To the Praise of His Glory
A Sermon on Ephesians 1:14
Originally preached May 1, 1955
Scripture
14Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
Sermon Description
What should be the starting point of all a Christian’s thought? How ought their thinking about any particular doctrine be finally assessed? The answer is simple: the glory of God. In this sermon on Ephesians 1:14 titled “To the Praise of His Glory,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones points out that the apostle Paul in Ephesians is primarily concerned with the praise of His glory. Many religious people miss this crucial point. Their thinking upon any particular religious topic – whether sin or salvation – begins first with themselves. Dr. Lloyd-Jones warns this is a grave mistake. Any Christian doctrine that begins with something other than the glory of God will negatively be affected. If one’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, how often do they ask God to forgive them for not glorifying Him? How often do they consider salvation as what only benefits or brings happiness to themselves and not as a right relationship to God? These are all hard questions which Dr. Lloyd-Jones provokes in this sermon on one of the highest thoughts human beings can ever contemplate.
Sermon Breakdown
- The glory of God must be the starting point of all our thought and the test of all our thinking.
- Our view of sin is inadequate if it does not recognize that the essence of sin is not giving God the glory due to His name.
- Our view of salvation is inadequate if it does not recognize that the supreme object of salvation is to glorify God.
- A true view of salvation ascribes the entirety of salvation to God. It recognizes salvation is something huge, not small or easy.
- We glorify God by seeing how His plan of salvation perfectly meets our every need.
- We glorify God by recognizing the certainty of salvation - that God will complete the work He began.
- We are meant to glorify God not just in our thinking but in everything we do and say. Our lives should point others to God.
- Our experiences as Christians should glorify God - we should have joy, assurance and delight in God.
- We glorify God by living lives that match and adorn the gospel. Our conduct should fit with the doctrine.
- Everything in the Christian life is meant to glorify God - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Sermon Q&A
What Does "Unto the Praise of His Glory" Mean According to Martyn Lloyd-Jones?
What is the significance of the phrase "unto the praise of his glory" in Ephesians 1:14?
According to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, this phrase is not a mere addition but an essential part of Paul's teaching. He points out that Paul repeats this phrase three times in the introduction to Ephesians, concluding each of the three sections (verses 3-6, 7-12, and 13-14) with this same emphasis. This repetition shows that the glory of God is the ultimate goal of salvation and the culmination of all Christian doctrine. As Lloyd-Jones states, "He brings us up to the point which he regards as being most important."
How should the glory of God affect our understanding of Christian doctrine?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones teaches that "the glory of God must be the starting point of all our thought, and it must always be the test of all our thinking." He warns that Christians often fail at this point by taking God for granted. He illustrates this by explaining how we can misunderstand doctrines like sin and salvation when we don't view them in relation to God's glory. For example, sin is not merely doing wrong things, but failing "to give unto God the glory that is due unto his holy name." Any doctrine that doesn't ultimately lead back to God's glory is defective and will "eventually lead to confusion and to error."
How does Lloyd-Jones define true salvation in relation to God's glory?
According to Lloyd-Jones, a true view of salvation is one that gives all glory to God. He asks, "How much of it you claim is due to yourself? How much of it do you think you are responsible for?" He insists that "to give God the glory, you must give him all the glory. His is the glory alone and there is none in men." This means recognizing that salvation is "solely and entirely and exclusively because of the grace of God" and not a partnership between God and man.
What makes salvation such a glorious concept according to the sermon?
Lloyd-Jones describes salvation as "the biggest and the greatest thing that the world has ever known." Its glory is seen in:
- Its conception - "formed, fashioned, thought out, planned in that eternal council between Father, Son and Holy Spirit"
- Its execution - involving the entire Trinity in addressing the problem of sin
- Its perfection - meeting our "exact condition and our every need"
- Its certainty - being absolutely secure because "nothing and no one can ever upset it or frustrate it"
He urges Christians to "get out from the nicer" perspective and "go up onto the hills of God and view the landscape or this mighty plan."
How should Christians live "unto the praise of his glory"?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones teaches that Christians should live in a way that makes people think of God when they encounter us. He says, "You and I are meant to be such people that the only explanation of us is God." This happens when:
- We are assured of our salvation and rejoice in Christ
- We enjoy the Christian life, holiness, Scripture reading, and prayer
- We live independently of circumstances like Paul who could say, "I can do all things through Christ"
- Our conduct "adorns the doctrine" and is "becoming of the gospel"
Lloyd-Jones quotes Jesus' words: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works but glorify your father, which is in heaven," explaining that people should look at Christians and say, "That's extraordinary... What is it? It isn't man... that's God."
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.