Genesis 3 tells of the process by which the serpent persuades the humans to doubt the integrity of God's word and to reject its authority. The "fall" is really a failed attempt to leap upward and to wrest authority from God and His word. Despite the awful consequences, the human grab for power is in fact the assertion of the principle of human autonomy and independence from the authority of the Creator's word. Thereafter the question "Has God said?" will characterize the rebellious will of human beings as they seek to escape the implications of the right of the Creator to rule them by His word.

The next stage in the drama is the new word of God spoken to Adam and Eve as a word of judgment that involves the whole of their domain. In effect, since they have chosen to challenge the authority of God's word and rule, the creation that has been subjected to human rule will from now on challenge that rule. The most awful judgment is that their rejection of the life-creating word results now in the sentence of death. However, the grace that, as John reminds us, finds its perfect expression in Jesus is already in evidence. God begins even within the word of judgment to unfold a plan of grace.

A redress of the disaster is more than hinted at in Genesis 3:15, and the very fact that the sentence of death is delayed so that life, procreation and the struggle for subsistence go on indicates a wider plan for the destiny of creation.7 As that plan unfolds, the word of the Lord is central both in pronouncing judgment on the enemies of the kingdom of God, and in proclaiming the salvation of a people chosen to be the inheritors of the kingdom. A biblical theology of preaching is a specific aspect of a broader biblical theology of the word of God, and it will only make sense in that context.

2. The Word of God as the Covenant of Salvation

God's plan of salvation is made known through His word. Even on those occasions when He reveals Himself by more visual means, such as dreams and visions, these are interpreted and communicated in words. The predominant emphasis is on God speaking, and when He is said to appear to someone it is usually in order to speak or to reveal His glory.8

This speaking of God is never mere information giving because it is a word of judgment and of redemption. Those scholars who, like William Temple, have rejected the notion of propositional revelation have often resorted to a false dichotomy between God communicating truth concerning Himself and God communicating Himself.9 As is so often the case, we are not faced with an "either-or" decision, but one of "both-and." Knowing God is not some mystical and incommunicable thing. We know Him through His acts and His word, by which He informs us of His acts and interprets them to us. God's communication of Himself through the presence of His Spirit does not happen apart from His communication about Himself through His word. Furthermore, we would not know of the presence of His Spirit if it did not please Him to tell us about it.