Christian Blog

Paul speaks of his achievements as an evangelist as ‘those (things) which Christ wrought through me, for the obedience of the Gentiles, by word and deed…in the power of the Holy Ghost.’ Since Augustine the point has often been made that Christ is the true minister of the gospel sacraments, and the human celebrant acts merely as His hand. We need to remember the equally basic truth that Christ is the true minister of the gospel word, and the human preacher or witness acts merely as His mouth. (J.I. Packer, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1991), 86)