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Theodore Epp
Theodore H. Epp (January 27, 1907–October 13, 1985) was an American Christian preacher, radio evangelist, and author, best known as the founding director of Back to the Bible, a globally influential radio ministry. Born in Oraibi, Arizona, to Russian Mennonite immigrant missionaries working with the Hopi Indians, Epp grew up in a faith-filled environment. Converted at age 20 in 1927 under Norman B. Harrison’s teaching in Flagstaff, Arizona, he pursued theological education at Oklahoma Bible Academy, Hesston College in Kansas, and the Bible Institute of Los Angeles (now Biola University), earning a Th.M. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1932. Epp’s preaching career began as a pastor in Goltry, Oklahoma, at Zoar Mennonite Church (1932–1936), where he married Matilda Schmidt in 1930, raising six children—Gerald (who died young), Eleanor, Herbert, Bernice, Marilyn, and Virginia. In 1936, he joined T. Myron Webb’s radio ministry, and on May 1, 1939, launched Back to the Bible in Lincoln, Nebraska, with just $65, trusting God for provision. The program grew from a 15-minute local broadcast to a daily 30-minute show on over 800 stations worldwide in eight languages by his 1985 retirement, featuring his expository preaching and music from the Back to the Bible choir and quartet. He authored nearly 70 books, including David: A Man After the Heart of God and Practical Studies in Revelation, emphasizing practical faith and biblical literacy.
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Theodore Epp emphasizes the profound love of the Holy Spirit, illustrating that He is a Person with emotions who actively loves and influences us. Romans 15:30 highlights the Spirit's love, urging believers to pray together, while the sermon connects this love to the love of the Father and the Son, as seen in John 3:16 and Philippians 2:5-8. Epp points out that the Holy Spirit not only seeks us in our sin but also regenerates and transforms us upon our acceptance of Christ. The sermon concludes by affirming that our spiritual salvation is deeply rooted in the love of the Holy Spirit, alongside the love of the Father and the Son. Ultimately, the fruit of the Spirit is love, as stated in Galatians 5:22.
The Spirit Also Loves You!
Romans 15:30-33 The Holy Spirit is a Person because He has emotions. He has the ability to love. Romans 15:30 says, "Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me." This teaches us that the Holy Spirit has the capacity to love. He not only influences us to love, but He also loves us. John 3:16 reveals that God the Father loves us. Philippians 2:5-8 describes how the Lord Jesus Christ loved us personally by making Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant and becoming obedient to death on the cross. There is no question about His love for us. Neither is there any question about the Holy Spirit's love for us. He patiently seeks us when we are in sin and away from God, and when we trust Christ as Saviour, He regenerates us and begins to transform us into the image of God's Son. If the Father had not loved the world, if the Son had not loved us and died for us, if the Holy Spirit had not loved us, convicted us and transformed us, where would we be spiritually today? Our salvation depends as much on the love of the Spirit as it does on the love of the Father and of the Son. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love" (Gal. 5:22).
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Theodore H. Epp (January 27, 1907–October 13, 1985) was an American Christian preacher, radio evangelist, and author, best known as the founding director of Back to the Bible, a globally influential radio ministry. Born in Oraibi, Arizona, to Russian Mennonite immigrant missionaries working with the Hopi Indians, Epp grew up in a faith-filled environment. Converted at age 20 in 1927 under Norman B. Harrison’s teaching in Flagstaff, Arizona, he pursued theological education at Oklahoma Bible Academy, Hesston College in Kansas, and the Bible Institute of Los Angeles (now Biola University), earning a Th.M. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1932. Epp’s preaching career began as a pastor in Goltry, Oklahoma, at Zoar Mennonite Church (1932–1936), where he married Matilda Schmidt in 1930, raising six children—Gerald (who died young), Eleanor, Herbert, Bernice, Marilyn, and Virginia. In 1936, he joined T. Myron Webb’s radio ministry, and on May 1, 1939, launched Back to the Bible in Lincoln, Nebraska, with just $65, trusting God for provision. The program grew from a 15-minute local broadcast to a daily 30-minute show on over 800 stations worldwide in eight languages by his 1985 retirement, featuring his expository preaching and music from the Back to the Bible choir and quartet. He authored nearly 70 books, including David: A Man After the Heart of God and Practical Studies in Revelation, emphasizing practical faith and biblical literacy.