But God… Martyn Lloyd-Jones
The sermon of this post is from the YouTube site, MLJTrust, linked below:
Daily Sermon from Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Ephesians 2:4 —But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,
Narrative by MLJTrust:
In this powerful sermon, preached at Columbia Bible College’s Ben Lippen Conference Center near Asheville (North Carolina), Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones expounds on the profound significance of two simple words found in Ephesians 2:4 – “But God.” He argues that these words encapsulate the very essence of the Christian gospel and should be the most frequent words on the lips of believers today.
Dr. Lloyd-Jones contrasts the hopeless state of mankind apart from God, dead in sin and under the influence of Satan, with the miraculous intervention of God’s grace. He emphasizes that the gospel is inherently supernatural and divine, beyond human comprehension or ability.
Using examples like Mary and Nicodemus, he shows how even devout people can stumble over the miraculous nature of God’s work.
The preacher highlights the element of surprise in the gospel – that God would love and save those who were His enemies. He stresses that salvation is entirely of God from beginning to end, not dependent on human effort or decision.
Dr. Lloyd-Jones marvels at God’s rich mercy, great love, and exceeding grace toward undeserving sinners. He proclaims that through Christ, believers are not only raised from spiritual death but seated with Him in heavenly places.
Ultimately, Dr. Lloyd-Jones presents the “But God” of the gospel as the only true hope and encouragement for both individuals and the church in a dark and troubled world. *Please note that some sections of the original sermon were lost in the audio recording. However, we have done our best to make the sermon as seamless as possible.
Ephesians 2:1-10 for your convenience:
Ephesians 2:1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
Ephesians 2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Additional points by Michael A.:
Regarding the helpless estate of mankind, his first characterization of that came from the mid 19th century when humanity began to turn to science and Darwin’s work and thereafter believed they did not need God any longer.
God’s response to that, so MLJ believed, was to allow them to go ahead into the future without Him; without his restraining graces…. Hence, the 20th century was one of spiritual decline; world wars….
I have heard Sproul and MacArthur address man’s need of God by describing very similar scenarios. MLJ used scripture to provide a couple of other such examples as he explained God’s grace, mercy and miraculous intervention….
MLJTrust video-page link: https://www.youtube.com/@MLJTrust/videos
Playlist-page link: https://www.youtube.com/@MLJTrust/playlists