The Importance of Spiritual Growth
A Sermon on Ephesians 3:16
Scripture
16That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
Sermon Description
In this sermon on Ephesians 3:16 titled “The Importance of Spiritual Growth,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones seeks to answer the question of why it is so important that the Christian grow spiritually. He says that the inner self must be continually strengthened because of the continual battle against sin that all Christians experience as they live in a fallen world. There are many forces that Christians must always fight against and some of these come from within, such as sinful desires and the flesh. Others come from without, such as the world and the temptations of the devil. It is evident when Christians fail to grow spiritually and into maturity. They are beset by sins that they are unable to overcome, and they show a lack of interest in God’s word. They are often unable to understand God’s word because, as Paul says, they are babes and are not able to eat meat. This is why, Dr. Lloyd-Jones says, it is so vital that Christians continually seek and pursue Christ and His word. Christians must fight sin not only by fleeing what is evil, but by growing in Christ as mature believers who desire the holy and good things of Christ more than they desire the evil and sinful things of this world.
Sermon Breakdown
- The apostle Paul prays that the Ephesians would be strengthened in their inner being.
- The inner being refers to the mind, heart, and will - the immaterial part of a person.
- The inner being needs to be strengthened because at first it is weak like a baby, it faces opposition from Satan, and it needs to be strengthened to receive the glorious things God offers.
- The mind needs to be strengthened against doubts, depression, evil thoughts, and wandering thoughts. The mind also needs to be strengthened to understand profound truths.
- The heart needs to be strengthened against fears, evil imaginations, and discouragement.
- The will needs to be strengthened against irresolution and weakness.
- Without God's strength, we would fail and falter in our inner being. But God grants strength according to the riches of his glory.
- The Holy Spirit provides the strength and power to reinforce our inner being.
- We can receive peace by praying to God, who will strengthen our hearts and minds.
- Christians should aim to be as far above ordinary Christians as ordinary Christians are above non-Christians. This is possible by having our inner being strengthened by God.
The Book of Ephesians
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.