Quenching The Spirit, Part 1
A Sermon on Ephesians 6:10-13
Originally preached May 21, 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
In this sermon on Ephesians 6:10–13 titled “Quenching the Spirit (1),” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones makes the bold claim that the church’s quenching of the Holy Spirit hinders it more than anything else. What is quenching the Spirit? In a desire to avoid making Christianity reliant on subjective religious experiences, many Christians leave no room for the work and the ministry of the Holy Spirit in their lives. This is quenching the Holy Spirit. The Bible tells that the Holy Spirit is a person who indwells all who believe. The church of today ought to look at the early church found in Acts to see what it looks like to rely on the Holy Spirit for power and guidance. What are the practical applications of this message on Ephesians 6:10–13? Christians should seek to look to the Holy Spirit to empower their ministries and lives as they follow Jesus Christ. The church as a whole should look to the guidance of the Holy Spirit as He allows Christians to understand the gospel and God’s word. Christians must not overreact against those who abuse the Bible’s teaching on the Holy Spirit by suppressing what the Bible does teach about the Holy Spirit and His ministry in the church.
Sermon Breakdown
- The devil tries to drive people to extremes regarding the Holy Spirit, causing disorder and confusion.
- The devil also tries to quench the Spirit in people's lives by preventing His work. This is a bigger problem in the church today.
- The church quenches the Spirit by not recognizing His personhood and indwelling. The Spirit is a person, not an "it."
- The church quenches the Spirit by not allowing Him to work as He desires. The Christian life is meant to be lived in the power of the Spirit.
- The Spirit gives light and understanding, helping us know the doctrines of the faith. Do we have this understanding?
- The Spirit gives warmth and assurance. Christianity should be marked by spiritual warmth and fire, not coldness.
- The Spirit pours out the love of God in our hearts and gives us assurance of salvation. Do we have this?
- The Spirit produces joy, gratitude, and praise in our lives. Do we know the joy of the Spirit?
- We must not quench the Spirit but instead be filled with Him. We need the fire and love of God in our lives.
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.