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Orthodox Doctrine (Summary of Christian Divinity)
Metropolitan Platon of Moscow, tr. Pinkerton, 1814
Part 2, Section 27: Of the Preaching of the Apostles, and of the Church
By the influence of the Holy Ghost, the apostles preached the truths of the gospel in all the world, and they gathered a church consisting of all nations.
The wonderful effects accomplished by the preaching of the apostles, clearly prove that they were not produced by the power of man, but by the power of God. It transcends our comprehension to suppose that a small number of Christ’s disciples, who were of mean extraction, poor, without any kind of weapons, without eloquence or human wisdom, converted to the faith the noble, the powerful, and the wise, in every quarter of the world; a faith so diametrically in opposition to all the ancient traditions which prevailed in the world, and that overturned all the national forms of worship; a faith which never could find a place in the conception of the proud, and instead of favouring the evil propensities of men, required a rigid course of life, and promised continual persecution to all who should receive it. Did it seem at all possible to expect success in this most difficult undertaking? But those things that are impossible with men are possible with God. Hell and all its powers were in arms, in order to oppose these saving operations: but the rock Christ, on whom the Christian faith is founded, can never be moved. One of Christ’s apostles himself is amazed at these wonderful effects, and expresses himself thus: “God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are; that no flesh should glory in his presence.” 1 Cor. i. 27, 28, 29.
On the reception of the gospel by all nations in the east and the west, in the south and the north, a holy society of God’s chosen was formed; and this is the church of Christ, which is not like the Jewish church, confined to one nation; but is composed of many different nations, peoples, and tribes, under heaven, in every part of the world; and thus was fulfilled the promise which God made to Abraham, “in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” Gen. xxii. 18.