2) Those gifts which come to expression through the various faculties connected with the facility of sanctified utterance
a) The biblical basis for asserting the necessity of such gifts of sanctified utterance
i) The explicit testimony of the Word of God
1 Tim. 3:2
Titus 1:9
2 Tim. 2:2
Rom. 12:6-8
1 Pet. 4:10-11
ii) The implicit testimony of the Word of God
— The apostolic model of pastoral labor
Acts 20:20 & 35
Col. 1:28-29
1 Thess. 2:11
— The apostolic injunctions concerning pastoral labor; a brief survey of the pastoral epistles yields a wealth of texts.
1 Tim. 1:3; 4:11; 4:13; 4:16; 5:1-2; 6:17
2 Tim. 2:2; 2:15; 4:2
Titus 1:13; 2:8; 2:15
— The apostolic description of one sent by Christ
Rom. 10:9ff
2 Cor. 5:19ff
1 Cor. 1:17
1 Cor. 9:14
John Owen, The Work of the Spirit, vol. 4 of The Works of John Owen (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1967), p. 459.
b) The basic elements which comprise a gift of sanctified utterance
i) A natural, acquired, and cultivated ability to speak so as to secure the listening ear of the average person
Ezekiel 33:31-32
1 Cor. 14:9
Robert L. Dabney, “What is a Call to the Ministry?” in Discussions: Evangelical and Theological, vol. 2 (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1967), p. 37.
C. H. Spurgeon, “The Call to the Ministry,” in Lectures to My Students (Pasadena, TX: Pilgrim Publications, 1990), book I, pp. 34-35.
ii) A natural, acquired, and cultivated ability to express one’s thoughts clearly and convincingly to the average person
Titus 1:9
Jer. 3:15
iii) A natural and conferred ability to be received as a messenger of God without torturing the discernment of the true people of God
John 13:20
1 Thess. 2:13
Mt. 7:28-29
Eph. 4:11-12 with 1 Cor. 14
John Owen, The Work of the Spirit, vol. 4 of The Works of John Owen (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1967), p. 513.
iv) A supernatural endowment of the Holy Spirit enabling one to speak with divine unction
Is. 61:1-3 with Lk. 4:18ff
1 Cor. 2:4-5
1 Thess. 1:4-5
2 Cor. 3:4-6
The Collected Writings of James Henley Thornwell, vol. 4 (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1974), p. 27, 28.
C. H. Spurgeon, “The Holy Spirit in Connection with Our Ministry,” in Lectures to My Students (Pasadena, TX: Pilgrim Publications, 1990), book II, p. 3.
John Owen, Sermons to the Church, vol. 9 of The Works of John Owen (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1967), p. 455.
“The Immediate Agency and Operation of the Holy Spirit upon the Preacher”, preached at the 2002 Pastors’ Conference, Trinity Baptist Church, Montville, NJ.
See also John Owen, The Work of the Spirit, vol. 4 of The Works of John Owen, p. 512.