Christ is a created being, not eternal or equal with God
- Docetism - claiming Jesus only appeared to have a physical body but wasn't truly human
- Humanitarian view - teaching Jesus was merely a man, denying His deity
Lloyd-Jones emphasizes: "Two natures in one person. Don't try to understand it... This is beyond understanding. This is given, this is the revelation, this is the truth concerning the person and you can't understand him in any other terms."
What false teachings about Christ's work on the cross does Lloyd-Jones address?
Lloyd-Jones addresses several false teachings about Christ's work on the cross:
- Vague mysticism - refusing to define what happened at the cross, calling it "too beautiful" to explain
- The moral influence theory - teaching that Christ's death merely displays God's love to break our hearts
- Vicarious penance theory - teaching that Christ died to offer repentance on our behalf rather than to bear punishment
- Replacing "propitiation" with "expiation" - removing the concept that Christ's death satisfied God's wrath against sin
Lloyd-Jones insists the cross must be understood as propitiation - Christ bearing God's just wrath against sin on behalf of sinners.
Why does Lloyd-Jones say that false doctrine about Christ matters so much?
Lloyd-Jones explains that false doctrine about Christ matters tremendously because:
- "If you go wrong at this point, you shall go wrong at every point"
- "The state of the Christian church today is entirely due to this kind of thing"
- "The Holy Ghost will not give power to any church unless she believes the truth about the person"
- It affects our understanding of God, sin, and salvation
- It robs us of "the real meaning of the grace of God"
He concludes: "This is not a light matter. This is not a matter about which we can be indifferent. This is absolutely vital to our salvation and to our enjoyment in fullness of the Christian life."
How does Lloyd-Jones describe the concept of Christ's death as propitiation?
Lloyd-Jones explains propitiation as addressing God's just wrath against sin. He states that "God's wrath against sin, God's hatred of sin must express itself. God cannot deny himself." Propitiation means "God has found a way whereby his own wrath upon sin can be manifested and worked out, and still the sinner can be saved."
He emphasizes that this doesn't mean Christ was "persuading God against his will to forgive us" but rather "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself." This sacrificial death satisfies God's justice while enabling His mercy: "Justice and mercy are met together. God's love and God's righteousness are one." Through Christ's sacrifice, "God is still God, and yet the sinner can be forgiven and redeemed, and it is all by the blood of Jesus."
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.