A Christian preacher/teacher is a servant of God and a minister of God’s Word. Our Lord commanded the apostles to “teach them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Mt. 28:20); the apostles said, “we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” (Act. 6:4); Paul testified to Ephesian elders, “I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house. …I commend you to God and to the word of his grace” (Act. 20:20, 27, 32); he asked Timothy to “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching” (2Tim. 4:2). For most Christians, at least for those upholding the basic tenets of biblical orthodoxy, this seems axiomatic. However, as often is the case, a familiarity with terms does not mean a right understanding of the meaning, and much less a right application of the principle. Out of many aspects that need to be discussed (such as previous article on expository preaching), here we would like to address one only, that is the role of a preacher/teacher as a facilitator of divine communication, or a facilitator of the communication between God-man.
Against this are two types of preaching we witness today. Firstly, some do not consider preaching a communication between God and man, since they only regard it as a proclamation from God to man. We certainly agree that preaching IS proclaiming God’s Word, and it should be nothing less. But it shall not be “simply” a proclamation of Scripture. For decades, the visible church is full of man-pleasers. So-called preachers tailor their preaching to the itching ears of the audience. This worldly degradation must be rejected. However, in reaction to it, some may have gone to the other extreme. Some well-trained, well-intentioned preachers have decided to totally ignore the people in the pew. Pleasing man is turned to indifference to man, which is equated to loyalty to God. They study, prepare, and preach. They go through the exegetical, hermeneutical, and homiletical procedures. The content is orthodox, at least, not heterodoxy. But they preach on top of the audience or beneath the audience. For example, some stick to a self-determined slow pace of expositing a book, while most of the congregation need the education on the very fundamentals of the faith. Some preach correct, even deep theology, but without much penetrating power. Good knowledge stays as good knowledge.
A preacher is to preach God’s Word and is to be accountable to God. But this does not mean man is entirely wiped out of the picture. Man is still there, must be there, and must be in the right place. Preaching is for the understanding and edification of the listeners. The congregation is not to be pleased, but is certainly to be edified. The presupposition of edification is understanding the Word. Not just in general, not in random bits, preaching and teaching must address the particular spiritual condition of the congregation, as individuals and a group. Preaching does not stop at speaking, as the preached content shall land in the hearts of listeners and compels them to react to God in certain manners. When we say a preacher is a facilitator of the communication between God-man, we do not mean God and man are equal parties in this communication. No, God is the initiator and prescriber as always; man is a participant, a living participant, who reacts under God and to God. Of course, faithfulness in preaching does not mean visible success, and there are hardened hearts. But even to the hardened hearts, we shall aim to help them understand clearly, so their rejection is without excuse.
The second pitfall is that some undertake a dictator’s role rather than a facilitator’s role between God and man. Just as some think loyalty to God means ignoring man, some think faith in Scripture means ignoring God. This, again, is an overreaction to the worldly progression. The worldly preachers have little assurance, probably the only assurance they have is not sure about anything. They avoid all clear definitions, controversies, and certainties. These theological jellyfish swim joyfully in the postmodern world, nesting on wherever there is a cheer. However, in rejecting this tendency, some orthodox preachers misunderstand authority and assurance. This can be very subtle, which means self-deceiving. For example, a preacher may confuse his own authority and God’s authority, or the authority of his preached word with the authority of God’s Word. We are not saying these two are contradictory or disconnected, but certainly they are not identical and should not be considered equal. A preacher does not have any authority on his own, or by his office alone. Any authority he has is grounded in God’s Word. His authority is defined and limited by God’s Word, in the nature, scope, and exercise of this authority. Beyond the limitation of God’s Word, he has no authority at all and he shall not claim any authority above anyone else.
The distinction between the authority of his preached word and the authority of God’s Word is even more subtle and more significant. A simple question to ask: why do the listeners listen to you? By what do you convince them to believe what you have said? The answer will be revealing and it also shapes the content and manner of your preaching. Some are using the office of a preacher/pastor/teacher to convince people: because I am the pastor, so you shall listen. Some are using the credentials of an office: because I am a trained scholar, so you shall listen. Some are using the success of the ministry: because I am successful, so you shall listen. Some are adopting a pragmatic approach: because what I say is useful, so you shall listen. All of these may work, to some extent. But they are all wrong. The preaching should and shall only appeal to the authority of God and the truthfulness of God’s Word, in convincing people, regenerate or unregenerate.
Therefore, the preacher/teacher must demonstrate what he says is from God’s Word, consistent with God’s Word, not only from a superficial reading of a text, but by the demonstration of glory and vitality of truth. The task of the preacher is not simply to “proclaim”, to say, but to demonstrate, to explain. The convincing power of the Word works through this demonstration and explanation. It is the demonstration and explanation of the divine truth that breaks down the strongholds (2Cor. 10:4-6). Preaching is the demonstration of the self-revelatory and self-explanatory nature of God’s Word, and the explanation of the internal coherence and correlation within the body of truth. A preaching is an explosion of truth fused by a biblical text or a group of texts. It is not enough to burn the fuse itself. The fuse must be linked to the dynamite. This is the difficulty part of preaching, not the static-mechanical part, but the dynamic-systemic dimension.
The preacher is a facilitator, not dictator of divine communication. He explains what God has explained. He demonstrates what God has demonstrated. He understands and shows other how he understands. He is convinced by the biblical truth and logic, and he presents the biblical truth and logic. In this way, he is a truly servant and he consciously stands on a servant’s role.
