Tag: God’s power

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Strength from Weakness

The apostle Paul addressed the Corinthian church in this striking passage (2 Corinthians 12:7-10):

Therefore, so that I would not become arrogant, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of satan to trouble me—so that I would not become arrogant. I asked the Lord three times about this, that it would depart from me. But he said to me, “My grace is enough for you, for my power comes to full strength in weakness.” So, then, I will boast most gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may reside in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, with insults, with troubles, with persecutions and difficulties for the sake of Christ, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.

I have a few points regarding this rich word. For many of these insights I am indebted to Frank Viola, and to writings of T. Austin-Sparks, particularly his book entitled The Gospel of John:

  1. The gift. Paul’s thorn in the flesh was given to him; it was a gift. From whom? He tells us that it was a messenger of satan, so did it come from satan? The Almighty God permitted it, and refused to remove it, so did it come from God? Paul doesn’t provide us with an easy answer. The thorn he saw plainly as something malicious from God’s enemy. Simultaneously, though, he knew that God kept it there for his benefit, a guardrail to keep him from becoming arrogant.
  • The pattern. This fits into a pattern. Jesus himself came not to be served but to serve, and to offer his life as a ransom. When the time came for him to be offered up, he was condemned by his own people to crucifixion, the most horrible and demeaning execution available to them. They intended for him to die as painfully as possible, and to have the never-ending shame of hanging from a tree. God took their malice and changed it into a symbol of infinite love. On the cross, we see Jesus as the Lamb of God. The same with the thorn in Paul’s flesh. It was a cross operating in his life in which he saw the malice of satan. Nevertheless, on the other side of it he experienced a new life through the abiding power of Christ. God also uses the cross in our transformation. Each of us has a self-life, the echo or remnant of our old nature. It always insists on independence from God. Brought to the cross, the influences of that self-life lose their grip on our souls, leaving more room in our souls for the life of Christ.
  • The meaning of the cross. The cross means suffering, often accompanied by humiliation, that we did not bring on ourselves. It suspends us helplessly in a position of overwhelming pain, loss, or labor. Our efforts to extricate ourselves are futile. There is no end in sight, except our own demise. Our only hope is to rely on our Lord Jesus Christ, to look to him for grace upon grace. Under what other circumstances would I turn away from my own abilities and learn the sufficiency of His grace? My strengths frustrate His power. His power comes into its own when I, for the sake of Christ, let go of my rights, abilities, interests, and ambitions. Jesus Christ is the grace of God and the power of God. Although HIs life indwells me now, the operation of the cross puts that life on display. 
  • Boasting most gladly. Paul chose to accept his weakened state with delight, which is another way of translating the expression, “I will boast most gladly.” He made this choice because the operation of the cross in his life opened the way for the power of Christ to reside in him. Furthermore, credit for anything that he accomplished while in that state would accrue to God, to the praise of His glory. 
  • The power is the expression of the life of Christ. Our yielding to the cross of weakness, loss, and shame opens our eyes to Jesus Christ enthroned on high. He is “the Man in the Glory.” Yet when He appears in the book of the Revelation, it is as a sacrificial Lamb. Our Lord continually offers Himself for His people. Paul, prior to his conversion, persecuted the early church. But when the great light from heaven struck him down on the road to Damascus, he heard Jesus demanding of him, “Why are you persecuting Me?” Christ personally experiences the sufferings of the Church. Even though He sits “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come” (Ephesians 1:21), He also lives among His people. 
  • The power in residence. The phrase, “that the power of Christ may reside in me,” is variously translated as “rest upon,” “dwell with,” and “pitch a tent over and dwell upon”—referring to God’s presence in the tabernacle that accompanied the children of Israel in the wilderness. It is the power of Christ to transform our souls. It is the power to live continually in God’s awesome presence, in the service of the living and true God (1 Thessalonians 1:9). Also, it is the power to live in unity in the company of God’s people, and to endure faithfully in a world system that is hostile to God.
  • Contentment. Paul had made a realistic assessment of his own physical limitations, of opposition to his ministry by enemies human and supernatural, of sorrows he would experience on behalf of believers who were under attack, even of catastrophes he would suffer from forces of nature. He had settled all of that in his own mind.  That is one side of contentment. The other side is the heavenly vision. The visible world was not the source of his confidence. He had set it in the ascended Christ who intercedes for His own as He sits at the right hand of the Father.  Paul knew that the life of Christ resided within him, while his own life was hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). He also was aware that, when it comes to accomplishing His eternal purpose, the Father is unwavering. So is His intention to accomplish His purpose with the participation of transformed human beings. He gave that opportunity to Paul, and He gives it to us.

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The Mighty Man

The Scripture sometimes uses the term “mighty” to describe humans who have extraordinary abilities or resources. Mighty men arose both before and after the flood—also known as the “men of renown” (Genesis 6:4). A post-diluvian example is “Nimrod, a mighty man. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord” (Genesis 10:8-9).

“Mighty men of valor” were many among the children of Israel. In the case of Gideon, the first mention of his might was facetious (Judges 6:12). Nevertheless, he ended up among the heroes of faith (Hebrews 11:32). Israel’s first king, Saul, was a mighty man of valor (Psalm 52:1). David was one also, along with the military leaders under him (2 Samuel 17:8). David’s mighty men have their own chapter (2 Samuel 23).

Moses was known as a mighty man because of his wisdom. “And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his works and deeds” (Acts 7:22). Solomon acquired an international reputation for wisdom. “And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore… And people of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom” (1 Kings 4:29, 34). Boaz occupies a unique position—he was a “mighty man of wealth” (Ruth 2:1). He did have wealth, and he used it in the generous spirit of God’s law.

Of course, the idea of might originates in God. From the opening pages of Scripture, He presented Himself as the Almighty. Nobody has power to match His. But how does He wield His might? Consider the word of the Lord to Jeremiah: “let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 9:23-24). 

His interest is in showering the earth with steadfast love, justice, and righteousness. He is looking for people who share His zeal. Those who are mighty in the Lord draw upon His abilities and resources—His life. They advance His agenda. On the other hand, people who are mighty in themselves, like the arrogant and rebellious Nimrod, draw upon their own abilities and resources—or those of the forces of evil. They think of wisdom, power, and wealth as theirs to exploit. They oppose God and His agenda.

The foremost example of a human being who constantly lived by God’s life is Jesus of Nazareth. “…And coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, ‘Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works?’” (Matthew 13:54). They recognized his inner state as wisdom, which was the life of the Father and the leading of the Holy Spirit, manifested outwardly as mighty works. He never used this wisdom and these mighty works for himself, only to glorify the Father from whom they came. His disciples knew him as “a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word” (Luke 24:19). Also, as “Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did” (Acts 2:22). 

Jesus himself had something to say about the mighty man. “But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house” (Mark 3:27). The forces of evil tried to overcome Jesus by executing him on the cross and binding him in death. “None of the rulers of this age understood this,” the apostle Paul points out, referring to Christ becoming the power of God and the wisdom of God through his crucifixion, “for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory”—sealing their own doom (1 Corinthians 1:23-24, 2:6 and 2:8).

The subjection of Jesus to death was only temporary. On the third day the Almighty intervened, raising him from the dead. “God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it” (Acts 2:24). Furthermore, this Jesus “was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:4). 

Jesus has ascended from the earth. He now sits at the right hand of the Father. He is Lord over all creation (Philippians 2: 9-11). As the apostle Peter declared to the crowd on the day of Pentecost, “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified” (Acts 2:36). “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in it”—that is, in the cross (Colossians 2:15).  

How does Jesus now reign as King of kings and Lord of lords? By steadfast love, justice, and righteousness. Love is the essence of God. In the description of divine love in 1 Corinthians 13, we see the characteristics of Jesus Christ. This love never ends. Every form of human might will pass away—even good things, like prophecy and spiritual gifts and intellectual knowledge, not to mention political power and wealth and human ambition. How mighty is the love of God in Christ Jesus!

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