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Writer's pictureTrent Griffith

When Christ Preaches the Sermon

I'm leading an online cohort this Fall with 14 pastors. We all love to preach and enjoy sharpening our preaching skills. Today we had a "mind-blowing" 🤯 moment while studying Ephesians 2:17 pointed out by Sam Alberry in his book, You’re Not Crazy.


"He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near."


Picture this: The Ephesians, who first heard of Christ through Paul’s preaching, are reading Paul’s letter to them. But then he drops a theological plot twist that M. Night Shyamalan would appreciate it.


Paul points to another preacher who came to Ephesus. The Ephesians must have asked themselves, “Who is “he” Paul is referring to in verse 17. Who else besides Paul preached Christ to the Ephesians? Answer: Christ himself. That's right - "Christ came and preached peace to Ephesians."


But when? Hadn't Jesus already ascended back to Heaven by the time the gospel reached Ephesus?


Here's the jaw-dropping part: Christ came and preached when Paul came and preached. 


And if Christ preached when Paul preached, I have every reason to believe Christ will be preaching the next time you or I preach too. That’s a comfort to preachers like me who rarely feel our sermons are adequate.


This changes everything about how we preach. We're not just giving a historical lecture: "Jesus: His Person and Work in the First Century.” We're not just calling attention to what He did back then, back there. We're responding to what He's doing right here, right now.


We want our listeners to encounter Christ through Holy Spirit in the PRESENT tense:


  • Geographically present (Christ is working right here)


  • Chronologically present (Chris is speaking right now)


And, this also changes how we pray. We are praying that while we preach our listeners will become increasingly conscious of his presence. We're praying our listeners will realize that Christ isn't just the subject of our sermon - He's the preacher too. Christ is the message and the messenger.


But, this also changes how we listen to preaching. Trust me, your preacher is probably not any more impressed with his sermon than you are. When you can’t endure any more of your pastor’s preaching listen to the other preacher in the room.


Christ is preaching Christ in every faithful sermon.

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