Built Together by the Holy Spirit
A Sermon on Ephesians 2:20-22
Originally preached July 1, 1956
Scripture
20And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of …
Sermon Description
How can something be one and yet many different things? This is the nature of the church where each member is different, but part of one body. In this sermon on Ephesians 2:20–22 titled “Built Together by the Holy Spirit,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones probes into how this can happen and who produces it. First, Dr. Lloyd-Jones makes a distinction between individuals and being individualistic. The former is, as he notes, a beautiful aspect of the church. Each stone is hewn differently—every Christian is different—but each stone does not pursue isolation. Each stone needs the others to be a temple. The differences in the church, according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, spotlights the nature of a living God. However, who is the one responsible for the unity in the diversity? As he observes from Ephesians, the builder of the temple is the Holy Spirit (vs 22). As Dr. Lloyd-Jones notes, the church is a miracle. The Holy Spirit must bring all to the conviction of their depravity and sin in order to shape and mold them into stones for the temple. Also, the Holy Spirit is the one who opens eyes to the truth of the gospel, gives understanding, produces the same fruit, and gives different gifts to members of the church. No one is able to do anything apart from Him.
Sermon Breakdown
- The church is like a building, a holy temple, that is being built up.
- We are living stones in this building.
- There is an element of choice and rejection in selecting stones for a building. Not all stones are identical.
- The stones are prepared beforehand to fit in the building. It is a secret work done without noise.
- We must realize the privilege of our position in the church. There is nothing like it.
- The problem is how to have unity without uniformity and remain individuals without being individualistic.
- This problem exists in many areas of life, not just religion. We must combine equality and individuality.
- In the church, we have different functions but are part of the same building. We are not all meant to be the same.
- The source of unity is that the building is the work of the Holy Spirit. He is the guarantor of unity.
- The Holy Spirit convicts us all of sin, enabling us to see our hopelessness and need for salvation. This is necessary for unity.
- The Holy Spirit enables us all to receive the truth. No one can receive spiritual truth on their own. This is vital for unity.
- The Holy Spirit leads us to the same truth about Jesus Christ. Unity comes from shared belief, not absence of belief.
- The Holy Spirit unites us to Christ, the cornerstone, and dwells in us. We have no life apart from Christ.
- The Holy Spirit produces the same fruit in all Christians: love, joy, peace, patience, etc. This fruit promotes unity.
- The Holy Spirit gives all spiritual gifts. We can't boast in any gift, so there is no basis for division.
- The Holy Spirit gives all the power we need to live the Christian life. We have received everything from Him.
Sermon Q&A
Questions and Answers from Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' Sermon on Ephesians 2:20-22
What is the third picture of the church that Dr. Lloyd-Jones discusses in this sermon?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, the apostle Paul uses three pictures to describe the church. The third picture, which is the focus of this sermon, is that "the church is like a great building, a holy temple, which is being built up and is going on in its process of erection, in order that it may be an habitation of God, a holy temple in the Lord."
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones explain the concept of unity without uniformity in the church?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that true Christian unity preserves individuality while achieving oneness. He states, "There are no two flowers that are absolutely identical" yet they belong to the same family - this diversity within unity is "the glory of creation." He emphasizes that "sameness is the characteristic of mechanics, but it's not the characteristic of the artist, it's not the characteristic touch of the creator." The church has "marvelous diversity and yet the perfect unity" where our individual differences remain while we are all perfectly joined together.
Who does Dr. Lloyd-Jones identify as the source and guarantor of unity in the church?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones identifies the Holy Spirit as "the great source and guarantee of unity" in the church. He points to Ephesians 2:22 which states that believers "are builded together for inhabitation of God through the spirit." He explains that "the habitation is being builded by the spirit" and "it is the spirit that produces and preserves and guarantees the unity."
What is the first work of the Holy Spirit in bringing about unity according to the sermon?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, the first work of the Holy Spirit in bringing about unity is convicting all believers of their sins. He explains: "It is the Holy Spirit and he alone who convicts us all of our sins...He brings us down, and he brings us all down to the same level. It is he who brings us to see that we're all miserable sinners." This creates unity because it removes pride and self-righteousness which would make being "fitly framed together" impossible.
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones say about the role of natural ability in receiving spiritual truth?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that no one can receive spiritual truth through natural ability alone. He states, "No man can receive the gospel in and of himself," citing that "the natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him." He rejoices that the Holy Spirit's work in revealing truth is "as essential in the greatest brain in the world this morning as he is in the most ignorant, hot and tot. There is no difference." This creates unity because no believer can claim superior understanding through their own intelligence.
What are the fruits of the Spirit that Dr. Lloyd-Jones says promote unity?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones lists the nine fruits of the Spirit as "love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, temperance" and points out that "every one of them promotes unity." He specifically highlights how several of these traits contribute to unity: love is essential for unity; joy makes one "easy to live with"; peace prevents people from being "ready to shy at a tangent"; long-suffering helps in "bearing with one another"; and temperance (self-control) prevents saying everything that comes to mind.
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones address the issue of spiritual gifts in relation to unity?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that all spiritual gifts come from the Holy Spirit who distributes them "dividing to every man severally as he will." This prevents boasting because "we haven't generated it. We haven't produced it." He emphasizes that all gifts are essential for the body, whether "big or small," and says, "Though my gift is a small and a humble and an uncomely one, thank God I'm in the body, and I'm an essential part of the body." This understanding of gifts promotes both diversity and unity.
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones say creates true unity in the church rather than mere absence of differences?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones distinguishes between mechanical unity (mere "absence of differences") and true spiritual unity. He states that true unity comes when believers stop looking at themselves and all look to Christ: "This is the thing that finally makes us one, that we've stopped looking at ourselves and we're all looking at him, and we're all so charmed by him and so attracted, and we all so long him that nothing matters but that." This Christ-centered focus, produced by the Holy Spirit, creates genuine spiritual unity.
The Book of Ephesians
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.