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Sermon #4005

All Spiritual blessings ...

A Sermon on Ephesians 1:3

Originally preached Oct. 31, 1954

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Scripture

Ephesians 1:3 ESV KJV
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, (ESV)

Sermon Description

How does one come to enjoy spiritual blessings? What are the spiritual blessings in Ephesians 1? In this sermon on Ephesians 1:3 titled “All Spiritual Blessings…,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones focuses on two themes. He insists that the Christian only enjoys blessings through Christ. While acknowledging God gives common grace to everyone, the Holy Spirit gives unique grace that only Christians enjoy. Dr. Lloyd-Jones connects Paul’s words in Ephesians to his other letter to the Colossians (1:19; 2:3), showing the absolute necessity of going to God through Christ, the mediator. A second blessing Christians enjoy through Christ is that His grace flows through the Holy Spirit. The sovereign work of the Spirit quickens, convicts, enables, and keeps the Christian. Dr. Lloyd-Jones recaptures the “other-worldly” nature of the Christian’s blessings by criticizing movements that insist that blessings are of this world. The Christian, says Dr. Lloyd-Jones, does not deny or despise the world, but this is different from setting their affections upon it. If they do not keep an appropriate distance, they forget that this is a fallen world and that their citizenship is in heaven.

Sermon Breakdown

  1. The sermon begins by emphasizing the importance of praise and worship. The measure of our spirituality is the extent to which we are conscious of praise and thanksgiving.

  2. God has blessed us, and the blessings come through the covenant of grace that God made with Jesus before the foundation of the world. Salvation was planned before creation.

  3. God is now the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is our representative in the covenant. All blessings come through Jesus.

  4. The blessings are spiritual blessings that come through the Holy Spirit. The Spirit applies the work of Jesus to us.

  5. The blessings are in the heavenly places, not primarily earthly. The Christian faith is otherworldly. We are citizens of heaven, though still on earth.

  6. The blessings include all spiritual blessings, from forgiveness to being filled with the fullness of God. They include forgiveness, reconciliation, adoption, fellowship, sanctification, strength, peace, joy, comfort, and support.

  7. We have these blessings now, though not yet in fullness. We have the first fruits and foretaste of them now through the Holy Spirit. They will continue increasing until we are with Jesus in glory.

  8. We should be enjoying these blessings now, though still imperfectly. God has blessed us, and the blessings are meant to be enjoyed now.

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.