'The Preaching of the Word of God is the Word of God'

[Martin Marprelate]

Or Praedicatio verbi dei est verbum dei for all you Latin buffs out there.

I came across this statement by Heinrich Bullinger in the Second Helvetic Confession of 1562. How do you brothers feel about the truth of it. If it is correct, it exalts the preaching of the word and renders the avoidance of hearing the word preached in church inexcusable.

Note that Bullinger did not say that preaching is the word of God. No, it is Biblical preaching that is God's word. We are to be Bereans (Acts 18:11) and check out what we hear from the pulpit to ensure that it is indeed the preaching of the word of God. But Paul wrote, 'For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it, not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe' (1 Thessalonians 2:13). The Thessalonians heard Paul's preaching and recognized it for what it was: the very word of God.

So whadd'ya think?

 

[Reformed]

Paul admonished Timothy to preach the word.

2 Timothy 4:1-2 4:1 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.

In Timothy's time, the canon of scripture was not complete. Timothy was to use the scripture that he had available. When Timothy preached the word, he was proclaiming, "Thus sayeth the Lord!" That is what every preacher is doing when he proclaims scripture. Only scripture is the word of God. To the extent that a preacher is proclaiming God's word verbatim, his preaching is the word of God.

 

[rlvaughn]

I think it can be understood as accurate, with caution. If the truth of the word is preached, it doesn't cease to be true just because it is preached. I could see western Christians running amok with this, though, with revering every word as true because it comes out of some preacher's mouth.

 

[RighteousnessTemperance&]

Or Praedicatio verbi dei est verbum dei for all you Latin buffs out there.

I came across this statement by Heinrich Bullinger in the Second Helvetic Confession of 1562. How do you brothers feel about the truth of it. If it is correct, it exalts the preaching of the word and renders the avoidance of hearing the word preached in church inexcusable.

Note that Bullinger did not say that preaching is the word of God. No, it is Biblical preaching that is God's word. We are to be Bereans (Acts 18:11) and check out what we hear from the pulpit to ensure that it is indeed the preaching of the word of God. But Paul wrote, 'For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it, not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe' (1 Thessalonians 2:13). The Thessalonians heard Paul's preaching and recognized it for what it was: the very word of God.

So whadd'ya think?

When Paul, for example, preached or taught as an apostle, he indeed spoke (or wrote) the word of God, and we rightly consider it so where recorded, and could wish for more. This does not, however, translate directly to us, or even to those yet spiritually gifted then. Consider the following verses written to early Christians:

"Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge," (1 Corinthians 14:29).

"Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil." (1 Thessalonians 5:19-22).

 

[RighteousnessTemperance&]

A special difficulty lies in the nature of Scripture. Scripture, while truly the word of God, obviously contains more than just God's perspective, and is not always explicit. If not handled faithfully and contextually, one easily ends up with a perversion. While I have heard preaching from inspiration that would lift my believing soul to very heaven, I have also heard teaching delivered with a charisma that would send one to that unholy pit whence it came.

"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world," (1 John 4:1).

 

[kyredneck]

I have heard preaching from inspiration that would lift my believing soul to very heaven

Me too. When the Spirit is in the preaching, both to the sower and the eater, it truly is the word of God. No question about it.

8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith Jehovah.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 For as the rain cometh down and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, and giveth seed to the sower and bread to the eater;
11 so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. Isa 55

 

[kyredneck]

So whadd'ya think?

I think 'the word of the LORD' coming to His servants and them relaying it to others is a very very old arrangement.

If you've electronic Bibles, do the word search:

"word of the LORD/God/Christ/Jehovah/Yahweh came"

 

[Martin Marprelate]

"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world," (1 John 4:1).

I quite agree; this is the key. Not all preaching is the preaching of the word of God.
Here is part of John Robinson's farewell sermon to the Pilgrim Fathers:

‘We are now ere long to part asunder, and the Lord knows whether ever we shall live to see one another’s faces. But whether the Lord has appointed it or not, I charge you before God and His blessed angels, follow me no further than I follow Christ; and if God shall reveal anything to you by any other instrument of His, be as ready to receive it as ever you were to receive any truth by my ministry. For I am confident the Lord has more truth and light to break forth from His holy word. I bewail the state and condition of the Reformed churches, who have come to a full-stop in religion, and will go no further than the instrument of their reformation. The Lutherans cannot be drawn beyond what Luther saw; the Calvinists, they stick where Calvin left them. This is a misery much to be lamented; for though they were shining lights in their times, yet God did not reveal His whole will unto them, and if they were alive today they would be as ready to and willing to embrace further light, as that they had received. Keep in mind our church covenant, our promise and covenant with God and one another, to receive whatsoever light or truth shall be made known to us from His written word. But take heed what you receive for truth- examine it well and compare and weigh it with other Scriptures of truth before you receive it. It is not possible that the Christian world should so lately come out of such thick anti-Christian darkness, and that the perfection of knowledge should break forth at once.'

One thing that 'broke forth from God's holy word' shortly after this event was the Particular Baptist churches.
I think this extract is remarkable for its humility. These are the days of celebrity Christianity. We have preaching tours by ‘famous Christians’ to promote their latest book or CD, and promoters of Christian conferences feel the need to bring in well-known preachers at considerable expense in order to achieve a good attendance. Robinson knew nothing of this. He did not commend his books or his sermon collections to his departing congregation, but rather God’s word whether preached or written. He bids his people to follow Truth from whatever source they find it, regardless of denomination.

Secondly, he did not view the Bible as a dead letter that could be studied, fully comprehended and exhausted as water can be drunk out of a bottle leaving it empty, or as a butterfly can be pinned and exhibited in a display cabinet. To Robinson, the Bible was a living thing, and he understood the well-known, but neglected saying of the Reformers: Ecclesia Reformata semper Reformanda. 'The Reformed Church is always in need of Reformation.' He did not regard himself or his church as the final authority of truth, but bade his congregation, while holding fast to the church covenant, constantly to search the Scriptures to see what the Holy Spirit might reveal to them. In our day, we seem to have either those who rush to the latest fad in Christianity without the careful, prayerful study of the word that Robinson commended and those who feed upon them by introducing ever-stranger novelties into their books in order to make money, or those who, having adopted one or other Confession, set it in stone and treat it as if it were Holy Writ.