I Will Put My Spirit Within You
A Sermon on Ezekiel 36:27
Originally preached June 3, 1956
Scripture
27And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
Sermon Description
If one fails to understand the completeness of the gospel and Christianity, they will fail to reap the benefits given by God. First, all need forgiveness and to be washed of their sins. One cannot receive help from God until they receive forgiveness. They must be in a right relationship with Him to receive anything from Him. But, after being made right, how can the Christian live to His standards? In this commentary on Ezekiel 36:27 titled “I Will Put My Spirit Within You,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preaches the glorious truth that God says He will put His spirit in His people and cause them to walk in His statutes. This is a promise. It is all God’s work from beginning to end. This power is seen in the apostles—the acts of the apostles are really the acts of the Holy Spirit. The cowardice of people is now replaced with a unique confidence. Christ not only justified His people, but He also forgave them and then made them holy. God does not halfway complete His work; He gave His Spirit to solidify the completion of it.
Sermon Breakdown
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The passage under consideration is Ezekiel 36:27 which states "And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them."
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This passage is a declaration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It looks forward to the day of Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit.
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Many people do not understand or experience the blessings of the Christian Gospel because they do not fully understand what the Gospel is and what it offers.
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The Gospel offers deliverance from captivity and sin and brings us into right relationship with God.
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The first thing the Gospel provides is forgiveness of sins through the blood of Jesus Christ. We are washed clean through His sacrifice.
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The Gospel also provides a new heart and new spirit. God removes our heart of stone and gives us a heart of flesh that can understand spiritual things.
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However, forgiveness and a new heart are not enough. We also need power and strength to live a godly life. Mere reformation or good intentions are not sufficient.
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God provides this power through the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity and comes to dwell within believers.
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The Holy Spirit provides the power and strength to obey God's commandments and live a holy life. He enables us to do what we cannot do on our own.
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The Holy Spirit works within our will and our actions. He shows us the horror of sin and the beauty of holiness which changes our desires. He also shows us our own weakness and inability apart from Him.
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The Holy Spirit then provides divine power and strength to overcome sin and live righteously. He enables us to do what we want to do in Christ but cannot do on our own.
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The Holy Spirit will continue this work in us until we are made perfect, without spot or blemish, and fit to dwell in God's presence.
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We must ask whether this work of the Spirit is ongoing in us. Do we know His power and presence? Are we being drawn away from sin and to Christ? There is no salvation without the regenerating work of the Spirit.
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We must yield to the Spirit's work in us and ask God to send His Spirit to begin this work if we do not know Him. There can be no peace or rest without the indwelling Spirit.
Sermon Q&A
What Questions Does Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones Answer About the Holy Spirit in Ezekiel 36:27?
What does Ezekiel 36:27 teach about the gospel according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, Ezekiel 36:27 represents "a perfect declaration and statement of the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." He explains that this verse, together with its surrounding context, shows that the gospel is not merely about forgiveness but about God's complete work of transformation in the believer. The verse declares that God will "put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments and do them," which demonstrates that the gospel includes God's empowering presence through the Holy Spirit.
Why do many people fail to understand the true nature of the gospel?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that many people fail to understand the gospel because they think they already know what it is. He states, "Because a man who thinks he knows what a thing is, is never prepared to receive instruction." He also attributes this misunderstanding to "the work of the adversary of God and the adversary of the souls of men. The devil, who, insinuating a false idea of Christianity into our minds, never allows us, in a sense, as best he can, to face what is actually the truth." This results in people having misconceptions about what Christianity truly offers.
What is the order of salvation as Dr. Lloyd-Jones describes it from Ezekiel 36?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones outlines the order of salvation from Ezekiel 36 as: 1. Forgiveness and cleansing from sin ("Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean") 2. A new heart and new spirit ("A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you") 3. The indwelling of God's Spirit ("I will put my spirit within you") 4. The resulting obedience ("and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments and do them")
He emphasizes that this is a progressive work that God accomplishes, not something we do in our own strength.
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, can justification be separated from sanctification?
No, Dr. Lloyd-Jones strongly argues that justification cannot be separated from sanctification. He states, "There is no gap between justification and sanctification. The God who's going to wash me is the God who puts his spirit within me." He considers it "an insult to God" to suggest that He would leave the work half-finished by merely forgiving people without transforming them. He supports this with Scripture, quoting 1 John: "He that saith I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him."
Who is the Holy Spirit according to this sermon?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones describes the Holy Spirit as "the third person in the blessed Holy Trinity." He emphasizes that the Spirit is not merely an influence or power but a person "as much a person as the Lord Jesus Christ was, as much as God the Father is." The Holy Spirit is God Himself who takes up residence within believers. Lloyd-Jones describes the Holy Spirit as having divine power that is "invincible" and "irresistible," with "no limit to what he can do."
How does the Holy Spirit work in believers according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, the Holy Spirit works in believers in several ways: 1. He shows us "sin for what it really is" in its "vileness, its ugliness, its foulness" 2. He shows us "the beauty of holiness" 3. He reveals our own weakness and inability to live holy lives in our own strength 4. He provides the power to "mortify the deeds of the body" 5. He enables believers to live the divine life that would otherwise be impossible 6. He gives spiritual abilities that are otherwise impossible (enjoying the Bible, prayer, preaching) 7. He continues this work until believers are "perfect and entire and faultless and blameless without any spot"
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones identify as the evidence that someone truly belongs to Christ?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones identifies the work of the Holy Spirit in a person's life as the evidence that they truly belong to Christ. This includes: 1. A growing hatred of sin and love for holiness 2. A desire to be like Christ rather than continuing to love the world 3. A willingness to follow God's commandments without finding them grievous 4. An awareness of the Spirit's presence and work within 5. Being "drawn away from the world and drawn to Christ" 6. Finding Christ increasingly precious
He challenges his listeners: "Don't talk to me about the blood of Christ unless it has awakened in you longings, aspirations after holiness and to be like him."
What historical examples does Dr. Lloyd-Jones give of the Holy Spirit's transforming power?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones provides several historical examples of the Holy Spirit's transforming power: 1. The disciples in the book of Acts, particularly Peter who had denied Christ but later became bold in preaching 2. Saul of Tarsus who became the Apostle Paul 3. The Philippian jailer who went from the verge of suicide to "rejoicing in God with all his house" 4. Augustine of Hippo, whom he describes as "your able philosopher and yet your dissolute, immoral men" who became "a doctor of the church, a great saint" 5. Stephen, who was filled with the Holy Spirit and able to love his enemies even while being stoned to death
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones say is the ultimate goal of the Holy Spirit's work in believers?
The ultimate goal of the Holy Spirit's work in believers, according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, is to make them "perfect and entire and faultless and blameless without any spot." He quotes from Jude that God is "able to keep us from falling, but to present us faultless" and from Ephesians 5 that Christ gave himself for the church "that he might present it to himself, a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish." This complete sanctification is necessary because "in heaven nothing unclean shall enter in" and it would be "impossible" for anyone with "a vestige of impurity" to dwell in God's presence.
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones describe the Christian's experience of spiritual power?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones describes the Christian's experience of spiritual power as something that amazes even the believer. He says the Holy Spirit gives "energy divine, the power that amazes a man himself. And he asks, is it I? Is it possible?" He quotes Paul saying, "I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me," suggesting that this power enables believers to do what would otherwise be impossible. Examples include loving enemies, enjoying reading the Bible, praying effectively, and preaching with spiritual authority rather than merely delivering a sermon. He states there is "almost an eternity of difference" between speaking naturally and speaking "in the energy of the spirit."
Old Testament
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.