The Primacy of Preaching in the Church
Martyn Llyod Jones, otherwise known as “the Doctor,” gave a series of lectures on preaching in 1969 to the students of West Minster Theological Seminary. These sixteen lectures would later be written down in the now classic book Preaching and Preachers. In the first chapter titled “The Primacy of Preaching” the Doctor provides the motivating force behind giving these lectures: “Ultimately, my reason for being very ready to give these lectures is that to me the work of preaching is the highest and the greatest and the most glorious calling to which anyone can ever be called…the most urgent need in the Christian church today is true preaching; and as it is the greatest and the most urgent need in the Church, it is obviously the greatest need of the world also.”[1] Writing from the same convictions and a contemporary of Llyod-Jones, John Stott famously begins his book Between Two Worlds: The Challenge of Preaching Today with, “Preaching is indispensable to Christianity.[2]
Both the Doctor and Stott had large, influential preaching ministries that would go on to outlast their own generation – extending to modern heralders of our day like John MacArthur, Steve Lawson, John Piper, and Alistair Begg to name a few. And like Llyod-Jones and Stott these men’s ministries have been fueled by one driving force and conviction – the primacy of preaching in the local church. So, why is it important for a new generation of preachers to recover the same sense of the primacy of preaching in the church; to gladly grab the torch these men have carried, enlightening the eyes of a multitude (Psalm 19:8) and carry it into a future full of new and unparalleled challenges? With technologies like AI and virtual reality and supposed attention spans diminishing, won’t we need a different approach to reaching people and making disciples?
Antiquated as it might sound, one man with his Bible open on a pulpit at the center of our gatherings is unequivocally the way forward amid a rapidly changing and increasingly hostile culture to the Christian faith.
Here are five reasons why recovering a sense of the primacy of preaching in the church will be critical and necessary in the days ahead.
1. Jesus is Building His Church through the Primacy of Preaching.
When Peter made his confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, Jesus responded by exclaiming that “on this rock” – on that confession - He would build His church. (Matthew 16:16-18) Fast forward to Acts and the Apostle Peters preaches his first sermon, an exposition of sorts of his confession in Matthew 16. The result was three thousand souls coming to the same conclusion and being added to the church. (Acts 2:41) This is no “old” model of church growth, but a continuous one instituted by Christ.
2. God Ordains the Primacy of Preaching for His Glory.
The Apostle Paul issued a clarion call to the church at Corinth amid their many sins, complexities, and tensions – “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to the Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:21-24 ESV) In other words, what will bring people into a saving relationship with Christ? Preaching. What will showcase the power and glory of God in salvation? Preaching. What would heal the church’s division? Preaching. What would recourse the Corinthians moral compromise, selfishness, and elitism? Preaching. From the outset the Apostle Paul establishes the primacy of preaching to save and to sanctify.
3. The Nature of the Church Demands the Primacy of Preaching.
There are a multitude of images in the New Testament of the church, all of which are crucial for understanding the nature of the church. But one in particular seems to suggest the primacy of preaching; “If I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.” (1 Timothy 3:15 ESV) Right there. “A pillar and buttress of the truth.” What is truth? Jesus tells his disciples that His word is truth. (John 17:17) It seems, then, that the best way for the church to pillar and buttress the truth of God’s word is through the pulpit. It is often said that the pulpit drives the church. May it also be true that the pulpit pillars and buttresses the truth of God’s Word in the days ahead.
4. Jesus Prioritized the Primacy of Preaching in His own Ministry.
Currently, I am taking my church through an exposition of the gospel of Mark. And something I have noticed over and over is how often Jesus prioritized His teaching and preaching ministry over and above his miracles, which had the effect of drawing the attention of large crowds and captivating the gaze of onlookers. “And they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” (Mark 1:37-38, ESV) In other words, Jesus left a whole crowd wanting to see Him perform miracles. Instead, He made clear His priority – preaching!
5. The Primacy of Preaching is the Great Commission.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 11:28:19-20, ESV) Jesus’ final command to his disciples is a call to preach and teach. From the Triune nature of God, to observing the commands of God, the Great Commission is built upon the primacy of preaching.
To recover a sense of the primacy of preaching in the church today is not merely to borrow from a golden era of yesteryear. The primacy and efficacy of preaching in the life of the church is not contained in the pages of the New Testament and history only, but in the unwritten chapters of the church’s future.
[1] Jones-Llyod, Martyn. Preaching & Preachers: 40th Anniversary ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011) 17
[2] Stott, John. Between Two World: The Challenge of Preaching Today (Eerdmans Publishing, 1982) 1