The Mystery of the Gospel 1
A Sermon on Ephesians 6:18-20
Originally preached Nov. 1, 1964
Scripture
18Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; 19And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20For …
Sermon Description
Christians have all experienced that moment where the gospel all of a sudden makes sense. They did not know and could not understand the gospel but then they could. This is why the gospel is so mysterious. In this sermon on Ephesians 6:18–20 titled “The Mystery of the Gospel (1),” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones unpacks the mystery of the gospel, and why a person in their natural state cannot comprehend it. Dr. Lloyd-Jones begins by asking the questions, “What is the mystery of the gospel?” and “Why is the gospel a mystery?” After delving through the Scriptures, he comes to the conclusion that the mystery of the gospel is the mind of God. No one understands the mystery of the gospel on their own because it is the very wisdom and mind of God. One might consider themselves wise, but no one is wise enough to understand the mind of the eternal God. At this point, Dr. Lloyd-Jones gives hope by providing the only way that anyone might understand the gospel. They must repent and turn away from the foolish thinking that they can understand the mind of God, and consider themselves rightly as a fool. Once they repent and asks God to forgive them, then the Spirit will reveal the mystery of this gospel and they will rejoice in it. Be encouraged by this clear explanation of the glorious mystery of the gospel.
Sermon Breakdown
- The apostle Paul solicits prayers from the Ephesians church to pray for him as he preaches the gospel.
- Paul describes the gospel message as the "mystery of the gospel."
- The term "mystery" does not mean the gospel is vague or indefinite. It means the gospel was once hidden but has now been revealed by God.
- Paul's role as an apostle is to make known this mystery of the gospel that was previously hidden.
- There are two main ways people try to deny the "mystery" aspect of the gospel: demythologizing the gospel and claiming a new Bible translation is needed to understand the gospel.
- The gospel is shown to be a "mystery" in the New Testament through Jesus' parables, the gospel's independence from human understanding, and people's surprise at Jesus' teachings.
- The gospel is a mystery because it is the wisdom of God, not human wisdom. Human minds cannot fully understand the mind and wisdom of God.
- Due to sin, human minds are fallen and darkened. They cannot properly understand spiritual truths on their own.
- The only way to understand the mystery of the gospel is through repentance and humbling oneself to receive revelation from the Holy Spirit.
- One must come to God with a childlike faith, not reliance on human cleverness or wisdom. The gospel is made understandable through the power of the Holy Spirit, not human intellect.
Sermons on the Gospel
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.