Posted by deangonzales on February 27, 2010
Matthew 20:20-28 speaks of human ambition. Webster’s Dictionary defines “ambition” as “an ardent desire for rank, fame, or power.” Another dictionary provides a fuller definition. Ambition is “an earnest desire for some type of achievement or distinction, as power, honor, fame, or wealth, and the willingness to strive for its attainment.” The sons of Zebedee were obviously men of ambition. They aspired after greatness. They also had a mother who earnestly wanted to see her two sons achieve their aspirations. And lest we think they were the only disciples who entertained ambitions to greatness, we do well to interpret the indignation of the other ten disciples recorded in verse 24 not as an indication of true humility but as an expression of envy that John and James had beat them to the punch. They too aspired to greatness.
The question I’d like us to ask is, Is it wrong for true disciples of Christ to aspire after greatness? Most of us would probably answer that question affirmatively. Of course it’s wrong! Human ambition doesn’t seem to fit with Christian virtue. However, I want to suggest to you that human ambition in-and-of-itself is not necessarily sinful. Notice carefully that Jesus does not oppose the ambition of James and John per se. He’s not against their aspiration to “greatness,” and he doesn’t condemn their desire for achievement. Instead, Jesus redefines true greatness in the kingdom of God, and he contrasts the Christian approach to achieving greatness with the world’s approach. Look again at verses 25-28:
But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Note two things about Jesus’s response to His disciples’ ambition:
1. Jesus doesn’t condemn human ambition but encourages it.
Mark Christ’s words in the first part of verses 26 and 27: “Whoever would be great among you must be …” (v. 26). “And whoever would be first among you must be …” (v. 27). Jesus isn’t mocking the disciples. He’s not being sarcastic. He’s offering them biblical counsel. He’s showing them the way to true greatness. “If you want to be great—if you want to achieve, then this is the method you must follow.” Therefore, we shouldn’t interpret Jesus’s teaching as a blanket condemnation of all human ambition. As a matter of fact, the Bible supports the notion that human ambition is a God-given impulse.
How many of you have met an ambitious oak tree? What about an ambitious fish or bird or cow? It’s true that some animals can be aggressive. And it’s true that some animals can be competitive. There’s always the dog in the pack that aspires to be the “alpha-male.” But whatever ambition animals may possess is only a faint semblance of human ambition. Animals don’t strive for fortune and fame. Animals aren’t preoccupied, like us, with accomplishment and achievement. But there’s a drive within you and me to do something that’s lasting: to leave our mark, to accomplish some great deed, to be successful and find fulfillment. Where did that drive come from?
I want to suggest that it came from the God who created humans in his own image and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Gen. 1:28). That “creation mandate” not only specified mankind’s God-given task. It also implies a goal toward which humans are to strive. Adam and Eve were to be fruitful and fill the earth with other images of God who would labor together to beautify the earth and harness its natural resources for the glory of God and good of man. And as a reward for their labors, God would grant them a “name,” and they would join him in eternal Sabbath-rest. And God endowed the human heart not only with a conscience that would urge man to imitate his heavenly father morally but God also endowed the human heart with an aspiration to complete his God-given task and to enjoy as a reward fullness of life—something he did not yet experience in the Garden of Eden. I believe this is what Solomon is alluding to in Ecclesiastes 3:11 where he says, “[God] has put eternity in their hearts.” One OT scholar explains it this way:
[The] blessing … promising a consummation of man’s original glory as image of God was … built into man’s very nature as image of God. This eschatological prospect was in-created. It was an aspiration implanted in man’s heart with his existence as God’s image…. The bare perpetuation of man’s original measure of blessedness would actually have been a curse, not a blessing, for it would have amounted to failure in his endeavor to fulfill God’s commission to be fruitful and to extend his dominion..
Brothers and sisters, you and I were made to have aspirations. To borrow from a good friend’s oft-repeated axiom: we were created with a drive and desire to pursue our maximum kingdom potential. This explains why people in the world strive to achieve and accomplish and find fulfillment. True, their ambition for greatness and achievement has been corrupted by sin as we’ll see. But it still testifies to the fact that they’re made in the image of God. My point is this: human ambition is not wrong provided that it’s properly defined and carried out with the right motives, which leads me to the second observation regarding Jesus’s response to his disciples’ ambition:
2. Jesus contrasts godly ambition with worldly ambition
In verse 25-28, Jesus summons his disciples and says to them:
You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.
It’s important that we interpret Jesus’s words correctly. Jesus is not saying that the Gentiles are wicked simply because they happen to be in power. Nor is He saying it’s wrong to aspire to occupy the role of a leader such as mayor or a governor or even a king. In other words, Jesus is not commending some kind of egalitarian society in which there are no structures of human authority. Instead, I think the right way to understand Jesus’s contrast is to see him contrasting one form of ruling and subduing the earth with another form of ruling and subduing the earth. Like Adam in the Garden, the nations seek to rule and subdue the earth independent of God’s rule and in violation of God’s law. Moreover, they’re ambition is not God’s glory and the good of mankind but their own glory and their own personal good, often at the expense of others. This was true of the Caesars of Jesus’s day. And this is true of many of the rulers in our day. They have no regard for the God of heaven. And they take advantage of their people in order that they might live in luxury and build their palaces and monuments and legacies.
But it’s not just the dictators or prime ministers or politicians in Washington who are guilty of this prideful ambition. Every human who rejects God and his law, who seeks to be his own master, and who attempts to carve out his own destiny with himself at the center falls under Jesus’s censure. Even Jesus’s disciples fell under his censure! It wasn’t wrong for James and John to be ambitious. It wasn’t wrong for them or the other disciples to aspire after greatness in God’s kingdom. Brothers, there’s something wrong with us if we don’t have that aspiration!
What was wrong was their conception of true greatness and the way in which it is attained. True greatness, according to Jesus, consists in adopting the posture of a servant: “Whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave — just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:26-28). What is the posture of a servant? I think it involves the following:
(1) Servants are not their own masters but they’re under the authority of another.
God created Adam to be His vice-regent, and He gave Adam dominion over the earth. But that dominion was never to be absolute. Adam had a master. And Adam’s Master expected Adam to carry out the creation mandate in accordance with His revealed will. But Adam failed to do this when he disobeyed God’s word and ate the fruit, saying in effect, “I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.” Certainly not the disposition of a humble servant!!!
(2) Servants do not live for themselves but seek the good of others.
By definition a “servant” is someone who has a master and someone whose function is not just to serve himself but to serve others. The first Adam was just a man, but he grasped after equality with God. He didn’t want “to serve.” He wanted “to be served.” The Second Adam, however, was the God-man. Yet, though he was equal with God, he didn’t grasp after equality with God but took the form of a servant and died on a cross in obedience to his Father’s will so that others might share in his glory. That’s what Jesus means when he says, “Even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” “Son of Man” is a Messianic title. It refers to Jesus’s sovereignty and lordship. He is the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Nevertheless, the greatness of Jesus is unlike the greatness of human kings and governments.
- Jesus greatness is characterized by humility
- Jesus greatness is characterized by submission to the will of God
- Jesus greatness is characterized by seeking the good of others.
That, dear brothers and sisters, is the kind of ambition God wants us to have.
Closing Applications
(1) Behold the high calling of servanthood.
This is the privilege and calling of all believers from apostles all the way down to ordinary laypeople. This should be our great ambition. This is where we should find our greatest fulfillment. Not in selfishly making a name for ourselves. Not stepping on others in order to climb up the ladder of worldly success. Rather, our greatest joy and our deepest fulfillment ought to come from wholehearted devotion to God and self-sacrificing service to others.
For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more (1 Cor. 9:19).
For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake (2 Cor. 4:5).
For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another (Gal. 5:1).
When people say, “What’s your church all about? What’s one of its primary distinctives?” The answer should be, “Servanthood. We are people who live not to be served but to serve.” That brings me to my second and final line of application:
(2) Behold what an example of servanthood we have in Jesus
Jesus did not merely define true greatness and proper ambition for his disciples. He demonstrated it! Indeed, it wasn’t long after the incident recorded in our passage that Jesus’s disciples would find themselves in an upper room celebrating the Passover while their own Lord and Master took a towel, assumed the role of a servant, and began washing their feet. And after he finished, he would say to them, “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you” (John 13:14-15).
Brothers and sisters, do you want to be great in the kingdom of God? Do you want to offer a great and lasting service to the church? Then let the same attitude and posture that characterized Jesus Christ. Turn with me to Philippians 2 and note how Paul develops this theme:
Who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:6-11).
That’s “greatness.” Jesus wasn’t opposed to greatness. He, as a man in the image of God, aspired after greatness in the kingdom. And he holds out to you and me the prospect of ruling and reigning with him forever! Do you aspire after that? Then listen to Paul’s counsel:
Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus (Phil. 2:1-4).
Do you aspire to “rule and reign with Christ”? I hope you do. I certainly do. If that’s our ambition, then let us pursue that goal by “taking the form of a bondservant.” Let us reject selfish ambition and conceit. Let us rather esteem others better than ourselves and look out for their interests, not just our own. Then and only then will we fully appreciate the high calling of servanthood.
Your servant,
Bob Gonzales, Dean
Reformed Baptist Seminary
Posted by deangonzales on February 22, 2010
Reformed Baptist Seminary will host a summer theological module on Christology or the Doctrine of Christ from Saturday through Friday, August 21-27 at its new facilities at Grace Baptist Church in Taylors, South Carolina. The module will serve to fulfill the lecture requirements for the seminary’s three-credit course ST 701 Christ. The course instructor, Pastor Greg Nichols, is a graduate and former professor of Trinity Ministerial Academy, Montville, New Jersey. He’s the author of What Does the Bible Say about God? The Biblical Doctrine of God (Truth For Eternity) and “The Emotivity of God,” Reformed Baptist Theological Review 1:2 (July 2004): 95-143. He is currently a pastor of Grace Immanuel Reformed Baptist Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he and his wife, Ginger, reside. The course covers much more than the person and work of Christ. First, it reaches back into eternity and considers God’s predestined plan for a Redeemer and a people. Second, traces the development of the God’s redemptive promise through the historical covenants of Scripture–covenant theology from a Reformed and Baptist perspective! Third, the course systematically explores the revelation of the Person and Work of Jesus the Messiah. Professor Nichols has provide the following abstract, which summarizes the three major segments of the course material:
Part 1: The Eternal Plan of Salvation: Predestination
Before the creation of the world God resolved how he would embark on the greatest rescue mission conceivable. This plan includes his predestination of the redeemed, “he chose us in him before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4), and of the Redeemer, “Christ foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world” (1 Pet. 1:19). Thus we begin with eternal election and reprobation and the eternal counsel of redemption.
Part 2: The Solemn Promise of Salvation: God’s Covenants
Immediately after the fall God solemnly declared war on Satan. He pledged to send a Redeemer to rescue sinners and crush the devil thoroughly (Gen. 3:15). This pledge to apply and accomplish salvation is his covenant of grace. He fulfills his pledge to apply salvation through his gospel; to accomplish salvation through his covenants. Over some four thousand years of redemptive history he sets up a tapestry of pledges that frame the Person and work of the Redeemer. These are: the two Noahic covenants, the Abrahamic, Mosaic, and Davidic covenants, and the Messianic and New covenants. Thus, we study the covenant of grace and God’s covenants.
Part 3: The Accomplishment of Salvation: Christ’s Person and Work
In the fullness of time God sent his Son into the world to accomplish salvation from sin. God the Son became flesh and entered the world as Jesus of Nazareth: “you shall call his name Jesus, for he it is that shall save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). Thus, we first study his Person, his deity and humanity. In his work Christ fulfills God’s solemn promises. As the promised Redeemer, Christ crushes Satan by his perfect life and atoning death. As Abraham’s heir, Christ blesses believers from every nation with every spiritual blessing through the gospel. As David’s heir, the theocratic king, Christ rules God’s people, builds his temple, and subdues his enemies. As high priest, in keeping with the Messianic covenant, Christ makes atonement for his people, intercedes for them, and eradicates their sin. As prophet and mediator of the new covenant, Christ reforms God’s people and reveals his Word. This course concludes with the profound impact of Christ’s Person and work: “neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
Don’t miss out on this important module! Auditors are also welcome. The module fee is $70 for students and $100 for auditors. The members of Grace Baptist Church will provide lodging for those who register early and meals will be provided. The deadline for registration is August 6. To download the PDF module flier, click on this link: 2010 Summer Module-Christ Flier 1.1 If you tentatively plan to attend, please send an email letting us know so that we can begin to formulate a headcount. You can also contact us if you have more specific questions about the module (email: info@rbseminary.org/phone: 864-322-4633).
Bob Gonzales, Dean
Reformed Baptist Seminary
Posted by John Reuther on February 19, 2010
In this article, I am identifying the main passages in the New Testament, beginning with Acts, where we see the Holy Spirit anointing the Apostles and others. Under each passage I list the main features of the anointing. May God use this display of Holy Spirit power in the New Testament to encourage us to always seek to be anointed with the Holy Spirit in our ministry of the word. I trust that this catalog may become a resource for you and your ministry.
The Spirit’s Anointing seen in the messages, discourses, and pastoral work of the apostles and others in the Book of Acts.
1. Peter’s Pentecost Sermon: Acts 2:14 – 40
- Preaching with power and authority.
- Preaching with enthusiasm and energy.
- Preaching with courage and conviction.
- Explaining the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.
- Preaching the Resurrection.
- Preaching the exalted Christ.
- Preaching the sending of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.
2. Peter’s second sermon in the portico of Solomon: Acts 3:12 -26.
- Preaching to convince and convict.
- Preaching Christ’s ascension.
- Preaching the great promises of God from the Old Testament.
- Preaching the blessings of the Gospel.
- Preaching with warnings for disobedience.
3. Peter’s defense before the elders in Jerusalem: Acts 4:8-13.
- Preaching the power of the exalted Christ.
- Preaching Christ rejected by men.
- Preaching Christ as the only way to salvation.
4. Peter’s discernment of the sin of Ananias & Sapphira: Acts 5:1 – 10.
- Showing the gift of pastoral discernment.
5. Stephen’s sermon to the Jews: Acts 6:10 – 7:59.
- Preaching with wisdom (6:10): knowing his audience, what they needed, and how the Gospel applied specifically to them.
- Preaching the history of redemption (salvation history).
- Preaching the promises of the Old Testament.
- Preaching with searching application (that cost him his life).
- Preaching to convict of sin (7:51).
- Preaching in the presence of God (7:55).
6. Philip preaching Christ in Samaria: Acts 8:5 – 15.
- Preaching the good news of the arrival of the Kingdom in Christ.
7. Philip preaching to the Ethiopian Eunuch: Acts 8:29 – 35.
- Having the desire to proclaim Christ: asking questions (8:30).
- Being sensitive to what the Eunuch was thinking about and taking him from where he was to Christ: “beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him” (8:35).
8. Saul preaching in Damascus: Acts 9:22.
- Preaching apologetically: giving evidence that Jesus is the Christ.
9. Peter preaching to the house of Cornelius: Acts 10:34 – 43.
- Preaching truths freshly revealed to him by the Spirit.
- Admitting that he did not see the truth correctly in the past.
- Preaching with a great grasp on the overall “event” of Christ’s coming into the world and ministry in Palestine (10:38 – “the thing which took place”) which Peter was privileged to have a part in (though he did not fully grasp the significance of what was happening during the incarnation).
- Preaching as a witness of the things that Christ did (preaching is a form of witness to the truth, even for us).
- Preaching as God’s appointed messenger (10:41, 42).
10. Paul preaching to Sergius Paulus in Paphos on Cyprus: Acts 13:6 – 12.
- Preaching to the heart of a man (“he fixed his gaze on him”).
- Preaching with the convicting power of the Spirit.
11. Paul’s message in Pisidian Antioch: Acts 13:16 – 41, and the following week Paul & Barnabas speaking boldly: Acts 13:46 – 52.
- Preaching salvation history with enthusiasm, as living history, calling men to God today.
- Preaching the Christ of history.
- Preaching the events of Gospel history.
- Preaching the God who makes and keep His promises in history.
- Preaching the resurrection.
12. Paul & Barnabas in the synagogue in Iconium: Acts 14:1f.
- Preaching in such a manner that large numbers of people believe.
13. At Lystra, speaking to a lame man and preaching in the aftermath: Acts 14:8 – 18.
- Preaching as men to lost men; not allowing the hearers to worship the preachers.
- Preaching God as Creator and God’s goodness to all men in providence.
14. In the deliberations of the council at Jerusalem: Acts 15:28.
- The Apostles sensed/knew the presence and agency of the Spirit in their pastoral dealings.
15. The Spirit testified to Paul in every city; Acts 20:23.
- Paul knew the immediate testimony of the Spirit in his life and ministry.
16. Paul’s defense in the barracks: Acts 22:1-21.
- Preaching in defense of the truth, and before accusers and persecutors (which was Paul’s experience increasingly as his life moved forward).
- Preaching with a keen memory and awareness of Christ’s personal dealings with him in salvation (he would never forget!).
17. Paul’s defense before Felix: Acts 24:10-21 and privately with Felix: 24:25.
- Preaching cheerfully before his detractors, preaching in the joy of the Holy Spirit.
- Preaching the resurrection.
- Discussing righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come with a powerful ruler (Felix). These are things which the Spirit has been sent into the world to press on the hearts of the unconverted.
18. Paul’s defense before Agrippa: Acts 26:1-29.
- Challenging the unbelief of the hearers (“why is it considered incredible among you people if God does raise the dead? – v. 8).
- Preaching as God’s appointed messenger with a message of deliverance (beautifully summarized in 26:16-18).
- Preaching as Christ’s obedient messenger (v. 19f).
- Preaching Old Testament & Gospel history.
- Preaching with the awareness and conviction that the message is “sober truth.”
- Challenging his hearer (Agrippa) to believe the truth.
19. Paul’s regular labor in the Spirit during his imprisonment in Rome; Acts 28:23-28, 31.
- Preaching as solemn testimony to the truth.
- Preaching with conversion as his aim.
- Preaching from morning until evening (v. 23).
- Preaching the Kingdom of God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Spirit’s Anointing seen in the letters of the Apostles to the Churches & the Book of Revelation.
1. Romans 1:4-5 ~ “…..declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
2. Romans 1:15-17 ~ The Gospel is the power of God for salvation
- Paul is referring in both of these sections to the preaching of the Gospel begun at Pentecost. It is preaching with power, and remains the powerful Gospel which is ours to preach with power today.
3. Romans 10:15-17 ~ The Beautiful Feet of the Preacher
- The Spirit-filled preacher is a blessing to the anxious hearers, to those burdened by the power and guilt of sin. Let’s preach in the consciousness that there will likely be some soul burdened by sin in our hearing.
4. Romans 15:16-21 ~ Preaching ministry sanctified by the Holy Spirit
- Paul described the preaching of the Gospel in his day as preaching in the power of the Holy Spirit. This means that Christ was preached, i.e., the Gospel message. But the Gospel message brought about the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed, indicating that the Spirit transformed the lives of Gentile sinners through the preaching.
5. 1 Corinthians 2:1–16 ~ Preaching as demonstration of the Spirit & Power
- Paul contrasts Gospel preaching which is “of the Spirit” (owned by Him) with worldly wisdom presented by the cultured Greeks of his day. Preaching in the power of the Spirit in every generation will mimic apostolic preaching. They are our examples. We are always being challenged to change the way we preach to accommodate and ease our message onto a generation of people who either cannot bear up under a real sermon, or who have no interest in preaching, but who would prefer other forms of communication (dialogue, drama, or inspirational talk).
6. 1 Corinthians 4:20 ~ Preaching powerful words
- Words alone are not effectual, but words blessed with the power of the Spirit are.
7. 2 Corinthians 3:6–8, 17, 18 ~ We are servants of the new covenant, of the Spirit
- What is Paul saying here? Is he saying that we do not preach the letter (Law) but we preach the Spirit? He is saying that we preach the New Covenant, which is not a ministry of Law (letter) but a ministry empowered by the Spirit, and a ministry in which the Spirit completes and fulfills the promises of the old covenant through Jesus Christ. Paul is showing the relationship of Christ and the Spirit in verse 17 and 18. The Lord (Jesus) is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Paul is also reminding us that our preaching ministry is full of the liberty of the Spirit’s illumination. We have unveiled faces. We see clearly and we are being increasingly transformed into the image of Christ through the Spirit’s enlightenment.
8. 2 Corinthians 4:13 ~ Preaching with conviction
- Paul is speaking about the force of truth upon our consciousness and upon our preaching.
9. 2 Corinthians 6:6, 7 ~ Preaching strong in the weakness of affliction
- As Paul lists his afflictions, he also confesses his blessings. And in the list we find the ministry of the Spirit in the word of truth. “….in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love, in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left” (6:6c-7).
10. 2 Corinthians 11:4-10 ~ True and false preaching of Christ
11. Ephesians 1:17, 18 with 3:4-21 ~ How illumination affects proclamation
- These are important portions of the Ephesian letter with regard to the doctrine of the Spirit’s illumination and anointing of the preacher to preach the Gospel and build up the church. Paul prays that their eyes will be enlightened. Paul understands this illumination to be a matter of God’s power working in our hearts and minds. He sees it as taking place in our spirits, which of course relates to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our lives. In chapter 3 he speaks of his own insight (given by the Spirit) into the mystery of Christ which is now being made known through the preaching of the Gospel. So this is our task: to preach the revelation of the mystery previously hidden but now “revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit (3:5).” Then he prays again that they will be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in their hearts through faith.
12. Philippians 1:15-19 ~ All preaching is not pure
- Paul is calling us to examine our motives in preaching. Are they pure motives (v. 17)?
13. Colossians 1:24-29 ~ Preaching with individual Christian growth as our aim
- “Christ in you” is the hope of glory, and Christ in our hearers is the aim of our regular preaching ministries.
14. 1 Thess. 1:5-6 ~ Preaching in power and the Holy Spirit
- This is an important statement of Paul for preachers of the Gospel. In it he teaches us that the Gospel is the power of God and true preaching is accompanied by the power of the Holy Spirit. He teaches that when the Spirit comes in power, conviction attends the preaching. He also teaches that “the life of the minister is the life of his ministry.” The kind of man that Paul was means everything for being a vessel of the Spirit in Gospel preaching.
15. 2 Tim. 1:6, 7, 14 ~ Fanning the Gift in the Preacher to Flame
- The gift of God given to Timothy, (which was evident at the time of Timothy’s ordination to Gospel ministry the laying on of hands), was a gift that Timothy was always to fan into flame. Paul calls it a treasure to be guarded through the Holy Spirit. But this gift is described as a spirit of boldness and power and love and discipline, not a spirit of fear or timidity.
16. 1 Peter 1:12 ~ Gospel preaching by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven
- Peter is trying to say that those who heard the Gospel in the first century heard it as a message from heaven sent by the Holy Spirit Himself. What a privilege! Even angels longed/long to look into the contents of this promised salvation.
17. Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22 ~ The Spirit is speaking to the churches
- True preaching today must be done in the consciousness that it is the Holy Spirit speaking to the churches, not just to individuals. We must show our people and explain to them that though a man is preaching, the Spirit is speaking as the truth is unfolded biblically.
18. Revelation 22:17 ~ The Spirit is calling sinners to come to Christ
- Preaching must be evangelistic, and true Gospel preaching seeks not only to build up the saints, but to evangelize sinners.
The material in this article is taken from my Syllabus on the Gift of the Holy Spirit, pp. 393ff., which you can download for free by clicking here.
John Reuther
Pastor, Covenant Baptist Church, Lumberton, NJ
Professor, Reformed Baptist Seminary, Taylors, SC
