“The herald does not express his own views. He is the spokesman for his master. . . He is bound by the precise instructions of the one who commissions him. . . [In] general he is simply an executive instrument. Being only the mouthpiece of his master, he must not falsify the message entrusted to him by additions of his own. He must deliver it exactly as given to him. …” (Friedrich, TDNT, 3:687–88).

For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.

Paul, a faithful minister and an example of how to shepherd the flock of God, did at times have to rebuke false teachers. In 2 Corinthians 2, he calls those preachers “peddlers,” who adulterate the Word of God and water down its message in order to deceive God’s people. In 2 Corinthians 2:17, Paul specifically outlines the character of a faithful minister—both what he must be, and what he must not be. In our last post [link], we saw that the faithful minister of the gospel cannot be a peddler, but must speak from sincerity.

Moving on in the passage, we find that he also speaks “as from God.” The ESV brings out the sense by translating it, “…as commissioned by God.” The concept of a “commissioning” reminds us that the most common word for preaching in the New Testament (kerussō) means to herald. The minister of the Gospel is a herald—sent by God and under His authority—to proclaim precisely what God his Master has commissioned him to speak.

Heralds “deliver their message as it is given to them. The essential point about the report which they give is that it does not originate with them. Behind it stands a higher power. The herald does not express his own views. He is the spokesman for his master. . . He is bound by the precise instructions of the one who commissions him. . . [In] general he is simply an executive instrument. Being only the mouthpiece of his master, he must not falsify the message entrusted to him by additions of his own. He must deliver it exactly as given to him. …” (Friedrich, TDNT, 3:687–88).

Everything about Paul’s life and ministry is driven by the message that he preaches. God Himself is the origin of Paul’s proclamation. This means that the faithful minister is a steward of the truth, not a manufacturer of the truth. He recognizes that God’s Word alone is the true food that will satisfy and nourish Christ’s lambs, and so he speaks God’s Word, and God’s Word alone.

This must set the course for your own preaching. Don’t follow the example of the evangelical darling preachers, in love with the sound of their own voice, infatuated with their ability to chirp out clever turns of phrase that have some loose connection to Christianity. Preach the Word of God. The clever quips and catch phrases from your own imagination might get made into a meme or go viral on Twitter, but the psuedoscriptural “deep spiritual nonsense” won’t feed Christ’s sheep. The people of God live by the Word of God, and so the faithful minister of God must herald His Word as a man under assignment.

Read More