A Systematic Approach to Expository Preaching

Introduction

Expository preaching is a central function and practice of the Christian ministry because it is through the proclamation of the Word that God reveals Himself to the world, saves His people, and ordains them to service for His glory. It is God’s appointed means by which He makes Himself known. Therefore, a systematic theology of preaching must not begin with those who exposit the Scriptures or those who hear the message, but with God Himself, who speaks, saves, and sanctifies through His written and spoken Word.

This brief essay will argue that preaching is the divinely orchestrated means by which the Triune God communicates His self-revelation to His creation and His elect, forming the church and empowering them to fulfill the Great Commission. To that end, this paper will explain how expositional preaching, often unlike topical sermons, is rooted in the self-revelation of God in His sufficient, inerrant, infallible, authoritative, and perspicuous Word. Furthermore, it will explain how expositional preaching is Trinitarian in nature and how it equips God’s people to participate in His redemptive mission to “make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:19).¹

God’s Revelation and Scripture

It is often understood that God reveals Himself in two distinct yet co-dependent ways. First, “there is the revelation which God continuously makes to all men: by it His power and Divinity are made known. [Second,] there is the revelation which He makes exclusively to His chosen people: through it His saving grace is made known.”² These two forms of revelation are called “natural and supernatural revelation, or general and special revelation, or natural and soteriological revelation.”³ The first way, hereby referred to as “general revelation,” is iterated by passages such as Romans 1:20: “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” The second way, hereby referred to as “special revelation,” is evidenced by passages such as Hebrews 1:1-2: “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.” They are seen as co-revelations in Psalm 19, which references the works of heaven and the Law of God. Indeed, both the Scripture and Christ are the special revelation of God, for the progressive revelation of God in His written Word culminates in the Incarnation of the Eternal Word in God’s creation. Moreover, the written Word reveals the Incarnate Word. Thus, when one preaches, they proclaim the Word and reveal Christ—the only special and soteriological revelation—to their congregation.

Scripture has several key characteristics that are correlated with preaching. As Graham Cole explains, “God has spoken and unveiled his mind, will, and ways (Heb. 1:1-2). Scripture is the Spirit-inspired, inerrant, and infallible crystallization of the divine discourse.”⁴ Thus, Paul writes to Timothy (2 Tim. 3:14-17):

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.⁵

In other words, Scripture is inspired by God, without error in the original manuscripts, and without unreliability in matters of faith and practice.⁶ Thus, Paul writes to Timothy to encourage him in light of these characteristics of the sacred Word passed down to him. Likewise, preachers must do the same for their congregations, faithfully expositing the Scriptures as God’s Word to humanity, free from all error, and utterly powerful to save and redeem the lost. They must emphatically declare the Scriptures as God’s own Words because they are indeed Words “breathed out by God” (2 Tim. 3:16).

This high view of Scripture, “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb. 4:12), is central to the preacher’s ministry. As Jason Allen writes, “What one believes about the Bible is a clear dividing line in homiletics. Those who have a high view of Scripture will preach more textual sermons. Those who have a low view of Scripture will invariably be given to shallower, less significant sermons.”⁷

Preaching and the Trinity

Preaching is a Trinitarian work and has a Trinitarian emphasis. In reference to Scripture, the root of expository preaching, Kevin Vanhoozer posits, “(1) it has God for its ultimate author; (2) it has God (Jesus Christ) as its ultimate content; [and] (3) it has God (the Holy Spirit) for its ultimate interpreter.”⁸ In other words, all three persons of the Trinity work in appropriated ways: God the Father writes, God the Son is the Word written, and God the Holy Spirit allows hearts and minds to understand the Scripture through illumination. Because expository preaching is thoroughly concerned with Scripture, preachers must recognize this Trinitarian framework as central to preaching the Bible.

Preaching is Spirit-empowered. Allen writes, “The ministry of the Holy Spirit is essential for two reasons. First, for the congregation to rightly respond, they need the Holy Spirit to awaken and convict their hearts. Second, the preacher relies on the Holy Spirit throughout the sermon preparation and delivery process.”⁹ Overall, the Holy Spirit does four main things on behalf of both the preacher and his audience in the preaching of the Word: (1) He illumines or allows one to understand, (2) He convicts without condemning, (3) He applies the truths of Scripture to those who have “ears to hear” (Matt. 11:15; Mark 4:9, 23), and (4) He anoints the preacher with power.¹⁰

Preaching and the Great Commission

In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus commands and blesses His disciples in a pericope known as the Great Commission: “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” Ultimately, preaching faithfully fulfills this command of Christ, for in it, Christ and His Gospel that converts and saves the lost are proclaimed. Jesus has all authority because He is the final revelation (Heb. 2:1-2). His work has enabled people to know him, but for that to happen, the disciples must wait for the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5; 8) and then preach, teach, and make disciples. This dependency and mission are not fulfilled only by preaching; they also demonstrate the key distinctives of preaching discussed previously. Just as the disciples needed the Holy Spirit to be faithful witnesses, so do pastors need the Holy Spirit to preach the Word faithfully.

However, ordinary preaching alone does not fulfill the Great Commission. Two questions must be asked: Where is the Word ordinarily preached, and who usually hears it? The answers, respectively, are regular church gatherings and congregants who are most likely already believers. Thus, there is an element of the Great Commission that involves being sent out “to the nations” to make disciples. Therefore, the preaching of the Word must transcend the halls and sanctuaries of churches around the world. Regarding this reality, Paul’s words could not be more relevant: “For ‘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? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?” (Rom. 10:13-15). Thus, faithful expository preaching, both in and out of the regular church building, is the church’s primary means of participating in the Mission of the Triune God in saving His people.

Conclusion

In summary, through a systematic lens, expository preaching is the declaration of the Triune God’s self-revelation in His written, infallible, inerrant, sufficient, authoritative, and perspicuous Word; focused on Christ as the final, superior revelation; and empowered by the Spirit, who illumines, convicts, applies, and anoints God’s people to faithfully serve Him and preach His Good News to the ends of the Earth. Therefore, let all ministers be equipped by the Spirit to be resolved to preach Christ crucified (1 Cor. 1:23; 2:2) as a testament to the work He has accomplished for His creation, and so that many more will come to know and worship Him.

Bibliography

Allen, Jason K. Letters to My Students. Vol. 1, On Preaching. Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2019.

Barrett, Matthew. God’s Word Alone: The Authority of Scripture. The Five Solas Series, edited by Matthew Barrett. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2016.

Cole, Graham A. Faithful Theology: An Introduction. Short Studies in Systematic Theology, edited by Graham A. Cole and Oren R. Martin. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2020.

Vines, Jerry, and Jim Shaddix. Power in the Pulpit: How to Prepare and Deliver Expository Sermons, Revised Edition. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2017.

Warfield, Benjamin B. The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible. Phillipsburg, NJ: The Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1948.

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Footnotes

1. Unless otherwise specified, all Scripture references in this paper are to the English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016). ↩

2. Benjamin B. Warfield, The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible (Phillipsburg, NJ: The Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1948), 73. ↩

3. Warfield, 74. ↩

4. Graham A. Cole, Faithful Theology: An Introduction, Short Studies in Systematic Theology, eds. Graham A. Cole and Oren R. Martin (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2020), 20. ↩

5. Qtd. in Cole, 20-21. ↩

6. Perspicuity or clarity is another characteristic of Scripture. See, Matthew Barrett, God’s Word Alone: The Authority of Scripture, The Five Solas Series, ed. Matthew Barrett (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2016), 303. ↩

7. Jason K. Allen, Letters to My Students, vol. 1, On Preaching (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2019), 13. ↩

8. Kevin J. Vanhoozer, From Bible to Theology, in Theology, Church, and Ministry: A Handbook for Theological Education, ed. David S. Dockery (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2017), 239, qtd. in Cole, 23. ↩

9. Allen, 13-14. ↩

10. Jerry Vines and Jim Shaddix, Power in the Pulpit: How to Prepare and Deliver Expository Sermons, Revised Edition (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2017), 69-77. ↩