That Your Joy may be Full
A Sermon on Ephesians 3:14-20
Scripture
14For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in …
Sermon Description
While the Christian life is to be one of joy, it is common for Christians to feel depressed. Why is this? In this sermon “That Your Joy May Be Full” from Ephesians 3:14–21, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones continues exploring the reasons for spiritual depression. One reason many fall into spiritual depression is that they fail to realize what they were meant to be, what is available for them, and what God intends. Relying on initial experiences of forgiveness, this person fails to go on in their faith and grow in their knowledge and understanding. This leads the individual to their biggest problem: they don’t really know the love of God. Listen as Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains God’s intention for the Christian and how one might receive what intended for them. This should not leave the believer with a feeling of hopelessness, but rather an eagerness and joy as they see what they can become. When they understand the truth that Christ dwells in them, they are ravished by Him and love Him. What is the Christian destiny and where are they heading? The Christian will spend eternity enjoying God. Today, the downcast soul must fight spiritual depression through regaining this robust view of who they are and where they are heading.
Sermon Breakdown
- The sermon text is Ephesians 3:14-21, one of Paul's prayers for the church in Ephesus.
- The sermon discusses the causes of spiritual depression and unhappiness in Christians. A major cause is failing to realize what God intends for us and what is available to us.
- Paul prays that Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith. This means Christ being permanently resident in our lives, not just an occasional visitor. Christ should be the head and we should be his slaves.
- Paul prays that we may know the love of Christ in its full extent. We can never fully comprehend it but we can continually experience more of it.
- Paul prays that we may be filled with all the fullness of God, meaning experiencing all that God has for us at any given moment. This is like a bottle in the ocean, filled with the ocean.
- These petitions describe what all Christians are meant to experience, not just certain exceptional ones. We dishonor God by being content with less.
- The first step is accepting this is meant for us and is possible for us. We must desire it and feel dissatisfied without it.
- We must realize we need to be strengthened in our inner being by the Spirit before we can experience these things, or we will collapse under the glory. We need preparation.
- This experience is entirely a gift of God, given in his timing and way. We pray for it, perhaps for a long time, as it is something we come to want intensely.
- We must believe God is able to do this for us, as it is his work and manifestation. We can never ask too much of him.
- We must persist in seeking this and not be content until we experience Christ's presence and love in this way. We will know without doubt when it happens.
- The degree of experience may vary but we should seek the utmost fullness of God and knowledge of Christ. We should give God no rest until we know Christ's love that surpasses knowledge.
Sermon Q&A
Understanding Spiritual Depression with Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
What is the ultimate cause of spiritual depression according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, the ultimate cause of spiritual depression is "our failure to realize what we are meant to be, our failure to realize and to grasp what is available for us, our failure to realize what God intends us to be." He explains that many Christians remain content with an initial experience of forgiveness and never grow beyond it, missing the fullness of what God intends for them.
What does it mean for "Christ to dwell in your hearts by faith"?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that for Christ to "dwell in your hearts by faith" is more than just having Christ in your life. The Greek word he uses is a compound word meaning "living down in a home" - not being a casual visitor but settling down permanently. It means Christ becomes "the master of the house, the controller of the entire establishment," where believers become His servants. It's about having a conscious, experiential knowledge of Christ's presence within, not just an intellectual belief that He is there.
How does Lloyd-Jones distinguish between "knowing about" Christ's love and "knowing" His love?
Lloyd-Jones makes a clear distinction between merely knowing facts about Christ's love versus experiencing it personally. He says: "A man who doesn't know that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son... is not a Christian at all. But Paul isn't praying for that." Instead, Paul is praying that believers would "really know this love" - experiencing it in "its height and its depth, its breadth and its length." He describes it as being "broken" by this love, having a personal relationship where you've "felt his personal love to you."
What does being "filled with all the fullness of God" mean according to the sermon?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that being "filled with all the fullness of God" means "knowing and experiencing all that God has for us at any given moment." He uses the illustration of a bottle in the ocean: "Think of a vast, endless, mighty ocean, and take a little bottle and put that bottle into the ocean. The bottle is full of the ocean. The bottle's in the ocean, and the ocean's in the bottle." When Christ dwells in us, "the fullness of God must be in us. For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the godhead bodily."
Why do believers need to be "strengthened with might by the Spirit in the inner man"?
According to Lloyd-Jones, believers need this strengthening for two main reasons: 1. Because of our weakness and Christ's greatness - "When this fullness of the Godhead comes into us, unless we are strengthened, we'll collapse under it." 2. Because when Christ comes in this way, "you never know what he may want to do in you and through you," which may include suffering and endurance for His sake.
He likens it to how starving people can't immediately handle a full meal but must be gradually strengthened to receive nourishment.
What steps does Dr. Lloyd-Jones outline for experiencing the fullness of God?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones outlines these steps: 1. Accept that this experience is meant for you and possible for you 2. Desire it - "become hungry, you'll thirst" 3. Realize your need to be strengthened by the Spirit in your inner man 4. Understand it's entirely a gift from God 5. Pray for it persistently and believingly 6. Realize God's power and ability to do "exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think" 7. Keep seeking until you know it experientially
How does Lloyd-Jones warn against superficial approaches to experiencing Christ?
Lloyd-Jones warns against teachings that suggest simple formulas like "surrender and believe" without genuine experience. He states: "When this prayer is answered, there's no uncertainty. You don't have to persuade yourself it's true." He calls such approaches "dangerous teaching" because authentic experience of Christ is unmistakable - "When he manifests himself to you, you know it. You are lost in a sense of wonder, love and praise. Your heart is moved, your heart is melted."
What comparison does Dr. Lloyd-Jones make between Christians described in the New Testament and Christians today?
Lloyd-Jones describes an "alarming" disparity between what the New Testament says Christians should be and the actual experience of most believers today. He says you can "put down, as it were, on paper, the various things that are said about the Christian" in scripture, then "make a kind of inventory of Christian experience as you know it in yourself and in the people who are best known to you as Christians" and find there's a vast difference. He attributes this partly to "sheer ignorance" of scripture and partly to reading scripture without truly grasping its spiritual meaning.
Spiritual Depression
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.