The Fullness Experienced
A Sermon on Ephesians 3:19
Originally preached April 7, 1957
Scripture
19And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
Sermon Description
In this sermon on Ephesians 3:19 titled “The Fullness Experienced,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains that the fullness of Christ that Paul speaks of is not a theoretical idea, but it is at the very heart of the Christian life. For all Christians should live a life that is marked by the transforming presence of Christ and His gospel. Christians live this life by pursuing Christ and seeking to come to a deeper understanding of who He is. It requires self-examination of one’s heart and actions. It is primarily by reading God’s word and seeking Him in prayer that believers come to a greater knowledge of who they are and their relationship to Christ. This requires Christians to subject themselves wholly and completely to God’s word and Holy Spirit. This includes their emotions and desires, as well as their mind and intellect. As this happens throughout the lives of Christians, they grow in both their knowledge and love of God and Jesus Christ. For this reason, Dr. Lloyd-Jones challenges the listener to grow in sanctification daily by taking up one’s cross and forsaking sin and unrighteousness. This is one of the most important marks of a true Christian. They continually seek God throughout their lives and strive to know him more every day.
Sermon Breakdown
- The apostle Paul prays that the Ephesians may be filled with all the fullness of God.
- This is the highest and most sublime prayer that can be offered. It is the end and goal of all theology and spiritual experience.
- We must be careful in interpreting this phrase to avoid false mysticism (being absorbed into God) or pantheism (God being absorbed into us).
- The fullness of God dwells in Christ, and we are complete in Him. We can be filled with God's fullness as branches in the vine or members of Christ's body.
- Though filled with God's fullness, we do not all become equal or identical. God gives different measures of faith and gifts. But we can all be filled to overflowing.
- This fullness of God is an essentially practical reality, not just abstract contemplation. It leads to power, revival, and effective ministry.
- To be filled with God's fullness means God controls our mind, heart, will, and all our faculties. Our thinking is dominated by God's mind. Self is replaced by God's love. Our will is lost in God's will.
- When filled with God's fullness, all our spiritual aims and instincts are satisfied: to know God, love God and others, hunger for righteousness, power to serve God.
- When filled with God's fullness, we lack no good thing. We never hunger, thirst, or feel empty or insufficient. We have learned contentment in all circumstances through Christ.
- Christ died to make this fullness possible, not just to save us from hell. This fullness is for now, not just in heaven. We must press on to attain this fullness, not settling for less.
- This fullness is not an "it" or substance but knowing Christ personally. We must go to Him, speak to Him, wait on Him, and He will fill us.
Sermon Q&A
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Being Filled With All the Fullness of God
What does "being filled with all the fullness of God" mean doctrinally?
According to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, this phrase from Ephesians 3:19 doesn't mean that we are absorbed into the divine (mysticism) or that God becomes lost in us (pantheism). Rather, it is the result of "Christ dwelling in our hearts by faith." Lloyd-Jones explains it using biblical analogies: "I referred you to our Lord's own picture of himself as the vine and ourselves as the branches in the vine. And then the oft used illustration of the body... As members of the body dwells the fullness of the head. The fullness of the head passes through to every single individual member of the body."
How practical is the concept of being filled with the fullness of God?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones insists that this concept is "essentially practical" and not merely abstract or mystical. He states, "I am asserting that this which we are considering together here, this prayer of the apostle for these Ephesians is the most urgently practical matter for the christian church at this very moment." He contrasts true practicality with mere busyness: "If you really want to do things for God and for Christ, says the New Testament, you don't begin to get busy. You first of all make certain that you are filled with the fullness of God and the power that follows that of necessity."
What happens to a person's mind when they are filled with the fullness of God?
When a person is filled with the fullness of God, "our thinking is dominated by God and by the mind of God." Lloyd-Jones references Romans 12:2 about being "transformed by the renewing of your mind" and 1 Corinthians 2 where Paul states "we have the mind of Christ." He explains: "If we are filled with all the fullness of God, if Christ dwells in our hearts by faith, we have the mind of Christ... the man who is filled with all the fullness of God is a man who can think spiritually." This results in a completely different type of thinking that is spiritual rather than merely natural or intellectual.
How are a person's emotions and will affected when filled with the fullness of God?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that a person filled with God's fullness experiences a transformation of their emotions and will: "When God controls our hearts, self has gone out... when the love of self goes out and the love of God comes in, we begin to love others." He uses Stephen the martyr as an example, who prayed for those stoning him, and Paul who said "it is a very small thing that I be judged of you." Regarding the will, he notes that such a person's will becomes aligned with God's will, quoting Paul who said, "I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus."
What spiritual instincts are satisfied when someone is filled with God's fullness?
Lloyd-Jones identifies several spiritual instincts that are satisfied: 1. The desire to know God personally (not just about Him) 2. The longing to be filled with love 3. The hunger for righteousness and holiness 4. The desire for power to serve God and glorify His name
He explains: "when we are filled with all the fullness of God, all our spiritual instincts and aims are satisfied, and they are satisfied to the full."
How does being filled with God's fullness affect a person's sense of emptiness?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, "when a man is filled with all the fullness of God, every sense of want or of emptiness or of insufficiency has gone." He quotes Jesus' words from John 4 and John 6 about never thirsting again, and then points to Paul's testimony: "Not that I speak in respect of want, for I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content... I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." This fullness provides complete satisfaction that addresses the emptiness many people experience.
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.