In a collection about experiential preaching, it is right to also include this topic. After all, the confession assumes preaching. It serves as a directive for preaching. In many churches it also serves as a guideline for preaching in each Sunday’s afternoon or evening service. Rightly so, because the confession is not theological dogma, but it serves to signify religion. It is not about reflections but about what is called the fear of the Lord, the reverent and loving daily communion or fellowship with the God of the covenant.

Therefore, there is every reason to connect the theme of “experiential preaching” with the three Forms of Unity.

Experientiality as broad as life⤒🔗

There are two questions we are concerned with here: What do the confessional documents say about experientiality itself? And also, do they give directions regarding experiential preaching?

Of course, answering these questions depends on the applied definition of experientiality. Experientiality refers to becoming aware. It is about the experience of faith. Experientiality belongs to the essence of faith, and it is not something in addition to faith, as though it would belong to the “well-being” of faith.

However, how broad is this experientiality? One frequently observes in the literature that it quotes the description in the Van Dale dictionary, according to which it would be, “becoming aware in the mind of communion or fellowship with God.” As a theological description, however, this definition falls short. It is too narrow, as if communion or fellowship with God is limited to or plays out in the mind. The life of faith is broader than the mind.

At the same time, Van Dale represents well what is commonly understood by experientiality. Although the first people to use the expression (in the early days of the Further or Second Reformation) knew that they stood amid God’s world, experientiality has increasingly become separated from the broad connection between world and society and drawn to within the walls of the “inner room.” It is remarkable that, despite the breadth of their definitions, many of those who today like to call communion or fellowship with God experientiality only mean the hidden communion or fellowship with God, the inner life with God.

However, if this internalization happens at the expense of the breadth-dimension of the life of faith, it is not a deepening at all, but an impoverishment of experientiality. Believing is an existential matter, and it permeates and controls the entire existence.

The confession knows nothing of the distinction between historical and saving faith. This distinction is commonly made in experiential circles, which see experientiality as the criterion for saving faith. The confession also does not know of distinctions between objective and subjective. When we hold the slide of the confession against the light of the Word of God, the life of faith appears as a unity.

Even though the term experientiality is thereby historically freighted, I do want to use it, and define it, connecting to T. Brienen, as “what the Holy Spirit does, that is to say, what God the Father and God the Son do through the Holy Spirit in the life of the believers, and what they themselves do through the leadership of God’s Spirit.” That includes justification as well as sanctification, the inner room as well as the world without. The work of the Spirit is hidden (Belgic Confession, Article 35), but its effect is not.

The Spirit in the believers←⤒🔗

If we now look at the confessions concerning that aspect, we bump into a flood of data when we ask what they say about experientiality. The work of the Holy Spirit—apart from his work in creation, cosmos, and history — is emphatically present.

The Heidelberg Catechism starts and ends with it. The well-known first Lord’s Day begins with a Trinitarian perspective. Belonging to Jesus Christ is explained in relation to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The work of the Father can be known through the Spirit. In translation, it says, “By his Holy Spirit the Saviour assures me of eternal life and makes me heartily prepared from now on to live for him.” Here we immediately see a reference to sanctification, the Deo vivere, the life before God.

The Catechism also ends with sanctification and the struggle it implies in the life of believers. One who prays “Lead us not into temptation” expects the power of the Holy Spirit who can uphold and strengthen, so that in this spiritual war we may not go down to defeat but always firmly resist until we finally obtain the complete victory (HC Lord’s Day 52). In the century that the Catechism was written, it was evident that this spiritual war was not only fought in the heart.

The acknowledgement of the Spirit as Author of regeneration is central, as he works faith by the Word, and by faith establishes the connection with Christ.

We are inclined to all evil, unless we are regenerated by the Spirit of God (HC Lord’s Day 3). A person cannot and will not return to God, improve his degenerated nature, or prepare himself for that without the renewing grace of the Holy Spirit (Canons of Dort Chapter III/IV, Article 3). The light of nature cannot do that, nor the law, but God does that by the power of his Spirit and the Word of reconciliation (Canons of Dort Chapter III/IV, Article 6; Chapter I, Article 7). He lets us preach the gospel, powerfully enlightens our mind, but also, the Canons of Dort say, also penetrates into our innermost recesses by the powerful working of his renewing Spirit. He opens what is closed, softens what is hard, and circumcises the uncircumcised heart. He instills new qualities into the will; makes the dead will alive; what was bad, good; what was unwilling, willing; and what was stubborn, obedient (Canons of Dort Chapter III/IV, Article 11; see Chapter V, Article 1; Belgic Confession, Article 24).

The Spirit works faith by the gospel. Faith is his gift (Canons of Dort Chapter II, Article 8). He himself witnesses in our heart that the gospel is of God (Belgic Confession, Article 5). Lord’s Day 7 gives a beautiful description “that not only to others, but also to me, God has granted forgiveness of sins, everlasting righteousness, and salvation, out of mere grace, only for the sake of Christ’s merits.” I know this with certainty, and I trust it with a confidence that the Holy Spirit works in my heart by the gospel.

By that faith the Spirit makes believers share in Christ and all his benefits (HC Lord’s Days 19, 20; Belgic Confession, Article 22). In that, the Spirit is not playing games with us by taking away everything today that he gave us yesterday: I believe, we say with HC Lord’s Day 20, that he is also given to me to remain with me forever. The Spirit seals (Belgic Confession, Article 27), and with respect to God that seal cannot be destroyed (Canons of Dort Chapter V, Article 8). By his Word and Spirit, Christ preserves us in the redemption obtained for us (HC Lord’s Day 12). Even if we deplorably fall into sin, God does not completely remove his Holy Spirit from us (Canons of Dort Chapter V, Article 6).

Further, the Spirit strengthens that faith by the use of the sacraments. Thereby he assures us that our entire salvation rests on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ (HC Lord’s Day 25). The Holy Spirit so unites us with Christ’s body that we are flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone (HC Lord’s Day 28-30).

Believers through the Spirit←⤒🔗

The Spirit also renews and sanctifies. In baptism, Christ washes me with his blood and Spirit of the impurity of my soul (HC Lord’s Day 26). That is to say that our sins are removed, and that we are renewed by the Holy Spirit and sanctified to be members of Christ and to walk in a God-fearing and blameless life (HC Lord’s Days 26, 27; Belgic Confession, Article 34).

That takes us to the second component of experientiality, what believers themselves do, led by the Holy Spirit. Christ renews us by his Spirit to be his image (HC Lord’s Day 32). That is what we must think of when Belgic Confession, Article 9 speaks of the working of the Holy Spirit that we “perceive in ourselves.” It says percipere, which is to feel, observe. The Spirit is our Sanctifier, Article 9 then notes. Through the Spirit, we seek what is above and not the things that are on earth (HC Lord’s Day 18).

This is what conversion is involved with, the dying of the old man and the coming to life of the new, living out of gratitude after God’s commandments (HC Lord’s Day 33).

The entire discussion of the Ten Commandments in the Catechism takes place from the viewpoint of renewal by the Spirit. This means that true experientiality, that is the daily life with God, has to do with keeping God’s Name pure (HC Lord’s Day 36), but also with keeping pure our souls and bodies (which are temples of the Holy Spirit) (HC Lord’s Day 41), and no less the environment (HC Lord’s Day 42). True experientiality has to do with charity towards those who suffer, maintaining Christian education, faithful use of the Lord’s supper, not letting oneself getting dragged along in the rat race of one’s existence, and living from the rest of the resurrection of Christ (HC Lord’s Day 38).

Friendliness, clean accounting, unlearning greed and our consumption-mentality: the confession looks at all that under the heading of renewal that occurs in the life of a person led by the Spirit, when he or she truly reckons with God (HC Lord’s Days 39, 42). That is experientiality, as well as the experience that the Spirit helps God’s children in it, as they struggle with themselves, the devil, and the world (HC Lord’s Days 20, 44; Belgic Confession, Article 29; Canons of Dort Chapter V, Article 2; Chapter V, Article 11).

Preached experientiality?←⤒🔗

We get to the second question that occupies us. Do the confessions also give directions for experiential preaching? Asking the question appears like answering it. Does it not stand to reason that, where the churches preach following the confession, that the proclamation has an experiential character? And would the preaching that starts with the Canons of Dort not also have to pay particular attention to the inner experience of the Christian’s faith? After all, more so than the Heidelberg Catechism and the Belgic Confession, the Canons of Dort depict faith in its origin, growth, struggle, temptation, and perseverance.

Yet, the answers to these questions are not as obvious as they may appear. Where people speak of experiential preaching, they frequently mean: preached experientiality. But experiential preaching and preaching experientiality are two matters that do not coincide.

This is evident when one sees what the confession says about preaching. Even though it does not provide a separate paragraph about it, just like it does not do that about experientiality, the confession is unambiguous about preaching. Preaching is the proclamation of the holy gospel (HC Lord’s Day 25). The promise of the gospel must be proclaimed, with the command to repent and to believe (Canons of Dort Chapter II, Article 5). In that way only is proclamation the key that opens and shuts the kingdom of heaven (HC Lord’s Day 31). The confession lists as one of the marks by which one may know the true church, that it practices the true preaching of the gospel (Belgic Confession, Article 29), the most joyful message as it is called elsewhere (Canons of Dort Chapter I, Article 3). It includes the law, the admonishments of the gospel (HC Lord’s Day 44; Canons of Dort Chapter III/IV, Article 17). In summary, the gospel offers Christ (Canons of Dort Chapter III/IV, Article 9). Compare also Belgic Confession, Articles 24, 30, 35; Canons of Dort Chapter III/IV, Articles 8, 17.

It will be clear how the believer in his daily communion or fellowship with God, or the unbeliever, appears in this preaching. They are not the content, but the address of the sermon. In the sermon they do not appear before themselves, but before God. The very joyful message of Christ must be proclaimed, not about, but to, people. Their experientiality is the fruit, not the content, let alone the source, of the proclamation.

Pastoral preaching←⤒🔗

Obviously the above does not imply that the life of the believer or unbeliever may not be mentioned in the sermon. To the contrary. The proclamation is not an announcement. The congregation of Christ and its members must be addressed in a personal way. In the confession, the tone is remarkably personal, especially in the catechism. It is not possible to hide anonymously behind the impersonal word “people.” The questions are directed personally: “What do you believe, what comfort does it give you?” And the answers come in the first person: I, we, my, us.

However, preaching remains the ministry of the gospel to the whole congregation. That ministry will have to be pastoral. One may not ignore questions asked by the congregation or that society asks of the congregation, and the needs of the congregation.

Doubt, temptation, regeneration, the fruits of election and conversion, and questions and responsibilities of being Christian in a non-Christian society must all be addressed in the preaching, each in their time, if the text gives occasion for it.

One who preaches about the fall into sin of David or Peter, for instance — as mentioned in Canons of Dort Chapter V, Article — does not proclaim the faith experience of people, but the wrath of God regarding sin and his forgiving love in Christ.

That is how faith experience has its place in Scripture and confession. Not as topics by themselves, and certainly not as a legalistic schema or as an order of salvation. That would If preaching in the sense of the confession is to remain preaching, then the Christian life must always have a place in the proclamation within the framework of God’s promises and demands. That is experiential preaching, if you will. In that way, a sermon relating to Canons of Dort Chapter I, Article 12 about the various stages in becoming assured of election does not dig into the inner layers of the soul but rather show who God wants to be for his children in the covenant. Likewise, a sermon connecting to the themes of a (re)conciliatory process — peace, righteousness, and whole-ness of creation — should also not be allowed to be limited to a description of our responsibility in this matter. That would be preached, if not demanded experientiality. Rather, it will let the floodlight of God’s Word aim at it and proclaim the mandate as one embedded in the covenant. After all, preaching is and remains, according to the confession, ministry of the very joyful message of Christ, along with its promises and demands.

Such preaching does not fossilize in theoretical aloofness, nor does it get stuck in a morass of introversion, it prevents old and new legalism, remains connected to the full reality and has people drink from the hidden source which is with God. Only in his light do we see the light.