Eloquence and the Preaching of the Gospel, Part 1
Introduction
“Moses said to the Lord, ‘Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent…I am slow of speech and of tongue.’ Then the Lord said to him, ‘Who has made man’s mouth? … Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak…’” (Ex. 4:10-12, cf. Jer. 1:6-9)
“For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.” (1 Cor. 1:17; cf. 2 Cor. 10:10).
Moses, the greatest prophet in the Old Testament, and Paul, the greatest apostle in the New Testament, were unparalleled spokesmen of God. Both of them had something to say about eloquence. Moses, at the beginning of his calling, saw his lack of an eloquent tongue as a hindrance for God’s commission to him.[1] Paul throughout his ministry saw a form of human eloquence (“cleverness in speaking”[2]) as a hinderance to the power of his message.[3] However, both men exhibited an exceptional from of eloquence in their preaching, teaching and writing ministries. Moses is “the first preacher whose ministry is described for us”[4] in the Scripture. At the last part of his ministry life, the Scripture records for us three of his unequalled sermons filled with exposition, exhortation and application (Deut. 1:5ff; 5:1-21; 29).[5] Throughout the second half of the book of Acts, we meet with Paul the effective preacher (Acts 13:16-47; 17:22-31; 20:18-35; 22:1-12; 24:10-21; 26:1-29). In addition, one cannot mention Paul’s comments on eloquence without thinking of the description of his co-laborer Apollos who is described as “an eloquent man (λόγιος) competent in the Scriptures” (Acts 18:24). Yet, as Herman Bavinck wisely affirms, the prophets and the apostles read nothing of the works of rhetoric (i.e., Cicero or Quintilian) yet they were eloquent. However, their eloquence was “not by their own practice, but by divine gift… not by human calling, but by the power of divine right. Eloquence for them was not design but nature, a gift rather than art.”[6]
How then can we understand Paul’s comment that he desired “to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power”? How are we to make from the Scripture’s favorable description of Apollos as “an eloquent man”? How can rhetoric or eloquence[7] play the role of servant not master in preaching? Is eloquence only a gift, or is it an art as well? How can the preacher’s eloquence go hand in hand with a genuine dependence on the Spirit? This series of articles attempt to discuss these questions and present some practical ways eloquence can be used in the service of the Gospel’s preaching.
Man Speaks because God Speaks
“In the beginning was the Word…” (Jh. 1.1)
Before diving into the topic of eloquence it is suitable to first consider the truth that it presupposes: the ability of humans to speak. It is part of being created in the image of God that humans are able to communicate with language (Gen. 1:26-27). God created the world by his Word. Speech is one of the first actions attributed to God in Scripture (1:1-3). The first activity attributed to created man is also the powerful speech by which he named the animals (2:20). Animals cannot speak and cannot name themselves. “Language is the Rubicon between the animal and the human.”[8] However, naming the animals was just the beginning of man’s experience of how powerfully his speech as image bearer can reflect God. When Eve was created, Adam celebrated her as God’s gift by exceptionally eloquent poetry (2:23). In the fall, Adam’s God honoring eloquence was degraded (3:10-13). Yet, it is God’s desire that all who are redeemed in Christ, the logos, reflect a redeemed speech (Col. 4:6; 3:16; Eccl. 10:12). If this is the case for all God’s redeemed, how much more would it be for the tongues of the men that God will graciously grant the honor of being his spokesmen, the preachers?[9] Reflecting on this truth, Sinclair Ferguson writes, “It is because preachers and audience are created in God’s image, they have the capacity to communicate via logos. Preachers therefore should make the maximum use of their God’s given natural resources.”[10] It seems that Apollos “an eloquent man competent in the Scriptures,” was a man who made the maximum use of his God’s given natural resources to honor God. He reflected the image of the logos by using his gift of speech to build the people of God. However, this was only possible for Apollos because he was “competent in the Scriptures.”
Eloquence and Content
“We preach Christ…” (1 Cor. 1:23)
Merriam-Webster defines eloquence as a quality of “discourse marked by force and persuasiveness also: the art or power of using such discourse.”[11] Bavinck defined the essence of eloquence as “the gift developed by the art,” of “the power of the word to convince the mind, touching the conscience and persuasively affecting the will of the people.”[12] Augustine explains that the threefold aim of the orator according to Cicero are, (1) to teach, which is the most important thing and it depends on the content of the speech; (2) to delight and that is the beauty that secures the attention of the hearer (not only by the style but by the clarity of truth); and finally, (3) to persuade which is the triumph of moving the hearer to action.[13] It is obvious that Paul the apostle saw a great danger in trusting the power of persuasive speech that marked the secular Graeco-Roman practice. In 1 Corinthians, Paul contrasts those who trust the wisdom of man exhibited in eloquent yet empty speech and the saved who trust the wisdom of God as it is revealed in the Gospel of the crucified Christ. The power[14] comes from the gospel message itself, not any manmade formulations. Hence Paul’s consistent emphasis on the content of his message: “We preach Christ” (1 Cor. 1:23). “Him we proclaim” (Col. 1:28). “What we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord” (2 Cor. 4:5). “To me . . . this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Eph. 3:8).[15] The savior is Christ, not eloquence.
This conclusion in itself does not mean that Paul focused on the content and utterly neglected the importance of the clarity and persuasiveness of his speech. Paul asked the church of Colossians to pray for him so that he would communicate the truth of the Gospel clearly and persuasively. “Pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ… that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.” (Col. 4:3-4). He sought to “persuade” people with all his might and even saw that as inevitable result of the fear of God in his heart (2 Cor. 5:12; cf. Acts 13:43; 18:4; 19:8, 26; 26:28). Therefore, it seems that for Paul “rhetoric for its own sake must be avoided, though true eloquence, when subjected to the simplicity of the gospel, is to be coveted.”[16]
From a biblical perspective, therefore, for the Greeks (and the unbelieving world) eloquence is a tool that hides the truth. But for faithful preachers it should only serve to pave the way for clearer and more persuasive presentation of the truth. Bavinck masterfully writes,
“Greek philosophy sought knowledge as if with a burning thirst, but ended on the lips of Pilate with the question: “What is truth?” Eloquence won various victories and became a beautiful theory with demands and rules; but all too often it took shelter in rhetoric in order to cover up the absence of inner truth. As such, the Greco-Roman peoples, like the prodigal son, finally came to feed themselves with pigs’ food.”[17]
Therefore, the only substitute to “pigs’ food” is “the eternal content of God’s word.”[18] Without the eternal Word all adornments in speech are sought in vain.
It is written of Archibald Alexander, the founder of the Old Princeton seminary and a man known of his powerful preaching, that “his theological convictions defined the parameters and function of rhetorical principles and practice; for Alexander rhetoric was theology’s servant, not its master.”[19] Hence, Garretson contends, “Even the best of the rules of rhetoric are made to be broken if it is in the spiritual interests of one’s hearers!... Fidelity to the biblical text is essential; fidelity to the rules of rhetoric is optional.”[20] Alexander himself advised his students, “Beware of sacrificing the edification of your hearers to a vain ambition of appearing eloquent. As far as rules of rhetoric coincide with the great end of preaching follow them but be not afraid to retreat from them when you can better accomplish your object without them.”[21] So, how can a preacher guard himself as he seeks to use and develop his gifts of speech? How can eloquence be a “blessing” not a “curse”?[22] This can only be accomplished through a robust conviction that Scripture is God’s infallible, living, effective and sufficient Word. This convection should lead the preacher to a life of consistent and diligent reading, studying, meditating and praying the Scriptures (1 Tim. 3:16; 2 Tim. 2:15).
Keller down to earth advice for preachers to develop a lifelong learning of Scripture is worth mentioning here: (1) Read the Bible (once per year, M’Cheyne’s Reading Calendar) and study entire books and specific passages regularly. (2) Read theology books (especially related to your preaching series). (3) Read Church history because this keeps you humble, encouraged, and on track. (4) Read sermons and experimental works (i.e., Puritan classics).[23] (5) Read the Bible and theology with an eye on cultural analysis and apologetics.[24] The preacher who is convinced that eloquence is a tool to bring the Scripture’s message to his audience will be always found with opened Bible and prayerful heart.
That leads us to another conviction that is necessary for any preacher who seeks to develop eloquence: the seat of eloquence is the heart. This shall be where our second part begins.
[1] Some commentators see Moses’ statement in Exodus 4:10 as a mere expression of humility in the face of the great commission God had assigned to him. D. K Stuart for example argues, “Moses was not speaking literally here but figuratively, responding to a great assignment with the proper sort of exaggerated humility and self-effacement expected and valued in his culture. There is no evidence anywhere in the Bible that he had any lack of skill in speech, public or private—and overwhelming evidence to the contrary.” D. K. Stuart, Exodus, Vol. 2 Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 135. However, without denying the truth of Moses sense of insufficiency, it seems more plausible that Moses sense of insufficiency was based on a real inability that he grew up with. God was about to be glorified in working through and overcoming Moses weakness. Hence, Calvin comments on the verse saying, “I interpret it simply, that Moses had never been eloquent from his infancy, and that he was not now endued with any new eloquence.” John Calvin, Commentary in Exodus, “Biblehub.com” in https://biblehub.com/commentaries/calvin/exodus/4.htm, accessed on August 2, 2023. R. A. Cole also writes, “We are never told that Moses’ self-estimate was incorrect. He is blamed for making excuses, not necessarily because the reasons given are untrue, but because they indicate lack of faith. Moses expresses the same sense of inadequacy by referring to his ‘uncircumcised’ lips in Exodus 6:12, which Driver explains as ‘lips which speak with difficulty.” R. A. Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, Vol. 2 (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 81-82. God’s response was (1) reminding Moses that He is the creator who can equip and use what seems deficient (11-12); (2) God will send eloquent Aaron with Moses (14-16). However, it is not Moses inability or Aaron’s eloquence that will guarantee the results, but the Lord Himself. J. A. Motyer, The Message of Exodus (IVP Academic, 2015), chapter 6 “The God who is able” accessed from ATLA, www.theologicalebooks.org/ on August 2, 2023. (So far as I know, pages number are not available in ATLA so I will include the chapter’s name whenever ATLA is used).
[2] A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (trans. of W. Bauer, Griechisch-Deutsches Wörterbuch), ed. by William F. Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich; second ed. rev. and augmented by F. W. Danker (University of Chicago Press, 1979).
[3] Leon Morris commented on 1 Corinthians 1:17, “Some at least of the Corinthians were setting too high a value on human wisdom and human eloquence in line with the typical Greek admiration for rhetoric and philosophical studies.” Leon Morris, 1 Corinthians: An Introduction and Commentary, Vol. 7, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. 1985), 48.
[4] Peter Adam, Speaking God’s Words: A Practical Theology of Preaching (Vancouver, BC: Regent Press, 2004), 39.
[5] Adam, Speaking God’s Words, 39. Christopher Ash used Moses final sermon as a model for a sermon that is both God-centered and urgent. He considered four themes from Moses’s final sermon: (1) the reality of God, (2) the stubbornness of sin, (3) the urgency of faith, and (4) the wonder of grace. Christopher Ash, The Priority of Preaching (Fearn-Rothshire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2009).
[6] Herman Bavinck, On Preaching and Preachers (Hendrickson Publishers; Translation Edition, 2017), chapter titled “Eloquence,” accessed from ATLA, www.theologicalebooks.org/ on August 2, 2023.
[7] “As nouns the difference between eloquence and rhetoric that eloquence is the quality of artistry and persuasiveness in speech or writing while rhetoric is the art of using language, especially public speaking, as a means to persuade.” https://wikidiff.com/eloquence/rhetoric
[8] H. Bavinck, On Preaching and Preachers, “Appendix: On Language.” Douglas Kelley writes, “Within the eternal Godhead there has always been Word or communication, and to be a human person (‘in His image’) is to communicate by means of words. This means that God created us to talk to us and we to Him… Unlike apes and other living creatures, humanity’s capacity for language is a door into ‘that eternal, unseen realm’ (of Logos or Word), and a standing witness that we were created on a heavenly pattern for communication with the One who made us in His image.” Douglas F. Kelly, Creation & Change: Genesis 1:1-2.4 in the Light of Changing Scientific Paradigms (Christian Focus Publications. Kindle Edition, 2017), 266.
[9] The authoritative public preaching of God’s Word is the main but not the only Word ministry in the church. In one sense all the redeemed are called to exhort and encourage one another with God’s word (Col. 3:16). However, God raises (uninspired) men in the church who will publicly preach His word in continuity with the ministries of the (inspired) prophets and apostles. Jonathan L. Griffiths, Preaching in the New Testament: An Exegetical and Biblical – Theological Study (Downers Grove, IL. InterVarsity Press, 2017). See also, Peter Adam, Speaking God’s Words, especially chapter 4 (p. 59-86).
[10] S. B. Ferguson, “A Preacher’s Decalogue,” Themelios, 36 (2), 2011, 266. (emphasis is mine)
[11] Merriam-Webster, I, Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary, Eleventh ed. (Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2003)
[12] H. Bavinck, On Preaching and Preachers, “Eloquence.”
[13] Augustine, On Christian Doctrine, book IV, 12. 27-28; 17.34). Augustine asserts that if false teachers use the rules of rhetoric to enhance their wrong doctrines making them appealing and easy to understand to their hearers, how much more should the Christian teacher make use of this art for the sake of truth? (14.30). The section on Augustine is used from a book review I previously wrote for “Introduction to Homiletics” in PRTS. Bavinck similarly stated that all eloquence is “actually threefold: argument, description, and persuasion.” H. Bavinck, On Preaching and Preachers, “Eloquence.”
[14] Griffiths shows how this idea of “power” in 1 Corinthians is bracketed in 1:17b and 2:5. He refers to Ciampa and Rosner, who argues that the word “power” in the Graeco-Roman world is “associated with rhetoric and eloquence, for orators could expect to win fame and glory.” Then he comments, “Rather than being a rhetorician whose power lies in his skill, Paul is a herald whose power lies in his message and stems from the God who commissioned him to preach.” Griffiths, Preaching in the New Testament, 66.
[15] This list of Scripture references is found in John Piper, The Supremacy of God in Preaching (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1990), 116.
[16] Joel R. Beeke, Reformed Preaching: Proclaiming God’s Word from the Hart of the Preacher to the Heart of His People (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2018), 116. Ferguson explains the same truth that in his preaching, Paul was ultimately not “controlled by a particular preaching style, but by the message itself. His exposition of it dominated his presentation of it. The content of the gospel dominates the style and the spirit in which the gospel is preached. To this extent, the medium is also the message ‘heard’ by others.” Sinclair Ferguson, “Exegesis”, Chapter 7, in Samuel T. Logan, The Preacher and Preaching (New Jersey: P & R Publishing, 2011), 210.
[17] H. Bavinck, On Preaching and Preachers, “Eloquence.”
[18] H. Bavinck, On Preaching and Preachers, “The Sermon and the Service.”
[19] James M. Garretson, Princeton and Preaching: Archibald Alexander and the Christian Ministry. (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 2005), 76 ft. 1.
[20] Garretson, Princeton and Preaching, 105.
[21] Archibald Alexander, LPstlT, ‘Pastoral Theology – Manner of Preaching’, 15:35; quoted in Garretson, Princeton and Preaching, 105.
[22] I am here borrowing Archibald Alexander expressions. Garretson, Princeton and Preaching, 73.
[23] Keller mentions two important works: William Gurnall, The Christian in Complete Armour or Thomas Brooks, Precious Remedies against Satan's Device.
[24] Tim Keller, “A Model for Preaching” The Journal of Biblical Counseling. Part 1. Volume XII, Number 3, Spring 1994, 39.
