Eavesdropping on Ed Clowney & Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Preaching in the Spirit

Ed Clowney, in Preaching Christ in All of Scripture, recalled this brief exchange he once had over tea with D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones.

On one occasion I had tea with Martyn Lloyd-Jones in Ealing, London, and decided to ask him a question that concerned me. "Dr. Lloyd-Jones," I said, "How can I tell whether I am preaching in the energy of the flesh or in the power of the Spirit?"

"That is very easy," Lloyd-Jones replied, as I shriveled. "If you are preaching in the energy of the flesh, you will feel exalted and lifted up. If you are preaching in the power of the Spirit, you will feel awe and humility."

Oh that we would be rebuked by God when our preaching makes much of us and little of Christ, when we enter the sacred desk in our own energy and forsake the Spirit's power! May the Lord Jesus, the Lord of glory, be lifted up and we decrease when we proclaim Him!