- Overcomer Literature Trust
- Swindon
- Wiltshire
THE CROSS AS A PROCLAMATION.
By Mrs Jessie Penn-Lewis.
“The Word of the Cross is the power of God,” said Paul. The Greek word here is Logos, or Word, not preaching, and is the same used of Christ Himself in John 1 v1, “In the beginning was the Logos, and the Logos was with God, and the Logos was God”. Christ the Son of God is God’s Word to the world, God’s inward thought expressed (Heb.1 v3), clothed in humanity. The Logos of the Cross is God’s inward thought expressed, of the only way in which He could save fallen people, and re-create them in the image of Christ. The Logos of the Cross therefore contains in itself the power of God. It is dynamic, and through it the Holy Spirit manifests the energising ability of God to save. It is not the preaching about the Cross which is the power, but the Word of the Cross, and it is this Word of the Cross which is to be proclaimed to a fallen and lost world, as a message from God.
Paul wrote, ‘‘I proclaimed the gospel of God to you” (1 Thess. 2 v9). In Titus he wrote, “At His appointed season He brought His word to light through the proclamation entrusted to me by the command of God our Saviour” (Titus 1 v3) and, when God “was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might proclaim Him” (Gal. 1 v16). Paul wrote to Timothy, “For this purpose I was appointed a herald” (1 Tim. 2 v7) and “Of this gospel I was appointed a herald” (2 Tim 1 v11). These passages show the herald nature of Paul’s proclamation of the Cross.
The proclamation is of two parts. It is the Word of the Cross,“Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified” (1 Cor. 1 v22-23), and also the Resurrection, “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead” (2 Tim. 2 v8). Here we have the two-fold message of the Cross stated as a proclamation, a Messiah crucified and a Messiah raised from the dead. Calvary and the Resurrection, not one without the other. A real physical death and a real physical resurrection.
In 1 Corinthians 9 Paul wrote about himself and said, “When I proclaim the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to proclaim. Woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel” (1 Cor. 9 v16-17). This is strong language, but Paul uses it to show the Corinthians the Divine compulsion upon him, and how solemn the trust that is committed to him is. They understood in those days how a slave had to obey his master totally. Although the Apostle served of his own free will, yet as concerning his message, the constraint placed on him put him in the same place as a slave. He had to fulfil his trust whether he had wages or not. ‘I proclaim because I am compelled’, said Paul.
“For Christ did not send me to baptise, but to proclaim the gospel”. The external practises were secondary in importance to the proclamation of the Message. ‘‘Not with words of human wisdom, lest the Cross of Christ be emptied of its power”, he wrote (1 Cor. 1 v17). The proclamation does not need the adornment of beautiful words. It has only to be proclaimed in its bare simplicity, for it is the Word of the Cross which is the power of God, not with words about it. The solemn fact is that the message which contains the mighty power of God can be made powerless by the preacher. The words which the human wisdom of the natural man thinks necessary to make the message acceptable have actually the contrary effect, making void the power of the Cross itself. So few really believe that the Word itself, simply stated, has in it the power of God. They are not willing to be simple transmitters of the written Word. They want to preach sermons about the Cross, rather than simply to PROCLAIM it.
Paul wrote, “When I came among you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling. My message and preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on man’s wisdom, but on God’s power” (1 Cor. 2 v1-5). Oh Paul, have you not mistaken the word? Did you not mean that you were filled with power? No, “I was filled with weakness, and fear and much trembling”. When the solemnity of the trust and the vital character of the Message of the Cross is to be proclaimed by anyone, it is bound to produce that great anxiety in case they should fail God, or become unfitted for the Holy Spirit to use with the message. Paul deliberately avoided using persuasive words. Human influence and persuasion is not needed in addition to the power of God. The herald simply has to be carefully exact in transmitting the proclamation. And then the responsibility is with God, and those who hear it. It is strange that words all about the things of earth are often used to draw people to God, instead of simply heralding forth God’s proclamation.
Paul laboured to prepare Timothy to carry on the work when he knew that his departure was at hand. Listen to his last solemn words to Timothy. “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, . . . I give you this charge, proclaim the Word, . . . For the time will come when men will not put up with the sound doctrine . . . They will turn their ears away from the truth” (2 Tim. 4 v1-5). ‘Proclaim the truth’ is written to us as well as to Timothy.
The passion of his message remained with Paul to the very end. The one thing he cared about was his stewardship. When he looks back upon his sufferings all is swallowed up in the fact that he had accomplished his ministry. “At my first defence, no-one came to my support, but everyone deserted me . . . But the Lord Jesus stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed” (2 Tim. 4 v16-17).
From: ‘The Centrality of the Cross’.
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THE EDITOR’S LETTER.
Dear Friends,
In this age when so many, even in churches, disregard the Bible and pour scorn on its teaching, it is good to remember that God is still speaking, by the Holy Spirit, through the pages of Scripture.
God’s Word does not change, whatever some people may say about their interpretation of it. God is Holy and commands us to be holy even as He is Holy. Only by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit can this be true in our lives, as we take the Bible seriously, remaining close to the Lord and being faithful to Him.
He is faithful and has promised to be our guide and strength as we follow Him. May you know His love and hope as He is with you and keep you in the year ahead. To Him be the glory.
Yours in His love, Michael Metcalfe.