Anatomy of a Man of God: His Feet, Part 1

In this part of the sermon: Martin reads Romans 10:12-15 and Isaiah 52:7, then contrasts the common perception of physical feet as unattractive with the spiritual truth that the feet of a man of God are…

Martin uses the common perception of physical feet as unattractive (often considered 'uncomely parts' from 1 Corinthians 12) to highlight the contrast with the spiritual beauty of a man of God's feet.

Even as it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that bring glad tidings of good things. Now this particular passage, and I refer of course to the statement of verse 15, is quoted in part or is a partial quotation of a passage found in Isaiah the 52nd chapter and the 7th verse. And this passage informs us concerning the feet of a man of God, that they are, Now for many of us, our physical feet are often the part of our body that we think about when we read in 1 Corinthians 12 about the uncomely parts of our body. And for many of us, whatever attractive features we may have, or whateve...

6:11 - 7:32 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin reads Romans 10:12-15 and Isaiah 52:7, then contrasts the common perception of physical feet as unattractive with the spiritual truth that the feet of a man of God are…

He notes that unlike eyes, hair, or neck, feet rarely inspire poetry or art, further emphasizing their generally unappealing nature in human aesthetics, setting up the spiritual contrast.

You don't find poems written about people's feet. There is very little in one's feet to excite poetry. The eyes of one's beloved, the hair, the neck, the other parts of the anatomy do indeed incite poetry. They become the occasion of love songs and the expression of artistic ability, but seldom do you find feet being the object of separate works of sculpture or works of art.

7:33 - 8:10 Read in full sermon

Driving home: And yet in the realm of the spirit, the text says that the feet of a man of God are in every case beautiful feet. In every place where a man of God is found, gaze upon his feet, and God says, you will find them to be bea…

Martin quotes Gardiner Spring to distinguish between a private Christian's duty to share truth and a commissioned minister's unique authority to speak 'in God's name and as his commissioners,' reinforcing the concept of being 'sent'.

that ultimately the saving power of God is mediated by the truth of his word. And every single believer has both the obligation, and the privilege, of conveying that truth to others. However, and here I quote Gardiner Spring, while these truths are truths that ought neither to be forgotten nor abused, and I've just summarized the truths he has laid out, it is equally true that no private Christian is authorized to utter the truths of the gospel in God's name and as his commissioners. He is a commissioned ambassador.

10:43 - 11:25 Read in full sermon

Driving home: And yet in the realm of the spirit, the text says that the feet of a man of God are in every case beautiful feet. In every place where a man of God is found, gaze upon his feet, and God says, you will find them to be bea…

Gardiner Spring's analogy of private citizens vs. commissioned ambassadors in wartime illustrates the difference between a believer sharing the gospel and a minister proclaiming it with divine authority.

He may and ought to speak for God in his private capacity, but not as a minister of the gospel. When two nations are at war, the private citizens of both who are resident in the land of the enemy may in their private capacity urge the claims of their own land, while as commissioned ambassadors they have no authority. And in that capacity, they have no claim to be heard. This world is at war with God.

11:26 - 12:00 Read in full sermon

Driving home: First of all they are beautiful feet because they bring the Lord Jesus himself to men in the proclamation of the gospel.

Martin uses the common yearning of believers to have been present with Jesus during His earthly ministry to explain that the only way to confront Christ prior to death is through the preached Word.

They are beautiful feet because they bring the Lord Jesus himself in the proclamation of the gospel. As we have been studying the gospel of Mark for several years in our morning meditations for the most part have we not many of us again and again said oh if I could only have been there to be involved in one of those incidents so graphically described by Mark in his account of the life and death and ministry of the Lord Jesus. When we have looked at some of those strokes of intimate detail in Mark's gospel our hearts have yearned oh that I could be just one in the crowd when he did this or that...

22:05 - 23:26 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The primary reason the feet of a man of God are beautiful is that they bring the Lord Jesus Christ Himself to men in the proclamation of the gospel. Martin explains the logical…

He poses a rhetorical question about an angel bringing Jesus down in a chariot to speak directly, to highlight that Christ's voice is heard through preaching, not direct miraculous appearances.

Is an angel going to fetch him out of heaven and accompany him in a grand heavenly chariot and bring the Lord Jesus down here this morning, let him off in the parking lot and have him come up through the foyer and amongst the pews and speak directly, speak to him. Thunderous. Thunderous voice.

29:34 - 30:00 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin provides several scriptural witnesses to confirm that Christ Himself comes and preaches through His sent messengers. He examines Ephesians 2 and 4, John 10, Luke 10, John…

The account of Paul's ministry in Ephesus from the book of Acts is used as an example of how Jesus 'came and preached peace' to them through His servant Paul.

But Jesus never went to Ephesus. And yet Paul says he came and he preached peace to you who were afar off. Well, how did Jesus come to Ephesus and preach peace to them? Well, you can read about it in the book of Acts.

34:59 - 35:17 Read in full sermon

The point: Recognize that Christ comes to you in the proclamation of the gospel through His sent messengers, and do not spurn Him.

The analogy of sailors lashing themselves to the mast of a ship in a storm is used to illustrate the urgency and totality of trusting in Christ for salvation.

Many of you, I know, have heard the good tidings of the good things stored up in Jesus Christ, For sinners, you have heard them, ten, twenty, a hundred, some of you, a thousand, no other Savior but the Lord Jesus. You've heard about the uniqueness of His person, the sufficiency of His work. You've heard His sincere, well-meant offer and entreaty and gracious commands to come to Him, to believe upon Him, to throw yourself upon Him, to do what sailors used to do in the midst of a raging storm when they thought the ship would break to pieces. They knew that the most stable thing on that ship was ...

48:34 - 49:50 Read in full sermon

The point: Recognize that Christ comes to you in the proclamation of the gospel through His sent messengers, and do not spurn Him.

Martin addresses the hypothetical desire for Christ to appear visibly in a chariot to stretch out His hands, explaining that He comes in the preached Word, and rejecting this is rejecting Him.

and you're to hell. And why don't you go to my Jesus? You say, oh, but Pastor, if the Lord Jesus were to come in those chariots you spoke about earlier and come down the center aisle and come over to my pew and stand...

50:17 - 50:33 Read in full sermon

The point: Understand the glory, wonder, and majesty of being sent by the Sovereign to preach His Word, recognizing that your feet bring Christ Himself to men.

Martin quotes Cotton Mather to emphasize the unparalleled honor, importance, and usefulness of the Christian ministry, highlighting its divine design and eternal significance.

Don't ever try to construct another. And then I say finally to you who are in this solemn position, this awesome position, you men aspiring to that position, oh, may you understand something of the glory, something of the wonder, something of the majesty of what it is to be sent by the Sovereign to preach His Word. Think of it. I am one whose feet can be the instrument of bringing Christ Himself to men in the proclamation of His Word. What a glorious concept of the ministry. No wonder Cotton Mather wrote as follows, the office of the Christian ministry rightly understood is the most honorable ...

59:04 - 60:22 Read in full sermon

The point: Exercise ministry with seriousness, authority, and conviction, knowing that you are a bearer of the Son of God Himself to men, not engaging in a light, flip, careless, casual, jokesy, or folksy ministry.

He expresses pity for President-Elect Bush, stating that a sanctified Christian pulpit has greater influence than any monarch, underscoring the immense power and privilege of gospel ministry.

The great design and intention of the office of a Christian priest and preacher are to restore the throne and dominion of God in the hearts of men, to display in the most lively colors and proclaim in the clearest language the wonderful perfections, offices, and grace of the Son of God, and to attract the souls of men into a state of everlasting friendship with Him. It's a work which an angel might wish for as an honor to his character. It's an office which every angel in heaven might covet to be employed in for a thousand years to come. It's such an honorable, important, and useful office tha...

60:22 - 61:49 Read in full sermon

The point: Exercise ministry with seriousness, authority, and conviction, knowing that you are a bearer of the Son of God Himself to men, not engaging in a light, flip, careless, casual, jokesy, or folksy ministry.

Martin quotes an unnamed author who describes preaching as supplying 'the living Christ with both feet and a mouth' in the 'empty space' between His victory and second coming, illustrating how Christ comes to us through the Word.

a flip into careless, casual, jokesy and folksy ministry when you know your sins and the Lord of lords and a bearer of the Son of God Himself to men? In the word and proclamation of the gospel, one has captured the wonder of it and written as follows, between Christ's victory at the cross and the open tomb and the consummation at His second coming lies an empty space of waiting. It is in this space, this gap, the empty space, that preaching sends forth its voice. Again, the time between Easter and the second coming is the time for preaching. Preaching supplies the living Christ with both feet ...

61:49 - 62:58 Read in full sermon

The point: Exercise ministry with seriousness, authority, and conviction, knowing that you are a bearer of the Son of God Himself to men, not engaging in a light, flip, careless, casual, jokesy, or folksy ministry.

Another quote emphasizes that Christ's command 'Go!' to His servants is simultaneously His own act of coming to preach peace, reinforcing the idea of Christ's presence in preaching.

What is it that makes us demand? What is it that makes us labor? Having secured a rivet truth upon your mind, it's the conscience that between Easter and the second coming, preaching is ordained of God to be Christ's feet and Christ's mouth. One again stated it so seriously, so simply, it struck me by the power of its simplicity, Christ's word, Go!

63:38 - 64:11 Read in full sermon

The point: Exercise ministry with seriousness, authority, and conviction, knowing that you are a bearer of the Son of God Himself to men, not engaging in a light, flip, careless, casual, jokesy, or folksy ministry.

The well-known story of George Whitefield rebuking a napping man in a New Jersey meeting house illustrates the authority and demand for a hearing that a commissioned preacher possesses.

I close with this rather well-known illustration from Whitefield's life, but if you've not heard it, perhaps it'll whet your appetite to read the briefer biography of Whitefield that's recently come out by Mr. Dollimore. He had complete confidence in his authority as a servant of Christ, and he was determined that it should receive the respect it deserved when he preached. Once in a New Jersey meeting house, writes his biographer, he noticed an old man settling down for his accustomed sermon-time nap.

64:27 - 65:02 Read in full sermon

The point: Remember that in preaching, you are dealing with the God of heaven, who offers salvation and life through His Son, and His servants proclaim His terms and invitation.

Martin recounts his own experience of rebuking a young woman preening her hair during his sermon, using it to demonstrate the conviction that a preacher, as a messenger of the Sovereign, has the right and duty to demand a hearing.

And he clapped his hands, and stomped his foot, and said, I must and I will be heard. Woke up startled. I must and I will be heard. When I had the temerity to rebuke a proud, vain young woman sitting up in the back row of a balcony in a Christian college a few years ago, who dared to sit there and preen her hair while I was preaching the word of God, and I waited for her attention, and she did not give it to me.

65:37 - 66:19 Read in full sermon