Strength in Weakness

2 Corinthians 11:30–12:10 NASB95

If I have to boast, I will boast of what pertains to my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, He who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. In Damascus the ethnarch under Aretas the king was guarding the city of the Damascenes in order to seize me, and I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and so escaped his hands. Boasting is necessary, though it is not profitable; but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a man was caught up to the third heaven. And I know how such a man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows— was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak. On behalf of such a man I will boast; but on my own behalf I will not boast, except in regard to my weaknesses. For if I do wish to boast I will not be foolish, for I will be speaking the truth; but I refrain from this, so that no one will credit me with more than he sees in me or hears from me. Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

INTRO: We live in an age that is obsessed with strength. Think about it: We have competitions designed specifically to see who is the strongest physically… Strong-man, olympics, football. You see a guy score a touchdown, and what does he do? He beats his chest, flexes his muscles and the crowd goes wild.

We have other strength-related competitions- debates where we test our mental-strength for example. We never cheer the loser. We don’t celebrate the weak.

But the strong - We put these folks up on a pedestal and then wonder why they are so arrogant. And at the same time, we want to be strong too.

In our passage this morning, we pick up in the midst of the Apostle Paul’s appeal to the Corinthian church as he warned of the false teachers who arose among them. One characteristic of these false teachers is that they presented themselves as ‘strong’ - they even called themselves “super-apostles”.

And Paul was pointing out how boastful these false teachers were- they boasted constantly about their qualifications and accomplishments. These folks were selling themselves as servants of God, yet were in reality simply leveraging the church’s ignorance for personal gain. (2 Cor. 11:20) These were not Godly leaders, but ravenous wolves.

So, in an effort to warn the Corinthian Church, Paul illuminates the opportunities he had for boasting -

He could boast in his Hebrew identity just like the Judaizers. (11:22)

He could boast in his service to Christ (11:23-27)

He could boast in his love for the saints (11:28-29)

He could boast in his personal sacrifice (11:32-33)

He could boast in the grand visions that God afforded him (12:1-5)

If boasting is what the church in Corinth needed to hear in order to see the legitimacy of Paul’s ministry and the truth of the Gospel, then Paul could certainly indulge them.

Yet, over and over, he exclaims- I will not boast of these things, but only in what pertains to my weaknesses. (11:30, 12:5-6,9-10). Of course, this all aligns with Paul’s earlier quotation of the prophet Jeremiah in

2 Corinthians 10:17 NASB95

But he who boasts is to boast in the Lord.

Now, we could clue in on some great lessons about our own propensity to boast and even the danger of elevating another to unhealthy levels of esteem. The idolatry we have created with celebrity culture- whether we are talking actors, athletes, politician, or preachers is dangerous and ungodly. But for now, I will leave that subject with a simple warning:

God alone is worthy of our worship and the consequences of self-exaltation and idolatry are grave.

What I want to lean into today is the topic of weaknesses. Paul repeats the concept of boasting in his weaknesses several times in our passage. Because of this repetition, we must slow down and examine this odd statement.

Now, I understand that this might not appear like a great topic… after all, who wants to admit to having weaknesses? But as we cover this, you are going to see how God meets some of our deepest needs through His Word.

You see, I believe that Paul gives us some great insights about our own weaknesses. What are they? Where do they come from? What is their purpose? How do we navigate them? These are questions the text readily answers and ones that will hopefully resonate in your heart as we walk through them.

So, Let’s begin - if you picked up a bulletin, you can make use of the sermon guide on the inside flap to make notes as we go.

What Weaknesses?

Paul talks about weaknesses a lot here, so naturally we should want to know what weaknesses he is talking about. Is it physical weakness? Is it spiritual weakness?

Let me point you to verse 10 where he gives up 4 categories of weaknesses: (READ)

2 Corinthians 12:10 NASB95

Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

Insults - Most of us know what insults are. How many of you have been insulted? The word-picture of insult is like when a ship is damaged because it took a hit.

When we are insulted, it is a hit. This is especially true when we are insulted in our work for the Gospel.

Distresses - We could say “hardships” or other circumstances that are forced upon you.

You weren’t planning on this event or situation, but you are in it and it’s hard. (Can you relate?)

Persecutions - This is when you are wounded because of your faith.

You might be treated poorly or harshly as a Christian who is against abortion or against the LGBTQ+ agenda. You’re not mean about it, but you are on the opposite side of an aggressive culture.

Difficulties - This might sound generic, but it’s the idea of a crushing pressure.

We might consider circumstances that are so overwhelming that we are stressed out to the max. You are not sure you can take much more.

These are the weaknesses Paul talked about. You might have noticed that sin does not fall into this category of weakness. You might think, I have a weakness for lust or for over-eating… Friends, these are weaknesses, but they are weaknesses you can control.

Can you imagine Paul saying that the power of Christ is made perfect in my sins or in my poor choices? NO!

When we consider the weaknesses in our lives, we are talking circumstances and wounds that make us look weak. These are things that we’d rather not put on Facebook and if we had the ability to get rid of these things, we’d do it in a heartbeat.

We want to be strong enough that when someone insults us, we can “destroy” them with our own clever insult.

We want to be strong enough that we can overcome any so-called hardship or distress that we may encounter.

We want to be strong enough that when someone wrongs us or persecutes us, we can truly teach them a lesson.

We want to be strong enough that we can handle the pressures and difficulties of life.

But that’s the strength that the world measures. Remember what we learned in

1 Corinthians 1:27 NASB95

but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,

And again,

1 Corinthians 4:10 NASB95

We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are prudent in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are distinguished, but we are without honor.

Christian brothers and sisters, the weaknesses Paul identifies are things that are out of your hands.

Are you struggling with any of these weaknesses today? You don’t have to be ashamed. They are situations or injuries that you’ve sustained which basically point to our humanity.

Discuss: What are the 4 categories of weaknesses Paul describes? Why is sin not among them?

Now that we’ve identified what weaknesses are, we have to ask

Why Weaknesses?

Have you ever asked this question? Why?

It’s the question I hear so often:

Why am I going through this?

Why insults, distress, persecution, difficulties?

Why cancer?

Why can’t I have children?

Why don’t I have any friends?

Why is my life falling apart?

Paul helps us to see how this comes together. Look with me at verse 7 (READ)

Paul describes a weakness he has as a “thorn in the flesh”.

Now, if you look up a few verses, Paul is talking about this grand vision- he was caught up in Paradise and heard things that he could not repeat! This was no ordinary event- I imagine that if that happened to me or you, we’d be awfully tempted to think pretty highly of ourselves. “Yep… God thinks enough of me to give me a taste of glory!”

I don’t know what the thorn in the flesh was- some folks speculate that it could be a physical ailment, constantly reminding Paul of his limitations. Others say it could be a type of mental anguish- guilt of his former life persecuting the church that formed into a traumatic PTSD-type disorder.

A classmate of mine in seminary suggested it could be Paul’s mother-in-law, but I don’t think he had any real evidence… (Just making sure you’re awake!)

What we do know is that this weakness- this thorn was describes as a messenger of Satan, given to harass or torment him. That what Satan’s purpose… Satan’s whole goal is to “Steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10).

But Satan is not the only one at work here! God is working too. Listen to what Paul says 2x in v. 7 “To keep me from exalting myself...”

Satan is not all-knowing. He didn’t know what God had in mind! God was giving a gift to Paul… and Satan unknowingly was part of it. Satan is working for evil, God is working for the good!

Look at how Paul’s prayer was answered by God saying (9) that “power is perfected in weakness.”

In other words, God in His sovereignty took that which Satan intended for destruction and turned it into a sanctifying work! We see this in the life of Job. We see this in the life of Joseph. You see, Satan does not have the final word!

Friends, you and I need to understand that in the midst of our weaknesses- when our world seems to be spiraling out of control, God is holding onto us! Truly, our weaknesses are areas where God is working. In our weakness, the power of Christ dwells in us.

Our weaknesses are out of our hands, but not out of God’s. They may come as an attack from Satan, but God ALWAYS works them for our good and His glory! (Rom. 8:28)

Discuss: Have you noticed God working in the midst of what is otherwise a “thorn” in your life?

Finally, we ask the question:

How Do We Deal With Weaknesses?

Well, as we look back to our text, we see Paul answer from his experience.

We saw Satan’s purpose- to torment him. (7). And I believe it did torment Paul for a time. So how did Paul respond?’

He prayed. Paul prayed desperately on 3 separate occasions that God would remove this weakness which he called a thorn in the flesh. And I believe that prayer should be our first response as well.

If we have spent any time in Scripture, we hear the call from God-

1 Peter 5:7 NASB95

casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

Matthew 11:28 NASB95

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

1 John 5:14 NASB95

This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

Prayer is our first response. And look, God may choose to pull you out of your weakness- like the 3 Hebrew boys He pulled out of the fiery furnace. He may choose to deliver you as He did so many through the healing ministry of Jesus and the apostles. Your weakness just might be temporary.

But God did not remove Paul’s ‘thorn’. Instead, He told Paul “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness..”

What does this mean? What does this mean when our weakened circumstance remains? When our cancer does not go away? When our age reduces our mobility? When things are not getting any better?

You see, when God says His grace is sufficient, He is telling us that He has overcome this world and that His eternal purpose and plan are perfect. He is saying that His salvation has made perfect this old sinner in the eyes of the Father. He is saying that His offer of grace stands apart from any worldly promise of triumph, for He is the Prince of Peace, He is Immanuel - God With Us!

Perhaps in your weakness, God is saying to you, “Hold on, child! I am with you!”

So what do you do? Look with me to Paul’s response to God. Let’s read 9b-10 again (READ)

BOAST of your weakness so that the power of Christ may dwell within you. Boast in your weakness for it is here that Christ meets us- He who became weak for our sake… weak in the eyes of those who peered in that manger and saw a helpless baby boy. Weak in the eyes of the Roman soldiers who hung him on that cross and pierced his side. Weak in the eyes of those who lay him in that tomb.

But that’s not the end of the story. One day, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is LORD!!

As we close this morning, perhaps you are in the throes of one such weakness. I want to encourage you to trust that the God who created you and called you is at work. Could it be that God wants to use your weakness to transform you? To display His glory to a family member or friend who is lost? Could it be that God desires to use your circumstance in order to deliver eternal hope to the next generation?

May it be that we can say along with Paul, I am well-pleased in weaknesses… or as the song goes, “It is well, it is well with my soul!”

Discuss: Read Romans 5:3-5 and discuss why weaknesses seem to be a marker of faithful Christians.

[Pray]