In the second chapter of Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth, he said he came to them as if he knew nothing other than Christ and Him crucified. “And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling” (1 Cor. 2:3, KJV).
Those of us who have read the biblical account of Paul’s conversion and who have read at least some of his epistles know that he knew much more than simply Christ and Him crucified. Furthermore, weakness, fear, and much trembling were not the norm for Paul. He was a bold and fearless servant of Christ.
So, why did he come before the church at Corinth that way? “That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God” (verse 5).
Even though Paul possessed incredible wisdom, he did not want the people to become infatuated with his impressive words or theological depth. Rather, he wanted them to have faith in the power of God and in the works of the Holy Spirit.
Similarly, the church of today needs to have more faith in the power of God. For that to happen, preachers must be more diligent in proclaiming the message of the power of God in our pulpits. That’s because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17).
Unbelief Negates Seeing the Power of God
Unbelief negatively affects our ability to experience the power of God. We find an excellent example of that in Matthew’s record of the gospel. He records the time Jesus came to His own country. He could do little there in the way of mighty works because of the people’s unbelief (Matthew 13:58).
Jesus was no less capable of doing great things in His own country than He had done in other places. And He is no less capable of doing things in our midst today than He was in times of old. But faith is the only climate in which we can experience the power of God among His people.
I sometimes hear some say they wonder why these days we seldom see the kinds of miracles that God and Jesus performed during Bible times. The truth is that God has not changed (Malachi 3:6). He can still do “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think…” (Ephesians 3:20). But the power of God works only in an environment of faith.
Sometimes, Jesus rebuked His disciples because of their lack of faith (Matthew 17:20; Mark 4:40). Moreover, He asked, “When the Son of man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8, NASB). This question has serious implications on our ability to experience the power of God in these last days.
Christians go to the house of God talking about how awesome He is. They sing songs about His boundless power. But that’s not enough to witness Him in our churches with healing and miraculous ministry to His people. We must come with genuine faith and expectancy to see and to experience the power of God.
Copyright © 2023 by Frank King. All rights reserved.