Perhaps you have heard the biblical term, “when I am weak, I am strong.” To be weak and strong simultaneously seems contradictory, doesn’t it? How can one be weak and strong at the same time? So, I decided to take a look at this contradictory statement within the context in which the apostle Paul made by reviewing 2 Corinthians 11 and 12.
Paul starts by talking about what he calls, “the super apostles.” (2 Corinthians 11:5) He points out that his teachings have always pointed to Christ, so that they (the church at Corinth) may be presented to Christ as pure virgins. He warns the people at Corinth in 2 Corinthians 11:3-4 that they are being influenced by false Shepherds:
. . . 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.”
It appears that “super apostles” had made themselves prominent in the church at Corinth. (Remember: Paul founded the Corinthian church.) These “super apostles” who had all the outward appearances of being successful leaders, were portraying Paul in a negative light. They were, perhaps, great orators and skilled leaders who knew all the right words to stir up a crowd. The Corinthians esteemed these so-called “false apostles, deceitful workers, (who were) masquerading as apostles of Christ “ very highly. Paul, on the other hand, was humble, meek and lacked oratorical skills.
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 so as to elevate them and not himself. 3. He often supported them by robbing other churches. 4. He was never a burden to them. He summarizes his mistreatment 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 to defend himself, Paul notes that the Corinthians see boasting the way the world does. They put up with anyone who enslaves or exploits them. They put up with anyone who takes advantage of them; put on airs or slaps them in the face. (2 Corinthians 11:20-21)
Paul continues to share the qualifications that make him a true apostle (including signs, wonders and miracles). He was: 1. A Hebrew, Israelite, descendant of Abraham, servant of Christ. 2. Imprisoned. 3. Worked harder 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, false believers. 11. Often hungry, thirsty and lacking food. 12. At times, cold and naked. 13. faced with daily pressures and concerns for all the churches. 14. Caught up to the third heaven. He spoke of his vision or out of the body experience in paradise, where he heard inexpressible things that no one is permitted to tell.
It is then that Paul speaks of the paradox of boasting in the things that show his weakness—not his strengths. 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) The Lord’s perfect power was activated by Paul’s total dependency on him.
There is a lesson for us, my friends, in this seemingly contradictory phrase: “when I am weak, then I am strong.” It is that total insufficiency in ourselves brings about God’s total sufficiency. That is, there is a grace from God when we are weak and completely surrendered to him. That total surrender promotes us to God’s divine, supernatural strength and power.
Be blessed.
Be First to Comment