The Preaching Imperative
The Apostle Paul wrote to his protégé, Timothy, at the end of thirty years of ministry longanimity. Following in the way of his suffering Savior, Jesus Christ, Paul placed emphasis on preaching the Word in what would become his final canonical correspondence. “Preach the Word (2 Tim 4:2)” is significant for its placement and its audience.
Timothy had become a sent pastor to the key Roman city of Ephesus, on the Western shore of the Aegean Sea (opposite Athens and Corinth). Timothy is the iconic “young” pastor, receiving instructions from his ministry mentor. What is the most important task for the pastor, according to the Apostle?
It is obvious here, but Paul elsewhere supports his imperative, “For if I preach the Gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the Gospel (1 Cor 9:16).” The compulsion is nothing less than the indwelling Holy Spirit (Jn 14:17; Rom 8:9, 11). It was Jesus’ promise that His witnesses would receive the power of the Holy Spirit to go and make Him known to the nations (Acts 1:8).
Preachers of the Word are called by God to proclaim Christ Jesus, our Lord (Col 1:28). It is God who sends the man of God to his assignments. The prophet Isaiah recognized the beautiful feet of the sent preachers (Is 52:7; Rom 10:15). The obedient preacher goes to his place, which is somewhere between here and the uttermost part of the earth. He has his task to perform, after years of preparation.
Timothy was no novice. He had been reared in the fear and admonition of the Lord, by godly women in his life. His grandmother, Lois, and his mother, Eunice, were catalysts of preparation (2 Tim 1:5). Simply put, if one is to preach the Bible, he must know the Bible and scrupulously interpret it.
Bible interpretation is the origin of much false teaching. Here is the reason every Christian must value early church ecumenical creeds, Protestant confessions, and catechisms. Spirit-filled men of God have earnestly labored to explain the doctrines of the Bible. For Christians to have unity in the truth, there must be biblical answers to the most important questions.
The chosen method of gospel distribution is the preaching of Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor 2:2). God Himself chose the method. He progressively revealed Himself to the prophets (Heb 1:1). He spoke to them, and they preached to the people. Each true prophet pointed their hearers to Christ, who was to come (Gen 3:15; Is 7:14; 8:8; 9:6; Dan 7:13–14; Mic 5:2).
When the Son of God enfleshed and dwelt among us (Jn 1:14), He Himself was God’s clearest revelation of God to man (Heb 1:2). To see Jesus was to see God the Father (Jn 14:7, 9). To know the Father, one must know the Son who is His exact image (Mt 11:27; Lk 10:22). God spoke to us through His Son. In other words, Jesus is the Word of God (Jn 1:1, 14). He is the Gospel of God, which means He is the very message sent from heaven. What is God’s message, personally delivered by His only begotten Son?
The message is reconciliation to God (Rom 5:10; 2 Cor 5:18–20), by way of redemption (Eph 1:7; Col 1:14). God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself (2 Cor 5:19) According to the eternal covenant of grace, the one way to the Father, ending the enmity, is Jesus Christ (Jn 14:6). Jesus serves as the one Mediator between God and man (1 Tim 2:5).
Representing God, Jesus came to save His people from their sins (Mt 1:21). He bore our sins in His body on the cross (1 Pet 2:24). He shed His precious blood for the forgiveness of our sins (Heb 9:22; 1 Pet 1:18–19), according to the covenant (Mt 26:28) that He cut on the cross of redemption.
Redemption is the buy-back purchase of God’s elect people (1 Cor 6:20; 7:23), chosen by Him for salvation (2 Thess 2:13), in His predestination of them to adoption as sons, before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4–5). The redeemed people of God have had their debt of sin cancelled (Col 2:14). God released us from our sins by Jesus’ blood (Rev 1:5), and He delivered us from enslavement to the Law of sin and death (Rom 6:6). How does someone know they have been set free from this universal bondage incurred at conception in the womb (Ps 51:5; Rom 5:12–21)?
The Spirit of truth teaches the man set apart by the Word of truth (Jn 14:17, 26; 16:13). The Lord directs his steps (Prv 3:5–6) and he wields the sword of the Spirit wherever he goes (Eph 6:17), for the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, powerful to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Heb 4:12).
The Word of God and the Spirit of God are life-givers (Jn 6:63; 1 Cor 15:45). When the preacher has the Word burning in his bones (Jer 20:9), he releases the inspired Word that proves profitable, as the power of God unto salvation for those who believe (Rom 1:16–17; 2 Tim 3:16). The Holy Spirit inspired men to write the Scriptures (2 Pet 1:20–21), and the same Spirit compels the preacher to boldly preach the Scriptures (Eph 6:20), that our boast may be in Christ alone (Acts 9:27; 18:26; Eph 3:12).
It is the same Spirit who comes upon hearers of the Word and opens their hearts to respond to the Word of Christ they hear (Acts 10:42, 44; 16:14) and which manifests faith in them if it is God’s will that they should receive Christ (Jn 1:12–13; Rom 10:17).
By analogy, the Christian preacher is a seed thrower (Mt 13:20–23; Mk 4:16–20; Lk 8:11–15). The Word is the seed, and for it to take root and grow in the good soil of a human heart, it must be thrown. For a preacher not to throw the seed of the Word is woe to him, but exuberance is his reward for faithfulness. Truly, the joy of the Lord is the preacher’s strength (Neh 8:10).
We pray to the Lord of the harvest that He would send forth laborers (Mt 9:38; Lk 10:2), especially preachers who are faithful and true like the Word they preach (Jer 42:5; Rev 3:14; 19:11).
David Norczyk
Post Falls, Idaho
April 18, 2021
