William Perkins' Preaching Ministry (Part 7)

Preparation 2: Method of Discovering Doctrinal Implications

William Perkins interprets the words “rightly dividing” of 2 Tim 2:15 to mean that that the word of God is to be handled in such a manner that it is enabled to edify the people of God. He identifies that there are just two ways to do this: (1) through resolution and (2) through application.

Perkins defines “resolution” as “the unfolding of the passage into its various doctrines, like the untwisting and loosening of a weaver’s web.” Within resolution there is what he calls “notation” and “collection.” The former, “notation,” is a doctrine explicitly expressed in the passage and thus easily discernable. Perkins views that Acts 2:24-27 and Rom 3:9-11 are examples of this type. The latter, “collection,” is a doctrine inexplicitly expressed in the passage but still discernable from the text. He advises that the “collection” method should be undertaken by discovering what is implied in the text. Table 4 shows few examples of the “collection” method provided by Perkins.

Table 4. Examples of William Perkins’ “Collection” Method

Example #1

What The Text Says (1 Cor 9:9): As it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing."

Implications Collected From The Text (1 Cor 9:4): Do we not have a right to eat and drink?

Example #2

What The Text Says (Gal 3:11): “The righteous man shall live by faith."

Implications Collected From The Text (Gal 3:11): Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident

This method reveals Perkins’ endeavor to discover doctrinal implications exclusively from the true and accurate meaning of the text. Otherwise, in Perkins own words, “we shall draw any doctrine from any place."

Perkins also argues from Acts 18:24 and 28 that doctrine accurately drawn out from the Bible is sufficient in and of itself. In other words, doctrine that is rooted in Scripture automatically carries its own authority, and therefore, the people of God ought to believe it on that basis alone. Henceforth, the preacher discovering biblical doctrines must not rely on the testimonies of the Fathers or the philosophers. They also do not need to find but a few scriptural proofs for doctrines they have discovered from Scripture, and sometimes none is necessary since the discovered doctrines are already scripturally based. Lastly, the preacher should not be criticized for teaching doctrine in such a manner (see 1 Cor 14:32, 37). Perkins’ method of discovering and preaching doctrinal implications solely from the Bible is commendable.

Notes:

• Perkins, The Art of Prophesying, 48.
• Ibid., 48.
• The Workes of That Famous and VVorthy Minister of Christ in the Vniversitie of Cambridge, M. VVilliam Perkins, 662.
• Perkins, The Art of Prophesying, 49.
• Perkins, The Workes of That Famous and VVorthy Minister of Christ in the Vniversitie of Cambridge, M. VVilliam Perkins, 663.
• Ibid., 665.