Walk in the Spirit
A Sermon on John 1:12-13
Scripture
12But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name, 13who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of a man, but of God.
12But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Sermon Description
Practice is needed to be good at sports, work, and family. Likewise, if to succeed against the flesh and pursue righteousness, one must put walking in the Spirit into practice. In John 1:12–13, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones shows that the Christian must not sit passively by and “let go and let God.” Instead, the Christian has a distinct responsibility to work out their faith and Dr. Lloyd-Jones entreats Christians to break free from the flesh. He warns that a Christian can be lulled into leading a barren life, bearing no fruit for the kingdom of God. Therefore, the Christian must train themselves to walk according to the Spirit. Children of God must not merely sit passively, but instead actively pursue a life marked by the Spirit. God has forgiven, justified, and adopted the Christian, and yet they are often tempted to make little use of this newfound state of being. Dr. Lloyd-Jones teaches that the Spirit and the flesh are not merely opposed, but that they war against each other. Dr. Lloyd-Jones offers hope to the Christian who has not gained success in fighting the flesh: walk by the Spirit and they will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
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.