The Work of the Spirit in the Church
A Sermon on Ephesians 4:4-6
Originally preached June 2, 1957
Scripture
4There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Sermon Description
What exactly is a church? Perhaps some are tempted to reference the building where people gather together to worship God. In this sermon on Ephesians 4:4–6 titled “The Work of the Spirit in the Church,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones shows from Scripture that the church is actually the body of believers in Jesus Christ. But if the church is a body, where did it come from and who or what gives it life? The answer is the Holy Spirit and Dr. Lloyd-Jones helps explain the role that the Holy Spirit plays in the life of the church. First, He brings unity through the conviction of sin— this unites believers because when people realize how sinful they are before God, they realize that they have nothing of their own accord to cling to, thus driving them to their knees before the cross of Christ. Second, the Holy Spirit is the one who gives people a new life in Christ. Third, He gives people faith and enables them to understand the ways of God. Fourth, He unites people to Christ and incorporates them into the church. Finally, Dr. Lloyd-Jones says that the Holy Spirit animates the life of the church. Like the blood in the body, He is the unifying presence that makes all believers one. Listen as Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains the importance of the Holy Spirit to the vitality of the church.
Sermon Breakdown
- The apostle Paul gives reasons for unity in Ephesians 4:4-6.
- There is one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father.
- The unity of the church is in terms of the Trinity: Spirit (v. 4), Lord Jesus (v. 5), God the Father (v. 6).
- We must think of unity in terms corresponding to the Trinity.
- There is only one Holy Spirit, not many. He is a person, not a force.
- The Holy Spirit does the same work in all of us, though with superficial variations. His work is essentially the same.
- The Holy Spirit must do a work of preparation in us before we can join the body of Christ.
- Many in the visible church have not undergone this preparation. They belong to the visible church but not the invisible church.
- To become part of the body of Christ, the Holy Spirit must convict us of sin, make us aware of God's holiness, humble us, quicken and regenerate us, enable us to exercise faith, incorporate us into the body, animate the body, animate each part of the body, sanctify each part, and produce fruit in each part.
- The Holy Spirit produces the same fruit in all of us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
- Our natural personalities divide, but when governed by the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit shows through them, producing unity.
- The works of the flesh divide, but the fruit of the Spirit unites.
Sermon Q&A
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones on the Holy Spirit and Unity in the Church: Questions and Answers
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones identify as the source of unity in the Church?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, the Holy Spirit is the source of unity in the Church. He emphasizes that the unity is not something created by men but is already present through the Holy Spirit. As Lloyd-Jones states, "It is he who operates in the Church, in the production of the church, and the maintenance and the well being of the life of the church." The Holy Spirit forms the Church, operates within it, and maintains its essential unity.
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones distinguish between the visible and invisible church?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones distinguishes between them by explaining that the visible church consists of many who may join through "accidents of nationality" or family tradition without any spiritual transformation. He shares his own experience: "When I was received as a full member of the Christian Church, I was asked one question only... I didn't remember the answer to that question, but I was received into the full membership of the christian church." In contrast, the invisible church consists only of those who have undergone the Holy Spirit's work of preparation and transformation, making them truly part of the body of Christ.
What preparatory work does the Holy Spirit perform before someone becomes a member of Christ's body?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones identifies several preparatory works of the Holy Spirit: 1. Conviction of sin - "When the Holy Spirit begins to work, he convicts us of sin" 2. Awareness of God's holiness - making us see our true condition before Him 3. Humbling and destruction of pride - "it destroys all pride. There's nothing we have left in us to make us boast" 4. Quickening and regeneration - "You can't be a member of the body of Christ unless you've got something of his life in you" 5. Enabling faith and understanding - "by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God"
What is the relationship between the Holy Spirit and unity according to the sermon?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones teaches that because there is only one Holy Spirit (unlike the "legion" of evil spirits), the unity of the Church is indivisible. He states, "The Holy Spirit himself is the medium through which, and by means of which the organic unity of the body is preserved." The Spirit does the same essential work in all believers, produces the same fruit in all believers, and therefore creates an organic unity that believers should maintain, not create. As Lloyd-Jones says, "When the Holy Spirit is in us and dwelling in us and controlling us as he should, he produces his own fruitiness."
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones contrast the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones contrasts them by showing that the works of the flesh (Galatians 5) all create division: "adultery and at once you've separated a husband and a wife... every one of them divides." He likens them to factory products with "the clanging of the machines and from the scrap and the castaways and all the division and all the noise and the bustle." In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit creates unity: "love at once unites, and joy. And joy unites." He describes this fruit as coming "quietly and unobserved while we were sleeping and nobody was doing anything," likening it to "the most glorious landscape you've ever seen in your life and at a magnificent orchard."
Why does Dr. Lloyd-Jones believe many churches experience division?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones attributes church division to the lack of the Holy Spirit's work in individual members. He states, "That is why churches, individual churches, are divided often, and groups and collections of churches are divided." The primary reasons include: 1. People who have not undergone the Spirit's preparatory work 2. Natural personalities that remain ungoverned by the Spirit 3. Pride and self-assertion that hasn't been humbled 4. National, traditional, and man-made elements taking precedence over spiritual realities 5. A failure to recognize that "apart from the work of the Holy Spirit, you haven't got a true church"
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.