Preaching and the Fellowship -- By: Kenneth O. Gangel

Journal: Grace Journal
Volume: GJ 08:1 (Winter 1967)
Article: Preaching and the Fellowship
Author: Kenneth O. Gangel


Preaching and the Fellowship

Kenneth O. Gangel

Acting Academic Dean
Calvary Bible College

These are days in which it is becoming increasingly more popular in theological and sociological circles to disparage that ministry of the church called preaching. The criticism runs a wide gamut of thought from those who would argue simply that one must change his vocabulary to facilitate dialogue with twentieth century man to those who would argue that the gospel can no longer be communicated through preaching and that, therefore, this traditional method must be replaced by something more contemporary, such as varying approaches to group dynamics. Still amidst the noise and din, there comes echoing through the halls of history a clear and distinctly New Testament note which reminds us that when Jesus Christ began to spread the message of the living God, He began to “preach.” Wuest expands the idea inherent in the word as follows from the passage in Matthew 4:17, “From that time on, Jesus began to be making a public proclamation as a herald with that formality, gravity, and authority as must be listened to and obeyed…” (The Gospels).

It is always wise at the beginning of any discussion to define terms, and the two which appear in the title of this study must come under scrutiny at this point. There is already inherent in Dr. Wuest’s expanded translation a significant idea of what is conveyed in the New Testament use of the word or words rendered in the English text as “preaching.” The basic meaning of the word is not changed by the content of that which is preached. Whether one is considering euangelizomai, katangellō, or kērussō, the idea of public proclamation of the message of God is still in focus. It should be noted that the kind of preaching under consideration in these paragraphs is to be always Biblical and most often expository. Preaching that is Biblical will always find its source and content in the words of Holy Scripture. Preaching that is truly expository will take as its objective and its method the explanation and application of the written Word of God in the tradition of such expositors as Alexander Maclaren and G. Campbell Morgan.

The word “fellowship” is not so easily defined. It might refer to the mystical union which unites those who through participation in the finished work of Christ have entered into a relationship with each other in His body, the Church. The word might be used in reference to the people of God themselves, and here koinōnia would become almost synonymous with ekklēsia. The emphasis on

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