Cornerstone Curriculum, Official Certification Edition - Mentor's Guide

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word’ (cf. 1 Thess. 1.6, 8; 3.1; Col. 4.3; 2 Tim. 2.9; 4.1; etc.). In all these passages the terms refer to the preached word (cf. TDNT IV, 116). This is also the reason why the word preached by Paul and the others is effective. This efficacy is not due to the talents of the preacher, but the secret lies in the genitive: it is the word of God or of the Lord. In the apostolic message (the emphasis being always on the content) the voice of the living God is being heard. This emphasis was shared by the Reformers. Both Luther and Calvin were convinced that, when the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ is being proclaimed, God himself is heard by the listeners. In chapter 1 of the Second Helvetic Confession (1566) Heinrich Bullinger, the successor of Zwingli, summarized the position of the Reformers in one terse statement: Praedicatio verbi Dei est verbum Dei – the preaching of the word of God is the word of God. In the next sentence he interprets this statement as follows: ‘Wherefore when this word of God (=Scripture) is now preached in the church by preachers lawfully called, we believe that the very word of God is proclaimed, and received by the faithful.’ The indispensable condition for true preaching is the faithful proclamation of the message of Scripture. Yet preaching is not a simple repetition of this message. It must also be actualized into the present. If preaching is to be true and relevant, the message of Scripture must be addressed to people in their concrete historical situation. The biblical message may not be adapted to the situation of today, but it must be ‘accommodated’ (Calvin) to the situation. As in Christ God stooped down to take upon himself our flesh (see Accommodation, Incarnation), so in the preaching of the word the Holy Spirit stoops down to reach people in their situation. The preacher therefore must be an exegete of both Scripture and of his congregation, so that the living word of God for today will be heard at the intersection of text and situation. ~ K. Runia. “Theology of Preaching.” The New Dictionary of Theology . S. B. Ferguson, ed. (electronic ed.). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000. pp. 527-28.

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