Lord, Teach Us to Pray
A Sermon on Ephesians 2:18
Originally preached March 25, 1956
Scripture
18For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Sermon Description
In this sermon on Ephesians 2:18 titled “Lord, Teach Us to Pray,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones addresses some of the reasons prayers can be so ineffective. Ephesians 2:18 states that “through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.” This verse shows the complexity of prayer. According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, a detrimental fallacy in the church is that prayer is simple. Some people focus on the reality that Christians have access to God through Christ and yet neglect the Spirit. They can pray with flawless doctrine but their prayers are “useless.” “You can be absolutely orthodox but at the same time be spiritually dead,” Dr. Lloyd-Jones shares. The other side neglects doctrine and says that all one needs is the Spirit. They elevate experience and throw out doctrine. However, Dr. Lloyd-Jones notes that both right doctrine and life in the Spirit are absolutely essential. There is no other way to have access to God apart from these two and nothing should be added to these doctrines.
Sermon Breakdown
- The sermon focuses on Ephesians 2:18 which states "For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father."
- The sermon emphasizes that this verse highlights the most important truth - the doctrine of the Trinity and how the three persons of the Trinity work for our salvation.
- The ultimate goal of salvation is to bring us to God as our Father. Our conception of salvation is incomplete without realizing this.
- The sermon then focuses on how we can have access to God the Father. This raises the question of prayer and how our prayers can be effective.
- There are two essential truths we must grasp to have access to God the Father through prayer according to Ephesians 2:18 - Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Both are absolutely essential.
- Jesus Christ admits us into the presence of God because he is our sin bearer. He died on the cross to bear the punishment for our sins. His bloodshed and sacrifice are essential to grant us access to God.
- Jesus Christ is also our great High Priest. After dying on the cross, he rose again and ascended into Heaven. He presented his own blood to God the Father. God accepted his sacrifice and allows Christ to sit at His right hand. This allows us to come boldly to the throne of grace.
- We can have access to God the Father through Christ because we are given Christ's righteousness. Christ lived a perfectly righteous life and His righteousness is imputed to us. We can stand before God clothed in Christ's righteousness.
- We have access through Christ because we are given new life in Him. We are born again and become partakers of the divine nature. We are in Christ, seated with Him in the heavenly places.
- We must be utterly dependent on Christ and His work to have access to God the Father. If Christ had not died for our sins, God could not receive us. Christ's sacrifice was absolutely necessary.
- We should come before God with confidence and assurance because of what Christ has done - as our sin bearer, our High Priest, our righteousness and the one who gives us new life. We have access through Christ alone.
Sermon Q&A
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Prayer and Accessing God
What is the main teaching of Ephesians 2:18 according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, Ephesians 2:18 contains one of the most profound truths in Scripture: "For through him we both have access by one spirit unto the Father." This verse teaches that prayer and access to God are not simple matters but are based on specific doctrines. The verse reveals that all three persons of the Trinity are involved in our salvation, with the ultimate purpose being to bring us to God as Father. Most importantly, the verse teaches the two essential and inseparable principles for accessing God: through Christ and by the Holy Spirit.
Why does Dr. Lloyd-Jones say that prayer is not a simple matter?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones argues that prayer is not simple because it requires proper understanding of doctrine. He references when the disciples asked Jesus, "Master, teach us to pray," showing that prayer requires instruction. He also cites Jesus' words to the Samaritan woman that "God is spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." Lloyd-Jones states: "We must know certain truths before we can worship God," and "Teaching is therefore essential to prayer because I must know to whom I'm praying and I must know as to how I can enter into his holy presence."
What are the two essential elements needed for prayer according to this sermon?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, there are two absolutely essential elements for prayer: 1. "Through Him" - access to God through Jesus Christ and His atoning work 2. "By one Spirit" - the operation of the Holy Spirit
He emphasizes that both are necessary: "Not one or the other, but both and both always together." He warns that emphasizing one while neglecting the other leads to ineffective prayer. Furthermore, he stresses that nothing should ever be added to these two essential elements.
How does Christ provide us access to the Father according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that Christ provides access to the Father in several ways: 1. As our sin bearer - "The Lord Jesus Christ admits us into the presence of God because he is our great sin bearer" 2. As our great High Priest - "After the high priest in Israel had killed the animal and collected the blood, he then took this blood and went in through the veil into the holiest of all" 3. By providing His righteousness to us - "His good, perfect life, his life of holiness is given to me. It's attributed to me. It's imputed to me" 4. By giving us His life - "We are born again of him. We become partakers of the divine nature"
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones say about those who try to access God without Christ?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones strongly criticizes those who attempt to approach God directly without acknowledging Christ. He states: "Men and women talk of having contact with God and knowing God and being blessed and led of God, without even mentioning the name of the Lord Jesus Christ at all, as if he'd never been in the world and as if he'd never died upon the cross." He affirms Jesus' words: "I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me." Lloyd-Jones insists that without Christ's atoning work, not only would God not receive us, but God "could not receive" us, as the cross was an "absolute necessity."
How can believers have confidence in their prayers according to this sermon?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, believers can have confidence in prayer when they: 1. Understand their complete dependence on Christ's work 2. Recognize Christ as their sin-bearer, High Priest, and righteousness 3. Approach God through Christ's mediation 4. Realize they are clothed in Christ's righteousness
He quotes from Hebrews: "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace," explaining that we can approach with "confidence, with assurance, with certainty" because of Christ's completed work. The sermon concludes with this practical advice: "When you go to God, start with Christ. Thank Christ for what he's done for you. Thank God for sending him to do it. Tell him that you realize you're entirely dependent upon it, but that believing it, you know he's waiting to receive you."
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.