In Word or in Power

At the end of 1 Corinthians 4, Paul tells the Corinthian believers that he will be sending Timothy to them as an example of what he wants them to be in their Christian lives. He goes on to rebuke them for their arrogance in proclaiming themselves to be mature Christians while living without any evidence of the power of God in their lives. In verse 20, he sums his point up perfectly: "For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power." By insisting that the kingdom's heartbeat is evidenced in power, not in words, Paul throws down a personal challenge: if our gatherings, our sermons, and our devotions lack clear evidence of God's presence and might, we have settled for empty religion.