Boasting in Weakness
What would you put on your resume as a disciple of Jesus?
Paul says, if I must boast, I will boast in my weaknesses. You know, I was thinking about this because of graduates, the end of the school term and all of that. A resume in American society is a socially acceptable way of boasting. That's what a resume is isn't it? It's a socially acceptable, way of boasting. This person was educated at such-and-such University. This is the GPA they had. These are the internships that they had the work experience, etc etc, etc. And in in churches, sometimes I've been in membership interviews where a person will give their spiritual resume. Well my grandfather or great uncle was a pastor. I went to church every time the church was open when we were growing up, I was baptized at age 10 or 12 or whatever it is. But even in a spiritual resume like that in the terms of membership in the church, the more important question is at what point did you come to a personal knowledge of Christ as your savior and your king?
Paul is talking about in this passage His resume, but he uses the term foolish boasting. So we can put in an air quotes so to speak and he uses that boasting in order to get the attention of the church. So look, again in verses 16 through 18, in chapter 11, he says, I repeat, let no one think me foolish. But even if you do, he admits that some of the Corinthians thought he was a fool even if you do accept me as a fool so that I too May boast a little. So indulge me in a little exercise here.
What I'm saying with this boastful confidence, I say not as a Lord would. But as a fool since many boast according to the flash, I too will boast. So he says I'm going to post a little bit here, but but recognize that this is hypothetical boasting. So to speak, this isn't what the Lord would say, this is what I'm saying, for the sake of argument, so that you, you Corinthians would get the point.
Will remember he had two kinds of opponents to the gospel in Corinth. There were the sophists. Those clever philosophers, who loved wisdom. They loved clever, arguments. They loved getting paid to entertain people with their speeches. I didn't share this a couple of weeks ago, but I shared it with the elders by email. There's a funny Funny account in Plato's writings of Plato's Protagoras where he talks about he and a few friends going to someone's door and they were having a conversation and they wanted to finish their conversation before they knocked on their friends door. And he says that the eunuch, the servant inside heard them, talking on the porch, outside the front door and he didn't realize that they were just finishing up a conversation. And so when they knocked on the door, the servant, open the door and said, "Oh, Sophists! The master is not home!" and shut the door. The Sophists were the people who would show up and they would, they were known for their long speeches and their long drawn-out conversations and impressing people and whatnot. And apparently even in Plato's time hundreds of years before Christ, that the Sophists were well known in the ancient world that they would show up at your door in and never leave. So he was up, he was opposed by the Sophists. That's why in 1st Corinthians. He talks so much about God's wisdom vs. Worldly wisdom. And he was also opposed by the Jewish Christian opponents from Jerusalem. That is those from a Jewish background who taught that Christians should continue to follow the law of Moses trying to require those who are Gentiles who became Christians to be circumsized. And that's what he talks about in The Book of Galatians but he also refers to it here in verse 22 and 23. Are they Hebrews? So am I are they Israelites? So am I, are they offspring of Abraham so am I I told both of these groups made light of Paul's suffering. They made light of his suffering as an apostle. They ridiculed the fact that he was not charging for his preaching and they made claims that they were more spiritual than he was. and so again, let me emphasize he says, I say not as the Lord would but as a fool He's saying this for the sake of argument. He's using his critics critics method against them because his critics were big on rhetoric. They were big on letters of recommendation that he refers to in chapter 2 and 3 of Corinthians. But why is he talkin this way? Because he's trying to get the church to snap out of it. He's trying to get the Corinthians who had bought into some of these false teachers to turn back to Christ.
He's trying to get them to snap out of it because they had embraced of false wisdom. They had embraced false apostles who claimed to be wise. So, look at the force with which he speaks in versus 19 through 20. "For you gladly bear with fools being wise yourselves for you bear it if someone makes slaves of you or devours, you were takes advantage of you or puts on airs- that would have been a special speaker who, you know, had this persona about them. He says you put up with it. Well enough, if if this person puts on airs or strikes you in the face or insults you to my shame, I must say we were too weak for that. Never had a conversation like this where you kind of sight. The other person's point of view and say, "Well, you know, certainly I didn't stoop to that level," right? I mean, that's kind of what Paul is is getting at here. He's saying, I must say, we were too weak to take advantage of you. We were too weak to devour you. He's talking with a lot of force. Some in the Corinthian Church had allowed these deceivers to corrupt the church and they drew others away from Christ. Look at the contrast- if you want to turn your Bible to the Book of James- let me just read of a passage from the book of James chapter 3. Where James is contrasting God's wisdom with human wisdom.
James chapter 3.
And again, this is the kind of thing that Paul was dealing with. James chapter 3. He says, who is wise and understanding among you? Why his Good Conduct? Let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts do not boast, then be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is Earthly unspiritual, demonic, where jealousy and selfish ambition exist there will be disorder, and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first, pure then peaceable gentle open to reason full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere and a harvest of righteousness is sown in Peace by those who make peace.
That's the kind of wisdom that the Corinthians had bought into that false wisdom. You can see the results. I mean, I would say in every area of Our Lives, whether were graduates entering a new phase of life, or whether work in the midst of our regular routines that we've had for years. There is a battle between, which wisdom we are going to embrace every day. Are we going to embrace wind and wisdom from God or we going to embrace wisdom? That is unspiritual.
It is dangerous. That is demonic, James says and so Paul is using that same idea here. He's saying, look at where this so-called wisdom is getting you.
And again, you might be thinking what, why is Paul arguing so vociferously? Why is he arguing so forcefully? Why is he so burdened? Well, look at verse 28. "And apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches." Why is Paul so burdened? Because he made preaching the gospel, the message of the Gospel, the singular, focus of his life. That is why he's so burdened.
Go back to chapter 1 in 1st 2nd Corinthians, excuse me.
And 2nd Corinthians chapter 1, Paul says this.
In verse 20.
For all the promises of God, find their yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory and it is God, who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us. And who has also put his seal on us and given us his spirit in our hearts, as a guarantee. now, the word Trinity isn't used in the Bible, but it's right there and verses 20 through 22 God Christ the spirit Paul made the message of the Gospel, the singular focus of his life and so he's emphasizing to the Corinthians. This is what it's about, don't lose that 2:14. But thanks be to God who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession and threw us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. That's the point. The gospel message is going forward chapter 3 verses 2 and 3. You yourselves are our letter of recommendation written on our hearts to be known and read by all and you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by US Written not with ink but with the spirit of the Living God not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts God is writing a work on our hearts through the Holy Spirit.
Most of us will never be in a history book. All of us, probably will never be in a history book, but God is writing a story on human hearts. Amen! That is why Paul is so burdened! 4:6.
"For God, who said, let light shine out of darkness has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ," God has shown his light into our hearts. He has broken through the darkness of sin and the Darkness that that, that we were held captive to And he talks about the veil being lifted and so we can see Christ, we can see Christ, the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
Chapter 5. Therefore verse 17. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed behold. The new has come And you say, "Well boy, I don't feel new each morning." Well, yes, because our bodies are decaying. That's just a given. So you can't base your Christian faith on how you feel at any given moment, why? Because goes like this, (up and down) The scripture says guard, your heart, guard your thoughts, take them captive to the obedience of Christ. He says, Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ be reconciled to God. Verse 21 [chapter 5] "For our sake He made him to be sin who knew no sin, So that in him we might become the righteousness of God." Isn't it amazing that God has done something in a person's heart who is a Christian that will continue for eternity.
That's precious and it is only by his grace that he preserves us.
That is why Paul is so burdened. He wants the message of the Gospel to go forward. He had a burden that others would hear the message of the good news that Jesus is the Messiah. That he is the Christ, the son of the Living, God that he died, so that we might live and upon hearing that people would respond in faith and follow Christ.
Warren Wiersbe, put it this way. He said "it seems that Paul's heaviest burden was the care of all the churches. He went anywhere, he endured anything that he might take the gospel to lost souls. Why is it that we do so much less today? When we have tools at our disposal that make the task much easier and much faster?
Why is it that we do so much less today? Well, first of all, it's because we're preoccupied with worldly concerns right on my to do list every week. There's the there's the ministry list, there's the home list, there's the family list and then the dogs. And it's a battle of which one you do is the priority. Were preoccupied with worldly concerns.
Secondly, it is because we do not want rejection or difficult encounters.
Thirdly, it's because we enjoy boasting about the nice things in our lives and we want to avoid thinking about the hard things. I mean that's just a human response: we want we desire pleasure and we want to avoid pain.
Let me pose a question brothers and sisters. And I'm speaking to myself here, why would we assume that sharing the gospel with other people that talking openly about Christ with other people or ask simply asking a person if he or she has spiritual beliefs? Why would we assume that that would be easy? Why would we assume that following Jesus day by day would be easy? Why would we assume the exact opposite of what Jesus Christ went through to endure the cross?
We would assume those things, because in our affluent culture we view ourselves as self-sufficient,
But the admission of a believer is "everyday in Christ I am weak but God, you have given me your Holy Spirit, empower me for today."
And you say we'll wait, God has given each of us his holy spirit doesn't doesn't that just, you know, clear the path for us. There's a there's an act of the will whereby dependence. We Trust Christ and we say Lord, I need to depend on you today and not trust my own strength. God doesn't just make it automatic for us. He wants us to depend upon him. I remember many of you probably know, Johnny eareckson Tada, the woman who has lived as a quadriplegic for. I don't have over 50 years, probably. And I remember reading a story about her and she was speaking at a conference And and after she spoke, she was she was in the restroom and there were some other ladies that came in the restroom and it just happened that this one woman was there. And Johnny was the only other woman in the restroom at that time and the woman asked her, she said "Joni, you are so upbeat, you aren't, you're always smiling it. Whenever I hear you speak or whenever I have seen you at these conferences, you're always smiling. How do you do it? And Joni responded, "Well, you know what? I don't have a smile every morning. But I talked to God and I say, Jesus. Can I have your smile today? Can I have your joy today?" Paul was burdened, because the message of the Gospel is the singular focus of his life. And we need to depend on God in order to share his message. The second reason he is so burdened. The second reason Paul is so burdened is this, and it comes in the later verses. He knows that a Christ-like reputation comes through physical hardship and learning our own weakness. Let me repeat that, he knows that a Christ-like reputation comes through physical hardship and learning our own weakness.
I mean the verses that are on graduation cards are usually for I know the plans I have for you plans to give you a hope and a future plans to prosper you and not to harm. You Jeremiah 29 and that's a wonderful promise. But the people that Jeremiah was speaking to, that God was speaking to, were going to spend the next 70 years in captivity before they would get to that point. And we love to put on graduation cards Ephesians 2:10 "For you are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for you to do." Amen and Amen!
But there's also Matthew 7 where Jesus says for broad is the road and wide is the way that leads to destruction and many will enter into it. But narrow is the gate that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
So, we cannot assume that growing in the likeness of Christ comes with minimal effort.
And I'm not saying that we are saved by works, by merit, no, none of that!
We grow in Christ likeness by the sanctification of the Holy Spirit "for God is at work in you to will and to do according to his good pleasure."
But that doesn't come easily to us.
Let me think about it this way an athlete, a skilled athlete who is is is born and has physical abilities when they train for a sport, if they have god-given abilities, then their training enhance, has the god-given abilities that they have, right? And so you can say, oh yeah, that person, they have natural skill and and and and through training they could they can enhance that natural skill, will spiritually. It's the opposite for us. We still have a sin nature. It's where the sin nature is is is trying to rise up and prevent any growth that the God wants to bring in our lives. and so, we have to remember that there is there is almost a counter condition there on growing in the likeness of Christ- we're always battling the sin nature. And Paul talks about that in Romans 7.
Paul is burned because a Christ like reputation comes through physical hardship and learning our own weakness. I'm not going to read the whole list here, but I'll start at verse 24 five times I received at the hands of the Jews forty lashes less one, the maximum penalty in the Old Testament was forty lashes. And it says, I think in Deuteronomy 25 it says that's the limit because otherwise you would denigrate your brother. I thought that was an interesting phrase. He says five times. I received 40 Lashes, minus one.
Countless beatings and often near death. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Forty lashes. Minus one was the Jewish penalty beaten with rods was the Roman penalty. And it actually says, in the book of Acts chapter 22, that Paul was taken prisoner, and he was going to be "examined" by flogging. He was going to be examined.
By flogging.
on frequent Journeys, in danger, from River, Danger from Roberts, Danger, from my own people Danger from gentiles,
He knows that our christ-like reputation comes through physical hardship and learning our own weakness. In Acts 14 chapter 14, verses 8 through 20, Paul and Barnabas are in Lystra. And let me, let me just read it quickly cause I won't get it right if I try to say it for memory.
Acts chapter 14, we don't have the slide on this but I'm just going to read this passage. It's a good... well, every story in the Bible is a good story. But this is especially exciting. Acts 14 chapter 8, now at Lystra Acts 14:8. Now, "there was a man sitting, who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul speaking and Paul looking intently at him and seeing that he had Faith to be made. Well, 7, allowed voice stand up right on your feet and he sprang up and began walking. When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices saying in like honey and the gods have come down to us in the likeness of men Barnabas. They called Zeus and Paul Hermes because he was the chief speaker And the priest of Zeus whose Temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice to the crowds. But when the Apostle, the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd crying out. Men, why are you doing these things? We are men of like, nature with you and we bring you good news that you should turn from these vain things to a living, God who made Heaven, and the earth, and the Sea and all that is in them. In past generations He allowed the nations to walk in their own ways yet he did not leave himself without witness for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness. Even with these words, they scarcely restrain the people from offering sacrifice to them." So the people because they saw this healing that Paul had done in the name of Jesus that they're going to, they're going to have this this Pagan ceremony Paul says no, no no, no, no, you're missing the point it's about Christ, it's about God, saving people. Verse 19, "But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and having persuaded the crowds. They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing he was dead, but when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derby."
A miracle occurs. And the Greeks, the Gentiles say, let's offer a pagan sacrifice. Paul says, no, no, no, no, no stop. And then he's got to face opposition also from the Jews who come from another city and make trouble for Paul.
He had to deal with it from both sides. Most cities where Paul went either a riot broke out or he was run out of town in some way. And he was the Apostle to the Gentiles. But the but the Jewish leaders made trouble for him in many cities. So how do you and I respond when someone attacks our reputation, or we are ridiculed for a particular aspect of our faith? How do you respond when someone in your family pokes a barb into the conversation at your expense? We immediately feel weak, don't we? We immediately feel weak.
But Jesus says in Matthew Chapter 5 blessed, are you? When people persecute you. And say, all kinds of false things about you on account of my name.
Blessed. Are you? Because that is exactly how they treated the prophets.
One author says, "This is real wisdom. This is the wisdom of the Cross to boast in our sufferings, in our disgrace, in our weakness because that is where we find Grace. This is where we find strength." Now you may be wondering, why does then Paul gives kind of this benediction. He says "God knows I'm not lying," and then he gives us one last example,
About being in Damascus.
At Damascus. The governor under king Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus in order to cease me but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped, his hands. In Paul's writings there's a lot of times where he just can't help himself to give another example. And so I think that's part of it. But why is he giving this particular example after he concludes verse 31, the God and Father of the Lord, Jesus, he who is blessed forever knows that I am not lying. Why does he give that particular example? Well, the realtor says location location location. Where does that take place Damascus? Where was Paul on the road to Saul on the road to when Christ appeared to him? Damascus. This event was in Damascus, probably soon after his conversion, because in the book of Galatians chapter 1, he says after Christ appeared to me, I did not go directly to Jerusalem, but I spent time in Arabia and Damascus before going to Jerusalem. Arabia. And then back to Damascus. So instead of Saul marching into Damascus, in strength, arresting Christians, Paul later on in Damascus, after he becomes a Christian, is humbled and being let down in a basket. God shows his strength in Paul's weakness. This one author puts it this way as a result of his conversion on the road to Damascus. This incident was the initial and foundational example of his newly granted weakness as an apostle. But the one who left for Damascus in order to persecute Christians left Damascus later as a persecuted Christian. His weakness is now, his strength.
The Apostle Paul knew that a christ-like reputation comes often through physical hardship. Physical hardship and learning our own weakness.
I don't know about you, but I would like a couple of weeks where I don't have to learn my only weakness.
Couple of months, couple of years, maybe. But God has a way of continually showing us our weakness. Why? So that we can depend on him for his strength. Let's pray.
