For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.
All Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 4:20 Go To 1 Corinthians 4
Cornelius a Lapide
AD 1637
For the Kingdom of God is not in word but in power. The spiritual energy and Christian, and especially Apostolic perfection, in which God reigns, and displays in us and in the Church the effectual working of the Gospel of His grace and Spirit, are not to be found in eloquence, but in the powerful working of the Holy Spirit, viz, in convincing speech, in the power of miracles, in the expulsion of demons, and, as Theophylact and Cajetan say, still more in the sufferings of the Apostle"s life described in vers9-11 , and in conversion of character and in holy living. Song of Solomon , too, say S. Chrysostom and Anselm: For S. John Baptist did no miracle, and yet began to preach the Kingdom of God in the power of a holy life, in the spirit and efficacy of preaching and exhortation. Cf. the parallel expression in Romans 14:17.
