We often pray for unction on the preaching of god’s word but we seldom pause to define what we mean by this term. We know instinctively as Christians that for preaching to be effective it needs something from above to enhance and empower the spoken word. This need which we feel, and which moves us to pray, does not imply any defect in the word of God. Rather, it recognises that there is inadequacy in those who preach that word and also a profound deficiency in the heart of those who hear it preached. Consequently, when we pray, as we should pray, for unction in preaching we are rightly confessing to God that something supernatural is necessary if His word is to have its proper effect on our hearers.
At least three things are assumed in our mind when we pray for this quality of unction to accompany the preached word. We assume, firstly, that the man who preaches God’s word is spiritual. That is to say, we expect him to be what in his position he ought to be, a true man of God, who has experienced conversion and a call to the work of the ministry. Along with this assumption we expect the preacher to come before the congregation with a message from God’s word over which he has prayed in the secret place.
Secondly, we assume that the sermon which the preacher is about to deliver is sound in doctrine. It is absurd to seek God’s blessing to rest on falsehood or fanaticism. Hence, the very proper desire of the Christian heart to have an anointing on the ministry implies a belief in the full divine authority and inspiration of holy scripture. Indeed, the very reason why unction is desired upon the preaching of God’s word is the sincere conviction that the message of the Bible is of extreme importance and urgency. The cry for unction on the message presupposes that nothing men could hear on earth is of such urgency as the message which God directs to our mind.
Then, thirdly, the prayer for unction recognises that the impact of the message of scripture will be greater or lesser depending on the unseen and mysterious factor of God’s grace. All spiritual work is carried on under the influence of God’s own sovereign activity. All the means of grace need for their efficacy an invisible hand to wield them so that they may overcome all resistance and bring the human soul into obedience to God and into conformity with His will.
In the light of the above we may define unction in preaching as a secret and yet powerful influence of God’s Spirit on and with the sermon which authenticates the message to the minds and consciences of those who hear it.
That such an unction was desired by the Apostles of Christ in their day is clear from their own writings. So, Paul can write: “My speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God” (1 Cor. 2:4–5). Again, Paul writes to the Thessalonians to this effect: “For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance” (1 Thess. 1:5). From such passages in the apostolic writings as these it is clear that the first preachers of Christianity were conscious of a distinction between preaching which is “in word only” and preaching which is “in power.” This “power,” or unction, is something which they looked for, prayed for and expected.
It is very clear that the early Church prayed for God’s grace to be felt in their preaching and that they did not merely assume that God’s grace would be always present automatically. Neither the fact that their preachers were eminently holy and sound men, nor the fact that they were endowed with apostolic gifts led the early Christians to expect God’s unction to be on the preaching of God’s word as a matter of course. On the contrary, they prayed for this unction to be given to them. Of this fact we have evidence in the following prayer which is recorded in scripture: “And now, Lord, . . . grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word.” (Acts 4:29). The sequel is found in this wonderful answer to their prayer: “They were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31).
This concern on the part of the Apostles and early Church to preach well is reflected also in Paul’s request to the Ephesians, in which he asks them to pray “for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, . . . that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak” (Eph. 6:19–20). It surprises us not a little, as we ponder these words, to realise that even Paul, one of the greatest preachers the Church has ever known, was alive to the possibility that his preaching might decline in boldness. Even Paul possessed the fear that he could fail to preach the gospel with all proper authority. Much more do we in our day need to be concerned over this failure of our preachers to be bold with a boldness which only God can give.
The unction which we seek undoubtedly affects both preacher and hearer. This is seen in the case of Stephen, whose anointed preaching was with overwhelming power: “They were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake” (Acts 6:10). Similarly, we read: “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were ignorant and unlearned men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13). Again, we are informed: “With great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all” (Acts 4:33).
There is no other explanation for the extraordinary effects of the preaching given by the Apostles than that they themselves were full of the Holy Spirit and had the Spirit’s presence with them as they declared the truths of God: “We are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him” (Acts 5:32). So spoke Peter. This same power was unquestionably the reason why astonishing effects were seen also after the preaching of Paul and Barnabas in a Gentile setting: “And the next Sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God” (Acts 13:44). Indeed, such power was visible in the testimony of Paul and Barnabas at one point that they had difficulty in persuading some of their hearers that they were men and not gods! (Acts 14:18)
However we understand this biblical teaching about unction there is no doubting that it is the explanation as to how a tiny band of preachers in apostolic times could “turn the world upside down” (Acts 17:6). Undeniably the early preachers of the gospel of Christ were men wonderfully empowered to preach the truth in such a way that society as a whole underwent a mighty revolution in religion and manners.
A number of questions may spring to mind as we seek to understand this subject of divine unction. Was this a phenomenon confined to the early Church? Does this unction on preaching always result in the conversion of those who hear it? Is unction related always and only to times of religious revival? Are we warranted to pray for unction on our own preaching in this modern age?
Whilst it is surely correct to assert that the charismatic gifts were intended only to last for a time, it would seem that there is no good reason to believe that the unction on preaching was confined to the early period of the Church. The history of later ages shows that preachers of great power have been raised up by God in many lands and at different times. This is especially true of the Reformation and countries where the doctrines of grace have spread. It is true also of the great age of pioneer missionaries. Puritans, Methodists, Non-Conformists and others have at various times witnessed remarkable power attending the preaching of the gospel. If we today have little experience of it, the reason is not because this unction was confined to apostolic times.
Does the unction of God’s power on men’s preaching always result in the conversion of the hearers? Whilst preaching in the power of the Spirit is likely to convert some, it certainly does not necessarily convert all who hear it, nor is it meant to do. The secret purpose of God through preaching is to save those for whom Christ died, that is the elect. This is reflected in such scriptures as the following: “As many as were ordained to eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48). “The election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded” (Rom. 11:7). “Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God. For our gospel came not unto you in word only” (1 Thess. 1:4–5). “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him” (John 6:44). Such texts prove that preaching, however powerful, will not save any but those whom God has appointed to salvation. Gospel truths are “foolishness” to all others (1 Cor. 1:18).
The association of unction with revival is an important one. There is no doubt that in times of blessing preaching always takes on a new power and results, by definition, in the gathering in of many converts to Christ. We are to look at the Pentecostal era as the first of many great revivals which God has graciously sent upon His church. Hence, in all true subsequent revivals we find the same factors at work: the raising up of preachers, the powerful activity of the Holy Spirit to make the preached word effectual, and the marvellous phenomenon of many converts, who are brought to rejoice in the cross of Christ.
There is every reason why Christians should stir themselves up to believe in the unction of God’s Spirit upon preaching and in the whole subject of revival. Indeed, no subject more urgently cries out to us to be believed in and acted upon in our times.
To encourage fresh prayer for the coming of the Holy Spirit upon all our services and preaching, we here give three moving quotations from the past. It is intended, by these historic instances of God’s answers to His people’s prayers in the past, to stir up prayer for a fresh work of grace among us all in our own day.
We take as our first example the amazing work of God which began in New York in the late 1850s. Jeremiah Lanphier, a newly-appointed city missionary to New York City, faced with the huge task of attempting to get people to church, decided to start a noon prayer meeting each Wednesday. He made and distributed a leaflet to offices and warehouses which invited workers to come to his North Dutch Reformed Church in Lower Manhattan to pray during the lunch hour from 12.00 noon till 1.00 p.m. They were welcome to come for five minutes—or else for a full hour. The door of the prayer meeting room was opened at noon on 23rd September 1857. Half an hour went by and no one came. Then, first one and then another came—six in all. These men prayed together.
By October, as attendances increased, it was decided to hold these meetings daily. Within six months no fewer than ten thousand businessmen were gathering daily for prayer in New York. Within two years it is believed that one million professing converts were added to the American churches. This awakening shortly after passed over the Atlantic to Ulster, Scotland, England and Wales—then on, like a tide of blessing, to Australia, South Africa and South India. The number of converts is past all computation. This famous work of God began, at least in part, through a tiny prayer meeting. Is it not a challenge to us today to believe in God and to cry to Him for a fresh anointing on our souls and our preaching?
The second example of how God can anoint a man is drawn from an account of a remarkable work of God in Wales. It illustrates perfectly how God can transform a man’s preaching by giving him this gift of unction. The scene is a farmhouse near the famous Mount Snowdon in August 1817. Here a little-known preacher named Richard Williams was to take a service. There were few present. Many from the area had gone to hear the great John Elias, who was to preach in a nearby town. Williams began the first part of the service as well as he could and then came to the sermon. Then an experience of God’s anointing took hold of the preacher. As one account puts it, “The humble ‘exhorter’ stood forth a prophet of the Most High, in Pentecostal glow, and the house was filled with the Pentecostal cry of awakened souls . . . . Within five weeks of that day there was scarcely a house in the vale but the breath of prayer had filled it.” The revival spread on to other parts of Wales. But the start was this unction given to Mr Richard Williams.
Our last example comes again from Wales and refers to the revival in that land which began, as we have seen, in New York in 1857. The Spirit of God brought the revival to Ulster in 1858—and then to Wales in 1859. The man who received the anointing on this occasion was David Morgan, who was greatly used in this revival. David Morgan became interested in the whole subject of revival through hearing a fellow Welshman, Humphrey Jones, who had experienced the revival in America at that period and had come home to his native Wales to tell of what he had seen and felt.
David Morgan had heard Humphrey Jones several times before the crucial night which was to make Morgan a powerful instrument in the hand of God. He had been a minister for some years—a good man but not an exceptional preacher. But on this night David Morgan was deeply moved as he listened to Humphrey Jones. He put it like this: “I went to bed that night just David Morgan as usual. I woke up the next morning feeling like a lion, feeling that I was filled with the power of the Holy Ghost.” His preaching now led to many, many persons coming under conviction and being converted to Christ. This went on for over two years. Amazingly, after two years or so, he went to bed at night and woke up “David Morgan once more.” He lived for some fifteen years more, but his preaching was ordinary. That special unction had gone.
There are few subjects that are so pertinent to the ministry today as this one. There is much good, sound preaching. But where is that power of which we have heard from the days of our fathers? Let us leave the subject as Dr. Lloyd-Jones leaves it in his excellent book Preaching and Preachers, with the question, What are we to do about this? Dr. Lloyd-Jones concludes like this: “Seek Him! Seek Him! . . . But go beyond seeking; expect Him. Do you expect anything to happen when you get up to preach in a pulpit? . . . Are you expecting it to be the turning-point in someone’s life? Are you expecting anyone to have a climactic experience? That is what preaching is meant to do.” Dr. Lloyd-Jones found this to be true in his own experience of preaching. Is it not time we too sought it?
