In my last post on preaching a couple of commenters mentioned the importance of spirit filled preaching where the preacher is full of unction from on high. I agree that there are those whom God moves on in a powerful way and through whom He speaks in a special way. Yet, I don't think that what we often mean by "spirit-filled" preaching is as important as we think it is. I am not saying that it is ok for a preacher to preach while in rebellion to the Spirit of God. But I am saying that even such a preacher, if he faithfully brings the Word, can see the spirit move through his preaching.
The notion of the primacy of the spirit filled preacher misses a very important fact. It is the Word of God that has power, not the one who delivers it.
To support this idea I'l begin with the nature of the Word of God itself. Ephesians 6:17 says that the Word of God is the sword of the spirit. The Holy Spirit's weapon is the Word of God. The Word of God, in and of itself, is attended with the power of the Spirit, independent of whoever proclaims is.
Hebrews 4:12 says:
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
The Word of God is living and active in and of itself, independent of those who proclaim it. By itself the Word of God penetrates to the dividing of soul and spirit and is able to judge the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
In Philippians 1:15-18 Paul says:
15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16 The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. b 18 But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.
Notice the cause of Paul's rejoicing here. The cause of his rejoicing is that Christ was preached. He didn't care what the motives were. Speaking of motives, he says "what does it matter?" So, Paul is rejoicing that Christ is preached even when he is preached from the lips of those with the following characteristics:
- Envy
- Rivalry
- Selfish Ambition
- Insincerity
- Spite
- False motives
There is no way you can convince me that these men, in and of themselves, were moving in the power of the Spirit. Yet, their preaching, which was driven almost exclusively by sin, was a cause of rejoicing for the apostle Paul. This is because the Spirit primarily attends the Word of God, not the men who bring it.
Of course this doesn't mean that it is ok to preach while living in open rebellion to the Spirit of God (so please save the chastising comments on that particular issue). I have no doubt that these men, unless they repented, would have come under severe discipline by God. In fact it is probably true that their preaching served to bless their hearers, while heaping condemnation on themselves for their hypocrisy. But the point is that their sin, as grievous as it was (and it was indeed very grievous) did not have the power to quench the Spirit. Why couldn't their sin quench the Spirit? Because the Spirit is embedded in the Word of God not in the vehicles which deliver the Word of God.
We are too enamored with men. We are more enamored with the vehicles of the Word than the Word itself. In this regard I have a quibble with one of E. M. Bounds famous statements in Power Through Prayer.
This trend of the day has a tendency to lose sight of the man or sink the man in the plan or organization. God’s plan is to make much of the man, far more of him than of anything else. Men are God’s method. The Church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men.
Notice that I said I have a quibble with Bounds here, not a criticism. I agree with him that men are more important than methods. But I would modify his statement that "God's plan is to make much of the man," to say that "God's plan is to make much of His Word."
It is true that preachers need to be prayed up and Spirit-filled, but I think the reason for this is not so much to make the preacher more effective in and of himself, but simply to make him more effective as a conduit for the clear proclamation of the Word of God. If a preacher's message is powerful, its not because he himself is so powerful and Spirit-filled, it is because the Word of God came through loud and clear.
The good news of this is that no preacher ever comes to the pulpit without carrying a heavy weight of sin with him. Even on his best day, the most Spirit and unction-filled preacher has enough sin in his heart to disqualify him from the Spirit's blessing. But, if it is the Word of God he is preaching, if it is Christ he is preaching, the Spirit will attend that Word about Christ, even in spite of the preacher's sinful heart.
Good post JB. It's very true that every preacher is a sinner, and that God's word is where the power is. However, I also think that a preacher himself will reveal something of Christ in how he treats God's word, how he prays etc. For example, a preacher who tells long, joking stories, will display to his hearers that the gospel is more trivial than it is - even if he presents the message accurately.
Posted by: Mick | April 22, 2005 at 07:37 AM
Maybe I have misunderstood what is being discussed here and I admit that is always a very real possibility, taking that risk let me say this; I do not know how you can seperate the Spirit from the Word and then say that the Word, alone has power as if the Spirit has nothing to do with the power of the Word. If then the power of the Word is the Spirit, then why would it be of no little consequence that that someone would or even attempt, to preach without the power of the Spirit.
1Cor 2:1-5 and
John 6:63 (ESV)It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
Jesus is saying very clearly that it is the Spirit who gives life to the words, not the other way around. Jesus, preached under the anointing and or unction of the Spirit. If Jesus did this, just how important for us as preachers is it to also seek to preach under the Anointing or Unction of the Spirit? Or are we just to assume that just because we are preaching that it is anointed as words of life?
This isn't an assumption that I am willing to make.
Just wondering.
Blessings in Christ Jesus!
Posted by: Phil McAlmond | April 22, 2005 at 08:08 AM
One of the reasons I read your blog regularly is because you are so remarkably grounded. Although I have never met you, I suspect you are one who is able to keep his head when all those around you are losing theirs.
You "quibbled" with Bounds; what follows doesn't even rise the level of that: it's meant to be more of a clarification than any kind of corrective. I could be wrong, of course, but I think it's about nuances and not fundamental beliefs. I'll quote you a few times and then offer my two-cents worth.
"The Word of God is living and active in and of itself, independent of those who proclaim it." - You based this on Heb 4, which basically says this. But I don't think the Bible has inherent, independent power: it is only as the Holy Spirit gives life to the word that the word becomes living and active. Otherwise, it is - although totally true - impotent.
It's anecdotal evidence, I admit, but simply look at the effect the Bible has on someone who has no desire for God, no openness to the Holy Spirit. It has no effect or, worse, a negative effect. The Pharisees are an example, as are millions of Americans who read and listen to the word but are fundamentally unmoved by it. It is the Spirit that gives life, not the Bible.
I hold the Bible in high regard, as I know you do, but it does not belong on the same level as the Members of the Godhead. It is dependent upon them even as we are; apart from Them, to borrow from Jn 15, the word can do nothing.
"This is because the Spirit primarily attends the Word of God, not the men who bring it." - This is a true statement regarding us, and it is also true of the written word: it is the Spirit's work through the word that is effective, not the word alone.
"We are too enamored with men." - Amen. We can also be too enamored with the Bible, don't you think? Now, I certainly hold the Bible in higher regard than I hold men (self included!) but it has to be in its proper place. It is an inerrant tool in the hands of the Spirit, but without Him it is like a sword lying at rest: pretty look at and nice to appreciate, but incapable of doing anything.
"The good news of this is that no preacher ever comes to the pulpit without carrying a heavy weight of sin with him." - I'm sure this isn't exactly what you meant to say, i.e., that it's good news that preachers always have a heavy weight of sin, but I agree with the thought. Anyone who thinks otherwise does not understand how completely sin has affected us. We are certainly clean in God's sight, but we have this treasure in earthen vessels. It's one of the reasons why we'll have new bodies in heaven.
Good post.
Posted by: Mike | April 22, 2005 at 09:12 AM
David,
I appreciate your willingness to respond to what I wrote the other day.
A few comments:
1. The proof is always in the fruit. We can hear the word of God, leave our gathering, go home, and see no fruit. Too many churches are like that. Where then does the fault lie? Surely, it is with us as fallen men. I am a firm believer in this passage:
"For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it."
(Isaiah 55:10-11 ESV)
Why rain and snow for God's word? Rain immediately penetrates the ground. Snow, though, needs something to melt it in order for it to be useful. What (or who) is that means of melting? Without the Spirit melting that snow in the heart of the hearer, the word remains frozen on the surface. The word of God and the energizing by the Spirit are a synergy.
2. Have you ever been bludgeoned by God's word? In other words, have you ever had someone inappropriately use the Bible to beat you over the head in your time of need or testing? If so, then you know how just merely speaking out the word does not ensure anything. On the other hand, the word spoken in due season can give life. That is because the Spirit's leading is behind it in that moment. Again, the Spirit has to back the word in order to make it prosper in someone's life.
3. The Spirit does not lead into error. We all know that there are many heretical Bible teachers out there who use the Scriptures in a way not intended by the Holy Spirit. Simply being able to expound on the word of God does not ensure that the Spirit is behind what is being said.
4. There are many sermon resources on the Web and elsewhere. You can even purchase sermons. Surely the Bible is being expounded in those sermons, but how are the preacher and his hearers served by doing this? I hear that more pastors are resorting to this means of preparing a message. Is the Holy Spirit enabling this? Personally, I don't think so.
5. The Spirit goes where He wills. And yet so many sermons today are three points and a conclusion. Many pastors have their entire year's preaching/teaching "cycle" planned out in advance, too. Are these the preferred means for the Spirit to work? If so, then what does this say about our ability to conform the Spirit to our cultural trappings rather than the other way around?
Again, thank you for responding and for taking the time to expand on your original post. This is a good topic that needs to be thoughtfully addressed.
Blessings.
Posted by: DLE | April 22, 2005 at 10:39 AM
Thanks for the followup, David. Yesterday's post certainly had the potential to raise enough questions for a followup. I suppose in the future I will have to be more clear in my comment about my true meaning. I was not so much trying to get a message across that the Spirit must support the Word of God (althought that's what I believe). I was commenting on the idea of laypeople preaching the Word of God -- that when people hear them speak a Spirit-fill message from the Word (sic), the message can be as effective as one from a trained, schooled pastor. My mistake was in saying what sounded like the person could be effective rather than the message. In quoting the scripture I mentioned, I was not taking it out of context. Peter and John had been speaking of Jesus and the resurrection of the dead. Anyone who has experienced the power of God through faith in His Son can do that. That's why it isn't always preachers who are doing the important hands-on work helping people to come to a saving knowledge of Christ through their example and by their words. I thank Phil who points out Jesus' own words about His words being spirit and life since this same thought had occurred to me while reading this followup post. What wasn't said was Jesus' words "Yet there are some of you who do not believe." Not everyone will believe the word, even when the Spirit attends it apparently as happened in this situation. Perhaps that happens now as it did then because, ironically, these statements came following a 'hard teaching' by the Master. Like I said, I will be more careful in my wording in the future (I have tried to be careful here) and I DO thank you for exploring once again this topic.
Posted by: Paula | April 22, 2005 at 01:35 PM
Even the frauds using the word of God can't dull its power. The best example I can think of is Marjoe. He was a child evangelist who admitted that he was a fraud in a documentary whose title was the same as his name. What was interesting was seeing people respond not so much to him but to the Word of God. In order to link the saving power of the gospel to him alone or to others like him one would have to deny those who came to a saving knowledge of Jesus the conversion to Christianity they had embraced.
Posted by: Phil Dillon | April 22, 2005 at 02:53 PM
I think the misuse of the unction context comes from the way Mark 13:11 is applied out of proper context by many Pentacostals and Charismatics.
"Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit."
I have heard this used many times over the years to argue that it is the Holy Spirit who preaches, while the passage only addresses those brought to trial for their faith, not day in and day preaching of the Word. Still once the meme is out there (the Spirit will give you the words) it is hard to bring it back into proper context.
There is a sense that everything a submitted heart does in the service of God is led by the Spirit, but that comes from Jesus' argument that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks - hence an abundant Christian heart will naturally speak from the Spirit of God living within them. This is not the same as Mark 13:11.
That said, anyone who preaches has had times when they can feel, what for lack of a better way of saying it, an "annointing" and their mind is awash with insights to add to their prepared sermon text and there is a sense of spiritual power in their efforts.
That is not the norm, but the exception, and any preacher (or listener) who seeks to make it normative is to me like the ones Jesus condemns for always seeking a sign.
Contrasting that position with Paul's statement in 1 Cor. 2:4
"My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, 5so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power."
Some argue using this passage that all preaching should be a demonstration of the Spirit's power. Yet while Paul says he came doing his evangelism this way, he never claims it is normative for all preaching.
Those who don't accept this have to deal with Phil 1:15-18
"It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice."
Posted by: William Meisheid | April 22, 2005 at 03:23 PM
Good thoughts which can bring courage to even a stumbler like myself. God's call to preach is not about being great. I think often people think "Spirit filled" but mean "spirit raising", in other words, energizing and moving. A Gator's football game can be energizing and moving, depending on your love for the team. And I can even see men glorifying God through their football talents, fulfilling the cultural mandate. But I just don't think it is "Spirit filled".
Posted by: Terry | April 22, 2005 at 06:57 PM
It is SO good to see someone writing what have been discovering over the past 3-4 years of preaching. On the one hand I knew that preaching is a supernatural experience... on the other I knew that common understandings of how the Spirit worked were more subjective than Christian.
I have created an adage to promote this idea. Feel free to use it. Feel free not to bother giving me credit for creating it!
"When the Word of God is explained...
and the Gospel of Christ is proclaimed...
The Holy Spirit is not constrained."
Posted by: One Salient Oversight | April 22, 2005 at 08:43 PM
I admit that I have not read the previous article but I would like to respond to DLE's comments from my own pov. Sorry if this causes any problems!
1. "The proof is always in the fruit."
This is absolutely true. However, the fruit may not be visible for some time. I don't think that an immediate response to a biblical sermon is what is defined as fruit. A steady diet of faithful, Biblical preaching will eventually lead to external and measureable manifestations of the Spirit's work in people's lives (manifestations being things like growth in godliness... not the Charismatic view of manifestations!)
2. "Have you ever been bludgeoned by God's word? In other words, have you ever had someone inappropriately use the Bible to beat you over the head in your time of need or testing?"
Fortunately I haven't. However I will say that any preacher who mishandles scripture and preaches what it is not saying is not being used by the Spirit. The Spirit does not work through a preacher when the preacher is teaching falsehoods.
3. "Simply being able to expound on the word of God does not ensure that the Spirit is behind what is being said."
If the preacher is preaching what the Bible says, then the Spirit is behind it. If the preacher is not preaching what the Bible says, the Spirit is NOT behind it. Lesson? Preach what the Bible says.
4. "There are many sermon resources on the Web and elsewhere. You can even purchase sermons... Is the Holy Spirit enabling this? Personally, I don't think so."
I always preach my own sermons. However I would not put it past God to use biblical sermons created by someone else and preached through another person's mouth. In fact I'm sure that God uses it - that's essentially what the NT is isn't it? Moreover, I would prefer a preacher to mechanically preach the truth prepared by another person rather than that preacher teach error.
5. "The Spirit goes where He wills. And yet so many sermons today are three points and a conclusion. Many pastors have their entire year's preaching/teaching "cycle" planned out in advance, too. Are these the preferred means for the Spirit to work? If so, then what does this say about our ability to conform the Spirit to our cultural trappings rather than the other way around?"
If a sermon is Biblical, the Spirit will use it. I don't care if they have three points and a conclusion - a sermon's "rigid" structure cannot prevent the Spirit from working. It's not about structure, it's about content (and content should always determine structure). I have been to a church where the entire year's preaching was worked out beforehand. The preaching was expository - preaching through passages of the Bible. You know, Matthew 1 one week, Matthew 2 the week after, a 4-5 week series expounding Ruth later on in the year, entire books covered. The idea is that the preacher does not "determine" how many sermons to preach on a particular book of the Bible, he "discovers" it. I preached about 25 sermons on 1, 2 and 3 John - not because I wanted to, but because that was how it happenned to be structured.
I believe in the "steady drip of expository preaching". This is not preaching which tries to turn the world upside down for listeners in every sermon. It is simply the regular, faithful, undemonstrative exposure of a church congregation to Biblical expository preaching week after week, year after year. Like a drip of water onto rock, time eventually causes permanent, visible and measureable changes in people's lives.
If you want to see some of my own sermon texts, go here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:One_Salient_Oversight/_-_test_wiki_page
Actually the sermon on this page is an exposition of Proverbs 29:18 "Where there is no vision, the people perish". It encapsulates my position very well.
Posted by: One Salient Oversight | April 22, 2005 at 09:11 PM
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Posted by: PASTOR.T.CHINNA BABU | May 17, 2005 at 04:18 AM