Hey Church!
We will have the opportunity to receive a fresh grace from God through communion this Sunday. Think about it: we will get to hear, see, smell, taste, and touch the holy Word of God this weekend. In an age where information has been so severely cheapened by the absurd number of options that are immediately available to us, it is easy to take for granted this most precious gift. Let us all approach it with all due preparation in heart, mind, and body.
To help set our expectations for the preached Word appropriately, consider the explanations of Word and sacrament quoted below.
“When the Gospel is preached in the name of God, it is as if God himself spoke in person.” (John Calvin)
“It was God’s intention and action that made [the preached Word] effective. Just as the ordinary elements of water, bread, and wine–consecrated by God’s Word and Spirit–are united to the reality of Christ and his benefits, so too in the ordinary human language of fallen ambassadors, Christ himself is present in judgment and mercy. The Word not only describes salvation, but conveys it.” (Michael Horton)
“It is by faith alone that we share in Christ and all his blessings: where then does that faith come from? The Holy Spirit produces it in our hearts by the preaching of the holy gospel [Ro 10:17; 1 Pe 1:23-25], and confirms it through our use of the holy sacraments [Mt 28:19-20; 1Co 10:16].” (Heidelberg Catechism)
“The preaching of the Word of God is the Word of God. Wherefore when this Word of God is now preached in the church by preachers lawfully called, we believe that the very Word of God is proclaimed, and received by the faithful; and that neither any other Word of God is to be invented nor is to be expected from heaven: and that now the Word itself which is preached is to be regarded, not the minister that preaches; for even if he be evil and a sinner, nevertheless the Word of God remains still true and good.” (The Second Helvetic Confession)
Finally, meditate on the following two questions and answers from the Westminster Larger Catechism.
A. The Spirit of God maketh the reading, but especially the preaching of the Word, an effectual means of enlightening, convincing, and humbling sinners; of driving them out of themselves, and drawing them unto Christ; of conforming them to his image, and subduing them to his will; of strengthening them against temptations and corruptions; of building them up in grace, and establishing their hearts in holiness and comfort through faith unto salvation.
A. It is required of those that hear the Word preached, that they attend upon it with diligence, preparation, and prayer; examine what they hear by the Scriptures; receive the truth with faith, love, meekness, and readiness of mind, as the Word of God; meditate, and confer of it; hide it in their hearts, and bring forth the fruit of it in their lives.
God, give us grace to approach your holy Word with reverence, awe, and expectancy this Sunday.
Your brother,
Ryan