4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
NKJV
My Comments:
If there's anything we need now more than ever; it's a demonstration of God in His Glory and Power in the church, especially as that we draw nearer to Jesus' soon return with every day that passes.
The word for "demonstration" is the Greek word "apodeixis", which is derived further from the word "apodeiknumi" which means "to show off i.e. exhibit, to accredit or demonstrate". God's in the show business! He's in the business of displaying Himself to the world to show them just how real He is. It's like He
The word for "power" is the word "dunamis", from which we came up with dynamite. Dunamis refers to either a literal or figurative force, and is used usually for the phrase 'miraculous power' I personally believe it refers to the working of miracles done that can't be explained away by human reasoning, and is a visible sign of the existence of God. To me, dunamis is simply God in action!
By going through the New Testament, we can find that Jesus did more than just teach; He demonstrated the power of God through visible signs and wonders. Healings happened. A woman suffering from a blood disorder was healed through that dunamis power working through Him. (Mark 5:30) Multitudes wanted to touch Him because that dunamis power was more than able to heal them all (Luke 6:19)
In Acts, Peter describe Jesus as a man approved ("apodeiknumi" again meaning accredited) by God through that dunamis power working in Him. (Acts 2:22). Jesus was anointed by God with the Holy Spirit and with power ("dunamis") to go about doing good, healing all who were oppressed (Acts 10:38). God worked a special miracle ('dunamis') through Paul, in that cloths that came in contact with his body had the power to cast out devils and drive out disease.
Jesus promised us that we'll receive dunamis after receiving the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). He is the Head, we are the Body. If the Head was anointed by God with the Holy Spirit and dunamis, the Body should also be anointed by God with the Holy Spirit and dunamis!
I have nothing against theologians and apologetics in general. I appreciate what they're doing. But debating theology with people of other religions won't get you anywhere. A visible demonstration of God will!
