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Sermon #4065

Of the Household of God

A Sermon on Ephesians 2:19

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Scripture

Ephesians 2:19 ESV KJV
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, (ESV)

Sermon Description

How would one’s life change if they knew that not only were they a citizen of a country, but they were a child of the king? This question is posed in a much deeper way by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones in this sermon on Ephesians 2:19 titled “Of the Household of God.” In his continued sermon series on Ephesians 2:19, he plunges further into the depths of the Christian’s position and privilege. Paul uses the metaphors of a kingdom, the family, and the temple of God. Being part of the kingdom entails unity as a people, along with the rights and privileges of being under the king. Being part of the household of God entails the intimacy and depth of relationship with God. The second is much deeper than the first. By way of application, Dr. Lloyd-Jones points out that understanding the familial relationship of the church should promote deep relationships in the church. Also, according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, these two descriptors point to the bewildering facets of the love of God towards the Christian, but also demand the responsibility to represent God well.

Sermon Breakdown

  1. The apostle Paul wants to demonstrate the remarkable unity in the Christian church and the privilege of being members of this body.
  2. Paul illustrates this using three pictures: the church as a state, a household, and a temple. This sermon focuses on the household metaphor.
  3. A household signifies a family, demonstrating that Christians are children of God. This is an advance on the previous metaphor of citizens of a state.
  4. There are key differences between a state and a family:
  5. A state has a general relationship between members, a family has a particular, close relationship.
  6. A state has an external, loose unity; a family has an internal, intense unity.
  7. Relationships in a state are remote, in a family they are intimate.
  8. A state has an impersonal relationship, a family has a personal relationship.
  9. A state has a legal relationship, a family has a vital, living relationship.
  10. It is important to understand this metaphor to grasp God's grace, the doctrine of salvation, and our privileges and responsibilities as children of God.
  11. As children of God, we can go to Him as our Father. We have the right to approach Him and He cares for our every need.
  12. We also have a relationship to the Son, Jesus Christ, our brother. We are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.
  13. We share the same Spirit as Christ, the Spirit of adoption, crying "Abba, Father".
  14. We have a great responsibility to live lives worthy of our Father and bring glory to Him. We must love our enemies and be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect.

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.