Arturo Azurdia: Spirit Empowered Preaching

 

Arturo G. Azurdia III, Spirit Empowered Preaching: Involving the Holy Spirit in your Ministry (Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications, 1998), 192 pages.

Arturo Azurdia III graduated from Westminster Theological Seminary, California, in 1998 with a Doctor of Ministry in Preaching degree. Azurdia’s book was a requirement for his graduation. (Westminster does not usually allow students to study and write outside of the theological tradition of Reformed Theology).

As a student of preaching, I found greater personal academic freedom in a university setting under a Reformed evangelical homiletician than I did at denominational theological schools in North America. At a denominational seminary a student is usually confined to the tradition of that seminary lest they offend their constituency and the needed support diminishes.

I am therefore pleased and pleasantly surprised that Westminster Theological Seminary allowed Azurdia to study “unction” (Azurdia is from an evangelical Presbyterian tradition). His book presents fresh and welcome instruction to the church. That fact is reflected in the many book reviews written about Spirit Empowered Preaching. The book reviews suggest that there is great hunger for the “unction” in evangelical pulpits. My prayer is that this book will create a strong desire in the hearts of evangelicals who are dissatisfied with purely intellectual Christianity and prompt their study of “unction” more thoroughly.

Azurdia desires to influence ministers to approach their preaching not only intellectually, with a heavy dependence upon biblical languages, exegetical skills and historical research, but to include “unction.” The thesis of his book is “…contending: the efficacious empowerment of the Spirit of God is indispensable to the ministry of proclamation” (13). He seeks a balance between the Holy Spirit and the Word. He proceeds to show the need for the unction and describes the work of the Holy Spirit in preaching, and impresses upon his readers the benefits of being Spirit-filled ministers. His main points are supported by the New Testament and by those people considered to be great evangelical preachers of the past. He shows that the empowering of the Holy Spirit is a sovereign work of God, and that the minister of the Word should be a person of constant prayer. His last chapter, “Pray me full” (164-177) affirms this and is helpful to all ministers.

However, there are three problems with Azurdia’s book: (1) his interpretation of John 14:12; (2) his interpretation of Luke 4:18-19 and 1 Corinthians 2:4, 5 (68, 69); (3) a lack of emphasis on fasting with prayer.

(1) Azurdia’s interpretation of John 14:12 (KJV),

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do… .”

Azurdia claims that “greater works shall ye do” refers to the disciples winning more souls than Jesus won (23). There is nothing in this passage to suggest that “greater works” is limited to the preaching of the disciples. “Greater works” is better interpreted to refer to the universal church, meaning that Christians have done greater works than Jesus did, which includes the conversion of non-Christians, and signs, wonders and miracles following the preaching.

(2) Azurdia’s interpretation of Luke 4:18-19 (KJV) limits Jesus’ ministry to anointed preaching. Jesus says, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”

A more careful exegesis of this passage reveals that Jesus came to preach, to heal, and set people free from demonic bondage. This passage can be interpreted both literally and figuratively. In other words the anointed preaching ministry of Jesus goes together with signs, wonders, and miracles. Also, healing, miracles and people being set free from demonic activity follow preaching. These verses confirm that anointed preaching, signs, wonders, and miracles go hand in hand.

There are two ways to interpret Luke 4:18 and 19. (a.) If we choose ‘anoint’ as the main verb, the infinitive (infinitives are a form of a verb that express the verbal notion without reference to a particular subject or tense) followed by another infinitive, could be interpreted to mean that Jesus was anointed and “sent” (verb) “to preach” “proclaim liberty to the captives” “to recover the sight” of the blind and “to preach” that this is a time of God’s liberation. (b.) These verses can also be interpreted by looking at the two verbs, “anoint” and “sent”, separately. The passage would then read: Jesus was anointed to preach (infinitive). Jesus was “sent” (verb) to “proclaim release” (infinitive) to the captives, “release” (infinitive) those that have been bound and “proclaim” (infinitive) this is the acceptable year of the Lord (the time during which God is releasing people). Whichever interpretation is chosen, both mean the same thing.

1 Corinthians 2:4, 5 (KJV) presents the same teaching as Luke 4:18-19.

And 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.

“Demonstration of the Spirit and of power” is not limited to better results from our preaching but is inclusive of fruitful preaching on the one hand and signs, wonders and miracles on the other hand.¹

Robert Menzies, a New Testament Pentecostal scholar, says that “the anointing” is a generic term, while “the baptism of the Holy Spirit” is the specific term, that describes the empowering work of the Spirit.² Furthermore, it is the people who preach that are anointed, not their sermons.

(3) This book falls short on providing specifics about how to pray for the anointing (164-183).

Prayer with fasting is excluded as a means of asking the Spirit to anoint us. But Jesus was filled with the Spirit after praying and fasting for forty days. If the “unction” is the Spirit of God coming upon us for a specific task, while fasting is not explicitly mentioned with anointing, we do see that it is a pre-condition for anointed guidance, Acts 16:6-10.

And Cornelius said, “Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing.” (Acts 10:30 KJV)

Peter had a fruitful ministry in word and deed as a result of divine direction: people were saved and filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus said certain things do not happen unless we do fast and pray (Mark 9:29). Pentecostal oral tradition teaches that a holy life, prayer and fasting, and the “anointing” or “unction” upon our ministry go hand-in-hand.

For the average protestant pastor this book is helpful because it encourages the reader to study “unction” more carefully. But this book lacks enough careful exegesis and practical application to be helpful to the average Pentecostal and Charismatic pastor.

Reviewed by Aldwin Ragoonath

Notes

¹ Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Vol. 2, s.v. “Power” by Grundman, 310-311.

² E-mail sent to Aldwin Ragoonath from Robert Menzies in September 2000.

 

The website of Arturo G. Azurdia III: www.spiritempoweredpreaching.com