The Exceeding Riches of His Grace
A Sermon on Ephesians 2:7
Originally preached Dec. 11, 1955
Scripture
7That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Sermon Description
God uses the salvation of guilty and rebellious sinners as a means to bring glory and honor to His name. In this sermon on Ephesians 2:7 titled “The Exceeding Riches of His Grace,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones brings this convicting truth as he speaks of God’s Son Jesus Christ who died a cruel and torturous death as a criminal upon a cross. He did not do this so that the world would be a more comfortable place to live or so that people would become more moral. He did this to redeem a people to the praise of God the Father. The sin He died to overcome was far more than a simple social phenomenon; it was rebellion against God the Creator. And this world He came to set free from sin was not simply a world that had problems, but it was ruled by the devil, the god of this world. All of creation looked forward to this great act of redemption. From the creation of the world to God allowing the fall, it all finds its meaning in Jesus Christ and His vicarious death on the cross. Because this salvation is of God and wholly by grace, those who receive it can never fall away. For all who God saves, He will bring to perfection on the last day when He returns.
Sermon Breakdown
- The chief end, intent and object of salvation is the glory of God. God has done all this in order that he can present a spectacle to all future ages, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.
- Salvation does this. In other words, it vindicates the greatness and the character of God in a special way and manner in which nothing else does so. We learn certain things about God in this whole movement of salvation and of redemption, which we would never have known otherwise.
- All this display and vindication of the character and the being and the greatness and the glory of God comes to pass through the church. God does this tremendous thing by means of us and through us.
- God is using the church, and is going to use the church in the future ages in order to give a demonstration and an exhibition to the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places.
- God is vindicating himself and his character by you and by me, by people such as ourselves, by the whole of the church gathered out of the world in Christ.
- He's going to put us on display as it where there's going to be a glorious exhibition. He's already doing it, but it's going to continue in the ages to come.
- And at the final end, God is going to open his last great exhibition, and all these heavenly powers and principalities will be invited to attend, and the curtain will draw back, and God will say, look at them.
- To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in the heavenly places might be known by the church. The manifold wisdom of God.
- And you and I have been prepared for that. You read of the artists preparing their paintings and their drawings for the exhibition, don't you? The final touches. The frame must be right, must be put in the right position. The light must be in the right position.
- We all know about it. You've seen people preparing animals to show them in horse shows or fruit and vegetables for a horticultural show. The picking out, the preparing. Well, that's what's happening to you and to me.
- That's the meaning of a service like this. It's just a part of it. The exhibition, the show, the display, it's coming. And the astounding and amazing thing is that it's through people like ourselves.
- And as the result of what he's doing to us and has done to us and will do to us, that God is going to vindicate his own eternal wisdom and his majesty and his glory and all the attributes of his holy person to the principalities and the heavenly powers.
- The first thing is that he's ever looked upon us at all, such as we were dead in trespasses and sins, walking according to the course of this world.
- The spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, amongst whom we all had our conversation in times past, in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and where the children of wrath, even as others, how could he ever have looked upon us?
- We deserve nothing but retribution and punishment and hell. If you feel that you deserve anything better, you don't know what you are as a sinner, and you'd know nothing. I'm afraid about the grace of God. Miserable, vile, foul wretches and rebels.
Sermon Q&A
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Ephesians 2:7 - Questions and Answers
What is the main purpose of salvation according to Ephesians 2:7?
According to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, the chief end, intent, and object of salvation is the glory of God, not primarily our benefit. As he explains: "The first thing we've got to learn is this, that the first objective and the first intent in salvation is - don't misunderstand me - in a sense, nothing to do with us at all but the glory of God." God has initiated salvation "that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." Our salvation is primarily about God vindicating and displaying the truth concerning Himself.
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones say we typically misunderstand salvation?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones points out that we typically misunderstand salvation by thinking of it primarily in subjective and self-centered terms. He states: "Isn't it the truth to say of all of us, probably, that we do the exact opposite. We start with ourselves, and we think of salvation as something for me, something I need, something I want, something that I'm concerned about. We are always subjective. We always start with ourselves." We tend to reduce the problem of sin to our personal happiness or a social problem, rather than seeing it as an attack upon God's glory and sovereignty.
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones mean by God showing "the exceeding riches of his grace" through the church?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that God uses the church (believers) as the display or exhibition of His grace. He states: "God is using the church, and is going to use the church in the future ages in order to give a demonstration and an exhibition to the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places." The church becomes the means through which God's character is vindicated: "God is vindicating himself and his character by you and by me, by people such as ourselves, by the whole of the church gathered out of the world in Christ." We are being prepared like artwork for an exhibition where God will demonstrate His wisdom, love, and grace.
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones relate Revelation 7 to Ephesians 2:7?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones connects these passages by showing how the multitude in white robes in Revelation 7 represents the church serving as God's display of grace. He says: "The curtain will be withdrawn, and there they'll be willing thine hour. White robes and with the palms. Who are these? What are they? What's this phenomenon?" This scene represents the culmination of God's purpose mentioned in Ephesians 2:7, where the principalities and powers will marvel at what God has done through the church, transforming sinners into spotless saints, which displays "the exceeding riches of his grace."
What attributes of God are specially displayed through salvation according to this sermon?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones identifies several attributes of God that are uniquely displayed through salvation: 1. God's mercy: "rich in mercy" 2. God's love: "his great love wherewith he loved us" 3. God's grace: "the exceeding riches of his grace" 4. God's kindness: "his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus"
He suggests that these attributes are displayed in salvation in ways that couldn't be known otherwise: "Is it conceivable, I wonder, that God permitted it also in order that through redemption he might display certain attributes of his holy being and nature and character, which otherwise could never be known in this way."
How should Christians view themselves based on this understanding of salvation?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, Christians should: 1. Reject all self-righteousness: "If you think at all of your own goodness, it just means that you've never seen this at all." 2. See themselves as "debtors to mercy alone" 3. Recognize "I am what I am by the grace of God" 4. Bring nothing to God except trust in Christ: "nothing in my hands I bring" 5. Separate from worldliness: "Any man who sees this... purifyeth himself" 6. Live with assurance of salvation because God's character is at stake: "My assurance is based on this, that God, the infinite, eternal God, is vindicating his own eternal character through me."
Why does Dr. Lloyd-Jones argue that believers cannot lose their salvation?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones argues that believers cannot lose salvation because God's character is at stake in their salvation. He states: "If he started saving me and then left it undone or unfinished and I ever arrived in hell, the devil would have the greatest joke of eternity. He'd say, there's a being that God began to save and failed to complete. It's impossible." He emphasizes that since salvation is primarily about God vindicating His character through us, He will certainly complete what He started: "He that hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."
How does understanding God's purpose in salvation help believers with daily struggles?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that understanding God's grand purpose helps believers by putting their problems in perspective: "If we could but do that, all these things would disappear." He illustrates: "The best way to get rid of small things always is to look at big things." When we see ourselves objectively in God's eternal plan rather than focusing on our subjective feelings and temporary struggles, "Most of the things that worry us would immediately fall off from us altogether. They'd appear to be so trivial, so small, so unimportant." Our daily problems lose their power when viewed against the backdrop of God's eternal purpose.
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones say is wrong with a subjective approach to Christianity?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones warns that a subjective approach to Christianity leads to various spiritual problems: "Most of our troubles in the christian life arise from the fact that we will always start with ourselves and will live so much in the realm of feeling and the subjective." While he acknowledges there is a subjective element to salvation that's necessary, he cautions that "there is nothing which is quite so fatal as to think only in the subjective manner and to fail to grasp with our minds and understanding this objective presentation of the truth." This subjective focus can lead to "introspection and morbidity and various other forms of trouble."
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones describe the ultimate display of God's grace in the future?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones describes it as a grand exhibition: "God is going to open his last great exhibition, and all these heavenly powers and principalities will be invited to attend, and the curtain will draw back." The church (believers) will be perfectly transformed: "We shall be absolutely perfect, without spot or even a wrinkle or any such thing. Not a suspicion of a blemish. The most powerful magnifying glass will find nothing wrong about us." The heavenly beings will marvel at how God transformed sinful people into perfect saints, and this display will vindicate God's wisdom, love, and grace for all eternity, showing "the exceeding riches of his grace."
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.