Jason C. Meyer - Preaching: A Biblical Theology

For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship .

1 Corinthians 9:1617

THREE CATEGORIES

The central question of this book is, what is preaching? Answering that question forces us to address a broader question: what is the ministry of the word? The ministry of the word flows from the fact that God entrusts his people with his word. His people take that word and faithfully serve others with it. The ministry of the word includes many ministries within the church, such as counseling and personal evangelism, not just preaching. This book addresses questions common to any word-based ministry, but preaching is the main ministry I have in view. Three big-picture biblical categories best sum up the ministry of the word in Scripture: stewarding, heralding, and encountering. This chapter defines them and sketches a very brief biblical overview.

THESIS

My thesis is that the ministry of the word in Scripture is stewarding and heralding Gods word in such a way that people encounter God through his word. Notice that this thesis highlights three components, which are actually three sequential phases of the ministry of the word.

The first phase is the stewarding phase. It focuses on faithfully receiving Gods word. The steward is entrusted with the word of God. The second phase is the heralding of Gods word. God intends for the stewarded word to be heralded. The preacher gives a human voice to the divine word so that others will hear from God. The third phase is encountering God through his word. In this step, the responsibility to steward the word passes from the preacher to the people. This phase is a time of great gravity because every word from God demands a response. These three elements are three sequential phases in the dynamic process of preaching Gods word: stewarding, heralding, and encountering.

EXPLANATION OF THE THESIS: THREE SUITCASES TO UNPACK

The three parts of the thesis statement are like three suitcases so stuffed with meaning that they are bursting at the seams and demanding to be unpacked one at a time. Lets begin unpacking.

SUITCASE 1: STEWARDING GODS WORD

The first phase focuses on the content of preaching, which is the stewarded word of God . On this score, it is hard to improve upon Pauls pithy summary in 1 Corinthians 4:12. He says that a steward is one who has been entrusted with something (i.e., the what ) and so he must be found faithful (i.e., the how ) with respect to what has been entrusted. This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful (4:12).

Mark Dever offers a succinct definition of a steward: A steward is someone who is not an owner but one who is entrusted with someone elses property. God is the Master, the word is his property, and the preacher is the appointed servant entrusted with it.

This stewardship of the word may take different forms at different times (patriarchs, prophets, scribes, just to name a few), but the same basic calling ties these stewards together throughout the pages of Scripture.

SUITCASE 2: HERALDING GODS WORD

The second phase of preaching is heralding Gods word. The emphasis on heralding is on tone of the delivery. Preaching is not discussing or explaining something with the tone and tenor of a fireside chat. The herald is the town crier that speaks with the forceful tone of hear ye, hear ye. In other words, the herald made his proclamation with a rousing attention-getting noise that could not be ignored.

Gordon Hugenberger reinforces the gravity of the heralds task by stressing the political or military associations of the word. He points to the work of Suidas, the tenth-century AD Greek lexicographer, who said, A herald is in time of war what an ambassador is in peace. The heralds authority is completely derived and is legitimate only to the degree that he faithfully represents the one who sent him.