“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine, for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine.” 2 Timothy 4:2,3
From a historical standpoint, there does not appear to be a great deal taught before Pentecost concerning the church, the living body of Christ, of which every believer is a member. There is about the church, which was born on Pentecost when the Spirit of God was poured out upon all flesh, and Christ by the Spirit would come to dwell in every believer’s heart, a mystery that was revealed. The apostle Paul would elaborate on this in depth in his epistles, revealing this great mystery, hidden from the foundation of the world. Where God revealed His glory in the Temple, or Tabernacle, of the Old Testament, Christ has come to indwell temples of clay, of flesh, in every believer who is born of the Spirit. This fact is the basis for the realization of all that God declares the living church to be in this world, and all that He would have her to do, or trust Him for. So, we must ask the question, “What is the role of the church, this mystery now revealed, having been kept and blessed from the day of Pentecost of long ago?”
The church, or body of Christ, is to be first and foremost a place where God is worshiped in Spirit and truth. It is in the heart, where the worship of God is accomplished. It is also where increasingly consistent and profound communion with Him is known, Christ being revealed by the Spirit. It is there that God gives a glimpse of His glory, a light revealed to the world, a LIFE demonstrated and presented for the world to see, so that the unbelieving world will see, and believe in Him. In other words, God has so made the church, with Christ dwelling in the heart of every individual member of that living body, so that Christ’s LIFE can be powerfully, and wonderfully revealed to the ends of the earth. God has not only put within this church the knowledge of the truth as it is in Christ, but by the Spirit, reveals the very nature of Christ in every believer that abiding in Him. It is as Charles Wesley wrote many years ago: “Called the full strength of trust to prove, Let all my quickened heart be love, Thy spotless LIFE be praise.” Christ has come to dwell in the church, and every heart of it, so that the glory of His life, the glory of God, should be revealed to the world. The Lord Jesus confirmed this when in John’s gospel, when He prayed: “…That they may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me.” (17:21) He went on to pray, “…I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me.” (17:23) The Apostle Paul summarized this great truth by writing: “…Unto Him (God) be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” (Eph. 3:21) So then, if Christ dwelling in the heart of the believer, and the witness of Christ’s life in the church is revealed, what is the role of preaching the Gospel? What is its purpose, especially since Pentecost, and before Christ comes again?
The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, his son in the faith: “Preach the word: be instant in season and out of season.” Preaching is more than the exposition of truth. It is the communication of the power of God, the demonstration of the Spirit of Life in Christ. There is in what Paul called, “the foolishness of preaching” the means and method by which God takes His truth, empowers it, and brings about His transforming work, effect, and eternal purpose.
Dear Father, Raise up true preachers. In Jesus’ name, Amen.