The Truth of God
A Sermon on Ephesians 6:14
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.
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.