Philip Arthur Bence PhD Thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText

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"If Christ deigns to be present when we are speaking, it
is precisely because that action is God's, not
ours."-2° Through God's grace, preaching always holds
the potential for becoming God's Word, but its words
remain human. Human preaching is . . .
a proclamation and perception of God's Word,
which is qualified, not unqualified. It must
be done with sincerity and with humility; with
sincerity because it must be open to the truth
of God's Word and with humility because it must
be ready to bow in the presence of the
superiority of that Word.1
The human preacher can never, in his own power,
speak God's Word. Barth's early essay, "The Word of God
and the Task of the Ministry," presents this very
dilemma. Pastors are expected to accmplish the
impossible. Congregations clamor for a word from God,
but pastors, in their humanity, cannot speak of or for
God. ="a Human attempts to speak for God always fail;
God alone speaks for Himself. But God resolves this
dilemma and offers hope. In humble preaching, God
chooses to speak. 117. Thus, Barth pointed out, again
using an analogy of the Divine, that preaching has "two
natures," the human and the divine."
The preacher's role in proclamation is obedience and
faith. God calls individuals to preach. Commissioned
persons venture in faith, believing God will fulfill His
promise and speak through human preaching.
We speak--hoping for what we cannot see, for
what we cannot assume to be present—of a
realised proclamation, of a Word of God
proclaimed in the Church; on the basis that
God's Word has already been spoken, that