The Beginning of Wisdom
A Sermon on John 1:16
Originally preached Dec. 8, 1963
Scripture
16And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
Sermon Description
How does one get wisdom? Can anyone be wise? In this sermon titled “The Beginning of Wisdom,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones teaches that God’s wisdom is a free gift for everyone, all they must do is humble themselves. Because Christianity gives an entirely new view of everything, humanity must let go of what they believed to be wisdom and trust in the Lord. Dr. Lloyd-Jones shares that humility begins with recognition that God in His infinite compassion has always planned for His people to receive redemption through the death of his Son. Proverbs tells that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. When the full scope and greatness of God’s plan for mankind is recognized, the only response ought to be fear and trembling. This is the beginning of wisdom, to recognize God’s plan with holy reverence and then trust Him in all things.
Sermon Breakdown
- The sermon text is John 1:16 which states "And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace." This verse reminds us that as Christians, we receive everything from Jesus Christ.
- We must understand Christ's inherent and eternal fullness as the Son of God before anything can happen to us.
- Christ's fullness must be applied to us. 1 Corinthians 1:30 states "But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." We receive Christ's fullness in wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.
- Christ has been made wisdom unto us. This is a staggering and essential truth. 1 Corinthians 2:16 states "For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ." As Christians, we have the mind of Christ.
- The wisdom of God contrasts with the wisdom of the world. The world seeks wisdom but cannot find God. The Gospel begins where the world's wisdom ends.
- To become a Christian, we must become as little children, realize we are bankrupt, and receive the free gift of God's grace. We must come without money and without price.
- The character of God can only be truly known through Christ. God is personal, holy, the Trinity, the Creator, the moral governor of the universe, and the Father.
- God has a plan and purpose of redemption to restore creation to its original state. This was planned before the world began.
- The world sees Christian belief as foolish but it is the world that is foolish, not knowing God. The world's wisdom leads to emptiness and despair.
- God sent his Son to save the world and reveal the mystery of God's plan. We can know God through Christ.
- God is our Father. The parable of the Prodigal Son shows God's love for us. We can come to the Father through Christ.
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.