St. Paul writes in the second chapter of his first letter to the Corinthian church about the centrality of God in his ministry. Before his journey to the church at Corinth, Paul had been to Athens, where he tried to convince the Athenians with several arguments—he engaged them from their perspective: “For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you” (Acts 17:23). But he soon realized the limitations of debates in conveying the mysteries of God.
Change of Preaching Style
Saint Paul writes to the Corinthian church: “When I came to proclaim the message of Jesus Christ, my proclamation was not with lofty words of wisdom rather with the demonstration of the Spirit and Power of God” (1 Cor. 2:1). It feels as if St Paul now understood that human wisdom is not enough to change (convert) anyone, for “It is the Spirit that gives life; the flesh has nothing to offer” (John 6:63).
Yet, the temptation to idolize human skills is not far-fetched. On one occasion, residents of some towns where God wrought mighty miracles through Paul tried to make Paul and his companions objects of worship (Acts 14:12-15). Paul has mastery in distancing himself from the miracles of God and ascribing the miracles to God. We see this in the lives of the other disciples and, indeed, the saints also. Acknowledging our place, roles, and responsibilities within the plan of God is important. We contribute to the essential goal of orchestrating and manifesting the will of God. Saint Paul captures this reality when he says, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase” (1 Cor. 3:6). We could plant and water but could not make the seed germinate. The power of the Holy Spirit, the architect of the human heart, overcomes human limitations in the ministry of the gospel to fulfill God’s plan.
Demonstrating the Spirit and Power
Saint Paul’s service to the gospel is marked by signs, wonders, sufferings, persecutions, consolations, joys, epistles, et cetera. The impact of Paul’s ministry is beyond ordinary human capacity. He truly demonstrated the power of the Holy Spirit over unbelief, demons, sickness, wretchedness, etc. He knew he was not alone. Thus, he declared, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength” (Phil 4:13).
Today’s Experience
I read a quote somewhere. I will try to paraphrase it: “…Although the miraculous is not the complete gospel, the gospel would not be complete without the miracles.” In Mark’s gospel we read the list of the “signs” that will accompany those who believe in Christ. This means that demonstrating the Spirit and His power is not a show-off. It is not a disruption of the Body of Christ. Instead, it builds the Body of Christ and dismantles the kingdom of darkness. Human skill sets are essential in presenting the gospel message but not enough. To put it simply, demonstrating the Spirit entails yielding to the Holy Spirit. The leading of the Holy Spirit produces results that show Christ as the Lord, ensuring the completeness and power of the gospel.
