One Lord
A Sermon on Ephesians 4:5
Originally preached June 23, 1957
Scripture
5One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
Sermon Description
What brings unity to churches? How can congregants come together in the midst of so many varying opinions and countless opportunities to disagree with one another? In this sermon on Ephesians 4:5 titled “One Lord,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones argues from Ephesians that when believers focus on Jesus Christ as the head of the church, unity is preserved. How is this done? It is by focusing on the uniqueness of Jesus—there is only one Lord. There is no one like Him. He makes Christianity what it is, for without Christ, the core of Christian belief would be gone. In this sense, Dr. Lloyd-Jones says, there is an intolerant aspect to Christianity. He suggests that those who have not seen this have not seen the true faith. Christ is central to the church because disagreements about Him are disagreements about core doctrines, which not only cause division, but in some cases also serve as evidence that certain people are outside of Christ. Jesus is all one needs regarding salvation and how to be a part of the church. Listen as Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains how Christ alone is the object around which the church can be united.
Sermon Breakdown
- The sermon focuses on Ephesians 4:5 which states "One Lord, one faith, one baptism".
- The sermon discusses the unity of the church as described in Ephesians 4:4-6. The church has unity through the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, and God the Father.
- The sermon focuses on Jesus Christ as the "One Lord" and how belief in him leads to unity. There is only one Lord, Jesus Christ.
- The uniqueness of Christ's person leads to unity. Christ is the only person who is both fully God and fully human. There will never be anyone else like him.
- The uniqueness of Christ's work leads to unity. Christ is the only savior and mediator between God and humanity. There is no other way to be saved or approach God except through Christ.
- The uniqueness of Christ's relationship to believers leads to unity. Christ owns and is the master of all believers because he purchased them with his blood. No one else is the master or owner of believers.
- Because Christ is the only Lord and master, no one else is the master over believers and believers are not the masters over each other. All believers are on the same level serving one another.
- If believers truly understood their relationship to Christ as the one Lord and master, most problems in the church would be solved and unity would be achieved.
- Christ humbled himself to the point of dying on the cross. Believers should have the same mindset of humility and service towards one another.
- Divisions in the church are ultimately due to a failure to realize that Christ is the only Lord. When believers see Christ as the only Lord, they will live for him and his glory.
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.