The Voice of The Spirit

The Authority Of A Letter

A second aspect that stands out in the epistle to the Corinthians is the issue of the authority of a prophetic letter. There is a definite emphasis on the part of the apostle to confirm that the counsel contained in the letter is the result of the teaching and orientation of the Spirit, and not his own wisdom. In fact, any argument that could be used to weaken or to destroy the importance of the letter’s contents is analyzed by the apostle and discarded as anathema. If anyone would question Paul’s capacity to give counsel, the answer of the Lord’s servant was: “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him” (1:27-29). There is no doubt, therefore, that the importance of the letter was not based on the human instrument that wrote it, but on the message it contained. VOTS 73.1

If yet another believer was to doubt Paul’s authority to give counsel, Paul’s answer was: “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.... This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words” (2:4, 5, 13). Clearly, the opinions expressed in the letter, although they were communicated by Paul in his characteristic language, cannot be considered his opinions but those of the Spirit. VOTS 74.1