Given by God
A Sermon on John 7:16
Originally preached May 31, 1959
Scripture
16Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.
Sermon Description
There is a prevalent modern myth that great minds don’t believe in Christianity. While intellectuals look back and patronize Christianity, scholars ridicule Christian teaching as passé. But how does one judge the knowledge of the Christian faith? Can knowledge about God be attained in the same manner as secular knowledge? Is knowledge about God a matter of intellect or ability? In this sermon on John 7:16 titled “Given by God,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones answers these kinds of question by showing how the vast majority of intellectuals today fall into the same position as the Pharisees. In other words, both judge the teaching about Christ from a mere human perspective. However, as Dr. Lloyd-Jones shows, Jesus Christ’s teaching is entirely different from every other teaching because it belongs to a different realm. His teaching is given by God. Christ claims to give revelation from above. In order to understand this revelation, the listener needs to discern things spiritually. Natural minds that are unaided by the Spirit cannot comprehend this type of knowledge.
Sermon Breakdown
- The sermon text is John 7:16 - "Jesus answered them and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me."
- Jesus is responding to the Jews who are dismissing his teaching because he lacks formal training and education.
- Jesus says his teaching is not his own but comes from God the Father who sent him. It is divine revelation, not human speculation.
- Knowledge of Jesus' teaching does not come through human ability or intellect. It is given by God.
- Reliance on human ability and intellect is the greatest obstacle to receiving this knowledge. Pride in human wisdom and learning prevents people from becoming like children and receiving the kingdom.
- While human knowledge and science progress over time, God's truth revealed in Jesus Christ remains the same - eternal and unchanging.
- Only God's truth revealed in Jesus Christ can meet our deepest needs and answer life's most profound questions. Human philosophies and speculations cannot.
- God's truth revealed in Jesus Christ is available and accessible to all people regardless of intellect, education or ability because God gives the ability to receive it.
- We must believe in Jesus and his teaching as divine revelation, not reject it in favor of human philosophies and speculations which will soon be proven wrong.
- We should rejoice in God's truth revealed in Jesus Christ because it comes from God, not man, is eternal and unchanging, meets our deepest needs, and is available to all.
The Book of John
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.