D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The Unsearchable Riches of Christ: An Exposition of Ephesians 3:1-21 (affiliate link). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1979. 315 pages.
In my library, I have long had two sets of D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones’s books: his studies on Romans and Ephesians. I think I bought them when I was in seminary. I also have several of his other books, such as his counsel to preachers and his study of the Sermon on the Mount. I recently reviewed a biography on him as well. I had heard his sets on Romans and Ephesians were very good, and I found them on sale! But I never read deeply into them, in part because I mistakenly treated them like commentaries. If I was studying a particular passage in Ephesians, I’d see what Lloyd-Jones wrote about a verse. But that is probably the wrong approach for this series. He does go verse by verse, but he delves into much greater detail than a commentary normally does. His set on Ephesians is six volumes!
When I began reading his works devotionally, I found the volume on Ephesians chapter three to be insightful and spiritually encouraging. He filled my mind with future sermons I must preach! Ephesians 3:20 is my favorite verse, so I checked to see what Lloyd-Jones had to say about it. The next thing I knew, I had decided to start at the beginning of his volume on chapter three and to read it in its entirety. I am planning to read the volume on Ephesians 6:10 and following next!
Lloyd-Jones was a Welshman who was most famous for preaching at Westminster Chapel in London. He was a highly regarded preacher and expositor, attracting admirers such as a young J.I. Packer.
The following are some quotes I found impactful as I read through his commentary on Ephesians chapter three.
“Beyond all doubt there is nothing which is quite as comforting, so reassuring to faith, nothing which is quite so exhilarating in the Christian life, as just to stand back and to contemplate and to understand in some measure God’s great plan and scheme and purpose of redemption” (26).
“Do you realize the trouble to which God has gone in order that you and I might be redeemed and rescued and might become saints, and might eventually spend our eternity in his glorious presence?” (31).
“How important it is that we should realize the danger of starting with a theory and imposing it upon the scriptures!” (47).
“It is largely because the true conception of the work of the minister has become debased that the ministry has lost its authority and counts for so little at the present time” (53).
“The business of any man who claims to have been called to be a minister of the gospel is to ‘preach the unsearchable riches of Christ’” (56).
“A Christian is not merely interested in personal comfort and solace. The Christian is one who is concerned about the glory of God and the greatness of his holy name” (79).
“Thank God for the light of the Gospel in this dark hour, the light which shows that in spite of all we see in the world, God is still on his throne” (79).
“. . . What is happening in the Church is so stupendous, so glorious, that even the bright angelic beings who have spent their entire existence in the presence of God, even they are staggered and amazed at what they see in and through the Church” (81).
“The Church is the final expression of the wisdom of God” (86).
“What prayer does, as it were, is to fill the lungs of the soul with the oxygen of the Holy Spirit and his power” (125).
“We have become a generation of Christians that tend to live on meetings” (108).
“The best teaching in the world is useless unless the Holy Spirit takes hold of it and applies it and opens our understanding to it and gives it a deep lodging place in our whole being” (110).
“The very greatness of what is offered to us demands that we be strengthened in order to receive it” (134).
“Intellectual lethargy is undoubtedly the greatest sin of many Christians today” (138).
“To believe in the Lord Jesus Christ is not the end of Christianity, it is but the beginning” (147).
“To get rid of self-love seems impossible. But Christ will not come into our hearts until there is room for him” (164).
“There is no ultimate value in all our work, and all our activity, unless it is rooted and grounded in love” (190).
“The day of judgment will be a revelation, a day of surprises. What appeared to us to be very great may then appear to be nothing at all, and what appeared to us to be trivial will then be seen to be of great value with the arc-light of God’s love shed upon it” (191).
“There is only one way to lose self, and that is to love another and to be lost in him” (244).
“The Lord Jesus Christ is not among us in the flesh now; but in the Spirit He can be much more real, and we can know him with an intimacy that the disciples and apostles did not enjoy when he was here in the days of his flesh” (250). Too many develop a relationship with their Bible as if it is an end, rather than a means to foster a personal relationship with Christ.
“How tragic it is that any of us should be living as paupers, out on the cold street, while the banqueting chamber is open and the feast prepared” (253).
“. . there is nothing more blessed under heaven than to know something of the power of the Holy Spirit” (298).
“Our greatest superlatives do not describe the power of God” (307).
“Surely our greatest trouble in the Christian life is our failure to realize that God is not as man” (308).
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. He does what I like to do (but he does it much better!), which is slowly walking through a passage of Scripture, going deep and being practical. Lloyd-Jones is theologically conservative, but he emphasizes a personal relationship with Christ. He loves the church. I have already pulled the next volume from my shelf to begin reading. I encourage you to read his books slowly and thoughtfully.
Rating: 4
Leave a Reply