THE READING AND PREACHING OF SCRIPTURE IN

REFORMED WORSHIP

THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD

PREACHING AND REFORMATION

The importance of preaching in the Reformation

Reformation came about as result of preaching

Gave birth to it, maintained it and carried it through to a successful conclusion—Locher

PREACHING AND REFORMATION

At center of Reformers’ activityE.g. Calvin; 10 sermons/week, every other week

From 1549–64, +2000 serm.Covering 31 books18 OT (weekdays); 13 NT

PREACHING AND REFORMATION

123 on Genesis200 on Deuteronomy353 on Isaiah43 on Galatians186 on 1 & 2 Corinthians86 on Pastoral Epistles

T. H. L. Parker“Calvin is not fully seen unless he is seen in the pulpit, and it is impossible to do justice to his work in Geneva unless preaching be given the main place.”

PREACHING AND REFORMATION

Preaching the gospel vs. moralistic preachingE.g. Lenten sermonsE.g. Tetzel’s sermons

Preaching vs. ceremonialismSalvation by ceremonySalvation through faith in Christ

Romans 10.13-17For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?

And how are they to hear without someone preaching? … So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Shorter Catechism 89

Q. How is the word made effectual to salvation?A. The Spirit of God maketh the reading, but especially the preaching, of the word, an effectual means of convincing and converting sinners, and of building them up in holiness and comfort, through faith, unto salvation.

PREACHING AND REFORMATION

Necessity of preachingMiddle ages, sermon frequently omitted from worship

Efforts to revive: Franciscans, Dominicans

Reformers recovered primacy and centrality of in worship

John Calvin[Summing up the popular attitude toward

preaching in 16th century]“The pope, his bishops and all his vermin are busy with blessing organs, baptizing bells, consecrating vestments and ornaments, but preaching? That’s trivial stuff; they’ll not deign to touch it. That’s for the mendicants, the friars.”

THE LECTIO CONTINUA

All scripture inspired, profitable (2 Tim. 3.16)

All scripture preachable, should be preached (2 Tim. 4)

Sermon an exposition of biblical text; expository

Systematic, contextual

THE LECTIO CONTINUA

E.g. Ulrich Zwingli, in Zurich, Jan. 1, 1519

Preached Matthew, in order, for whole year

Zurich became “a Reformed city” on Jan. 29, 1523

Ulrich Zwingli[Announcing on his first Sunday in the pulpit (1/1/1519) his plans for the year]

“I intend to preach the entire Gospel of Matthew, one passage after another, rather than following the usual lectionary of chopped up Sunday Gospels.”

THE LECTIO CONTINUA

Zwingli’s great contributionOthers followed e.g., Bucer, Calvin, Knox, etc.

Lectio continua vs. lectionaryLectionary & church calendar: Lent, Advent, Feast Days

THE LECTIO CONTINUA

All scripture, every passage, whole counsel (Acts 20.27)

Systematic, contextual expositions

Means of preventing and correcting false interpretations of scripture

John Calvin“We must not pick and cull the Scripture to please our own fancy, but we must receive the whole without exception.”

John Calvin“What order must pastors then keep in teaching? First, let them not esteem at their pleasure what is profitable to be uttered and what to be omitted; but let them leave that to God alone to be ordered at his pleasure. So shall it come to pass that the inventions of men shall have none entrance into the Church of God.”

John Calvin“Mortal man shall not be so bold as to mangle the Scripture and to pull it in pieces, that he may diminish this or that at his pleasure, that he may obscure something and suppress many things; but shall deliver whatsoever is revealed in the Scripture.”

Hughes Oliphant Old“The lectionary imposed an arbitrary arrangement on Scripture … the pericopes of the lectionary often separated a text from its natural context. The texts of Scripture should be heard within the total message of a particular biblical author. A lectionary could not help but encourage over the years a stereotyped interpretation.”

THE LECTIO CONTINUA

Biblical roots:Christ, apostles preached the scriptures

Systematic reading, preaching of Law & Prophets

Continued in ancient churchReformers followed their e.g.

Acts 15.21For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues. [I.e. it was a long-standing, widespread and regular practice in first century.]

Nehemiah 8.5And Ezra opened the scroll in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood.

Nehemiah 8.6And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people answered, "Amen, Amen," lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

Nehemiah 8.8They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.

Luke 4.16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read.

Luke 4.17And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written … [chosen for him or by him?]

Luke 4.20-21He rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant [chazzan] and sat down … and he began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled …"

Acts 13.15 After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have a word of exhortation for the people, say it.”[Order: Torah, Haftarah, Exposition]

1 Timothy 4.13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and teaching.

2 Timothy 3.16–4.2All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness … Therefore, preach the word!

THE LECTIO CONTINUA

Sermon, exposition of biblical text

Preach whole counsel of God, all scripture

PREACHING AS WORSHIP

Purpose of preaching: glorify God

Preaching is worship, as much as prayer, sacraments

For minister & congregation; hearing Word in faith, an act of worship

Hughes Oliphant Old“It is not only the preaching of the Word, but the receiving of the preached Word, which is worship. The whole congregation worships God by receiving his Word with humility and obedience. … Preaching both honors God and builds up the Church. It is, as prayer, and in fact as all worship, the work of the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ to the glory of the Father.”

Hughes Oliphant Old“The Augustinian theology of the Reformers brought them to understand worship not as a human work but as a divine work. The reading, the preaching and the hearing of the Word was the work not of the minister or of the congregation or even of the Church as a whole, as it was the work of the Holy Spirit.”

PREACHING AS WORSHIP

Paul characterizes preaching as leitourgia (worship)

Preacher, leitourgos (minister) carrying out priestly service before God

Romans 15.15–16Because of the grace given me by God to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

PREACHING AS WORSHIP

Preached to GentilesThat they might be sanctified by Spirit, presented to God as sacrifice

Preaching a “priestly” service, an act of worship

Hughes Oliphant Old“The preaching and the hearing of the Word of God is in the last analysis worship, worship in its most profound sense. Preaching is not an auxiliary activity to worship, nor is it some kind of preparation for worship which one hopes will follow.

The proclaiming of the word of God, simply in itself, is high service to God. The solemn reading and preaching of scripture in the midst of the congregation is a cultic act … in continuity with the sacrifices of the Old Testament. Even more, it fulfills these ancient cultic acts.”

PRESENCE OF CHRIST

Preaching, not merely convey information about Christ

Christ himself present, heard when his gospel is preached

Voice of God heard in mouth of minister

John Calvin“When a man climbs up into the pulpit, is it so that he may be seen from afar and that he may have a higher place than the rest? No, no! But so that God may speak to us by the mouth of man and be so gracious to us to show himself here among us and will have a mortal man to be his messenger.”

Ephesians 2.17And he [Christ] came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.

Romans 10.14–17And how are they to believe in him whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? … So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

PRESENCE OF CHRIST

The preached Word is the Word of GodTransmission of Word as inspired and inscripturated

Derivative senseBorrows its status of “Word of God” from scripture

PRESENCE OF CHRIST

Christ present by agency of Holy Spirit

Not mere human work but work of Spirit

Spirit uses as means of salvation, conversion of lost, nurture of saints

PRESENCE OF CHRIST

Dual nature; divine-human activity

God joins himself to ministers and “uses them as his hands and his instruments” (Calvin)

In act of preaching, a “co-laborer with God”

1 Corinthians 3.6–9I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth … For we are God's fellow workers….

John Leith[Summarizing the Reformers’ doctrine of the Word]

In preaching, the work of God and the work of man are united without separation, without change, and without confusion.

UNION WITH CHRIST

Union with Christ, effected, nourished through preaching

Never void of reality it proclaims

Gives what it declaresChrist himself, all his saving benefits with him

UNION WITH CHRIST

Gospel not merely invitation to fellowship with Christ

Effective means by which it’s brought about

Conceives & brings forth faith, by which united to Christ

Romans 1.16For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

1 Corinthians 1.21For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe.

Acts 16.14One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.

John Calvin“We ought to understand that preaching is an instrument for effecting the salvation of the faithful, & though it can do nothing without the Spirit of God, yet through his inward operation it produces the most powerful effects.”

John Calvin“God has ordained his Word as the instrument by which Jesus Christ, with all his graces, is dispensed to us.”

John CalvinIn preaching “there are two ministers, who have distinct offices. The external minister administers the vocal word…. But the internal minister, who is the Holy Spirit, freely works internally, while by his secret virtue he effects in the hearts of whomsoever he will their union with Christ through one faith.”

John CalvinIn preaching “the external minister holds forth the vocal word, and it is received by the ears. The internal minister, the Holy Spirit, truly communicates the thing proclaimed through the Word, that is Christ.... The Holy Spirit effects this union … by creating faith in us, by which he makes us living members of Christ, true God and true man.”