The focus for God\u2019s Word to us today is our Epistle reading from 2 Corinthians 12. But before I turn to this, allow me to remind you about this word \u201cEpistle.\u201d<\/p>\n
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It is not a word we use much these days and if you didn\u2019t already know, this word refers to a letter that has been composed for the purpose of communicating news. Perhaps today we might call it a \u201cnewsletter,\u201d but even that word is falling out of use also.<\/p>\n
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Now in my Bible, the publishers have placed in red these words because they were words spoken directly to Paul from Jesus:<\/p>\n
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9 But he (the Lord Jesus) said to me, \u201cMy grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.\u201d<\/p>\n
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And then Paul goes on to write\u2026<\/p>\n
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Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.\u201d<\/p>\n
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How is it possible to be strong when you are weak? Many people might say that you cannot be both these things at the same time. Weak and strong are opposites. You\u2019re either weak or you\u2019re strong, not both.<\/p>\n
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This is what human reason would claim, but in Christ these apparent opposites find new meaning. And the truth of this new meaning is evidenced in Paul\u2019s own life and is what Christ seeks to reveal in our life also.<\/p>\n
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In this letter to the Corinthians, Paul is addressing a situation in which his ministry was being attacked and undermined. There were false apostles going around, telling people that they shouldn\u2019t listen to Paul.<\/p>\n
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They\u2019re saying things like: \u201cHe\u2019s not a real apostle because He wasn\u2019t one of the twelve who went around with Jesus. And just look at him, he\u2019s always getting into trouble, being run out of town. He doesn\u2019t look like someone blessed by God. So, don\u2019t listen to Paul. Listen to us instead.\u201d<\/p>\n
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That\u2019s what Paul is up against and in these closing chapters of 2 Corinthians. This is what Paul seeks to address.<\/p>\n
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\nNow notice Paul is not really interested in defending himself so much as defending his ministry, his gospel ministry, and the apostleship the Lord himself had entrusted him with. It\u2019s for the sake of the gospel of Christ that Paul is speaking to this situation.<\/p>\n
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And how does he do that? Well, he boasts, but not in the way we might think of boasting or in the way these other false apostles were boasting. This is what he writes\u2026<\/p>\n
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I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven\u2014whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. 3 And I know that this man was caught up into paradise\u2014whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows\u2014 4 and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter.<\/p>\n
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Paul here is indirectly talking about himself and these amazing experiences he\u2019s had which could compete with anything these false apostles had encountered and yet, he is willing to leave them behind.<\/p>\n
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I\u2019m not sure what kind of \u201cspiritual experiences\u201d you\u2019ve had, but for myself, I know that I\u2019ve never had anything like Paul\u2019s experience, being caught up to a third heaven. In fact, I find myself sometimes intimidated by even those experiences of other Christians I meet \u2013 who sometime talk about \u201chow Christ saved me from drugs, alcohol and the general ditch of life.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Maybe some of you can talk about such experiences or perhaps you find yourself saying things like, \u201cI\u2019ve been a faithful Christian all my life! I\u2019ve been a regular church attender all these years! I\u2019ve been on PPC or helped build this church! I\u2019m probably one of the top givers, too!\u201d<\/p>\n
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Now it\u2019s hard for me to imagine quiet, humble, modest Lutherans saying such things out loud. Maybe you haven\u2019t been caught up into paradise but how many times have you had thoughts like these?<\/p>\n
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Well, Paul didn\u2019t keep his pedigree quiet. In Philippians (3), he writes:<\/p>\n
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5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee\u2026and so on.<\/p>\n
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But then he writes,<\/p>\n
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7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ\u2026<\/p>\n
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That\u2019s really what Paul is saying here in this letter to the Corinthians. For Paul, if there is anything to boast of it is what Christ has done for him in his weakness. To be weak is better because Christ and his life-giving message is heard more clearly.<\/p>\n
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Paul then gives an example from his life of how the Lord kept him weak. He writes\u2026 <\/p>\n
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7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.<\/p>\n
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Now just think, if there\u2019s someone who deserved to be blessed and helped by God, I would think it would be Paul. But what does the Lord do to him instead? He gives him a thorn in the flesh! He lets Satan afflict him in some way. Perhaps this was a physical illness, we\u2019re not exactly sure. But in any case, it kept Paul humble, which was a good thing from Paul\u2019s perspective. The Lord used this affliction to keep Paul from getting puffed up and to keep him trusting the Lord for his strength.<\/p>\n
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Now did Paul like his weak circumstances. Of course not! Paul prayed to the Lord that he might take this thorn in the flesh from him, but you know what, that didn\u2019t happen. Instead, the Lord gave him a better answer. He said to him:<\/p>\n
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\u201cMy grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.\u201d<\/p>\n
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How many of us want to hear that answer to our weaknesses or to the weaknesses and difficulties being encountered by those we love? And yet, what an incredible answer this is.<\/p>\n
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\u201cMy grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Dear Christian friends, this is an answer for you in your weakness! The Lord\u2019s grace is sufficient for you! The Lord\u2019s power is made perfect in your weakness!<\/p>\n
\nWe may not like that answer and yet this eternal truth is the one we need to learn to grasp onto and cling to as we face all those weaknesses in our lives.
\nFor if you have the Lord\u2019s grace, that will be enough, more than enough to deal with your circumstances.<\/p>\n
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\u201cMy grace,\u201d Jesus says, \u201cMy grace is sufficient for you\u201d because it includes all the gifts Christ freely gives. Grace is God\u2019s undeserved favor, everything he gives you that Christ Jesus earned for you.<\/p>\n
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Someone once offered this acronym for \u201cgrace:\u201d G-R-A-C-E, God\u2019s Riches At Christ\u2019s Expense (repeat).<\/p>\n
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Just think of everything Christ has graciously done for you.<\/p>\n
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He has earned your place before God by what he did for you.<\/p>\n
\nHe fulfilled God\u2019s Law on your behalf. Jesus kept all the commandments you have broken; that you have failed to keep.<\/p>\n
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And yet, though innocent, he bore your sins in his body on the cross. Jesus suffered the punishment you and I deserve. He accepted the death penalty that was ours.<\/p>\n
\nWas this easy? No! Three times Jesus prayed that his suffering might be taken from him. \u201cNevertheless, Jesus prayed, not as I will, but thy will be done.\u201d<\/p>\n
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And so Jesus willingly went to the cross to bear the sin of the world, your sin and mine. He literally was given a thorn in the flesh, a whole crown full of thorns, pressed on his head. He took the nails in his hands and feet. He suffered the utter abandonment by God that we sinners deserve.<\/p>\n
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Christ\u2019s power was made perfect in his weakness which is another paradox. For in his being weak, in his suffering a completely humiliating death for us sinners, Jesus paradoxically displayed his power, crushing the serpent\u2019s head and delivering us from judgment and death.<\/p>\n
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And then finally, His resurrection shows that the victory is real. Jesus is your righteousness, your forgiveness, and your life!<\/p>\n
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So dear friends, this gospel \u2013 this good news \u2013 this archaic newsletter – doesn\u2019t appear very impressive or powerful. The message of the cross may sound like foolishness to the world; unimportant; a fairy-tale; a myth. It sounds like weakness, not power.<\/p>\n
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But for us who are being saved, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Therefore, \u201cLet the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.\u201d
\nThis is why Paul could boast in his weaknesses. And so can you.<\/p>\n
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For we are secure in Christ. We know our salvation rests secure in him. This is why we can be weak and accept times of weakness. This is why we can even boast in our weaknesses because it actually causes us to rely on Jesus all the more!<\/p>\n
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And so Paul writes:<\/p>\n
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\u201cTherefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.\u201d
\n\u201cWhen I am weak, then I am strong.\u201d<\/p>\n
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So, how are things for you? Do you feel your weaknesses or are you fighting against it \u2013 maybe even complaining to God about it?<\/p>\n
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Or maybe you know someone who suffers from one of the many forms of weakness out there, like loneliness or depression. Maybe you know somebody who has a thorn in the flesh, who has all kinds of physical ailments, and they\u2019re not getting better.<\/p>\n
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Well, dear friends, the Lord has a word for us today:<\/p>\n
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\u201cMy grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.\u201d<\/p>\n
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A message like that may not be the first thing you need to say to someone else struggling with one of life\u2019s weaknesses, but it is the message by which God makes strong those who are weak.<\/p>\n
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So, in your weaknesses, may God help you to hold onto, not your strength, but the promise of Christ: \u201cMy grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Take Christ\u2019s promise with you as you leave today:<\/p>\n
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\u201cMy grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.\u201d
\nAmen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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