In Christ
A Sermon on John 1:16
Originally preached Jan. 5, 1964
Scripture
16And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
Sermon Description
Preaching a sermon titled “In Christ” from John 1:16 at the beginning of a new year, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones asks his listener: “how will you prepare yourself for all that lies ahead in the coming months?” The Bible, he says, is the handbook for life— it is sufficient for all the wisdom needed to live a godly life and handle what will come. Instead of promising that His followers would not face hard times during their walk with Him, Jesus stated that Christians will have an increase in these things. Yet, He also said that He has already overcome the world. One way to survive the hard circumstances that are a part of life is to learn to think scripturally. This means seeing every event in life in the light of Scripture. Dr. Lloyd-Jones exhorts the listener to spend time every day studying the Bible. He goes further, encouraging the avoidance of treating times in God’s Word as a mere task— Scripture contains the life, wisdom, and spiritual food needed in order to live for Christ in the midst of trying times. Part of this is to acknowledge that God is sovereign and in complete control over all. When this is remembered, the Christian can put everything in His hands and lean on His promises. This, Dr. Lloyd-Jones says, is how Christians can live through the difficult times that lay ahead.
Sermon Breakdown
- The sermon text is John 1:16 - "And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace."
- Dr. Lloyd-Jones says this text is the solution to all problems if properly understood. It shows that all we need is found in Christ.
- Dr. Lloyd-Jones says we must think scripturally to face difficulties. We must study the Bible daily and apply it to our lives.
- We must understand fundamental principles like Christ as our wisdom. We must know the truth about ourselves - that we are sinful and helpless without Christ.
- We must understand the way of salvation is by God's grace alone. We cannot save ourselves or face difficulties in our own strength.
- God is concerned for us and has provided all we need in Christ. Our salvation and security depend on God, not ourselves.
- To be "in Christ" means we are united to him. We are grafted in, rooted in, members of his body. Our old life is dead; we have new life in him.
- Because we are in Christ, we need not fear. We cannot be condemned or lose our salvation. God has done the work and will complete it.
- We can face the unknown future with confidence because we have received from Christ's fullness and will continue receiving grace upon grace.
- God's faithfulness and Christ's obedience and sacrifice ensure we will endure to the end. Our eternal security is certain.
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.