1998 issue 1 - sufficient ministers of the sufficient word - counsel of chalcedon

8/12/2019 1998 Issue 1 - Sufficient Ministers of the Sufficient Word - Counsel of Chalcedon

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The sufficiency of

Scripture is one of the most

important and yet neglected

doctrines of the 20th century.

Dr. John Murray wrote,

It

is

because we have not esteemed

and prized the perfection

of

Scripture and its fmality, that

we have resorted to other

techniques, expedients, and

methods of dealing with ..the

needs ofthe hour .. We must

bring forth from its (the Holy

Scriptures)

inexhaustible treasures,

in exposition,

proClamation, and

application -

application to every

sphere of life - what is

the wisdom and power

of God for man iiI this

age in all the

particularity of his need,

as

for man in every age,"

Collected Writings, Vol. I pp.

21-22.

The Westminster

Confession of Faith, I-6, also

declares the sufficiency of

Scripture: "The whole counsel

of God, concerning all things

necessary for his own glory,

man's salvation, faith and life

is either expressly set down in

Scripture, or by good and

necessary consequence may

be deduced from Scripture:

unto which nothing at any

time is to be added, whether

by new revelations of the

Spirit, or traditions

of

men .."

Dr. O. Palmer Robertson

wrote, "The Reformers did

not

declare simply that no

new writings were to be

added to the Bible. They

stated instead that all those

former ways by which God

made his will known to his

people now have ceased," and

"The Bible embodies God's

personal selection of the

special revelations he

determined that the church

would need through all the

ages. n this written revelation

from God is contained all that

is needed for life and

godliness.," The

Final

Word

(Banner of Truth), pp. 88, 60.

The God who knows all

things has told us all we need

to know

We must however, not only

thankfully embrace the

sufficiency of Scripture but

Preachers must be sufficient

ministers of the sufficient

Word. It is one thing to

believe in the sufficiency of

Scripture and quite another to

be sufficient ministers,

sufficient preachers, of the

sufficient Word of God.

Thomas Becan wrote in the

1500's, "As there cannot by a

greater jewel in a Christian \

commonwealth; than an .

earnest, faithful, and constartt ..

preacher of the Lord s Word,

so can there not be a greater

plague among any people than

when they have reigning over

them blind guides, dumb

dogs, wicked wolves,

hypocritical hirelings, popish

prophets, which feed them

not

with with the pure wheat of

God's word, but with

the

wormwood of men s trifling

traditions.

Acts 20:17-35 is an

account which

exemplifies and

demonstrates

not

only

the sufficiency

of

Scripture but serves as

an example, a model,

for a sufficient rninister

of the sufficient Word.

I. The Conduct

o

a

SlIfficient Minister

o

the Sufficient Word o God

The Apostle

Paul

could

address the Ephesian Elders

and say that his conduct from

the first day and the whole

time

he

was with them, vs. 18,

was such that he was innocent

of the blood of all men. What

kind of conduct warrants such

an assertion??

A

t was

sufficient in

extent. He preached in public

and private, vs. 20, to

both

Jews and Greeks, vs. 21. He

did not cease

to

admonish

night and day for three years,

vs. 31. He was concerned to

complete his apostolic

ministry

as

a whole, vs. 24.

B. t was sufficient in

intensity. Beside these


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: I

I

I

I

I

II

extensive expressions

of

his

ministry, we see the intensity

ofhis ministry as well. His

ministry was with tears and

severe testing, vs. 19, 23, and

with tears

he

c9ntinued night

and day, vs. 31-

f you are a Preacher

of the

Word, is your ministry

sufficiently extensive and

intensive? Is the conduct

of

your ministry sufficient or

deficient?

I I The Content ofa

Sufficient Minister

of

he .

Sufficient Word ofGod.

A. Paul preached the whole

counsel

of

God. Paul

characterized his preaching

content as the whole counsel

of

God." The whole counsel

of

God means the revelation

ofGod's

entire eternal and

sovereign purpose, plan, and

will made known to him, Eph.

1:5,9,

11, 3:5ff.

It

is not

enough to merely preach

"books"

of

the Bible or texts

of

Scripture. All preaching

must be proclaimed in the

context of the eternal purpose

and

plan

of

God. We must

preach out

of

a Systematic,

Biblical, Covenantal, and

Reformed theology.

B. Paul preached that

which was profitable,

I

did

not shrink from declaring

everything profitable," vs.

20.

While we must preach the

whole counsel

of

God, not

every portion of the whole _

content is as edifying or as

important as another at the

same time. Paul often

distinguished words and acts

that are

of

first importance, I

Cor 15:3, I Cor. 2:2, Acts

17:2, 3,26:22;23.

. "All (O.T. and N.T.)

Scripture is inspired

of

God

and is profitable for teaching,

reproof, correction, for

training in righteousness," 2

Tim. 3:16. A sufficient

ministry is and ought to be a

profitable ministry. And while

a profitable ministry not only

preaches the whole counsel of

God it also recognizes and

preaches to the particular and

specific needs

of

the flock,

even

as

the O.T. prophets and

the N.T. epistles indicate

Profitability not only requires

the whole counsel

of

God but

requires spiritual priority and

other theological pastoral

considerations. Preachers are

to "feed My sheep." Preachers

sometimes insist on preaching

on the differences between

supralapsarianism and

infralapsarianism while

families in their chUrch are

disintegrating before their

eyes. We must not simply use

the pulpit to support us while

we pursue our theological pet

interests. We must, as Richard

Gaffin says, know how to

make distinctions in priorities

and peripheries without

relegating the periphery to the

disposable or non-essential.

This, he says, calls for a

balance that is not easy to

maintain,

The Book

of

Books,

10 I THE

COUNSEL of

Chalcedon

I February/March,

1998

John White, Ed., pg. 27-28

C. Paul proclaimed

the

Gospel

of

the grace

of

God

vs. 24. The message he

preached was the good new

concerning the

accomplishment

of

God's

eternal purposes

of

redemption through grace.

God's purpose

of

righteousness, reconciliatio

and redemption has now be

realized in Christ. In vs.

21

Paul said I

testified to bot

Jews and Greeks repentanc

toward God and faith in ou

Lord Jesus Christ. Paul

preached for true conversio

not temporary decisions. H

preached repentance, faith,

and Lordship

D. Paul preached the

Kingdom of God. Paul

summarizes his message in

vs. 25 by saying he had gon

among them preaching the

"Kingdom." The "Kingdom

for Paul was not a sermon

series on eschatology, the

"Second Coming" of Chris

that he preached but is the

theme that encompassed al

that he preached. The good

news of the Gospel was tha

the kingdom of God had

arrived in Christ's first

appearance and that people

through faith in Him were

entering that kingdom.

Richard Gaffin says, "We m

say that the scope and cont

of the whole counsel

of

Go

declared by Paul is the

kingdom of God as the

comprehensive reality

of


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eschatological fulfillment and

salvation - the fulfillment

of

God s sovereign eternal

purposes, and gracious

covenant promises as that

fuII:tllment centers in the

Person and work

of

Jesus

Christ," op:cit., pg. 24-25.

For

Paul, for Jesus, for us,

the Gospel is the Gospel of

the Kingdom

of

God (Mark

1:15)

The

Kingdom of God was

the Apostolic message, Acts

8:12; 19:8,20:25,28:30, 3l.

The preaching

of

the

Kingdom was the same

as

going into all the world to

make disciples

of

all the

nations, fulfilling the Great

Commission, Mat. 28:19, 20.

Paul is in effect saying as I

preach the Kingdom

of

God I

am fulfilling my ministry with

reference to the Great

Commission. That which God

had promised has arrived, has

been inaugurated, and will be

consummated at the final and

physical coming

of

Jesus

Christ.

We must preach the whole.

counsel of God. We must

proclairil the "Gospel" in

terms

of

the whole counsel

of

God who purposed to redeem

a people unto Himself, who

commands us to go into all

the world and make disciples

of

all the nations, baptizing

them to observe all that He

has commanded.

III. The Character

o

a

Sufficient Minister

o

he

Sufficient Word o God

A. A Sufficient Minister

must be called

of

God, 20:28:

The Holy Spirit made the

. Elders, pastors and teachers,

overseers, shepherds. Jesus

gives some to be Pastors and

Teachers, Eph. 4:12. Have

you been called

of

God? Have

you been called to the

ministry or have you merely

"pursued the mimstry"?

B. A Sufficient Minister

must be

a

servant

of

God. The

church is God's church, not

his. Jesus is the Head

of

the

church. Ministers are but

undershepherds, stewards, and

overseers

of

God's flock, vs.

28. We must feed His sheep.

We must treat the church as

God's flock, the Bride

of

. Christ. Some of the greatest

condemnations.in Scripture

were reserved for those

leaders who abused and

neglected God's flock, Ezek.

34, Mat. 24:45ff.

C. A Sufficient Minister

must keep watch over himself

and the flock, vs. 28-31. We

must not only keep watch

over the flock, but over

ourselves. Paul wamed that

wolves would arise out

of

their own number, i.e., not

simply from the flock, but

from the number

of

men who

were elders. We must guard

ourselves from false doctrine.

We must guard the flock from

"wolves" who would destroy

the flock by their error, those

who would mislead the flock

and cause them to miss the

blessings

of

God in Christ,

Acts 18:26.

Error threatens the very

essence and existence

of

the

church.

D. A Sufficient Minister is

dependent upon God and His

Word, vs. 32. He is committed

to the sufficiency of the Word

of

God inscripturated. Paul

commends the Elders to

God

and to the Word

of

God which

is able to build them up, and

to give them an inheritance

among those who have been

sanctified (set apart) to God.

Paul commended Timothy, a

pastor-evangelist, to the

sufficiency

of

the Word

of

God, 2 Tim. 3:16-17.

E. A Sufficient Minister

must also train and eqnip

other Elders to be sufficient

shepherds and overseers of

the flock, Acts 20: 17, 27, 32.

F.

A Sufficient Minister

must be an example to the

flock, 33-35. A sufficient

minister is not covetous, cares

for the weak, considers

it

more blessed to give than to

receive, prays with and for the

flock, vs. 36. He does not stay

cloistered away behind a desk

and remote from his people.

A faithful, sufficient

minister w ll

be

loved and

embraced by the flock as a

faithful shepherd who is

willing

to

lay down his life for

the sheep, 31.

Are

you a .

sufficient minister

of

the

sufficient

Word of God?

Febl1iary/March 1998 ' THE

COUNSEL

of

Chalcedon '

11

1998 issue 1 - sufficient ministers of the sufficient word - counsel of chalcedon

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