The Truth of God
A Sermon on Ephesians 6:14
Originally preached Feb. 11, 1962
Scripture
14Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Sermon Description
There is only one gospel. According to Paul in his letter to the Ephesians, other gospels are lies. In a day of misinformation, counterfeits, and charlatans, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones brings a voice of Biblical discernment. In this sermon on Ephesians 6:14 titled “The Truth of God,” Dr. Lloyd-Jones demonstrates how Paul's authority to declare these truths came from the Lord Jesus Himself. Paul neither received or learned it by human teaching, but from God. John, Peter, and the other apostles wrote in an equally authoritative manner. They were men to whom the mystery of the gospel was directly and personally revealed by the Lord Himself. The canon of the New Testament is the revealed truth of God. The apostolic teachings are not men trying to understand life and reality — that is philosophy. Rather, these men told with confidence God’s revealed truth. All that is necessary to life and wellbeing, for death, and after is found within God’s truth. The fundamental position of the Bible is that humanity cannot attain knowledge of God apart from the revelation and work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus affirmed there is no way to know the truth of God apart from revelation, for God hides it from the world and reveals it as He chooses. The truth is hidden from the prideful who are confident of their own knowledge. All must become like little children toward God’s revealed truth to have their “loins girt about with truth.”
Sermon Breakdown
- The apostle Paul instructs Christians to stand firm in truth. This is the first piece of the armor of God.
- Truth is essential for standing firm against spiritual enemies. Without truth, there is no hope.
- There is confusion in the church today about truth. Many say you can't know truth or that it doesn't matter what you believe. But Paul says we must have our "loins girt about with truth."
- The question is: what is truth? It is not reason, feelings, or tradition. The only authority is Scripture.
- Jesus and the apostles viewed the Old Testament as the Word of God. The New Testament writers also claim to speak the Word of God.
- Jesus gave His authority to the apostles through the Holy Spirit to teach truth. The book of Acts and the epistles demonstrate the fulfillment of this.
- Paul's authority and message came through revelation from Jesus Christ, not human wisdom. This is clear through many of Paul's statements about the source of his teaching.
- Peter confirms Paul's writings as Scripture, just like the Old Testament.
- The early church recognized the authority of the apostles' teaching. The test for canonicity was apostolicity.
- We must submit fully to the authority of Scripture. We cannot rely on human reason or wisdom.
- Truth in Scripture is complete and sufficient. It contains all we need for life and godliness. We need no supplements.
- Scripture's primary subject is God, who does not change. Man's fundamental needs do not change. And Jesus Christ, the truth, does not change.
- Spiritual understanding of the Bible comes only through the Holy Spirit. Natural man cannot understand spiritual things. We are as dependent on the Spirit today as the first Christians were.
- The notion that the church today has more knowledge of God than the apostles is blasphemous and denies the Holy Spirit. We need the Spirit to understand the apostles' teaching.
Sermon Q&A
What Does "Having Your Loins Girt About with Truth" Mean According to Martyn Lloyd-Jones?
What does the phrase "having your loins girt about with truth" mean in Ephesians 6:14?
According to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, this phrase refers to the foundation of Christian armor. The loins are what brace, key up, and prepare a person for battle. Having your loins "girt about with truth" means establishing yourself firmly on God's truth as your foundation. In Lloyd-Jones' words, "Here's the foundation of everything. Here's the first step. The loins, by means of which everything's going to be braced and keyed up and put ready for the fight."
Why does Lloyd-Jones emphasize the importance of authority in understanding truth?
Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that without establishing proper authority, Christians will be wrong everywhere else. He states: "We are facing the great central foundational problem of authority, and until we are right on this, we'll be wrong everywhere else." He argues that the confusion in the church and the world stems from uncertainty about what truth is. Without a clear foundation of authority, even church unification efforts will ultimately fail.
What does Lloyd-Jones reject as inadequate sources of authority?
Lloyd-Jones rejects several common sources that people rely on for authority:
- Human reason and understanding - which he calls "utterly inadequate"
- Feelings - which he says provide "no objective standard" and leave you with "no reply to the cults"
- Church tradition - particularly rejecting the Roman Catholic reliance on tradition
What does Lloyd-Jones identify as the only true authority for Christians?
Lloyd-Jones unequivocally states that the Bible is the only true authority for Christians. He argues that the Bible doesn't merely contain God's word but is God's word. As he puts it: "There is only one authority, and that is this book which we call the Bible." He bases this on the Bible's own claims about itself, the testimony of Christ regarding Scripture, and the claims of the apostles.
How does Lloyd-Jones defend the apostolic authority of the New Testament?
Lloyd-Jones argues that Christ gave His own authority to the apostles. He cites Jesus' promise in John 16:12-15 that the Holy Spirit would guide the apostles into all truth. He then shows how Paul repeatedly claimed to receive his message directly from God through revelation (citing Ephesians 3, Acts 26, 1 Corinthians 11:23, 1 Corinthians 15:3, and Galatians 1). Lloyd-Jones also references 2 Peter 3:16, where Peter refers to Paul's writings as "scripture."
Why does Lloyd-Jones believe the Bible contains complete truth?
Lloyd-Jones insists the Bible contains complete truth because:
- It claims to provide everything needed for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:2-4)
- It deals with unchanging realities - God doesn't change, human nature doesn't change
- Christ is the truth embodied, and He doesn't change
- The Holy Spirit is required to understand spiritual truth, regardless of era
He states: "I am saying that everything that is necessary to our life and well being in this world, everything that is necessary with regard to death, everything that is necessary with regard to what lies beyond death. It is all here. And you need nothing further."
How should Christians respond to this understanding of biblical authority?
According to Lloyd-Jones, Christians must:
- "Submit ourselves utterly and absolutely to it" without reservation
- Stop elevating human reason and wisdom (citing 1 Corinthians 1)
- Recognize that we need the Holy Spirit's illumination to understand Scripture
- Accept that the faith was "once and forever delivered" (Jude 3) and doesn't need modern updates
- Reject the notion that modern Christians know more than the apostles did
Why does Lloyd-Jones believe modern knowledge doesn't supersede biblical truth?
Lloyd-Jones argues that modern scientific and technological advancement is irrelevant to the Bible's central concerns because:
- The Bible primarily reveals God, who doesn't change
- Human nature remains the same throughout history
- Jesus Christ is "the same yesterday, today, and forever"
- Understanding spiritual truth always requires the Holy Spirit, regardless of era
He calls the idea that the church today knows more about God than the apostle Paul "the final heresy" and "blasphemy."
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.