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Jul 31, 2004
In the Scriptures of God the word "Preach" is used. What is the actual biblical definition of the word? And its result in practical spiritual experience.
In the Scriptures of God the word "Preach" is used. What is the actual biblical definition of the word? And its result in practical spiritual experience.
Preaching(The act of exhorting, prophesying, reproving, teaching)Solomon called "the preacher" (Koheleth)Ecc 1:1- The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.H6953קהלתqôhelethko-heh'-lethFeminine of active participle from H6950; a assembler (that is, lecturer); abstractly preaching (used as a ‘nom de plume’, Koheleth): - preacher.G2784κηρύσσωkērussōThayer Definition:1) to be a herald, to officiate as a herald1a) to proclaim after the manner of a herald1b) always with the suggestion of formality, gravity and an authority which must be listened to and obeyed2) to publish, proclaim openly: something which has been done3) used of the public proclamation of the gospel and matters pertaining to it, made by John the Baptist, by Jesus, by the apostles and other Christian teachersWell, God uses the foolishness of preaching to bring people to salvation. Preaching is in itself a spectacle, enough that angels look into it because the very act that leads men to repentance and brings salvation causes applause among the angels. We need to stop trying to impress men with our vocabualry and dead letter, but instead impact heaven with shouts of applause and depopulate hell. The Apostle Paul knew his life was a spectacle to the whole world. And I think his preaching was a spectacle. He would come in weakness and in trembling, and then strike and lash them with the power of God and eternity filled messages. They say Paul was a dwarf in stature, but He was a giant in the Spirit. When Jesus would preach to the crowds it says they were 'astonished,' in the greek it means to be 'struck.' Unlike the sadducees, scribes, and pharisees who preached with no authority, Jesus preached with full authority. The key things is God granted authority like Jesus and Paul, and have people struck by the power of God. People are no longer struck, they are tickled. We need to get rid of this pathetic preaching and get back to prophetic preaching.
Does preaching of the foolishness of God, the Cross – 1Cor 1:18 - equal foolish preaching and folly in the pulpit?
When Jesus would preach to the crowds it says they were 'astonished,' in the greek it means to be 'struck.'Thats some great information in your post brother Giancarlo! The reason why I put out the question was I heard a sermon explaining that the word 'preach' in the bible is to proclaim outloud as in street preaching, and that it is with the foolishness of this shouting aloud the scriptures and precepts of God that people will be saved. Not with the signs or miricales in evangelism or with the fine sounding wisdom of this world but with the heralding of the foolish message of Jesus Christ raised from the dead. I am just having abit of a hard time with this and praying it over.Does preaching of the foolishness of God, the Cross – 1Cor 1:18 - equal foolish preaching and folly in the pulpit?I would have to agree brother Lars. Foolishness in the pulpit could be a lost practice. But Paul does say that we speak of a wisdom not of this world so there is a godly wisdom to be given to the saints of God, but this wisdom does not apply to the preaching of the gospel, the foolish message to the unsaved.EDIT: I did not read your statement aright Lars.. no folly in the pulpit, unprepared, unburdened preaching, preaching from the mind, and other sorts of carnal ill equiped messages given to people is no the foolishness of the gospel. There needs to be unction and power accompained with the simple good news of the message of Jesus Christ risen from the dead. As paul said the kingdom of God is not with words but with power.
In response to lwpray: No, the disobedience, arrogance, and greed of evil shepherds is surely going to be punished. (This is what I've learned from Isaiah's book in particular, and also from New Testament warnings against false teachers.)
A matter of definition immediately occurs when entering into a dialogue of this kind.The word foolishness may perhaps be replaced by the word simplicity.The terms folly and stupidity, of which none may be found in a pulpit, points in the opposite direction of veracity and humility – two things which must follow any simple testimony.The lowly and simple man is often able to carry much more veracity and fidelity to what Heaven implies, both in spirit and in words. This kind of testimony is certainly outright folly in the face of the learned and worldly man, but it never uses stupidity and non-truth as a tool to find a way to man’s heart. To do so would contradict and compromise the message, which is to reflect Him who is the way, the truth and the life.
I am sorry,I do not understand this comment by Rocklife:In response to lwpray: No, the disobedience, arrogance, and greed of evil shepherds is surely going to be punished. (This is what I've learned from Isaiah's book in particular, and also from New Testament warnings against false teachers.)Well, I did after considering it once again.Sorry, stupidity affects all of us in one way or the other. ;-)
The lowly and simple man is often able to carry much more veracity and fidelity to what Heaven implies, both in spirit and in words. This kind of testimony is certainly outright folly in the face of the learned and worldly man, but it never uses stupidity and non-truth as a tool to find a way to man’s heart.Immediately my mind is directed towards the testimony of the illerate preacher from America D.L. Moody who came to england to preach among the elitest of the Christian world and appeared to preach in such simple terms that it was considered a laughing stock to many, but given some time the most divine saintly teachers across england stood at the feet of this man amazed with the power behind his preaching and the immediate results upon peoples hearts.
We also need to state that there are men who have been able to combine intellectual excellence with humility and great warmth of heart and spirit in their pursuit of God.
Hi all,Maybe I'm missing something but Paul said in my NIV:For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe...1Cor 1:21I don't read him saying that preaching in itself is foolish?!
1 Corinthians 1:18-29 - For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.I don't read him saying that preaching in itself is foolish?!In v18 the 'preaching of the cross' is foolishness to THEM that are perishing. So the message is not necessarily foolishness to those who are being saved, but to the spiritualy undiserned it appears as a foolish message.In v21 the Holy Spirit is seeming to say that the means of 'preaching' is in itself foolishness for a means of saving souls, so basically its a base or low form of conveying the truth which is opposed to fine sounding arguments and a complex system of wisdom that would be the means of obtaining salvation and truth.In v22 some things are breaken down more and its said the 'preaching' of Christ Crucified is to the Jews a 'stumbling block' and to greeks it foolishness so it appears overall that the message is not foolish to the jews but to greeks and gentiles its foolish.
The reason why I put out the question was I heard a sermon explaining that the word 'preach' in the bible is to proclaim outloud as in street preachingHe must have had a lot of explaining to do.If a man loudly blesses his neighbor early in the morning,it will be taken as a curse. Prov27:14 ;-)and that it is with the foolishness of this shouting aloud the scriptures and precepts of God that people will be saved.Differentiation between form and substance is maybe a better angle to look at it. Standing up and loudly proclaiming a message would probably warrant shouting aloud, purely from the point that you want people to hear. I think to be able to have heard Whitfield preaching to 30 000 people without mikes or anything, that must have been something. Adds new meaning to being in the spray zone, maybe one could call it the earmuff zone.:-) Anyway, I have heard the comment made in a one-on-one conversation, that he is preaching at me. The normal context is when you are telling someone something and there is only a one-way dialogue.Not with the signs or miricales in evangelism... but with the heralding of the foolish message of Jesus Christ raised from the dead. Well , I think that all those things are part of it...but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. Jn 10:32 So it was part of Jesus' preaching 'pattern' to have signs and wonders, not that, that for him was the main focus. He certainly touched an area of need, and it did I presume make people more receptive to what he was saying.I am just having abit of a hard time with this and praying it over.Well wherever this searching will take you, know...that out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. 35The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. Matt 12:34,35Does preaching of the foolishness of God, the Cross – 1Cor 1:18 - equal foolish preaching and folly in the pulpit?Depends if his preaching is...Foolish-Lacking good sense; indescreet, stupidand in the pulpit his actions, conduct or ideas are not foolish.8-) I think the terms used in the dictionary imply someone who acts like a clown, and doesn't hold the form of preaching in Gods church as a high calling. When Jesus would preach to the crowds it says they were 'astonished,' in the greek it means to be 'struck.'Maybe the light went on in their hearts and minds., and suddenly they saw. Preaching that makes one see the eternal and life through the wisdom of God. That all the religion that they had heard, suddenly made sense, and it was more the life of it and not the burden of religious laws.The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. Jn 6:63Zeke
it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. Makes things difficult when there are so many translations around, but I get what you are saying. Thats why I put 'NIV' when I quoted it. I have heard that comment before about the foolishness of preachings, so at least now I know where it comes from. :-? Zeke
Yo! I just want to correct something I said earlier. Foolish preaching is an offense to God. For example Binny Hinn. What I meant is that He uses something as foolish as preaching(public proclamation), as the main method so that men might be saved from damnation. That in and of itself is just crazy. Why would God entrust men, the mysteries of the Gospel, to save men. It seems foolishness right? Wrong it is the very wisdom of God, and the most glorious and fearful calling one can have. That is why God entrusts and enlists foolish objects like us to to spread the gospel. Glorious isn't! 1Co 1:21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. -KJV1Co 1:25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 1Co 1:26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, [are called]: 1Co 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 1Co 1:28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, [yea], and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 1Co 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence. -KJV
Makes things difficult when there are so many translations around, but I get what you are saying. Thats why I put 'NIV' when I quoted it. I have heard that comment before about the foolishness of preachings, so at least now I know where it comes from.I often and worried about the misrepresentation of the true words of God in many translations offered in the bible marketplace in our day. Surely it was much more potent and to the point to have one major translation as the median (KJV). Here is some help from a few commentaries to perhaps shed some more light on this paticular phrase it the scriptures:Robertson's Word Pictures of the New TestamentThrough the foolishness of the preaching - (dia thv mwriav tou khrugmatov). Perhaps "proclamation" is the idea, for it is not khruxiv, the act of heralding, but khrugma, the message heralded or the proclamation as in verse 23. The metaphor is that of the herald proclaiming the approach of the king (Matthew 3:1; 4:17). See also khrugma in 1 Corinthians 2:4; 2 Timothy 4:17. The proclamation of the Cross seemed foolishness to the wiseacres then (and now), but it is consummate wisdom, God's wisdom and good-pleasure (eudokhsan). The foolishness of preaching is not the preaching of foolishness. The Adam Clarke CommentaryBy the foolishness of preaching - By the preaching of Christ crucified, which the Gentiles termed μωρια, foolishness, in opposition to their own doctrines, which they termed σοφια, wisdom. It was not by the foolishness of preaching, literally, nor by the foolish preaching, that God saved the world; but by that Gospel which they called μωρια, foolishness; which was, in fact, the wisdom of God, and also the power of God to the salvation of them that believed.
It was not by the foolishness of preaching, literally, nor by the foolish preaching, that God saved the world; but by that Gospel which they called μωρια, foolishness; which was, in fact, the wisdom of God, and also the power of God to the salvation of them that believed.It seems that the content of the message is the foolish part of 'preaching' that there are others 'preaching' other messages that are considered wise and a good use of the method of public proclamation. Namely Christ crucified and risen from the dead.
It just goes to show that if you have him on the inside, what you say about him on the outside will definitely open hearts. He after all 'struck' the crowds!Zeke
Forevidence wrote:Foolish preaching is an offense to God. For example Binny Hinn. I know little of Mr Hinn, enlighten me to his offenses in preaching?Glorious isn't! Amen! Indeed it is. Zeke
I know little of Mr Hinn, enlighten me to his offenses in preaching?Ok. Well Benny Hinn is this guy on TBN, but in his so called preaching he has messed up, because he just acts like a clown, and makes the ministry look like some circus act. He says nothing powerful or provoking. He just acts. He is and actor playing a role, that is abominable, he is the abominable showmen.
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