Samuel
Davies’ Sermon: 1 Corinthians 3:6-7
Sermon
Outline
Intro: God is sovereign
over all things, and He uses secondary means to glorify His name
Need: There is
spiritual lethargy in the land despite full pews and sound preaching. What is
lacking?
M.P.: Without the
divine agency to render the gospel successful, all the labors of its ministers
will be in vain.
I.
The present degeneracy of human
nature is so great that the gospel, apart from divine grace, cannot remedy it
A. The seed of the gospel dies on
barren soil (Matt. 13 parable)
B. Scripture indicates that man is
spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1) and blind (2 Cor. 4:4)
C. The gospel apart from the work of
God on the heart cannot give spiritual life/sight
D. Experience confirms Scripture’s
representation of man’s degeneracy
E. Only divine power from God can sway
the will.
II.
The declarations and promises of the
Word of God assign all gospel success to God alone
A. The means of grace do not of
themselves convert sinners nor edify believers
B. Israel had means of grace yet still
needed heart circumcision (Deut. 30:6)
1. Faith, repentance, and regeneration
are all works of God, not man.
2. Sanctification is also an ongoing
work of God (Phil. 1:6)
C. The saints in Scripture earnestly
pray for divine aid, indicating its necessity
D. Application: Though God promises blessings for
us, this does not absolve us from vigorously endeavoring to obtain them
1. God tells us to circumcise our own
hearts (Jer. 4:4), and yet He promises that He will do this for us.
2. It is our duty to obtain the graces
promised, because it is through our endeavors that we can expect divine influences,
though our endeavors do not earn grace. (Seedtime and harvest analogy)
III.
Varying success of the means of
grace throughout church history indicates the necessity of divine grace to make
means of grace efficacious.
A. Examples are Noah, who could only
save his family; Moses, who could not persuade the people to follow God because
the Lord had not given them a heart to understand (Deut. 29:4); also Elijah,
Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc.
B. Christ Himself converted few, but
waited to pour His Spirit out
1. After the Spirit was poured out,
Peter preached one sermon in which 3,000 souls were converted!
2. Over time, this gospel, empowered
with the Spirit on high, has toppled nations and destroyed the strongholds of
Satan (2 Cor. 2:4)
IV.
Personal experience and observation
indicate the necessity of divine grace in order for the gospel to convert.
A. Sometimes more gifted ministers see
fewer converts and less spiritual growth than less gifted ones.
B. Sometimes a clear and convicting
sermon doesn’t touch the heart, but a less clear and convicting sermon by the
same minister to the same congregation does!
C. Sermons dully read have converted
sinners when livelier and more polished ones have not.
D. The same sermon brings some to faith
and strong conviction, and upon others it has no such effect.
E. The very same Scripture truths have
different effects on you at different times
F. It is God’s grace that accounts for
these occurrences.
V.
Application:
A. The doctrine of divine influence is
essential and important to the church of God
1. Total depravity must be taught
2. If this doctrine is lost, men will
look to their own strength, rather than God’s, to be righteous.
B. When the gospel comes with power, we
should trust wholly in the influence of divine grace for the success rather
than ministers or the will of man
C. Learn to look to God for grace to
render the gospel successful
D. Whatever external privileges a
church enjoys, it is really in a miserable condition if the Lord has withdrawn
His influence from it.
Conclusion: The Spirit is quiet and not moving in the hearts of men
because of spiritual lethargy. Therefore, cry out mightily to God, that He
would pour out His Spirit upon you.
Introduction:
In this
sermon, Davies immediately begins discussing God’s design for all creation. He
does not begin with anecdote or a story, but theology. He develops the
overarching message of God’s sovereignty and His plan for all creation – to glorify
His own name – in order to focus on God’s purpose in using secondary means in
the arena of grace, which is to bring about His desired end of salvation. As
the gardener is God’s instrument in the natural world to cultivate the earth,
and yet God is the one who causes the ground to be fertile, the sun to shine, and
the rain to fall so that the seed takes root and forms a healthy plant, so it
is with salvation. Ministers take the “seed” of the gospel and spread it all
over the world, but the receptivity of the gospel seed, the “fertile” soil of
the regenerate heart, is produced by God, who gives the increase and causes the
seed to take root by sending the Holy Spirit. Yet, if God does not give this
grace, the minister’s labors will be in vain, just as the gardener’s labors
would be in vain. This goes both for those who seek the conversion of sinners
(the planters), and those who, in preaching the Word, hope to nourish and
spiritually cultivate the converted sinner (those who water). Davies says this
is Paul’s point in the passage.
The
Corinthians, however, rather than growing in unity and responding to the
different teachers they have received with thankfulness, have instead viewed
each individual member as the leader of factions rather than promoting the one
true gospel. Paul is admired as a scholar, Apollos as an accomplished orator.
Paul urges the Corinthians to realize that neither he nor Apollos, or any
minister, are anything apart from the grace of God working with the gospel
message. Davies’ urges that we turn to God alone and praise Him for our
salvation and joy in our salvation. This cannot be attributed to man, but the
one who truly gives the increase, God Himself.
Davies then
asks what is lacking in the church of his day. While there may be some powerful
preaching, there seems to be little fruitfulness. As we would wonder what is
lacking if we cultivated our soil from year to year without yielding much
harvest, we should wonder what is lacking when the gospel is going forth, and
yet few are being converted or growing spiritually. Why is there such spiritual
lethargy (use of interrogatory)? Why is God not pouring out His grace and
giving great increase? With this in mind, Davies’ gives his main proposition: Without the divine agency to render the
gospel successful, all the labors of its ministers will be in vain (or, as
he also states it, using exclamation, “the success of the ministry of the
gospel with respect to saints and sinners, entirely depends upon the concurring
influences of divine grace!”
BODY:
Davies defends this assertion in a
variety of ways. He references Scripture which states that man is born
spiritually dead, so that the gospel of itself cannot make one willing to trust
in Christ. Israel had means of grace at their disposal, but because their
hearts were not circumcised, they did not obey God and remain faithful to Him.
God has circumcised the heart of the NT church. Ephesians 2:1-10 indicates that
salvation is all a work of God, and faith, repentance, and regeneration are all
gifts from Him. Even our sanctification is by the power of the Spirit (Phil.
1:6). Davies states that only the work of the Spirit can persuade the sinful
will of man to receive the gospel message, because man’s will is in opposition
to the message of the cross. Man wants to glorify Himself, but the gospel
glorifies Christ alone. Davies argues that Scripture ascribes all gospel
success to God alone, and that the means of grace do not of themselves convert
sinners nor edify believers. The saints in Scripture earnestly pray for divine
aid, which indicates that divine grace is a necessity.
Davies
makes some applications at this point. He says that, though God promises
blessings to us, this does not absolve us of the responsibility to lay hold of
the promised blessings. Jeremiah 4:4 commands that God’s people circumcise
their own heart, even though He promised that He Himself would do this for us.
It is through our endeavors and earnest desire to receive the promised
blessings, then, that God is most apt to grant them to us. If we are slothful,
disobedient, and nonchalant regarding God’s divine graces, then the Spirit is
less inclined to give us these things. Our endeavors do not earn grace, but
they do please God and encourage Him to grant us grace, which we desperately
need. As God has promised that seedtime and harvest will not cease (Gen. 8:22),
yet we must continue to cultivate the land, so too God has promised spiritual
blessing to His people, yet we must continue to pursue holiness and mortify sin
(Phil. 2:12-13).
Davies
notes that the same means of gracious has experienced various degrees of
success throughout church history. The only explanation for this is that divine
grace is necessary to make the means of grace efficacious. The means of grace
do not contain power of themselves. Examples of this are seen from Scripture
itself. Noah could only persuade his family of the coming flood due to sin, yet
he ministered for 120 years. Moses could not convince the people to turn from
idols and serve the God who delivered them from Pharaoh because the Lord had
not given them a heart to understand (Deut. 29:4). The prophets Elijah, Isaiah,
and the weeping Jeremiah are other examples of those who, though mighty in word
and passion, could not convince many to heed the things of God. Christ Himself
converted few to His way during His earthly ministry, and yet, when He ascended
on high and sent out the promised Spirit on all flesh, the apostle Peter
preached one short sermon in which 3,000 souls were converted! Over time, the
gospel, empowered by the Spirit, has toppled nations and destroyed the
strongholds of Satan (2 Cor. 2:4).
Not
only does church history bear out the need for divine grace, but personal
experience and observation indicate that the Spirit must be at work if the
gospel is to convert sinners and sanctify believers. This is exhibited when
more gifted ministers see fewer converts and less spiritual growth than the
less gifted ministers. At times, a clear and convincing sermon touches the
heart, but a less clear one does not, even though the same minister is
preaching the same message to the same congregation. Sermons read in a monotone
have converted sinners when livelier and more polished ones have not. The same
sermon will bring some in the congregation to tears of great conviction, yet
upon others it has no visible effect whatsoever. In our own individual
experience, we can testify that the same Scripture truths have differing
effects on us at different times. In all these examples, it is God’s divine
grace, given through the Holy Spirit, which accounts for these occurrences.
Conclusion:
Davies
finishes with application, which essentially serves as a conclusion. He
stresses that the doctrine of divine influence is necessary if the church is to
be healthy. Otherwise, men will trust in their own strength and not turn to God
for strength. When we do see the gospel come in power, we should ascribe the
efficacy wholly to the influence of divine grace. The success has nothing to do
with the minister or the willing of the person being influenced. In fact, if
the minister becomes puffed up in his own efforts, or the congregation trusts
in the persuasion of the minister rather than the irresistible persuasion of
the Spirit, the Spirit is likely to withdraw His grace, and both the minister
and the congregation will see just who it is that is worthy of the praise and
admiration. In light of this, we must learn to look to God for grace to render
the gospel successful. Whatever external privileges a church enjoys, it is
really in a miserable condition if the Lord has withdrawn His influence from
it.
Davies
warns the sinner who is in a helpless state because the Holy Spirit has shut up
His divine grace from him. Davies believes that each man can hardly think of
one or two people in the last several years who have been seriously affected by
the gospel. Men are not pressing into the kingdom because the Spirit is not
moving with the message. Davies finishes with imperatives, calling for believers
to cry out to God, that He would pour out His Spirit upon them and upon
unbelievers as well.
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