Married to Christ
A Sermon on John 1:16
Originally preached Feb. 9, 1964
Scripture
16And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
Sermon Description
In this sermon on John 1:16 titled “Married to Christ,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones addresses the dividing the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. He shows the distinction between the carnal person and the spiritual person. He identifies the former as an unbeliever, and the latter as the state of the Christian. He shows that the carnal person chases after worldly and fleshly things, while the spiritual person pursues spiritual pursuits. The carnal person is shortsighted and blind and their eyes are only on the things of this life that will perish, fade or be destroyed. The Christian is bent on eternal realities and drawing near to the Lord. Dr. Lloyd-Jones asks the listener if their eyes have been opened to value eternal realities. He questions if the forgiveness of sin is a warmth to the soul or does money, fame, and power hold sway as the only authority. Moreover, Dr. Lloyd-Jones discusses the beautiful reality that the old master, the law, has perished and now Christians are wed to Christ and His grace. The Spirit works about this unity that believers have with Christ. Listen and hear what realities the Spirit of God instills into the hearts of believers.
Sermon Breakdown
- The sermon focuses on John 1:16 which states "And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace." This verse summarizes the Christian gospel.
- To receive from Christ's fullness and grace upon grace is the test of whether one is truly a Christian. If one cannot say this with confidence, one cannot be sure they are a Christian.
- The sermon considers how Christ's fullness becomes ours and how we receive grace upon grace. 1 Corinthians 1:30 states that Christ is our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption.
- The sermon focuses on sanctification - the process of being made holy. Sanctification is a process of God's free grace by which we are renewed in God's image and enabled to die to sin and live to righteousness.
- Negatively, sanctification means we are dead to sin and the law. Positively, sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit who mediates Christ to us.
- The Holy Spirit separates us from the world and regenerates us, giving us new life. The Holy Spirit also baptizes us into the body of Christ, the church.
- The Christian life is life in the Spirit. It is only possible because of Christ and his work. Having been born again by the Spirit, the Christian lives a new kind of life.
- The apostle Paul describes this new life in Romans 7 and 8. In Romans 7:4, Christians have died to the law and are married to Christ to bear fruit for God.
- There are only two possibilities: life in the flesh or life in the Spirit. There is no middle ground. Non-Christians live according to the flesh while Christians live according to the Spirit.
- Those in the flesh are interested in fleshly things but those in the Spirit are interested in spiritual things. The fleshly mind is death but the spiritual mind is life and peace. The fleshly mind is hostile to God but the spiritual mind can please God.
- This understanding of life in the Spirit is key to understanding New Testament sanctification. Sanctification is not a formula but understanding doctrine and being united to Christ by the Spirit.
- The test of whether one is a Christian is whether one can say they were once in the flesh but now live in the Spirit, however imperfectly. Christians have new life in Christ and bear fruit for him, not themselves.
Sermon Q&A
Questions and Answers from Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' Sermon on Sanctification
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones mean by "of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace"?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, this phrase from John 1:16 refers to Christians receiving from Christ's inherent fullness. He explains that this is the essence of Christianity - that everything is in Christ, and believers receive from His fullness. The expression "grace for grace" indicates an ever-increasing experience, "from fullness to fullness, from grace to grace, and grace to glory without end, until we shall be perfect and complete in him." This is the test of whether one is truly a Christian - if they have received of Christ's fullness.
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones view the relationship between justification and sanctification?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones rejects the idea that justification and sanctification are completely separate experiences that can be received independently. He states: "There is nothing more fatal from the standpoint of true doctrine as well as of experimental living, as to think that you can be justified without being sanctified at all." He teaches that sanctification begins the moment justification occurs, and one cannot be a Christian without the process of sanctification having already started. He calls the teaching that says "as you received your justification, now go on and receive your sanctification" as "utterly unscriptural" and "ludicrous."
What is the role of the Holy Spirit in sanctification according to this sermon?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that the Holy Spirit is essential to sanctification in several ways: 1. The Spirit separates us from the world and "translates us from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear son" 2. The Spirit regenerates us, planting the "seed of divine life" in us 3. The Spirit baptizes us into the body of Christ 4. The Spirit reproduces the life of Christ in us 5. The Spirit enables us to live "life in the Spirit" rather than "after the flesh"
As Lloyd-Jones says, "It is he [the Holy Spirit] who mediates the Lord Jesus Christ to us. And as he mediates us to us, he also puts us into him. And so the fullness of Christ is able to come into and to pass into us."
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones mean by "life in the Spirit"?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones describes "life in the Spirit" as the new kind of life that every Christian lives. It stands in contrast to the old "life after the flesh." Life in the Spirit means: 1. Being freed from "the law of sin and death" 2. Having new interests and understanding of spiritual things 3. Having life and peace rather than death and enmity 4. Being able to please God 5. Being able to fulfill the righteousness of the law 6. Being able to bear fruit unto holiness
He emphasizes that this is not an optional experience for special Christians but the normal state of every believer: "You cannot be a Christian at all without living life in the spirit."
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones refute the concept of "carnal Christians"?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones strongly rejects the teaching about "carnal Christians" as unscriptural. He states: "The New Testament says you're either in the flesh or else you're in the spirit. It's one or the other. There is no middle position possible." He argues that when Paul describes the "carnal mind" as "enmity against God" in Romans 8, he is describing non-Christians, not a category of believers. Lloyd-Jones finds it "monstrous" to suggest that "a Christian can be at enmity against God." While he acknowledges that Christians vary in spiritual health (like children with different levels of physical health), they all possess the same life in the Spirit.
What illustrations does Dr. Lloyd-Jones use to explain the believer's union with Christ?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones uses several biblical illustrations to explain how believers are united with Christ: 1. The body - Christ is the head, and believers are members of His body (1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4) 2. The vine and branches - Christ is the vine, and believers are branches receiving life from Him (John 15) 3. Marriage - Believers are "married to Christ" to "bring forth fruit unto God" (Romans 7:4)
He emphasizes that these illustrations show how the life of Christ flows into believers: "It is as we are linked to him and belong to him and are parts of him that his fullness is able to come and to pass into us."
What is the key evidence that someone is truly a Christian according to this sermon?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, the key evidence of true Christianity is the presence of a new life in the Spirit. He concludes his sermon by asking: "Can you say, I was in the flesh and I walked after the flesh, but I'm now in the spirit. And however unworthily I am living a life in the spirit and I walk after the spirit. That's the most important question that a man can ever put to himself." The evidence includes new interests in spiritual things, peace with God rather than enmity, a desire to please God, and bearing fruit unto holiness. While the fruit may be "puny and unworthy," it exists because the believer is joined to Christ.
The Book of John
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.