Full Salvation
A Sermon on 1 Corinthians 3:21-23
Scripture
21Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; 22Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; 23And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.
Sermon Description
Modern man people declare themselves free from the tyranny of religion, but what has been the effect? They are now enslaved to and governed by the popular opinion of humanity. In this sermon on 1 Corinthians 3:21–23 titled “Full Salvation,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones focuses on Paul’s concern over division in the Corinthian church, a division that was the result of their glorying in their apostolic leaders instead of Christ. There is only One who can set people free from enslavement to the things of this world. He is the Son of God, for whom and through whom all things exist. He came to set people free from the guilt of their sin, the reign of the devil, and the condemnation of the law of God. He is coming again to destroy every enemy and to set up His eternal reign of righteousness and peace. All who believe in Him become a part of Him. They are Christ’s and in Him all things are theirs. What does this mean? There is now no point in glorying in people. In Christ, Christians are no longer enslaved to human power, influence, or opinion. They are no longer enslaved even to their circumstances. They are truly free to experience His full salvation.
Sermon Breakdown
- The apostle Paul is astonished at the Corinthians for reverting to non-Christian thinking after becoming Christians.
- There were divisions in the church with some following Paul, Apollos, Cephas or Christ.
- Paul says the Corinthians are acting as fools by rejecting the gospel. To reject the gospel is to be a fool and deceive oneself.
- It is foolish to glory in men because:
- Men are creatures and have nothing to boast in
- The powers of men are limited and temporary
- Men themselves are failures and have "feet of clay"
- Glorying in men leads to slavery - slavery to men, the world, life, death, the present and the future.
- We should glory in Christ because:
- He is the eternal Son of God and co-equal with God
- He has authority to speak on ultimate questions as the only one who has seen God
- He came to deal with our every problem and set us free from sin, the devil, death and the law
- He is seated at the right hand of God with all power and authority
- He will return to destroy His enemies and establish His kingdom
- When we believe in Him, we become united to Him and share in His inheritance
- In Christ, all things become ours - men, the world, life, death, the present and the future. We become masters instead of slaves.
- We must choose between glorying in men and becoming slaves or glorying in Christ and becoming heirs of God.
Itinerant Preaching
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.