POWER IN EXPOSITORY PREACHING
by Faris D. Whitesell 
www.fotbc.org

Chapter 10 Power Through COMMUNICATION
The supreme test of a sermon is whether or not it communicates. If it fails here, all else is in vain. Several terms have been used to describe the preacher’s pulpit action. An old one is "to preach" the sermon; a newer one is "to deliver" the sermon, and a still newer one is "to present" the message. All of these focus attention upon the preacher and the sermon almost to the exclusion of the audience. They imply that the preacher’s responsibility ends with speaking the message from the pulpit. The audience may do whatever it pleases with the sermon.
A newer and more popular phrase is "to communicate" the sermon. The word communicate means "to impart, to share, to distribute, to hold in common, to give and receive." The idea is that the speaker shares his message with the listeners; he transmits it to them so that they take hold of it and possess it. To communicate means more than to make the people hear the sermon, or be interested in it, or to understand it—it involves receiving it, considering it, and responding either negatively or positively to it. This concept involves the audience in the preaching process as well as the preacher and his sermon.
The responsibility to communicate is taken seriously by the secular world today. Universities, businesses, governments and religious organizations have departments of commu-nication. Churches and preachers need to think about it.
Our interest centers on communicating the expository sermon, though most of what we say applies to other types of sermons too. All of the essentials discussed in previous chapters help in communication. In other words, if the explanation is sound, the organization clear, the argu-mentation strong, the illustrations appropriate, the application pointed, and the imagination active, the sermon has gone a long way toward communication. However, there are other items to be considered.
The preacher should be able to feel the pulse and sense the mood of the age in which he lives. To do this, he must be in touch with the currents of life and thought. Such understanding will help him slant his preaching to today’s world rather than to yesterday’s. Luccock says that ours is an age with a sense of insignificance, insecurity, anxiety, futility, emptiness.1 Others call it a bewildered age where we live in a moral vacuum. Objective, valid moral standards are almost a thing of the past. What an age in which to preach the eternally fixed moral truths of divine revelation as revealed in expository preaching!
F. W. Dillistone of England raises this question: "How can a culture whose whole attention is focused upon the factual, the observable, the verifiable, the workable, suddenly turn aside to consider the unseen, the personal, the ethical, the eternal?"2
We believe that the expository preacher has the answer if anyone does.
William Faulkner, the novelist, came near the truth, when he said: "The young man or woman writing today has forgotten the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself which alone can make good writing because only that is worth writing about….There should be room in the writer’s heart…only for the old verities and truths of heart, the old universal truths lacking which any story is ephemeral and doomed—love and honor and pity and pride and compassion and sacrifice."3
Faulkner was right on the human level, but the expository preacher rises to the higher level of the old universal truths of sin, sorrow, death, grace, redemption, love and service. But these eternally valid truths of divine revelation have to be related to the human predicament of today.
David H. C. Read has written: "The line of communication has been cut; and there is no real contact between pulpit and pew. Sad though it may sometimes seem to us in our dreams of the ideal sermon, conceived in quietness and delivered without complications, it remains an axiom of Christian preaching that the road from the study to the pulpit runs through a living, demanding, interrupting manse; out into the noisy street; in and out of house and hospitals, farms and factories, buses, trains, cinema; through ringing telephones and stacks of letters and minutes; up between rows of puzzled people to the place where you are called to preach. It cannot be otherwise….This necessity of a living contact with the real world arises both from our situation in the world…and also from the very nature of the Word of God."4
The author’s opinion is that some writers have overdrawn the picture of the present break-down of communication between the pulpit and the pew. If the expository preacher is a pastoral caller and counselor, and is involved constructively in the affairs of his community, he will be in touch with life and able to communicate from the pulpit.
The expository preacher will wish to gain the backing and cooperation of his audience in his program of expository preaching. He can do this by showing them that he is preaching for them as well as to them. He is their mouthpiece. He speaks for the whole congregation, not merely for himself. His source of authority and preaching material is their Bible, the standard of their faith and practice. He is seeking to help them understand and live it. His sources of information about the Bible are standard helps recognized and approved by the whole church of Christ, not merely their own denomination. His interpretations are not offhand, personal ones, but they have been checked and tested by reliable Biblical authorities, and are, therefore, worthy of careful consideration. The preacher’s congregation will appreciate and respond to this type of approach.
The preacher should invite his people to bring their Bibles to church and to look up his tests and references. Then he can invite them to share their reactions, opinions, and questions with him either in personal conversation or by telephone.
A good way to arouse the interest and cooperation of the congregation is to have them vote on themes for different preaching series: favorite Bible chapters, favorite Bible characters, favorite Bible books for exposition, and favorite texts.
H. H. Halley’s Bible Handbook has a section entitled, "The Most Important Thing in This Book." It is a plan of congregational Bible reading from which the pastor takes his sermon each week, "thus connecting the pastor’s preaching with the people’s Bible reading. This suggestion, if followed, would, beyond any doubt whatever, produce a Re-Vitalized Church…."5 This plan would certainly create a great measure of cooperation between pastor and congregation, and ought to be followed more than it is.
The preacher must demonstrate "by kindly word and virtuous life" the message which he preaches. The Bible must be not only his source for sermons, but his source of spiritual life and strength. His attitudes, practices and ethics must be those of Biblical Christianity. The people must be able to believe absolutely in his sincerity and personal holiness. Carlos Greenleaf Fuller wrote an article entitled, "How to Preach With Power," in which he described the preacher who led him to Christ when he was a boy of fifteen: "In daily life that modest preacher whom God used to open my eyes and heart to redemptive grace lived where Peter and Paul lived…. He lived daily in an abiding death and resurrection union with Christ…. Another apostolic element in that preacher’s life was that he expounded Spirit-wielded Scripture. Though he had had training and learning, he made no effort to preach in the wisdom of man. The Bible was God’s revelation, and since his own life was based on that unshakable conviction, he spoke in the pulpit with great humility and holy boldness…when he prayed, the Holy Spirit winged his words into my heart and gave me the great blessing that a young man can know…."6
In preparing an expository sermon, the preacher should be enthusiastic about his discoveries. H. E. Luccock said, "One first indispensable equipment for communicating the truth in the Bible is a strong sense of the romance of exegesis…sound exegesis, so far from being a merely scholarly or scientific undertaking, can be a thrilling adventure in discovery."7
As the preacher puts his sermon into shape his enthusiasm should increase. As he continues his meditation and prayer over it, his enthusiasm should continue to mount until he can hardly wait until time to preach. In his pulpit presentation, he will communicate his enthusiasm as well as his message. How can the expository preacher fail to be enthusiastic? He speaks from the greatest Book ever written, and deals with the most important truths ever revealed.
The conversational style of delivery is in vogue today. The speaker addresses the audience as if he were in private conversation with each person. This does not imply conver-sational volume and informality, but conversational directness. The former cultivated eloquence and soaring oratory is no more, except in rare instances. Listeners wish a speaker to say what he has to say in the most direct and interesting manner possible and be done with it. The conversational manner will give interest and warmth to the quality of the speaker’s voice, enabling him to vary the volume, pitch, quality and rate of delivery. The expository preacher should be earnest, sincere, straightforward, natural, alert, and animated in delivery. If he cannot overcome bad speech faults such as nasality, throatiness, breathiness, raspiness, squeakiness, harshness, thinness, and monotones, he should seek the help of a qualified speech teacher. He should cultivate resonance, depth, and melodiousness so that it will be a pleasure to hear him speak.
The conversational preacher will maintain constant eye-contact with his listeners, glancing from one to another as his sermon proceeds. His gestures will be free and natural. They will express his feelings and ideas without excess. The conversational speaker will show deep respect for his audience, his message, and the Christian pulpit which he occupies. His pulpit attire should be modest, neat, appropriate and inconspicuous.
Style refers to the characteristic way one speaks or writes. It concerns the speaker’s use of language and involves words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs. Many ministers fail to communicate properly because they neglect style. They think that ideas are enough; the words will take care of themselves. Consequently their style is dull, abstract, and colorless. Broadus says the basic qualities of good sermon style are clarity, energy of language, and elegance. Phelps lists them as purity, precision, individuality, perspicuity, energy, elegance and naturalness. Shedd enumerates them as plainness, force, beauty.
Because a sermon is a spoken message, the preacher should cultivate an oral style consisting of clear words, simple words, exact words, action words and picture words. He will do well to follow the example of J. H. Jowett who constantly studied words. Words are his stock in trade, and like G. Campbell Morgan, he should be the master of them.
For clarity and interest the Reader’s Digest sets a splendid example. For vividness and accuracy, the weekly magazine, Time, can teach us a great deal. For beauty of style, couched in ancient terms, the King James Version of the Bible cannot be surpassed; but for beauty and accuracy of modern English, the Revised Standard Version sets a high standard. We recom-mend the books of Andrew W. Blackwood, a writer in the field of preaching and practical theology, whose style measures up to all desirable standards. He is simple, clear, accurate, elegant, and interesting. For one in the expository preaching field today, whose style leaves little to be desired, we point to Paul S. Rees. The best style draws least attention to itself. It conveys meaning without coloring or hindering it. Time invested in improving one’s style is never wasted but will bring lifelong dividends.
The Holy Spirit is the divine Communicator. He communicated the Scriptures originally to holy men of God who recorded them under His inspiration. The Holy Spirit makes the written Word vital in human experience. One of the functions of the Spirit is to empower the preaching of the Word of God. Prophetic preaching was in the power of the Holy Spirit; the preaching of John the Baptist and of Jesus was in that power, and apostolic preaching was in the energy of the divine Spirit. Luke tells us of Jesus’ preaching: "He opened the book and found the place where it was written, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor, He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord’ " (Luke 4:17-19, rsv).
If the expository preacher is to communicate his message effectively, he must do so in the power of the Holy Spirit. If he is to interpret Scripture correctly, discern its deeper meanings, quote it accurately, make it luminous, and apply it incisively, he will need the backing of the Holy Spirit.
The promise of the Spirit was connected with witnessing privately and publicly. Jesus said, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8, rsv).
Peter preached in the power of the Spirit: "Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and elders…’ " (Acts 4:8, rsv). Paul preached in the power of the Holy Spirit when he wrote: 
For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has wrought through me to win obedience from the Gentiles, by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Holy Spirit, so that from Jerusalem and as far round as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ…(Romans 15:18-19, rsv).
And I was with you in weakness and in much fear and trembling; and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God (I Corinthians 2:3-5, rsv).
…for our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. (I Thessalonians 1:5, rsv).
Peter said that the apostles were "those who preached the good news to you through the Holy Spirit sent from heaven…" (I Peter 1:12, rsv). How can we dare handle the Holy Scriptures in mere human wisdom and energy when the Holy Spirit is available to empower us? In spite of all the splendid modern translations of the Bible, the new lexical aids, and the great commentaries old and new, our preaching will fail to communicate the message and life of God if it depend solely on these and does not call on the power of the Holy Spirit.
A. J. Gordon, speaking of the decline in preaching, said: "And this decline is due, we believe, more than anything else, to an ignoring of the Holy Spirit as the supreme inspirer in preaching. We wish to see a great orator in the pulpit, forgetting that the least expounder of the Word, when filled with the Holy Ghost, is greater than he…. The true preacher does not simply use the Spirit; he is used by the Spirit. He speaks as one moving in the element and atmosphere of the Holy Ghost, and mastered by his divine power."8
F. B. Meyer believed that the expository preacher had a right to expect the cooperation of the Holy Spirit in handling sacred truth. He wrote: "But—and this is the most pertinent point for our present purpose, the Holy Spirit’s power proceeds along the line of the Word of God, as the electric message along the wires. It is His sword; the life-giving seed which He has vitalized; the word in which the Word is incarnated. Through long centuries He has been at work communicating to prepared natures the thoughts of God, and naturally He avails Himself of His prerogative. The ministry, therefore, which is most carefully based on Scripture and honors Scripture and saturates itself with Scripture is the ministry which the Spirit of Truth can cooperate with in the most perfect abandonment."9
G. Campbell Morgan believed essentially the same thing. He wrote: "No man can do the work of God until he has the Holy Spirit, and is endued with power. It is impossible to preach the gospel save in the power of the Spirit, because none can comprehend the true meaning of the Cross of Christ unless taught by the Spirit of God. Neither a knowledge of the letter of the New Testament nor a system of theology, is sufficient to equip for preaching the cross. Nothing short of the immediate, direct, personal illumination of the Spirit is sufficient equipment."10
Alexander Maclaren believed in and labored in the power of the Holy Spirit. Speaking on Luke 24:49, "And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you…," he said: "The equip-ment for work is investiture with divine power. A partial bestowment of the Spirit, which is the Father’s promise, took place while Jesus spoke. ‘I send’ refers to something done at the moment; but the fuller clothing with that garment of power was to be waited for in expectancy and desire. No man can do the Christian work of witnessing for and of Christ without that clothing with power. It was granted as an abiding gift on Pentecost. It needs perpetual renewal. We may all have it. Without it, eloquence, learning, and all else, are but as sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal."11
The preacher’s temptation is to trust himself and his preparation rather than the Holy Spirit. With that attitude he never realizes the power of the Spirit in his preaching. Alan Redpath put it this way: "When our confidence is in gimmicks, programs, schemes, and planning, and we have not learned to seek first the Lord in the power of the Holy Spirit, in brokenness at Calvary, we inevitably go on being defeated and losing the battle."12 We must also recognize that preaching the Word of God, from the New Testament point of view, involves supernatural forces. Human minds are supernaturally darkened by sin and perverted by selfishness. Satanic powers resist the entrance of light through the Word of God. Paul said, 
In their case the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the likeness of God (II Corinthians 4:4, rsv). 
…when you were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience (Ephesians 2:1-2, rsv). 
The sum total of natural abilities and acquired skills is not enough to communicate the saving gospel under such conditions. Even in the case of Christians, we encounter carnality and dullness enough to hinder communication unless we preach in the power of the Spirit. Paul expressed it this way: 
But I, brethren, could not address you as spiritual men, but as men of the flesh, as babes in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food; for you were not ready for it; and even yet you are not ready, for you are still of the flesh (I Corinthians 3:1-2, rsv). 
About this we have much to say which is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need some one to teach you again the first principles of God’s word. You need milk, not solid food…(Hebrews 5:11-12, rsv).
Only as preachers proclaim the Word of God in the power of the Holy Spirit can the living Word step forth in supernatural strength to break through the communication barriers. The writer to the Hebrews expressed it in these words: "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And before him no creature is hidden, but all are open and laid bare to the eyes of him with whom we have to do" (Hebrews 4:12-13, rsv).
The man in the pulpit could be a false prophet instead of the true prophet he thinks he is. If he speaks without supernatural enduement, the words of H. Grady Davis could be true of him: "He comes speaking in the name of the Lord, but the Lord may have no control over him and no influence on what he says…he may have no notion who the Holy Spirit is…. He may be a false prophet."13
What can we expect the Holy Spirit to do in and through us in expository preaching? He can guide us in choosing the right Scripture passages for each occasion; guide us in the selection of books to buy and use in studying the Bible; give us illumination and insight in studying the passage; aid our memory to recall parallel passages and fitting illustrations; give us joy in concentrating on the text and the strength to push through the writing or verbalizing of the sermon; give us boldness and confidence at the time of delivery; inspire us with new thoughts during delivery and cause us to omit less appropriate ones. He can unify the audience, create attentiveness, open hearts, and apply the Word in both expected and unexpected ways. The Holy Spirit can convict, convert, comfort, inspire, reprove, correct, and instruct in righteousness. He can fix the Word in the minds and memories of hearers so that it becomes fruitful like the seed on good soil. How foolish to try to prepare sermons and preach them apart from the power of the Spirit!
How can the pastor assure himself that he will be preaching in the power of the Holy Spirit and not merely in the energy of the flesh? Perhaps there is no infallible way. We know so little about ourselves and our motives on the one hand, and so little about the deep things of the Spirit on the other, that it is unlikely we could lay out a formula and say, "If I follow this, I shall be certain to preach in the power of the Holy Spirit." Unknown to us, pride, selfishness, worldliness, or laziness can creep in and obstruct the way to power.
A few general observations ought to be in order, assuming that preparation has been done as recommended:
The preacher must be born again and know that he is truly a converted man, with sins forgiven and possessing sonship in the family of God, if he would preach in the Spirit’s power.
He must pursue depth studies in the Bible. He should be immersed in the Word of God as a daily practice, exploring, absorbing, using and memorizing it.
He must be absolutely obedient to the Lord. He cannot compromise or divide allegiance. "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanseth us from all sin" (I John 1:7, kjv).
Another condition for preaching in the power of the Holy Spirit is a life of prayer. Power in preaching and pastoral work will normally be in direct proportion to the amount of time spent in prayer. We never have time to pray unless we make it. In times of prayer and waiting on God, the Spirit can come to us in His gracious ministry of teaching, guiding, comforting and strengthening.
Personal witnessing must be a practice if we would know the power of the Spirit. God gives the Spirit for the purpose of witnessing to Christ (Acts 1:8) and He honors those who witness by giving them more of the Spirit. Personal witnessing to individuals will keep us fresh, fragrant and fruitful. Its spiritual impact carries over into preaching. 
A Survey on the Holy Spirit in Preaching 
In 1950 one of the author’s graduate students made a survey of the problem of the work of the Holy Spirit in preaching.14 He sent out 102 questionnaires to leading evangelical ministers in the United States and Canada, and received sixty-two letters in reply. The questions he asked and a tabulation of the answers received are given below:
1. Can present-day preachers preach in the power of the Holy Spirit in the same degree as did the prophets and apostles? 			
ANSWERS: 	Yes…………………………………………….40
Yes with qualifications………………………20
No answer…………………………………… 2
		
2. When you preach, do you know whether or not you are preaching in the power of the Holy Spirit? How? 			
ANSWERS: 	Yes…...……………………………………….38
Yes with qualifications………………………16 
Doubtful……………………………….……… 2 
No answer…………………………….……… 2 

The "How" part of this question was answered as follows			
	Liberty in delivery...…………………………. 17
An inexplicable outside motivation…………18 
Results…..……………………………...…… 23 
Trust in Biblical standard…………..….…… 12 
		
3. In your experience, what are the prerequisites for preaching in the power of the Holy Spirit?			
ANSWERS: 	Prevailing prayer……………………….……..24
Surrender……………………………….….….19 
Obedience……………………...…….……….14 
Consecration….....…………………….…... .13 
Be filled with the Spirit……………..….…….13 
A clean life………………………..….……… 10 
Believe in authority and
power of God’s Word…….....………..………8 
Thorough preparation………………..….…….7
Trust in the Spirit’s power……..…..…………7
Several individual answers were also given. 		
4. What differences, if any, are there between preaching in the power of the Holy Spirit and any preaching that utilizes thorough preparation, personal magnetism, good psychology and rhetorical persuasion?			
ANSWERS: 	There is a difference…………………..………29
The Holy Spirit uses these means….....……26
No answer………………………..……...……. 7		
THE DIFFERENCES: 	Results………………………………… ……. 14
One is real, the other artificial……………….10 
Spiritual power.………………………....…….. 9 
The honoring of God.………………....……… 2		
5. In your experience, what are the practical results of preaching in the power of the Holy Spirit?			
ANSWERS: 	Conversion of sinners…………………..…….32
Conviction of sin………………………..…..…21
Edification...……………………………..…….14 
Evangelism and missions flourish ...……….13 
Fruits of the Spirit manifest…..……...…...…. 5 
Unity, high morale in the church....….....…….4 
God and Christ consciousness.….….........….4
Satisfaction on preacher’s part…....…....……4 
Consecration…………………………...…..…. 4
Several individual answers were also given.		
We can see that the goal of preaching in the power of the Holy Spirit is one that every preacher should have constantly before him. Apart from this experience, he really cannot communicate the gospel of Christ. Preaching in the power of the Holy Spirit is not a once-for-all experience that one attains and is thereafter certain of. It depends upon a continued life of spiritual growth and dedication, and must be sought separately for each and every preaching opportunity. A praying congregation can help a preacher of the Word to realize this goal. Communicating the gospel is the greatest of all privileges that God gives to mortal man. The expository preacher has more of the gospel to communicate because he preaches from larger portions of the Bible, and he preaches each portion in greater depth than the topical and textual preachers. Other qualifications being equal, he has a right to claim more power from the Holy Spirit in his preaching. 
POWER IN EXPOSITORY PREACHING by Faris D. Whitesell 

end of study