Our Ambition
A Sermon on John 1:16
Scripture
16For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.
16And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
Sermon Description
What does it mean to receive Christ’s fullness? What sort of ambition is proper? In this sermon on John 1:16 titled “Our Ambition,” Dr. Lloyd-Jones exhorts his listeners that it is proper for a Christian to have ambition for knowing and loving the Lord. Nothing is greater than knowing the surpassing glory of Jesus Christ and sharing in His suffering. The difference between one who has not received God’s fullness versus one who has received God’s fullness should be night and day. He preaches that one who has indeed received God’s fullness will pursue knowledge of Christ each and every day. Dr. Lloyd-Jones also speaks of the emptiness of mere intellectual assent. One cannot only know the truths of God; one must worship and love the Lord to truly know Him. This, Dr. Lloyd-Jones argues, is the difference between “head knowledge” and “heart knowledge.” He also addresses a misinterpretation of the passage in which Jesus says “take up your cross and follow me.” This, Dr. Lloyd-Jones preaches, is not merely in the small hardships in life. To follow Christ, the Christian must accept mockery, revilement, physical suffering, and intense persecution. They must die daily for the sake of Christ in order to be raised with Him.
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.