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Sermon #4204

God in the Flesh

A Sermon on Ephesians 6:10-13

Originally preached March 26, 1961

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Scripture

Ephesians 6:10-13 ESV KJV
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against …

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Sermon Description

What is one of the greatest dangers to the church? In this sermon on Ephesians 6:10–13 titled “God in the Flesh,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones warns about the devil’s attack upon the church by introducing false teaching about the person of Christ. The early church in the time of the apostles had to battle those who denied that Jesus truly came in the flesh. In later times, the church had to oppose those that said Jesus is just a creature sent by God, not the Creator God Himself. Heresy is dangerous because it is not merely an academic question of theology, but it affects the gospel proclamation of the church. When the church has lost sight of who Jesus is and what He has done, it loses itself and becomes fatally compromised. What does this mean for the Christian? This answer is simple: it matters because it is Jesus Christ who saves from sins and redeems people by His death. It is Jesus who saves through the Holy Spirit’s gift of faith. The importance of Jesus Christ is the reason that the church must always be clear and bold in its proclamation of God’s truth as found in His word.

Sermon Breakdown

  1. The devil attacks the mind and understanding of Christians in order to confuse and weaken them.
  2. The devil specifically targets Christians' understanding of Jesus Christ and his work.
  3. The devil has promoted many heresies about the person of Jesus Christ, including:
  4. That Jesus was just a myth
  5. That there is only one person in the Trinity who appears in different forms
  6. That Jesus was a created being, not co-eternal with God
  7. That Jesus only appeared to be human (docetism)
  8. That Jesus was only a human, not divine
  9. The devil has also promoted false views about Jesus's work, including:
  10. That the meaning of Jesus's death is too vague or mysterious to understand
  11. That Jesus's death was just to provide a moral example
  12. That Jesus's death was to provide vicarious repentance for our sins
  13. That Jesus's death was for expiation (removing sin) but not propitiation (satisfying God's wrath)
  14. It is vital for Christians to understand the truth about Jesus's person and work in order to withstand the devil's attacks.

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.