Eph 4.20-21: Knowledge of the Truth

Preaching and Preachers by Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Ephesians 4:20-21

But that is not the way you learned Christ!—assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus (ESV)

SERMON DESCRIPTION

Salvation only happens by repenting of sin and believing in Jesus Christ. In this sermon on Ephesians 4:20–21 titled “Knowledge of the Truth,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones warns against those who reduce salvation to a mere intellectual assent. The gospel is not dependent on the wisdom of people and their ability to comprehend it. All are born in sin and blindness, unable to see the truth or know God. But true Christianity and faith are a result of what the Holy Spirit does in bringing dead people to life and making them new creations in the Savior Christ Jesus. Understanding true doctrine and godliness are a result of salvation, not the means of it. All who are truly saved have a growing knowledge of God, as His word is absorbed by hearts freed from the blinding nature of sin. Those who know much about the Bible and about doctrine but who have never been broken by their sin are deceived and lost. They presume intellectual understanding is an acceptable substitute for confession of sin and faith in Christ. The church must always be wary of confusing these two kinds of knowledge. Many are self-deceived and lost because they have no real relationship with God, but instead are puffed up with knowledge.

SERMON BREAKDOWN

1. Christianity is primarily a matter of knowledge and understanding, not just feelings or experiences.
2. To become a Christian means to undergo a profound change in understanding. Our eyes have been opened to the truth.
3. The first thing that happens when someone becomes a Christian is that their eyes are opened to their own hopeless condition and need for a savior.
4. Our eyes are then opened to see the truth of the gospel - that Jesus is the Messiah and deliverer.
5. This opening of eyes and gaining of understanding is the work of the Holy Spirit. No one comes to faith through natural ability alone.
6. The "unction" or "anointing" of the Holy Spirit gives insight and understanding, even to the simple and uneducated.
7. To "learn Christ" means to come to a knowledge of the truth about Him - who He is and what He has done.
8. This knowledge of Christ is not just a knowledge of doctrine or theology in an abstract sense. It is a personal knowledge of Christ Himself.
9. The knowledge of Christ is not just that our sins are forgiven, but that Christ delivers us from sin itself.
10. The knowledge of Christ is the "truth as it is in Jesus" - meaning the truth is found only in the historic person of Jesus, not in ideas alone.
11. In Jesus "are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." All truth is found in Him.
12. We must never separate knowledge of doctrine from the person of Christ. Knowledge of Christ leads to a new life conformed to Him.