I am sure that you have heard the biblical term, “when I am weak, I am strong.” This phrase seems contradictory, doesn’t it? How can one be weak and strong at the same time? Well, I decided to take a look at this contradiction within the context in which the apostle Paul made it. I revisited 2 Corinthians 11 and 12.
In these two chapters of 2 Corinthians, Paul is confronting the church at Corinth who were idolizing false Shepherds. The false Shepherds appeared to have overtaken the church and were debasing Paul. Paul starts by talking about the false leaders who he calls, “super apostles.” (2 Corinthians 11:5) He points out that his teachings had always pointed to Christ, not himself. He did this so that they (the church at Corinth) would be presented to Christ as pure virgins. This was the opposite of the messages of the “super apostles” who lifted themselves up. He warns the church at Corinth (2 Corinthians 11:3-4) that they were being influenced by wolves in sheep’s clothing:
. . . I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.”
Paul was painfully aware that the “super apostles” had made themselves prominent in the church. (Remember: Paul founded the Corinthian church.) These “super apostles” who had all the outward appearances of being successful leaders, were usurping Paul’s authority and portraying him in a negative light. They were, perhaps, great orators and skilled leaders who knew all the right words to stir up a crowd (or in this case, the church). The Corinthians highly esteemed these so-called false apostles, who were deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. Paul, on the other hand, was humble, meek and lacked oratorical skills. They did not viewed Paul in a positive light.
Paul found himself in a position of having to defend himself to the very church that he had founded. He noted that: 1. Although he was not a trained speaker, he had knowledge and was in no way inferior to the “super apostles.” 2. He realized that it was to his disadvantage, that he had preached the gospel to them for free—it cost them nothing. He noted his reason was that he wanted to elevate them (the Corinthians) and not himself. 3. He loved them to the point that he often supported them by robbing other churches. 4. He was never a burden to them.
He summarizes his mistreatment by the Corinthian church in 2 Corinthians 12:11:
“I have been a fool! You forced me to it, for I ought to have been commended by you. For I was not at all inferior to these super-apostles, even though I am nothing.”
In the need to continue defending himself, Paul notes that the Corinthians viewed boasting (of the super apostles) the same way the world viewed it. Enamored by the skills of these false leaders, the Corinthian church was putting up with these leaders’ abuse. They were putting up with being enslaved and exploited. They were putting up with being taken advantage of. They tolerated the false leaders’ putting on airs and “slapping them in the face.” (2 Corinthians 11:20-21)
Paul continued to defend himself by sharing the qualifications that made him a true apostle (including signs, wonders and miracles). He noted that he was: 1. A Hebrew; an Israelite; a descendant of Abraham and a servant of Christ. 2. Imprisoned multiple times. 3. A harder worker than others. 4. Exposed to death many times. 5. Beaten forty lashes minus one five times. 6. Beaten with rods three times. 7. Pelted with stones. 8. Shipwrecked three times. 9. A day and night in the open sea. 10. In danger from Jews, Gentiles and false believers. 11. Often hungry, thirsty and lacking food. 12. At times, cold and naked. 13. Faced with the daily pressures and concerns for all the churches. 14. Caught up to the third heaven with a vision or an out of the body experience that took him to paradise. He noted that in third heaven, he heard inexpressible things that no one is permitted to tell.
In verse 9, Paul notes that he will boast in God’s power and God’s power was manifested in his earthly weakness. He writes that he was given a “thorn in his flesh,” a messenger from Satan, to prevent him from becoming conceited because of the abundance of revelations that he had been given. Paul pleaded with the Lord three (multiple) times to remove the “thorn.” The Lord replied, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12: 9) Paul realized that the Lord’s strength was activated through his total dependency on him. That is why he said:
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecution, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
Paul, who appeared weak in the natural, was operating in supernatural power, while the “super apostles” were operating out of their own earthly carnal strength.
There is a lesson for us, my friends, in this seemingly contradictory phrase: “when I am weak, then I am strong.” A total insufficiency (earthly weakness) brings about a total sufficiency in God and him alone! There is a grace from God when we are weak and completely surrendered to him. That total surrender promotes us to divine, supernatural strength and power.
Be blessed.
Spiritual References:
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Psalm 73:26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
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