MLJ Trust Logo Image
Sermon #4010

Higher than Adam

A Sermon on Ephesians 1:5-6

Scripture

Ephesians 1:5-6 ESV NASB KJV
he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. (ESV)

Sermon Description

God is the Creator of everyone, but not everyone is in His family. Nineteenth and twentieth century liberalism emphasized the universal fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of people. This false teaching disregards the gospel’s call to repentance and dismisses the wickedness of sin. In this sermon on Ephesians 1:5–6 titled “Higher than Adam,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones confronts this wrong theology and continues to expose others that have harmed the church. Another errant teaching confronted by Dr. Lloyd-Jones in this sermon is the teaching that differentiates between “sons of God” and “children of God” and the benefits given to them. The former, according to this teaching, enjoy a much greater fellowship with God than the latter. Dr. Lloyd-Jones reminds how important sound doctrine is for the Christian church. While providing a robust response to these errors, Dr. Lloyd-Jones encourages seeing the absolute privilege Christians have in Christ. He does so by contrasting Adam and the Christian. He notes that in Christ the Christian has been given more than what was lost in Adam. The privilege of redemption includes forgiveness of sin but also exaltation to sonship.

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.