Preaching in the New Testament (New Studies in Biblical Theology Book 42)

by (Preaching instructor) Jonathan Griffiths

To focus the question further: According to Scripture, is there such a thing as ‘preaching’ that is mandated in the post-apostolic context; and, if there is, how is it characterized and defined?

Scripture is not simply a depository and record of words that God spoke at some time in the past; it is the script that he continues to speak today. Scripture presents itself as a living thing.

If it is the word of God that preachers preach, then insofar as they are saying what the Bible passage is saying, it follows that God is speaking and his voice is heard. This truth may be so familiar that it has lost something of its wonder, but it is an extraordinary thing to consider. When preachers open up God’s word and say what it says, God is speaking, and the congregation is hearing his own voice.

When Ezekiel was taken to look upon the valley full of dry bones (picturing the people of God in exile and under the judgment of God), he was called to speak to them that they might live: So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them . . . So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. (Ezek. 37:7–10) God by his word brought life to the dead in an act of re-creation hardly less dramatic or miraculous than his creative work in Genesis 1.

Jesus warns that the words he speaks will judge those who hear them but fail to keep them: If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. (John 12:47–48)

Final judgement culpability for not heeding Christ’s words

Encounters with God in Scripture are often, in essence, encounters with his word. Even where a striking physical manifestation of God’s presence is given, the substance of a meeting is verbal in nature. This is the case in God’s meeting with Moses at the burning bush in Exodus 3. Although the burning bush catches Moses’ attention (Exod. 3:3) and marks the fact that God is present, the essence of God’s presence in the encounter is not so much the bush itself but the word that God speaks. Once God has Moses’ attention, the substance of their encounter is a lengthy conversation (Exod. 3:7 – 4:17). The physical manifestation of God’s presence only draws attention to the central means by which God engages with Moses: that is, by speaking to him. The same is true for the prophet Elijah in his encounter with God in 1 Kings 19. Elijah is isolated and frightened, and in his goodness the Lord comes to him and makes his presence known to him. The encounter is dramatic, but once again God’s word stands at the very heart of it:

Judas asks how it is that Jesus will ‘manifest’ himself to his people (14:22). Jesus’ reply sets the word at the centre again: ‘If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words’ (14:23–24). The ‘manifestation’ of Jesus after his departure will be through his word. The response of the disciples to Jesus’ word counts as a personal response to him, because Jesus is so intimately bound up in his word.

Faith: reason why believing Christ’s words is believing in Christ

Given the nature of the word as outlined here, we can conclude that at least three things must occur in and through any ministry of the word: (1) God is speaking, because through the Bible and by his Spirit God speaks today those words he once spoke; (2) God is achieving his purposes, because God’s word is living and active; and (3) God is encountering his people, because he characteristically meets and relates to his people through his word.

The observations of this chapter confirm that euangelizomai, katangellō and kēryssō do function with a high degree of consistency as ‘semi-technical’ terms for preaching the gospel throughout the New Testament. The designation ‘semi-technical’ is apt because there is some variety in use, and it is not the case that every occurrence of the vocabulary is a ‘technical’ reference to preaching (unless the definition of preaching is made very broad indeed). It is important to recognize the distinction between words and the concepts to which they point.31 Purely ‘technical’ terms refer precisely and uniformly to a specific and closely defined concept within a body of literature.

Pair this highlight with that in location 547

Furthermore, it is significant that none of our three ‘semi-technical’ verbs for preaching the gospel are used anywhere in the New Testament to frame an instruction, command or commission for believers in general to ‘preach’. Where there are generalized instructions in the New Testament for believers to communicate God’s word, these instructions are expressed using other vocabulary.39

At this point in the discussion it is important to remember the general principle that words do not have a concrete and tightly defined single meaning, but rather are capable of conveying a range of meanings depending on the context in which they are used (this range is often referred to as a word’s ‘semantic range’).42 On any given occasion when a particular word is used, only part of that range of meaning will be intended. For some words this range will be wider than for others, but the principle holds true for all words. It can be helpful to picture the range of meaning of a word as a circle. Nearest the centre of the circle will be meanings that are most commonly signified by the word in question.43 Further out will be other related meanings or nuances which the word sometimes signifies, but less often. The way in which the reader determines which particular meaning is signified in any given use of the term is by considering the discourse context in which the word is being used. That is why it is always vital to take adequate account of the context of words as they appear within sentences and paragraphs (and larger units too) within any work of literature – and not least when studying books of the Bible.

Hermeneutics: Semantic range of meaning is like concentric circles, with most common and obvious meanings closest to center.

Within the New Testament the ‘good news’ in view is the Christian gospel (the euangelion).44 Most of the time, the act of communication denoted by euangelizomai is carried out in a public context by a person of recognized authority. Thus the normal meaning of euangelizomai in the New Testament is ‘to preach the gospel’. However, on a few occasions the communication referred to by euangelizomai is less formal and made by a variety of people (whose identity is not always specified). While our survey of New Testament occurrences of the verb confirms that the substance and character of the message are absolutely central within the range of meaning of euangelizomai, it also indicates that the mode and agency of the communication are less central.

euangelizomai typically refers to preaching gospel in NT but not always.

a translation such as the ESV, which strives to translate important Greek terms using the same English word as consistently as possible (see the ESV Preface), nonetheless translates this verb using a variety of English terms depending on the context: speakers ‘bring’ (Luke 1:19; 8:1; Acts 13:32; 14:15; 1 Thess. 3:6), ‘tell’ (Acts 8:35) and ‘announce’ (Rev. 10:7) good news, alongside ‘preaching’ and ‘proclaiming’ it. This is quite understandable; such a variety of English renderings accurately reflects the semantic range of the verb.

Translation methodology

With very few exceptions within the New Testament, kēryssō is used in contexts indicating that it speaks of the public proclamation of an authoritative message by a person of recognized authority. This pattern resonates strongly with the use of the term in the Septuagint, where typically (and quite consistently) it is used to signify the public proclamation of an urgent message by a person of authority (usually someone of delegated authority: the herald of a ruler of Israel or of a foreign nation, or, frequently, a prophet of God).45 It

Use of Kerysso in NT

Thus, in light of these lexical considerations and the contextual exegetical factors outlined above, we can conclude that Paul refers in 1:14–18 to the preaching activity of particular co-workers, rather than of believers in general. The use of the verbs katangellō and kēryssō in these verses does not, therefore, constitute an exception to the pattern of use within the New Testament outlined in the previous chapter, but rather corresponds with it.

#Complementarianism: IN: Does Phil 1:14-16 teach any believer may “preach”? Locations 626-663 rebut this view

Not only does the New Testament expect all believers to be involved in word-based evangelism, it also expects all believers to be engaged in word-based ministries of encouragement and discipleship within the church family.7 In Colossians 3:16 Paul urges the believers in the church at Colossae to ‘Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom’. In 1 Thessalonians 5:14 Paul instructs the Thessalonian believers to serve one another in similar ways: ‘And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the faint-hearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.’ At Crete, Titus is to ensure that the older women are equipped to ‘teach what is good [kalodidaskalous], and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled’ (Titus 2:3–5). Older women are to teach younger women principles from the word of God so that the younger women will live out those principles and not cause the word to be reviled. The writer of Hebrews calls the believers to ‘exhort [or ‘encourage’, parakaleite] one another every day, as long as it is called “today”, that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin’ (Heb. 3:13; similarly 10:25). Hebrews can describe the words of Scripture themselves as ‘encouragement’/‘exhortation’ (paraklēsis) at 12:5, and the immediate context here in chapter 3 indicates tha...

Complementarianism: IN: Though all believers are not called to “preach” they are called to ministry of the word.

Paul’s charge to Timothy establishes a bridge between apostolic and post-apostolic preaching

It could be that the term ‘man of God’ in this context simply means ‘person belonging to God’: that is, any Christian person. However, the term has a substantial Old Testament pedigree as a name used to refer to God’s appointed leaders of his people and, in particular, those who are sent as authoritative speakers of his word.12 So, for instance, it is used to identify Moses (Deut. 33:1), David (2 Chr. 8:14), Samuel (1 Sam. 9:6, 10), Elijah (1 Kgs 17:18, 24), Elisha (2 Kgs 4:7, 9) and an angelic messenger (Judg. 13:6–8). It can serve as a functional equivalent of the term ‘prophet’ (see esp. 1 Sam. 9:6, 9 and 1 Kgs 17:18, 24 with 19:16).

In light of the fact that the term ‘man of God’ often referred to the prophet of God in the Old Testament, these verses highlight one potentially rich vein of biblical-theological connection, namely, that the Christian preacher stands in a line of continuity with the Old Testament prophet.

Those called to preach are to be “men of God” in some sense like the OT prophets

At the opening of his ministry Jesus claims for himself the role of the prophet who ‘proclaims’ the good news of Isaiah 61 (Luke 4:18–19) and he proceeds to devote himself to that proclamatory ministry (Luke 4:44; 8:1). Like the Gospels’ portrayal of John the Baptist, the portrayal of Jesus’ ministry in the Gospels at points recalls very strongly Old Testament prophetic ministries (especially the ministry of Elijah; cf. Luke 7:11–17 and 1 Kgs 17:17–24).

Although Paul never designates himself a ‘prophet’,13 there is a range of evidence within his letters that he views his own ministry as standing in a line of continuity with that of the Old Testament prophets.14 His reference to his calling to be a preacher in Galatians 1:15–16 echoes passages that speak of the calling of the Servant of Isaiah (Isa. 49:1–6) and Jeremiah (Jer. 1:5).15

disseminated. A central affirmation of Romans 10 is that God makes his salvation available through the preaching of his word. Paul’s initial concern is to demonstrate that God has already made full provision for the preaching of the gospel to ethnic Israel through his own ministry (and presumably that of the other apostles), so that there can be no question that God has not rejected his people (11:1).

Preaching is by its very nature the declaration of a message that is designed to be heard. And since faith comes about through hearing the word of God, there is a fundamental correspondence between the act of preaching and the creation of faith. Paul is not simply suggesting that preaching is the best way of achieving the intended result of faith (as though his concern were merely pragmatic), but that preaching is the natural, appropriate and God-ordained means of producing faith, by its nature having a fundamental correspondence to the character of faith.

Gospel means

In Romans 10 Paul establishes the central importance of preaching in God’s plan of salvation for the world. The preached message, as a word that is proclaimed and heard, corresponds in a fundamental way to the gospel itself – a message of salvation that is freely given and intended simply to be received by faith. Gospel preaching stands in a line of continuity with Moses’ and Isaiah’s ministry, and fulfils the latter’s prophetic expectation of the proclamation of good news in the messianic age. Jesus himself stands behind the authoritative preaching of his word, and he commissions preachers to do this vital work.

In addressing such perceived objections, Paul compares his preaching with other forms of oratory. This comparison is implicit throughout 1:18–31, where he contrasts the ‘wisdom of the world’ (1:20) and the ‘wisdom’ that Greeks seek (1:22) with the message he preaches, that is, ‘Christ crucified’ (1:23). A contrast between Paul’s preaching and the rhetoric the Corinthians prized is strongly implicit in 1:17–25 and comes closer to the surface in 2:1–5, where Paul comments directly on his own ‘rhetorical’ (or perhaps better, ‘anti-rhetorical’) method:

Rather than being a rhetorician whose power lies in his skill, Paul is a herald whose power lies in his message and stems from the God who commissioned him to preach.

Paul treats preaching the gospel as a type of work comparable to military service, farming or temple service. This type of work requires a level of dedication that merits material support. Further, the activity of preaching is sufficiently characteristic of the people who undertake the work that they can be treated as their own group, identified as ‘those who preach the gospel’. The generalization of the principle Paul establishes, alongside the inclusion of Barnabas in the application of the principle, indicates that it applies beyond the apostolic office to others who preach. Paul’s statement in 9:14 (which probably refers to the instruction of Jesus recorded in Luke 10:7; cf. Matt. 10:7–10) ‘suggests continuity with the didactic ministry of Jesus’ disciples and indicates the existence of a recognised group in the early Christian movement whose responsibility it was to proclaim the gospel’.11

Preaching requires a believing response and leads to salvation Paul attaches great significance to the preaching of this received word and to the hearers’ response to it. The Corinthians ‘are being saved’ by the preached word, but only ‘if you hold fast to the word I preached to you’ (15:2). To question or deny the faithfully preached word is incomprehensible to Paul: ‘Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?’ (15:12). The faithful proclamation of this received word should be sufficient to put doubt to rest and precludes legitimate contradiction. Ultimately, the response – and continued response – to this preached word is a matter of life and death.

How could God make our eternal destiny depend on hearing and believing the gospel?! Naturalistically (atheistically) speaking, that once’s eternal destiny depends upon their response to preaching it is too much to handle. Think of all the faltering preachers, the distractions, the baggage of the hearers, etc. etc. How could salvation be based in such a faltering, partial, humanoid activity as preaching? But remember that in Paul’s theology preaching is ultimately God speaking to minds and hearts, ultimately bringing about the miracle of faith against all odds in this fallen world. Ultimate one’s destiny does not rest in the feeble hands of the preacher not lie at the mercy of one’s personal hangups or misfortunes. Both gospel preaching and the saving faith it produces are human-mediated Divine activities or they are nothing at all.

this ministry is presented as both public in its context and verbal in its nature. Paul points to the public context of this ministry through the evocative imagery he uses of being led by Christ in a ‘triumphal procession’ which ‘spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere’ (2:14). Verse 14 does not specify the means by which ‘the fragrance of the knowledge of [Christ]’ is disseminated,

Thus a key basis of Paul’s comparison and contrast here between old-covenant ministry and the ministry in which he and his associates have been engaged is a common public context – specifically, the context of the assembly of God’s people.

God the Trinity is at work in the ministry of proclamation As Paul and his ministry associates engage in this ministry of public proclamation of God’s word, Paul believes that God the Trinity is powerfully at work.

As Paul, Timothy and Silas proclaim the new covenant in the power of the Spirit, they themselves become recipients, along with God’s assembled people (‘we all’, 3:18), of the transforming ministry of the Spirit. This is only possible because in the ministry of new-covenant proclamation, the primary actor is not the preacher, but God himself.

Paul again emphasizes the primary agency of God in their preaching ministry when he describes them as being ‘ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us’ (5:20), as they ‘work together’ with God (6:1).

Unlike Moses, however, Paul is ‘very bold’ (3:12). The term translated ‘bold’ here is the Greek term parrēsia, which carries the sense of liberty, openness and boldness in speech. Paul’s liberty in preaching the gospel contrasts with Moses’ guardedness in putting a veil over his face when communicating the old covenant.

In turning to Christ, the veil is removed (3:18) so that people are at liberty to behold the Lord as his word is proclaimed (3:17). The implication of this is that the proclamation of Christ from the word of God entails a transformative encounter with the Lord himself:

The proclamation is made by ‘approved’ agents Paul and his companions lay emphasis on the fact that they acted as approved agents in declaring the gospel in Thessalonica: For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed – God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. (2:3–6) The term translated here ‘approved’ (dedokimasmetha) refers to being proved (and ultimately ‘approved’) through testing. It was used in the ancient world to refer to the testing and approval of office holders for their role.6 Here the Lord is the one who has tested and proved his agents for work as his gospel ministers (the same verb is used later in 2:4:

Couldn’t any believer argue they have been called and approved by God? He doesn’t address that obvious rebuttal here.

Aligning himself, Silas and Timothy with Jesus and the prophets, Paul writes that the Jews ‘killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out’ (2:15).9

Striking how often identifies himself with the OT prophets

Hebrews is a sermon intended to be read aloud in the Christian assembly Most New Testament epistles have at least some affinity with the sermonic genre in that they were generally designed to be read out to Christian congregations. But Hebrews calls itself a ‘word of exhortation’ (13:22), which was a term used in contemporary Judaism and early Christianity to refer to the sermon in a synagogue or church gathering. It is used in this way in Acts 13:14–15, where Paul and his companions are invited to preach in the synagogue at Pisidian Antioch: ‘After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement [or ‘exhortation’] for the people, say it.”’

In a later Christian context, a fourth-century liturgy designates the sermon ‘words of exhortation’ (Apostolic Constitutions 8.5).3

A number of features of Hebrews indicate its fundamentally ‘oral’ rather than written character: the writer’s use of the first person plural (which ‘enables the speaker to identify with his listeners while addressing them with authority’4); frequent references to speaking and hearing, rather than writing (2:5; 6:9; 8:1; 11:32); and the regular alternation between exposition and exhortation.5 As noted above, Hebrews is arguably the earliest extant full-length Christian sermon.6

There is now quite a widespread acknowledgment among commentators and other scholars that Hebrews essentially constitutes a series of expositions of Old Testament texts and themes in light of their fulfilment in Christ.

Nevertheless, as was the case for the wilderness generation, the congregation must recognize that the ‘word of God’ which they are hearing preached to them is not simply for their comfort, but can also be for their judgment (4:11–13). If God’s people respond in faith to the preached word, they will enter God’s rest. If they respond in unbelieving rebellion, they will be judged and excluded. Such are the stakes when the gospel is preached. They were the stakes in the wilderness; they were the stakes when the Hebrews congregation was first evangelized; and the writer makes it clear that they remain so as he delivers his word to them.