In the Beloved
A Sermon on Ephesians 1:6
Originally preached Dec. 19, 1954
Scripture
6To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
Sermon Description
How great is the love the Christian receives from both God the Father and God the Son. In this sermon on Ephesians 1:6 titled “In the Beloved,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones considers the measure of this love and its central theme found in Christ who is called the “beloved.” Dr. Lloyd-Jones traces this title throughout the Lord Jesus Christ’s ministry as well as its relation to the doctrine of eternal generation of the Son. Dr. Lloyd-Jones exhorts the listener to see the significance of the incarnation and virgin birth by remembering who Jesus Christ is: the beloved, eternal Son of God. The incarnation is quite unimaginable as God the Father watches his beloved Son suffer so that people might be forgiven of sin. The love of God is on display as the Son empties himself by taking on human flesh. The ultimate height of salvation is that God loves humanity as he loves the Son, because they are united with the beloved. The Christian is called beloved, revealing an intimacy surpassing anything imaginable.
Sermon Breakdown
- The sermon focuses on Ephesians 1:6 and the phrase "in the beloved". This phrase refers to Jesus Christ, the beloved Son of God.
- The sermon first examines what this phrase tells us about the person of Jesus Christ. He is the only begotten Son of God, eternally one with and loved by the Father.
- The sermon then looks at what this phrase tells us about the Father's love. The fact that God sent his beloved Son into the world shows his great love. We see this love in how the Father watched as people rejected, persecuted, and crucified Jesus.
- The sermon examines what this phrase tells us about the Son's love. Though Jesus enjoyed perfect fellowship with the Father, he humbled himself by becoming a man and dying on the cross. This demonstrates his immense love for us.
- Finally, the sermon looks at what this phrase tells us about our relationship to God. Because we are in Christ, God loves us as he loves his Son. We share in the same intimate love and fellowship that Jesus has always enjoyed with the Father.
- In summary, the phrase "in the beloved" is key to understanding the depths of God's love, Christ's love, and our exalted position as the beloved of God through faith in Christ.
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.