One of the marks of biblical preaching should be unction or Spirit enabled boldness and clarity. Or, as Lloyd-Jones more vividly stated, biblical preaching should be “logic on fire.”
Below is an excerpt from something I am currently writing.
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Biblical preaching should be “fired!” That is, preachers should proclaim the Word with a special unction or boldness. The word “unction” may not be familiar to you. Where preaching is concerned, it refers to, “a Spirit-empowered boldness that enables us to proclaim the Gospel with boldness, clarity and power.[1] Lee Eclov summarizes it this way:
Unction means the anointing of the Holy Spirit on a sermon so that something holy and powerful is added to the message that no preacher can generate, know matter how great his skills. Lee Eclov.[2]
Unction was Paul’s goal when he preached. In giving prayer requests to the Ephesians, he asked for prayer in the following way.
. . . and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak (Ephesians 6:19-20, emphasis added).
When Paul asks for prayer that he would be “bold,” he isn’t talking about the absence of fear. We know from elsewhere in Scripture that there were times when he felt fear. He wrote to the Corinthians:
And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God (1 Corinthians 2:1-5, ESV).
Paul says, “I was scared. But, it didn’t matter that I had weakness and fear and trembling.” Nor was it of concern to Paul that his words weren’t brilliant in terms of a human assessment. Paul’s preaching was life changing because he had unction: a Spirit empowered boldness that changed the lives of receptive listeners. This Spirit empowered unction allowed Paul to preach the Word not only boldly, but also understandably and clearly.
A great example of preaching with unction or boldness is found in Acts 4. Here the Greek word for “boldness” that Paul used in Ephesians 6:19-20 appears twice. Peter and John pray for unction or as it is translated here, “boldness.”
And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness (Acts 4:29-31, ESV, emphasis added).
Whatever people felt in Acts 4, nobody grumbled about boredom or complained that the sermon was irrelevant. Working powerfully in their midst, the Holy Spirit gave remarkable unity and response (Acts 4:32 ff).
Returning to Paul’s prayer request to the Ephesians, he requested prayer support that he would have this “unction” or boldness so that he could make known the mystery of the Gospel. The Gospel is a “mystery” in the sense that it can only be understood through the work of the Holy Spirit in conjunction with His Word. In Christ, the full plan of salvation can be clearly understood. Paul points to this in 1 Corinthians.
Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:12-14, ESV).
The Bible and history describe many examples of powerful responses when God’s Word is preached. In Acts 4 when the Word is preached with boldness or “unction,” we read, “… great grace was upon them all (Acts 4:33).” The last word in Acts about the Apostle Paul was that he continued preaching the Word with all boldness. Again we could substitute “unction.” In a sense, Luke doesn’t end the book of Acts. He wants the reader to know that the story of the spread of the Word through the preaching is still being written.
[1] John H. Armstrong, True Revival (Eugene: Harvest House Publishers, 2001), 139.
[2] Eclov, "How Does Unction Function?," 81.
Great word for me this morning as I sit with Bible, pen and pad, commentaries, etc. – preparing to preach tomorrow. I love that “logic on fire” comment from Lloyd-Jones. That’s good stuff.
A very timely and good blog article Chris. I share your passion for the unction of the Spirit in preaching!
John, thanks for stopping by. This is an excerpt from a book I am writing with Moody. The goal is to provide a Word-centered resource for pastoral search committees.
Incredible thoughts. So, is there a term for what the Holy Spirit does for the people listening to open their eyes and hearts to what is being preached?