God's Battle; not Ours
A Sermon on Ephesians 6:10-13
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
How are Christians related to the power of God? In this sermon on Ephesians 6:10–13 titled “God’s Battle, not Ours,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains that Christians must remember that Jesus Christ is the captain of their salvation. Salvation is God’s work. Christians are individual soldiers in a great army fighting a great campaign. The ultimate perspective is not the individual’s fight, but God’s. The battle is the Lord’s. God is “leading many sons to glory” according to His scheme. The appointed leader of this plan is Jesus and as the Christian fights, they must remember that God is involved in it all with them. Therefore, they must realize this: this fight cannot fail because God’s honor is in it. This means their salvation is secure. Christians cannot “fall from grace,” because to do so means the power of God fails and the devil wins. That does not happen. Therefore those who are in Christ are secure and kept by the power of God at work in them. The devil can shout, rail, and threaten, but he cannot touch those in the kingdom of Christ. All believers are members of the body of Christ, empowered by His Spirit, and therefore kept from the devil triumphing over them in the end.
Sermon Breakdown
- We must realize our need for strength because of the power of the enemy.
- We must realize our need for strength because of our own weakness.
- We must realize God's strength. God is involved in our salvation much more than we are.
- God is the captain of our salvation. We are individual units in God's army fighting God's battle.
- God's almighty power is being exercised on our behalf, even when we are unaware of it. God cares for us and his care for us is greater than we realize.
- God's power is working in us, not just around us. We would never have been in the Christian life were it not for God's power working in us.
- God's power continues to work in us, strengthening our inner being.
- The power that works in us is the Holy Spirit. The Spirit works in us mightily.
- The doctrine of the church implies this power working in us. The church is the body of Christ, and Christ is the head. The power in the head works in all members of the body.
- The Holy Spirit dwells in us, giving us power and making intercession for us.
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.