Perfected in Weakness

Intro: Paul’s Defense

The chapters leading up to this text describe how Paul defends himself from his critics. Unfortunately, his critics were fellow ministers, who corrupted the teachings of Christ. The attacks that come from those closer to us are more difficult to bear. How we respond to attacks from such people says a lot about us. Paul does not merely defend himself, he exposes the false teachers but imitating them. He “boasts”, but makes his boast in the Lord, as they should be. In other words, his exposure was not to merely to embarrass them, but to put the truth on display.

Paul starts his defense by speaking of his extraordinary experience in the presence of God; but whereas his critics would’ve gladly added their names to this account, Paul deliberately omits his- even though his readers know he’s the man in the story. He says in verse 5, “concerning such a one I will boast, but not in myself.” He draws a distinction between God’s actions toward men, versus the trivial abilities of men to act on their own. Indeed, what is there for the man in Paul’s account to boast about? Being caught away to Paradise? God did that, not the man. Being allowed to hear “the speech of heaven”? God allowed that, not man. The false teachers- then, and now- boasted in their abilities, intellect & ingenuity. They have forgotten the most important aspect of accepting the gift of salvation: it’s NOT about you. You could not save yourself, and you cannot keep yourself. And if you cannot do these things for yourself, rest assured that you cannot do anything for anyone else apart from the empowerment of God through the Holy Spirit. Salvation is not only accepting Christ’s substitutionary death, but His life as well. Again…its not about you.

When truth shows up, it embarrasses the lie. It doesn’t try to do this deliberately; the mere presence of truth is a source of discomfort and conflict to those who have been living a lie. <use Chrysler 300 v. Rolls Royce example > Some of you have been trying to figure out how you end up in conflict with people- you can’t think of anything that you said or did that causes people to react the way they do. It may just be the fact that you showed up!

Boasting in Weakness: What Does It Mean?

When you consider Paul’s statement in light of his actions, a simple truth emerges. God wants us to be transparent about our imperfections. Theologians have speculated as to the nature of what Paul describes as his “thorn”. Some have suggested that it was hid eyesight or some other physical malady. but there are 2 things that we know for certain: 1)it was something that the Lord could’ve removed, but chose not to and 2) those around Paul knew about this issue.

The N word. There’s a word in the English language that most of us consider highly offensive- even though we’ve heard our on family and friends use it; and the truth is, we use it too. Just this once, I want to say it to emphasize the point that I wish to make here: this highly offensive word is NO. How do we respond when God says no? When it’s something personal, something important, but he refuses to accept your desire over His plan. Are you willing to accept that God knows what is best for the flourishing of humankind and for you as an individual? Can you accept his no when it contradicts your deep seeded desires? When you say, I want to get married…I want get a divorce? But this feels natural and right to me- why can’t I have what I am attracted to? Why don’t you love me enough to let me have what I want? What parent who say yes to their child, knowing full well what they asked for will destroy them? Th

The Perfect Combination: His Strength…Your Weakness

The strength to surrender. <i.e. how I stopped cursing> . This is not to say that we stop striving to live the way the scriptures tell us; it means that we stop trying to do it in our own strength; we stop trying to save ourselves. Stop trying to be your own savior- that job is taken, and He most certainly will do a better job than you! In this lies the distinction between all religions and a relationship with Christ. As Dr. Keller explains, “Religion says, ‘ I obey, therefore I am accepted. Relationship says, ‘I am accepted, therefore I obey.’” My obedience is an outworking of my love and appreciation for what God has done- what I could never do for myself; So my efforts are never about trying to earn my salvation or to become righteous- I accept the atoning sacrifice of Christ and His righteousness.

Years ago, I heard a Pastor speaking to a group of men of the subject of surrender- something that many men struggle with, because we equate being vulnerable with being weak. And weakness, to us macho men, is labeled as a bad thing. Pastor Crump address the issue this way:

“Manning up is not just managing your sexual temptations. It’s not just managing your sin, that’s not what it means to be a man. Because you can try harder, and you can do better, and you can hang on longer…that’s not manning up! Manning up is our ability to lay down all of our effort and all of our trying and all of our strength and say ‘I TRUST IN JESUS! I Trust in His perfection...I Trust in His power...I Trust in His resurrection. Because He’s the only one that can get me through this- and He’s the only one that can make...me…FREE’”- Pastor Leonce Crump II

Getting down to nothing so God can give you everything. Have you ever asked the question, “God, why do you wait until the 11th hour to rescue us? Why do I have to get down nothing?” Here’s God’s answer: “So that there is no question- to you or anyone else who looks at your life- that the strength to endure and emerge victorious from what comes next came from Me, and not from you.”

Conclusion

Verse 10, literally translated, reads like this: “Therefore, I take pleasure in weaknesses, in insults, in persecutions, in straits, for Christ; for when I may be weak, then powerful I am.”