THE SPIRIT, THE POWER AND THE CROSS

In general, Christians tend to associate the person of the Spirit of God with power and manifestations of miracles. In fact, Jesus, just moments before ascending to heaven, told the disciples: "... but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses..." (Acts 1: 8). In this way, it is natural for those who live according to Christ to live in the power of the Spirit (Rom. 8: 5). The Apostle Paul said that when he was in Corinth, his preaching to them did not consist of “wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power" (1Corinthians2.4).

The book of Acts of the Apostles is filled with powerful actions of the Spirit performed by the disciples. Peter, for example, in his first preaching, brought to Christ "about three thousand people". Later, when he came with John in the temple, he healed a cripple from birth, which caused great admiration to those present. Questioned by the religious authorities and teachers of the law about that miracle, the text says that "Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit" gave clarification and announced Jesus to them, who were astonished at his courage and concerned with his actions of spiritual power (Acts3).

However, it should be noted that the power of the Spirit is also related to the life of suffering, in the light of the testimony of Christ. Jesus said: "υμας και εσεσθε μοι μαρτυρες" - "and you will be my witnesses". This word "witness", in Greek, "μαρτυρια" comes from the verb "μαρτμρέω" which means "I testify". It is clear, then, that to position oneself as a Christian before the world can result in pain, suffering and martyrdom. However, the power of the Spirit in the believer will help him endure such tribulations.

An emblematic case that shows these two faces of the power of the Holy Spirit can be observed in the episode in which the king Herod "arrested some who belonged to the church", killed James, brother of John, and later also arrested Peter. He, Peter, left prison with the help of an angel, but James was slain by the sword (Acts 12). We tend to exalt Peter's deliverance, but we are confused by the fact that God allowed James to die. Immersed in a hedonistic culture, we do not understand that James glorified God with his "μαρτυρια", that is, his faithful testimony until death.

Another example of the action of the Spirit of God, for glory and for pain, can be seen in the life of the Apostle Paul. Filled with the Spirit, he wrote almost half of the New Testament books and took the gospel to the Gentile world. He performed many miracles and had ineffable visions of the divine kingdom (2Co 12.2). However, as a servant of God he was often seen "in great endurance, in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work,  sleepless nights and hunger” (2Co6.4,5). About Paul, God said, "I will show him how much he must suffer for my name" (Acts 9:15, 16).

Antônio Maia – M.Div.

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