Paul’s Powerful Ministry
I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done — by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit Romans 15:18,19a
In 15:16-22 Paul explains the nature of his ministry, highlighting three features. He has firstly described it as a priestly ministry (15:16,17). We come now to the second description.
(2) it is a powerful ministry (15:18,19a)
‘I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done— 19 by the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God’ (15:18,19a). Note five prime features of Paul’s ministry.
First, the objective of the ministry is ‘leading the Gentiles to obey God’ (15:18). In 1:5 and 16:26 the emphasis is on the obedience of faith; here it is the obedience of the Gentiles. Paul’s objective was to bring people to Christ, specifically to faith in Christ (1:16). He recognised that obedience was a consequence of saving faith.
Secondly, Paul refuses to recount his own exploits. He will only talk about ‘what Christ has accomplished through me’ (15:18). Paul thinks of himself as Christ’s agent or instrument, so Christ works ‘through’ him. If the work is Christ’s, the glory will be His also.
Thirdly, what Christ has accomplished has been ‘by what I have said and done’ (literally; by word and deed [15:18]). We learn both through our eyes and ears. Words explain works but works dramatise words. After His ascension, Jesus continued ‘to do and to teach’ through His apostles (Acts 1:1).
Fourthly, Christ’s ministry through Paul was ‘by the power of signs and miracles’ (15:19). This brings together the three commonest biblical terms for the supernatural: ‘signs’ speaks of their significance (especially in signifying the arrival of God’s kingdom), ‘powers’ their character (demonstrating God’s power over the natural order) and ‘wonders’ their effects (bringing amazement). ‘Signs and wonders’ (NIV ‘miracles’) is standard biblical terminology for miraculous acts that give credence to God’s word. The phrase is prominent in the Old Testament descriptions of the exodus (Exodus 7:3,9; 11:9,10; Deuteronomy 4:34) and in the book of Acts (Acts 2:22,43; 4:30; 5:12; 14:3; 15:12). Paul might use this expression in this part of his letter because he was God’s “point man” to open up the Gentile world to the gospel.
Fifthly, Paul’s ministry was ‘through the power of the Spirit’ (15:19). Paul separates this clause from the prior one concerning ‘signs and miracles’ which means he saw it as a separate category. Miracles are demonstrations of the Spirit’s power but here Paul might have had in mind ‘what I have said’ (15:18). If so ‘what I have said’ relates to ‘the power of the Holy Spirit’ and ‘what I have … done’ to ‘the power of signs and miracles.’ Every conversion is a power encounter, in which the Spirit, through the gospel, confirms God’s words with power in the minds, hearts, consciences and wills of the hearers, to rescue and regenerate them.
So Paul saw his ministry as priestly (15:18,19a) and powerful (15:19b,20). He has one more description to come.