The Power of Spirit-Less Preaching
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.
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