What is "Preaching the Word"?

This has become an important topic to me as of late, especially with a conversation I had with my pastor about it recently. That conversation spurred me on to a study of 2 Timothy 3:16-4:2, and for that, I am very grateful to God and to him. The text, and a brief exegesis of the passage, is below.

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness,
2 Timothy 3:17 so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 4:1 Before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom, I solemnly charge you:
2 Timothy 4:2 proclaim the message (preach the word); persist in it whether convenient or not; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching.

OK, the main issue that I wanted to address when I came to this passage is to find out what "preaching the Word" (in this translation, "proclaim the message") meant. In other words, what does Paul mean when he gives Timothy the command to preach? What is this word, this message, that he is to proclaim?

The answer is not that difficult to determine if we use the rules of hermeneutics.

An important thing to remember is that chapter and verse breaks were not in the original texts. They were added much, much later. Don't get me wrong; I'm grateful for them -- to a point. :) I am glad that we have them, because without them, it would make it extremely difficult to navigate the Scriptures, especially larger books like Genesis and Isaiah.

However, that being said, sometimes the chapter breaks can be prohibitive to interpretation. The most glaring example I can think of is one of the so called "Servant Songs" that is located in Isaiah 52-53. The unit starts in verse 13 of chapter 52 and goes to the end of chapter 53. The chapter break therefore, to keep with the same thought, should have been at verse 13 in chapter 52.

I think the same situation is true here. Paul does not appear to intend a break between chapters 3 and 4. The thought flows nicely right over the chapter break. Let's then address these four verses about what the Bible says about itself and what preaching ought to be.

First we start with the first phrase in verse 16 -- "All Scripture." How much Scripture? All of it; there is not a word of Scripture that is excluded from this word. Nothing else in this passage qualifies the word "all" so it must taken universally -- to what it applies to. Paul was telling Timothy in verse 15 that he (Timothy) had been brought up with the "sacred Scriptures," having known them since he was young. These Scriptures, says Paul, "are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." Now, Paul clarifies in verse 16, continuing the thought. ALL Scriptures are important, and profitable, and inspired, etc. The word all, according to Strong, means "all, any, every, the whole." Nothing is left out here with these Scriptures; every single part of Scripture is included.

The next question we should ask ourselves is what is meant by "Scripture?" According to Thayer, "Scripture" is:

1) a writing, thing written
2) the Scripture, used to denote either the book
itself, or its contents
3) a certain portion or section of the Holy Scripture

So then, we're talking about the Bible. Paul is obviously not talking about anything ever written because of verse 15; the things written were "able to instruct [Timothy] for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." However, even though we're talking about the Bible, how much of it are we talking about? Much of the New Testament was still being written; do we include its contents under this heading of "All Scripture?"

To that, I would give an unqualified YES. First of all, Paul understood that what he was saying, was indeed God's message:

1 Thessalonians 2:13 Also, this is why we constantly thank God, because when you received the message about God that you heard from us, you welcomed it not as a human message, but as it truly is, the message of God, which also works effectively in you believers.

The word for "message" here is the same word used in 2 Timothy 4:2 -- the word "logos." Note also that it works "effectively in you believers." We'll address that a little more later in verse 17 of chapter 3. Clearly, Paul understood that what he was communicating to the believers was none other than God's word, His message. Peter also has a few things to say about at least some of the writings of the New Testament:

2 Peter 3:15 Also, regard the patience of our Lord as an opportunity for salvation, just as our dear brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you.
2 Peter 3:16 He speaks about these things in all his letters, in which there are some matters that are hard to understand. The untaught and unstable twist them to their own destruction, as they also do with the rest of the Scriptures.

Peter equates Paul's writings with the rest of Scripture -- the same word as 2 Timothy 3:16. There is also a warning here -- notice what kind of people distort them: untaught (ignorant, unlearned) and unstable people. It behooves us to learn as much as we can about the Bible and how to interpret it properly! In fact, this is one of the main reasons this blog even exists, so we can rightly understand the Bible and therefore apply it properly, in addition to showing some examples of it -- like this! :)

Now, we know what the Scriptures are -- the Bible. We also know how much of it we're talking about here -- ALL of it. The next thing Paul says about these Scriptures, the Bible, the Word of God, is that they are "inspired by God." Literally, this means "breathed out by God." The Bible, the words of the text, are literally "breathed out by God." Everything in them is there because God caused it to be there. From this passage like no other we get the doctrine of the Inerrancy of Scripture; that is, everything in the Bible is wholly accurate and without error. The implications of this are great! We can rely on EVERYTHING we read in Scripture; it is 100% dependable, a sure foundation on which to build any understanding in life -- and Paul says that very thing, in effect, in his next words.

The Scriptures (all of them) which are inspired by (breathed out by) God, are PROFITABLE for "teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness." The word "profitable," according to Strong, means "helpful or serviceable, that is, advantageous." What are the Scriptues profitable for? They are helpful, serviceable, and advantageous for teaching (instruction, doctrine, learning), rebuking (conviction, evidence of/for something, proof/proving something), correcting (restoration to an upright or right state; improvement of life or character), and training (chastening, chastisement, instruction, nurture) in righteousness (integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking feeling and acting).

Wow! The Scriptures do all these things! Not only that, but Paul indicated the purpose for it in verse 17! The purse is so that the "man of God" (that is, in a broad sense, Christians) will then be complete (fitted) and equipped (thoroughly furnished; equipped fully) for every, or all (same word as verse 16 for all), good work{s} (upright deeds, good things done).

I love this! The Scriptures provide everything we need to know how to live in life! Anything that we need to know about God is found in the Bible. Any training that we need is from the Bible; if we want and need (and we should and do) purity in life, rightesouness -- it is in the Bible. And through the Bible, Paul says, we are equipped FULLY for EVERY good work. Nothing is excluded! Thanks be to God for the Bible that He gave to us!

What does this have to do with preaching? EVERYTHING! We'll see that shortly! In verse one of chapter four, having just told Timothy how important the Bible is (the Holy Scriptures), he (Paul) then gives Timothy a "solemn charge" (to attest to earnestly), and calls God and Christ Jesus as hit witness to it. He saying in no uncertain terms that what follows is critically important, and it is based on what he just said about the Bible. What is the thing Paul is charging young Timothy to do? Verse two tells us: "proclaim the message" which is often rendered "preach the word,"and it is to be done "whether convenient or not." What is Timothy suposed to preach, and subsequently others who preach? The anwer is simple: we are to preach the word, even when it isn't easy to do so. We work hard to preach the word!

How does this relate back to what Paul was talking about in the previous verses? Notice the words Paul uses here in verse two; rebuke (convict or convince), correct (admonish, sharply charge), and encourage with great patience (forbearance, longsuffering) and teaching (instruction, doctrine).

Do you see any similarities? Scroll back up a little and see what he used in verses 16 and 17 in the previous chapter. What we see in verse 2 here in a couple of cases is merely the verb form of the nouns in verse 16. So, what we have then is, from the context and also the words used, an EQUATION. That is we have this:

{Preaching the message = preaching the Word = preaching the Scriptures}

The text says just that! Paul is admonishing Timothy to preach the Scriptures! That is what preaching should be! It should be the the text of the Bible exposed before the congregation. There is a style of preaching that is just that, and it is called Expository Preaching. Expository Preaching, according to www.9marks.org, is defined as:

preaching which expounds what Scripture says in a particular passage, carefully explaining its meaning and applying it to the congregation. It is a commitment to hearing God’s Word and to recovering the centrality of it in our worship.

So then, using that definition of Expository (or Expositional) preaching, let's adjust our equation a little:

{Preaching the message = preaching the Word = preaching the Scriptures = Expository Preaching}

I don't think it is a stretch at all to say that. Expository Preaching simply seeks to obey the command of 2 Timothy 4:2 and preach the Word of God, explaining its meaning and applying it. When a preacher gets up into a pulpit and delivers a message, he should be able to say confidently with the prophets of old, "Thus saith the Lord," or "This is what the LORD God says." The only way we can be sure of that is when we are declaring text of the Scripture itself, the very thing that God has already said, what He has "breathed out" so that we might take it in. A preacher that fails to do this is being disobedient to this command.

I've heard objections to this of course; the main one would be, I suppose, "So are you saying the only appropriate style of preaching is expositional preaching? What about Jesus? He often taught parables and told stories in His preaching." There are two ways to answer this:

1. I am saying that we are commanded to preach the Word. If we don't do this, we fail to obey this command. It is that simple.
2. Trying to use what Jesus said as an example of non-expository preaching is a fallacy. The reason why is that EVERYTHING Jesus said WAS the Word of God! He was God in the flesh; the very words He spoke were quite literally "breathed out by God" as they were spoken!

If then we want to preach a story, let it be the story that Jesus preached! Use an illustration of course to help in understanding the text, but let it point to the text always!

What are we, in effect, saying if we do NOT preach expositionally? Are we saying that we have something better to say that what God has already said? Are we indicating that, by our actions, that the Bible has become irrelevant and we need to say something else that we, by our own determination, have said IS relevant? Do we dare substitute our errant experiences for the inerrant Word of God?

May God help us, and forgive us, for often doing just that, and may He restore to pulpits, around the nation and the world, the powerful preaching of His inerrant, completely sufficient, Word.

To God Alone be the Glory.

Always Loving Your Church and Mine

1 Peter 1:22 By obedience to the truth, having purified yourselves for sincere love of the brothers, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,
1 Peter 1:23 since you have been born again--not of perishable seed but of imperishable--through the living and enduring word of God.

Peter gives us an important understanding in these verses about loving each other as Christians, and subsequently loving our churches (since they are composed of Christians). It's certainly worth mentioning here, especially after my last post.

The first chapter of Peter's letter is full of exhortations to holiness and obedience. We are told to "get our minds ready for action" (13), to be "self-disciplined," to avoid being "conformed to the desires of [our] former ignorance" (14), "to be holy in all [our] conduct" (15), "to conduct [our]selves in reverence during this time of temporary residence." (17). He reminds us that we "were redeemed from [our] empty way of life" (18) and "that [our] faith and hope are in God." (21)

In the verses I cited above, Peter starts out telling us that we've "purified ourselves" and that we've done so "by obedience to the truth." Jesus's righteousness working itself out in us (that He bought for us with His blood, verse 19) shows that we are purified (made clean). We will work out righteous actions because of the fact that we've been redeemed, or as verse 23 puts it, "born again."

Now, what is the purpose Peter addresses in this passage for our purification? We are purified "for sincere love of the brothers" (22)! Not only that, in verse 23, he points back to verse 22 with his reasoning. Effectively, he says, "Since you have been born again through the living and enduring word of God (23), love one another earnestly from a pure heart." The word pure at the end of verse carries with it the meaning of being "free from corrupt desire, from sin and guilt" (Thayer). With the clean hearts we now have in Christ, free from corrupt desires, we are to love other believers, and not just love them, but earnestly (fervently, intensely)! It's one of the purposes of our redemption; we can and must do it, and it is not to be a casual matter. It is to be a passionate love for the body of Christ.

I wanted to make it clear that I love my church earnestly. My church, like any other, has its problems. Chances are, some of those things will make it to this blog since they are the things I am experiencing. However, if the only things that I or any of us focus on in our churches are the problems, then, however great our motives for change, we may be guilty of being complainers, which we are forbidden to do.

There are a lot of things good about my church. We have a pastor who has more passion for evangelism than almost anyone I've ever known; excellent. We have deacons who serve powerfully; magnificent. The people in this church actually GIVE in tithes and offerings, unlike many churches I've been in; wonderful! The education minister and youth minister have a passion for teaching the Word of God, and I've met many people who have a desire for God and His Word. There is no question that our church is being blessed by God in many ways.

This is not an excuse for being lax in addressing issues, of course. We must not use the fact that God's glory is proclaimed in some ways as an excuse to overlook areas where it is not. However, and this is the main thrust of this post, do not EVER forget that you are among brothers and sisters in Christ, people you have been purified to love INTENSELY. That fact alone is reason to thank and glorify God, and I suspect, if we make sure we are doing that, seeing other areas in our churches that are good won't be so hard.

You do it and I'll do the same.

To God Alone be the Glory.

(HT: Andrew Short)

The Lord's Supper

At a recent worship service, our church took the Lord's Supper, also known as Communion in some traditions. My family (mother, step-dad, and brother) were in town and we went to the service together.

When the time came for the Lord's Supper to be taken, I noticed that Mark (my brother) let the cup pass as well as the tray of the wafers, without taking any of the elements. I later asked him about it, and I expected a response having something to do with Catholic teaching (he has joined the Catholic church, but that is not my point here). What I heard from him instead surprised me.

He mentioned that the entire process seemed very disrespectful, that the ceremony, which should have been one of reflection and worship was very poorly handled. He said that it seemed rushed, and that instead of taking the bread and juice/wine, he spent time in prayer because he was angered by it, and was asking forgiveness for feeling that way.

That response surprised me; here I was, expecting some comment about transubstantiation or something. I was wrong, and pleasantly surprised.

I had not stopped to think about how it was handled, though I should have. I was thinking about the cross of Christ and His shedding of blood, but when I began to go over exactly what was said and how much Scripture was NOT used in our observance, I found that I agreed with my brother. This in and of itself was pretty amazing. :)

So, what does the Bible have to say about the Lord's Supper, and what SHOULD our attitude be relating to it? I can think of two distinct passages; the first is Luke 22:19-20. There are other accounts in the other Gospels which essentially say the same thing; I have chosen the Luke passage to address. The other distinct passage is Paul's writing about it over in 1 Corinthians 11:23-31. I'll deal with each in turn, and oh yes, in this blog, I'll always be quoting from the Holman Christian Standard Bible version of Scripture unless I note otherwise, and probably pasting the text from E-Sword (see the link on the right).

Luke 22:19 And He took bread, gave thanks, broke it, gave it to them, and said, "This is My body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me."
Luke 22:20 In the same way He also took the cup after supper and said, "This cup is the new covenant established by My blood; it is shed for you.

OK, here we have the verses that established the practice of taking the Lord's Supper, also called an ordinance (an ordinance is a special event that Jesus established to be continued by the church; baptism would be another ordinance). This is not the only place where it is recorded; John mentions it in chapter 13 of his Gospel, Matthew in chapter 26 of his, and Mark in chapter 14 of his Gospel. It's a rare thing when all four Gospel writers address the same thing (often 2 or three will address a particular event, but not often do all four write about that event); this is definitely a powerful, meaningful event that captured the attention of them all. It is worthy of our study, so that when we are working to be obedient to this practice, we do it properly.

With that in mind, I'd like to speak about the issue of transubstantiation a little. If you hit the link above for it, you'll find its definition. The basics of it are that, according to the doctrine, the bread and wine/juice literally become Christ's flesh and blood when people partake of them, after they are consecrated as part of a ceremony.

How do some churches (such as the Roman Catholic Church) get a belief such as this? A lot of it comes from Jesus's words above, and in a few other passages (such as John 6). The problem with that is that it ignores the issue of the metaphor that Jesus is using. After all, Jesus says "This is My body," doesn't He? Therefore, it must be that this REALLY IS His body...right?

Well, the answer is no. Part of the reason can be found in John's Gospel. Let's grab some of that here. Remember, we must consult the whole counsel of God when dealing with matters like this:

John 13:26 Jesus replied, "He's the one I give the piece of bread to after I have dipped it." When He had dipped the bread, He gave it to Judas, Simon Iscariot's son.
John 13:27 After Judas ate the piece of bread, Satan entered him.
Therefore Jesus told him, "What you're doing, do quickly."

Here we have the betrayal of Judas, the time when Satan entered him and when he went off to do his evil work (which God ordained would happen, but that theological discussion is for a later post). Also, here is where we have the doctrine of transubstantiation begin to break down. The belief of that doctrine is that, when the bread and wine are consecrated (blessed), then they become the body and blood of Christ. However, Judas was at the table when Jesus initiated the ceremony, so the blessing, so to speak, would have already been said (see the next couple of verses in Luke's account to show that this is true). In John's brief account, it says that Jesus dipped a piece of bread (not His flesh) and Judas at the piece of bread (again, not Jesus's literal flesh). This lends to the statement of the ceremony being symbolic rather than literal; Jesus is speaking in metaphor, symbolic, language. He was well known for this in parables of course.

The issue in John 6 is a little different. It is there that Jesus says, "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you do not have life in yourselves." (verse 53). This is often interpreted to mean that, in the Lord's Supper (communion, Eucharist), we in fact ARE doing this very thing. However, does this interpretation fit the context of this immediate passage?

Again, I will have to say no. The reason is that at the beginning of John 6 we have the feeding of the 5,000. Jesus satisfied their physical appetites (verses 10-11). The people enjoyed this, and followed Jesus to the next place He went (25-27). Notice what Jesus does in verse 27: "Don't work for the food that perishes but for the food that lasts for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal of approval on Him." The people came to him wanting more food; Jesus identified that in verse 26. He then points them to spiritual food that He will give. He then says in verse 35 that He is the bread of life, and as we saw in verse 53, he says that unless we feed on Him (He is the bread of life, remember?) then we don't have life in ourselves. In order to understand this, we simply look at the whole chapter. Jesus wasn't talking about literally eating His flesh here, though those who couldn't believe it wouldn't accept the real meaning and were offended. He was speaking metaphorically, in spiritual terms. He was drawing them AWAY from their thinking about physical food (they were stuck in it at the beginning of the chapter) and pointing them to Himself and having eternal life in Him. The reference is not even one to the Lord's Supper at all, but to the life that He gives, if we feast on Him (spiritually speaking). All of this is in the context of believing in Jesus, the feasting on Him. It is not a physical partaking; it is a spiritual one.

There are some grammatical issues here too, such as the present tense of the verb being used versus the aorist tense, but that's beyond our study for now. I'll address them if asked, or you can read Drawn by the Father by James White to get a wonderful picture of the point of this entire passage.

So then, The Lord's Supper is a symbolic representation of what Jesus has done for His people on the Cross. This symbol, however, is not to be taken lightly.

My favorite comparison is that of marriage and a wedding ring. I am married whether or not I wear my ring of course, but the ring I wear is an important symbol. My wife would NOT be happy were I to throw this ring I wear into a lake or smash it with a sledge hammer. The ring is a symbol of my love and commitment for my wife, but it is not a MERE symbol. It is an IMPORTANT symbol.

This is the same with the symbol of the Lord's Supper. It is a very important symbol! What does Jesus say we are supposed to do when we celebrate this ordinance? "Do this in remembrance of Me," are Jesus's words from Luke. We must remember JESUS as we do this. What about Jesus are we to remember?

• We must remember His sinless life, to be sure, for His righteousness is imputed to us. Arguably, this is implied, but it is not blatantly stated.
• Most of all, however, we must remember his death on the cross, his broken body and shed blood, without which no one would be saved.

Paul's words in 1 Corinthians are geared toward this second point specifically:

1 Cor 11:23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: on the night when He was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread,
1 Cor 11:24 gave thanks, broke it, and said, "This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me."
1 Cor 11:25 In the same way He also took the cup, after supper, and said, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me."
1 Cor 11:26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.
1 Cor 11:27 Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy way will be guilty of sin against the body and blood of the Lord.
1 Cor 11:28 So a man should examine himself; in this way he should eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
1 Cor 11:29 For whoever eats and drinks without recognizing the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.
1 Cor 11:30 This is why many are sick and ill among you, and many have fallen asleep.
1 Cor 11:31 If we were properly evaluating ourselves, we would not be judged,

This seriousness of the Lord's Supper cannot be ignored! The context of this passage is the Corinthians' horrid actions when they got togther; they were making a mockery of the Lord's Supper. They wouldn't eat at home, and some would gorge themselves and get drunk while others would go hungry. This is where Paul picks up his writing.

When we take the Lord's Supper, we proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. This sacrifice on the cross is the thing in which we are to do all of our boasting ( Galatians 6:14). The cross is central to everything we do as Christians, because on it Jesus did something we could NEVER do ourselves, because of our lost, dead status in sin. Jesus glorified the Father greatly, and provided the sacrifice for sins that both turned away God's wrath (propitiation) and wiped out the sins (expiation) of God's chosen people. We cannot do such things; we are powerless, but Jesus did this on the cross for all who would believe, once and for all! In this, in JESUS and His work, we truly boast!

Yet, what do we see the Corinthians doing here? The Lord's Supper is to "proclaim the Lord's death until He comes." (verse 26) The Corinthians were treating this remembrance with contempt and mockery! In this way, they were "guilty of the of sin against the body and blood of the Lord." (verse 27) What was the result of this? Many of them got sick, and many "have fallen asleep." This does NOT mean they dropped into some sort of instant sleep; it is a euphemism for them having DIED.

The solution Paul gives is self examination. We need to make sure we are "properly evaluating ourselves" lest we eat and drink judgment on ourselves. (verse 29)

How often is such strong attention given to remebrances of the Lord's Supper in our worship today? How often are these beautiful passages not even read? How often do WE dare to treat the cross of Christ with contempt when we fail to focus on Him and the work He did, glorifying Him in Christ-honoring worship in this ceremony? Do we examine ourselves, make sure we have confessed sin to Him and others, and thank Him for this wonderful salvation He purchased for us, when we are absolutely unworthy of it?

When we assemble and take the Lord's Supper, it should always be in an attitutude of worship and reverence along with celebration. We must always examine ourselves to avoid treating the Cross of Christ with contempt. Failing to do so has had, and can have grave consequences.

To God Alone be the Glory.

Biblical Training

My dear friend Patrick Hanley told me about this site the other day. I haven't had much of a chance to look at it, but it has commendations from J.I. Packer, and John Piper offers a course on it as well.

The site provides seminary quality education that is biblically sound for no cost whatsoever to the person desiring the education.

I am absolutley ecstatic at the thought of this site, and look forward to taking some of the courses in there myself! The link to it is here, or you can click it over on the right on the homepage of this blog.

Dave

Welcome to Whole Counsel Theology!

Welcome aboard! This blog is dedicated to Whole Counsel Bible Theology. That is, that when we consider the meaning of a particular Bible text, we do so through careful exegesis, considering its immediate context first and foremost, but also what the entire Bible has to say on the matter.

Because of this, it might not surprise you (though it might) to know that I am Reformed in my theology, and also a Baptist. It is my strong desire that the church I go to, Calvary Baptist Church in Greenwood, IN would become Reformed in its theology as well, and to this end I pray daily.

The reason I have chosen the name for my blog is because of what "Reformed" means. If you "reform" something that was broken, you make it whole. So then, to be Reformed in theology is to seek out the whole counsel of Scripture on a matter, and take the entire Bible for what it says, leaving nothing out. So, being "reformed" is a whole lot more than being what many call a "five point calvinist." Those five points come out of it, and they get the brunt of the discussion when it comes to matters such as predestination, but oh, there is SO much more. This will be the subject of a few of my posts from time to time. However, the bulk of it will likely be exegetical studies on certain passages of Scripture.

I look forward to what God will do through this blog.


".... for I did not shrink back from declaring to you the whole plan of God." - Acts 20:27, HCSB