In chapter 4 of his first epistle to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul offers a piercing warning about the quiet spread of corruption and the futility of trying to cloak evil behind human manipulation. As he teaches, wickedness—like gangrene—can thrive unseen when left unaddressed. And though men may hide truth from one another, no such deception can stand before the angels, nor before the one true and inefable God.
Paul’s rebuke is not merely theological; it is profoundly moral. He condemns the tendency to remain silent about evil to preserve status, honor, or sensitivities. Doing so, he argues, allows evil to expand with greater ease. This is not the way of the Gospel. In contrast to worldly institutions that speak only to a chosen few, the true Gospel—revealed not through the corrupt traditions of the Hebrew scriptures but through Christ’s appearance to Paul—is universal and unflinching. It addresses all people without partiality, exposing sin and calling all to the higher law of love and grace.
Notably, Paul reminds us that complexity in a message should not be confused with concealment. Divine truth is not hidden; it is spiritually discerned. The spirit of the Living God, which dwells in us, is both liberty and sound reason. Truth, then, is not discovered by following the herd or allowing the mind to grow idle. Indeed, both paths lead to the same emptiness.
Pride, too, is a threat. It turns one’s focus inward, seeking advantage rather than liberation for the oppressed. Paul warns us not to trust in the lofty promises of leaders and representatives, but to judge all things by actions. For “the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.” This divine power is not brute force—it is spiritual efficacy. It is the performative nature of God’s word. As the Logos, the Word made flesh, Christ embodies this power: when He speaks, it is so.
In Marcionite theology, this power—dunamis in Greek—is the defining mark of the true God. Unlike the false deity of the Hebrew Bible, who demands obedience through fear and ritual, the God revealed through Jesus Christ brings transformation through grace and freedom. His word is not buried in endless laws or tribal customs. It is living, active, and final.
The Apostle Paul’s exhortation challenges us not to be passive believers, but active agents of our salvation. Prayer must be joined with action—what Paul calls “thanksgiving,” not as mere gratitude, but as lived faith. This is the divine vocation of the Christian: not to cower beneath the burdens of the Law, but to walk freely in the truth of the Gospel.
In conclusion, the message is clear: the kingdom is not established through hollow rhetoric or external ceremony. It is established in power—the divine power that convicts, heals, and liberates. This is the Gospel that Paul received, and the Gospel that we, as Marcionite Christians, continue to proclaim without compromise. Let those who have ears, hear. Amen.
