Serve FBCL Well in Your Weakness 2 Corinthians 4:7-18

Hudson Taylor was born into a Methodist Christian family in Barnsley Yorkshire; John Wesley was a guest in their home when he was a boy. Taylor developed a love for Jesus at a young age. When he was five years old, he told his family that he wanted to be a missionary to China one day. As a young boy though, Hudson had to be schooled at home because he was frail and often sick as a child. It is a condition he had to deal with all of his life.

In 1849, Taylor felt the Lord’s call on his life to be a missionary to China, at the age of seventeen. Hudson had grown a deep conviction to depend on God for all his needs. Much like George Mueller, he committed to pray and ask God alone for everything he needed for ministry. He would spend his life in poverty living off little money and meals that consisted only of oatmeal and rice.

In 1853, Taylor set sail for China. When he arrived he had little support for many of the other missionaries had either died or left the country because of the hardship. Taylor spent much of his life poor, sick, lonely, and in sorrow. He lost his wife and infant son to cholera. He was often doubted by his missionary organization for his evangelizing methods, and he was constantly surrounded by Chinese nationals who did not care for white westerners.

Hudson once said, in describing his call to ministry, he said

“I often think that God must have been looking for someone small enough and weak enough for Him to use, and that He found me.” Hudson Taylor

In the closing months of his life, he was so frail that he wrote to a friend and said,

“I am so weak, I cannot even pray. I can only lie still in God’s arms like a little child and trust.” Hudson Taylor

Weakness is one word that describes Hudson Taylor. He was physically small in stature. He had a frail disposition. He was not much to brag about as a man and in the world’s estimation. He was often underestimated as a missionary by his own sending organization. Because of his frailty, he was told too many times to hung it and go home.

The problem with being weak in this world is that it leads to discouragement and despondency. Paul calls it “loosing heart.” Loosing heart tempts the believer to quit, to give up, to stop serving in the ministry, or to stop joyfully advancing the kingdom of God by making much of Jesus. Had Hudson Taylor believed that others believed about weakness in the hands of God, he would’ve lost heart and not become one of the greatest and most effective missionaries in the Western World.

The Weakness of the Corinthian Church

The first letter Paul sent to the Corinthian church did not land well on the church. Timothy had returned to Paul in Ephesus reporting that the church was struggling to remain faithful to the gospel it first received. There were false apostles corrupting the teaching of the church; likely Judaizers who were instructing the Gentile believers that that had to live according to Mosiac regulations.

After Paul’s second visit to the church, he described it as sorrowful (1 Cor 2:1; 13:2). The false teachers were trying to get the church to disown Paul. Paul wrote an even more severe letter of rebuke to Corinth from Ephesus (Eph 2:3-4, 9), which is now lost. He sent this letter by Titus. Thankfully, Titus came back to Paul and reported that most of the church had repented (1 Cor 7:5-7), but some were still rejecting Paul’s authority. Paul decided to write 2 Corinthians expressing his relief that they repented on the one hand, and convincing the minority holdouts to come around.

In 2 Cor 3:7-4:6, Paul tries to lift spirit of the church up by helping them understand the new covenant they lived under in Christ, where God has removed the veil from our hearts and reveals his glory, and empowers us in our sanctification, and that empowerment in our sanctification is most seen in our weakness. Paul explains that God uses our weakness to display his power in glory as he advances his kingdom. Paul explains using his own ministry of the gospel.

Paul asserts that weak servants of Jesus both share in the knowledge of the glory of God and are being transformed into the image of Christ (2 Cor 3:18), in their frail human bodies, often through affliction and persecution. Paul’s ministry has been one of suffering, but his suffering had benefited the church ( 2 Cor 4:8-10), so he persevered faithfully.

Furthermore, Paul says that all believers in Christ can hold fast in the faith doing effective gospel ministry because they know that on the one hand, they will be raised from the dead because Jesus was raised form the dead, and on the other hand, their suffering is only for a season, and will not compare to the eternal glory and reward God has for his people. With this in mind he says, do not loose heart. Do not let your weakness keep you from serving the Lord. In fact, your weakness is exactly what God desires to do great and mighty things for his kingdom. Hudson Taylor believed the truth from Paul’s text that I’m giving you today:

Because God empowers weak servants for gospel ministry you will joyfully advance the kingdom of God in Litchfield effectively for His glory.

I don’t want you to loose heart, and neither does the Lord. I want to steady your heart with six truths from Paul’s ministry in our text that will help you serve well at FBCL.

You can serve well at FBCL knowing the power of God is revealed in your weakness. (2 Corinthians 4:7)

Paul describes our weakness by comparing us to jars of clay. In antiquity, a jar of clay was a cheap thin clay container that was used for common purposes. They were to brittle that the jars often broke and so common that they were easily disposable.

Paul says our whole existence of life on this planet is like a jar of clay. Its not just your physical body, but everything it entails being human; your flesh, your feelings, your thoughts, your desires, everything. Our bodies and minds and hearts are so brittle and easily broken. We are weak by nature.

Paul gives us some insight to what it means to be weak in 2 Cor 4:8-10

2 Corinthians 4:8–10 (ESV)

We are afflicted in every way...perplexed; persecuted, struck down; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus,

To be afflicted is to be troubled or overwhelmed by physical and/or psychological suffering.

To be perplexed is to be in a state of confusion or a loss for words. It could be despondency. Depression can be just as debilitating as a physical sickness. It is easy to loose heart when the darkness of the soul will not lift.

Persecuted is being hated by your fellow man because you love Jesus. Your family wants nothing to do with you because of your faith in Christ. Your friends have left you because you find more happiness in God’s holiness than in their debauchery. Your community despises you, imprisons you, takes your property, and kills your sons and daughters because you value your citizenship in heaven more than their pagan political ideology.

To be struck down is likened to a wrestler who is thrown to the floor. Its the idea of being setback, or put back, in a bad spot. A wrestler who is thrown to the floor on his back is on the verge of being defeated. This feeling is common in gospel ministry; always feeling like we are on the verge of being defeated.

Finally, to carry around the death of Jesus is to suffer repeatedly, as he did, for the Father’s glory.

Its worth mentioning here that our weakness is not just physical. Paul is quick to tell the church Eph 6:12

Ephesians 6:12 ESV

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

We have a powerful enemy in Satan, and he roams the earth looking for opportunities to devour the faith of the saints. On our own, we do not stand a chance against such a formidable foe. He likes to attack your soul. Its a spiritual war we cannot see, but we must be very aware of in this life.

When the world looks at us though this lens, we are weak. Like the jar of clays, we are not the kind of container you’d want to put something of value. And yet, Paul says God has put his treasure in us.

The treasure God has put in us is the knowledge of His God’s glory and the gospel of His salvation. Look back at

2 Corinthians 4:6 ESV

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

God put his glorious message of hope into fallen frail sinners so it could shine through the cracks and holes of our weakness. God shines his spiritual light into the darkness of of sinners by giving them life. Sinners are dead in their trespasses and sins. God shines his light, that is, makes them alive in Christ through his surpassing power.

It’s the surpassing power of God to command light to shine in darkness as he did in Gen 1:3. By the same surpassing power of God to bring light to His creation, He commands the light of Christ to shine in the hearts of sinners, giving them a new birth (John 3:5), making them a new creation in Christ (2 Cor 5:17). Furthermore, that new creation light that shines in you is what he uses to bring light to the darkness of others, most effectively through your weaknesses.

Sometimes, church, we look at the darkness of Litchfield with all of the poverty, substance abuse, broken families, disability, and the unchurched, and the only thing we can see is a massive mountain. like Mount Everest. And although we would not say it out loud, we begin to believe in our hearts that we cannot overcome such an obstacle. We loose heart, so we sit in the pews and do nothing. When we do this, we view our difficulties through the lens of our weakness, and not in light of God’s power in our weakness. Taylor admonishes us this morning when he says,

“Many Christians estimate difficulties in the light of their own resources, and thus attempt little and often fail in the little they attempt. All God's giants have been weak men who did great things for God because they reckoned on His power and presence with them.” Hudson Taylor

You can serve well at FBCL knowing the power of God will sustain you in your affliction. (2 Corinthians 4:8-11)

In Paul’s list of human frailty’s he contrast them with the sustaining power of God. We are afflicted, but the power of God ensures we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but the power of God does not allow us to be driven to utter despair. We are persecuted, but the power God never leaves us or forsakes us. We are struck down, but the power of God never lets the blow destroy us.

Since sin came into this world and Satan was given some leash and dominion, evil has tried to eradicate God’s people from the earth. But God sustains his people every time.

Pharoah enslaved God’s people and killed their children. God heard their cries and raised up Moses to lead his people to the land flowing with milk and honey, but it was the power of God that sustained his people with a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night, and the power of God delviered Israel through the Red Sea from Pharaoh’s evil hand.

When God’s people were threatened by the Philistines, and did not have a warrior with the courage to fight Goliath. God raised up David, a man after his own heart, to fight for his people. It was the power of God that delivered Goliath into David’s hands and gave Israel victory.

When God’s people needed a Savior to free them from the slavery of sin, the grip of Satan, and the fear of condemnation in death, he sent His only begotten Son to die on a cross to atone for the sins of his elect, and it was the power of God that raised him from the dead, conquering death and sin, and securing the eternal salvation of his people.

The same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in you through his Spirit, that will raise you from the dead is the same power of God that sustains you through all your weaknesses so that you will prevail and overcome, and testify, even through tears of the goodness of Jesus.

Hudson Taylor would travel the world recruiting believers to the mission field in China. No doubt he came across believers fearful of the affliction, the perplexity, persecution, being struck down, and the reality of constantly suffering for Jesus. Not sure if they had the faith to make it, many would ride the fence or walk away from the opportunity. I’m just too weak. To them he would say,

“You do not need a great faith, but faith in a great God.” Hudson Taylor

What is the footing of Paul’s faith that sustains him as death works in him for the life of others? It’s the hope of the resurrection.

In verse 12, Paul says

2 Corinthians 4:12 ESV

So death is at work in us, but life in you.

By death, Paul means his physical suffering for Jesus. In 63 AD, Paul is ultimately martyred by Nero for following Jesus. His suffering did lead to death. Paul however was not just speaking of his physical death. Death was working in Paul faith; faith that endured by hope in God’s promise and brought life to the Corinthians.

In verse 2 Cor 4:13, Paul reveals how the death works in you. He quotes Psalm 116:10

Psalm 116:10 ESV

I believed, even when I spoke: “I am greatly afflicted”;

In Psalm 116, the Psalmist love’s being in covenant relationship with Yahweh. In verses 3-11, he reflects on how evil men grieved him and the Lord delviered him. He’s suffered affliction from evil men. That is death. How did death work in him? He believed the Lord. He trusted Yahweh and Yahweh delviered him.

Paul, drawing from this Psalm, is saying that the death at work in him is not only in his flesh, but is a work of faith. Just as the Psalmist trusted the Lord, so Paul trusted the Lord in his suffering. What did he trust about the Lord? I’m sure it was physical deliverance to some degree, but he says in verse 14, that he expressed his faith by hoping in the resurrection promised hin Christ.

In verse 13-14, he says he speaks knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us into his presence.

The knowledge that strengthens Paul in his suffering is the hope he has in the resurrection promised in Jesus. Paul was certain that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, will raise all of God’s elect from the dead.

You can serve well at FBCL knowing the power of God brings thanksgiving and glory to his name through your ministry. (2 Corinthians 4:15)

The fruit of God’s power at work in you and sustaining you through your affliction is that God will receive thanksgiving and glory through your ministry. How will that happen?

The power of God will be revealed through what you speak.

2 Corinthians 4:13 (ESV)

Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak,

Your weakness will bear wittiness, not just in your body, but with words, about the power at work in you and your hope of the resurrection. Through your tears and your struggles, as you joyfully make much of Jesus, the light of the worth of Jesus will shine in your weakness, and the grace of God will extend to more and more people. Paul says

2 Corinthians 4:15 (ESV)

For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

How does God get glory and thanksgiving when you speak in the midst of your weakness? When you speak of the goodness of Jesus and his supreme worth while you are suffering for him, the words you speak validate the truth. When through tears you says, “I love you Lord. You are my all in all. I trust you no matter what,” those words reach into the heart of a sinner. The perplexity of your love for Jesus and your suffering provoke hearts to consider the possibility that Jesus is a worthy treasure; worth selling all that you have in the world so you can have him. God uses your weakness and his message of hope to bring sinners to salvation. The weaker you are the more effective he will be.

Hudson Taylor spent 51 years in China as a British Protestant missionary, founding the China Inland Mission, which is now OMF International. He was responsible for bringing over 800 missionaries to China, who in turn began 125 schools, which directly resulted 18,000 Christian conversions. 300 stations of work were established, with more than 500 local helpers in all 18 provinces.

There are new converts in China today who heard the gospel through Christians converted in ministries established by Hudson who are praising Jesus and glorifying God for his grace to save them and give them new life. Hudson has been dead for over 117 years, and God is still being glorified through his life and ministry on earth!

You can serve well at FBCL knowing the power of God is renewing your soul as you wear your body out for His service. (2 Corinthians 4:16)

2 Corinthians 4:16 ESV

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.

After Acts 9, Paul is a force to be reckoned with for Jesus. He wore himself out bringing the gospels to his countrymen and the Gentiles. He made four missionary journey’s planting churches throughout the Mediterranean from Syria to Italy, if not Spain. It was not easy. He describes gospel ministry in

2 Corinthians 11:23–30 ESV

Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

Weakness describes Paul’s body. Everything he describes is the affliction his body receives from serving Jesus; from his evangelism to planting churches. His body was wearing out; it was becoming weaker and weaker. Paul gave this list not to prove he was a super Christian, as if one exists. He wrote this so he could identify with the emotional and spiritual struggles of his brothers and sisters in the faith. I think that is the point of 2 Cor 11:29. When he had the opportunity to boast, he did not boast in his spiritual superiority, but he boasted in the grace of God that sustained him in his weakness. More than just sustained him, but sanctified him.

2 Corinthians 4:16 ESV

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.

Weakness describes Paul’s body, but it does not describe the effectiveness of his ministry, or the effectiveness of the power of God to renew his soul. As you are wasting away for the Lord, God is sanctifying you in the knowledge of His glory and transforming you into the image of His Son as he prepares you for Christ’s return. His Spirit is always working inside of you. He is the power at work in you. All of your gospel ministry is both you serving the Lord to being light others, and he renewing your soul in sanctification. The power of God renews and restores everything we break for his kingdom.

You can serve well at FBCL knowing the power of God will give you such an eternal glory that it will make your earthly suffering look light and momentary (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)

Because of the power of God works in your weaknesses and sustains you in your afflictions, and sanctifies you as you give your body to serve his kingdom, and you know that the promise of the resurrection is yes and amen to you in Christ Jesus, you can deal with difficult momentary experiences.

Light affliction does not mean painless. Paul is well aware of affliction and the pain it brings. Suffering and hardship hurt. Paul is however, making a comparison. He says that the pain we suffer here will be like, as John Piper describes it, feathers on a scale, compared to the eternal weight of glory God has for us in Christ Jesus.

Paul said in his first letter,

1 Corinthians 2:9 ESV

But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—

The weaknesses we suffer here will not compare to the strength and power we have with our new resurrected bodies in the new heavens and the new earth. The afflictions we suffer here will not be able to compare to the peace and rest we have in our glorification. The worst of what we experience on earth will seem like no more than a paper cut to the glory of the pleasures of God in heaven for us. So, keep your eyes fixed on the unseen realm. Keep your ambitions and goals set on heaven.

God’s Power in Hudson Taylor

On the surface, Hudson Taylor did not look like much. He was small in stature, frail, poor, and lowly. And yet, Hudson Taylor proved to be one of the most effective missionaries reaching and influencing much of China.

How can man who was small and frail and lowly be so effective in advancing God’s kingdom under such hardship as China in the mid to late 1800’s? Because he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that God empowers weak people for gospel ministry, he believed Jesus was sufficient all his affliction. He trusted that God would uses his weakness to bring thanksgiving and glory to his name through the light of the gospel shining in himself. He wore his earthly body out joyfully advancing God kingdom by making much of Jesus believing God’s promise to renew his soul day by day, and would fully restore his body in His resurrection. He fixed his eyes on heaven and set his mind on things that were above, clinging to God’s promise that the suffering he endured for Jesus would be light and momentary compared to the eternal glory he had for him in heaven.

Hudson, looking back in 1894, at the age of sixty-two, on nearly thirty years of proving that “God is sufficient for God’s work,” Hudson Taylor, the leader of more than six hundred missionaries then active in China, said:

“God chose me because I was weak enough. God does not do His great works by large committees. He trains somebody to be quiet enough, and little enough and then He uses him.” Hudson Taylor

Look, brothers and sisters, God will work in us when we are weak enough and little enough to be used by him. We can serve him in our weakness because Jesus served us by becoming weak on our behalf.

“When you are momentarily afflicted, you are certain that we will not be crushed because Jesus was crushed on your behalf (Isa. 53:5). When we are persecuted, we know that God will not forsake us because Jesus was forsaken in our place (Mark 15:34). When we experience death we need not fear, for we know that we will experience resurrection life because Jesus bore the penalty of death on our behalf (2 Tim. 1:10).” Stephen Um

Be weak servants for Jesus in 2023 by reckoning God’s power and presence in you. Serve FBCL well this year trusting God to empower you in your weakness for gospel ministry. Serve FBCL well this year knowing his grace is sufficient for you in your affliction, and that he will use your weakness to bring thanksgiving and glory to his name through people who see Jesus shining in you. Serve FBCL well by wearing your earthly body out for His service believing His promise to renew your soul day by day, and fully restore your body in His resurrection. Finally, serve FBCL well, with your eyes fixed on heaven and your minds set on thing that are above, clinging to His promise that suffering he endure now for Jesus will be light and momentary compared to the eternal glory he has for us in heaven.

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