July 7th, 2024

7th Sunday after Pentecost

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

An Unexpected Source of Strength

Jonah Albrecht

Grace, Mercy, and Peace be unto you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven– whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. 3 And I know that this man was caught up into paradise– whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows– 4 and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. 5 On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses– 6 though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. 7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Cor. 12:1-10 ESV)

In the name of Jesus who reigns victorious over death and the grave, through whom we receive grace to sustain us till the end, dear fellow redeemed:

Just a few days ago we celebrated the anniversary of the birth of our nation. July 4th is a day in which we recognize and remember the dedicated men and women who fought and sacrificed so much to create the freedoms we enjoy today. Have you ever read what happened to the 56 men who signed their name to the Declaration of Independence? Of the 56 original signers, 9 died of wounds from fighting in the war for independence; 5 were captured or imprison and their wives and children were killed, jailed, mistreated, or left penniless; 12 had their houses burned to the ground; and 17 lost everything they owned. These men fought a fight that no one thought they could win. They were up against the greatest empire in the world and yet, they were able to overcome. Why? Their strength did not come from just one man. It came from the nation banding together. It came from allies like the French army providing supplies and strategy. Their combined strength caught the British off guard and allowed them to overcome insurmountable odds.

You and I are likewise engaged in warfare that is way over our own heads. Our fight is not against a world empire, but the empire of Satan. It is a war we are woefully outnumbered, outgunned, and outclassed. This fight is even more lopsided than what the founding fathers faced in their fight for Independence. On our own, it is impossible for us to win. In our text today, Paul gives us the key to overcoming our adversaries; an unexpected source of strength. It is unexpected because it is reliant on the absence of our own strength, but wholly dependent on the strength of the grace of God.

In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul is addressing attacks that were being made from within the Corinthian church concerning his qualifications to be an Apostle and the ministry in general. In Acts 1:21-22, when the disciples were choosing a replacement for Judas Iscariot, the criteria for an apostle included being someone who had been with them from the time of John the Baptist’s baptism until the day Jesus was taken up from them, and who had been a witness of Jesus’ resurrection. Obviously, Paul didn’t fit these criteria as he was not with the original disciples during Jesus’ earthly ministry. Therefore, in their eyes, he had no right to the claim to be an apostle.

In response Paul says, “I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven– whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. 3 And I know that this man was caught up into paradise– whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows– 4 and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. 5 On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses—”

Paul is making a clear distinction with what he is about to talk about. He knows there is nothing to be gained by boasting of his own accolades. Instead, he will boast about that which the Lord had done for him. 14 years prior, Paul was caught up into the third heaven. We are not told exactly what or where this was, nor did Paul know whether it was an experience in the body, or out of the body like a dream. Those details aren’t important for us as only God knows. The point Paul is making by bringing this up is that he was a witness to the resurrected Jesus. Jesus called him directly giving him visions and revelations that man may not utter. It is this work of God that Paul will boast about.

— 6 though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. 7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.

If there was anyone who had a right to boast about the things he had done, the Word of God he had proclaimed, and churches he had started, it would be Paul. And yet, he does not want people’s focus to be on him, nor their reliance to be on a frail human being. He continually points them to the Word. He credits different afflictions that he endured as the means to keep him humble. One of which was a thorn in the flesh. There is a lot of speculation about what this might be. What we do know is that it affected how Paul could preach and he thought he could accomplish more without it. The second is a messenger of Satan to harass him. Similar to the thorn in the flesh, we are not given exactly what this is. Satan does mean accuser and it could be that Satan, or one of his demons, hounded Paul, constantly reminding him of some great sin he had committed and how that was too great for God to forgive.

In truth, Satan was Paul’s biggest adversary. Not the shipwrecks, not the Roman government, not the Jews or Gentiles who reviled him and wanted to kill him, but Satan. Why? Because Satan attacked him every single day. It was a two-pronged attack. On the one hand, he could tempt Paul to indulge in his pride and how great he was. On the other hand, he would absolutely beat Paul down with the guilt over his sin and how even God’s grace wasn’t great enough for what he did.

We often find ourselves at the very same crossroads, do we not? I don’t know about you, but I am not even half the man Paul was. And yet, Satan still brings the temptation that appeals to my pride and yours. It goes back to the very beginning with Adam and Eve. He got Eve to think more of herself rather than what the Word of God had declared to her. For us it can come in an innumerable number of ways.

Maybe pride isn’t high on Satan’s radar for you, but guilt is. Has he come, hounding you over a sin that you just cannot get passed? Some sin you are still stuck in now; or maybe a sin that happened long ago, but it haunts you to this day? Regardless, his message is the same: Your sin is too great to be covered by God. You do not qualify to be a Christian.

It is a battle that is all too common for each of us. It is a battle that we lose time and time again. Paul desperately wanted to be relieved of these things. He wanted them gone so that he could better serve God’s kingdom. But God’s response was, in reality, Paul greatest source of strength.

9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

A paradox to say the least. God’s power is made perfect in weakness? When in the world has anyone been their strongest when they are weak? Never. And yet, God says it. Here’s why: Whether it is Paul, or you, or me, we are all weak, sinful human beings. We do not deserve the breath that fills our lungs every day. We succumb to temptation every day and put God to the test every day. But every day, God calls you back by His grace, His undeserved love. He reminded Paul and He reminds you and me that it has nothing to do with how strong we are, or think we are. It has everything to do with how strong He is and what He accomplished on the cross for us when He died for our sins.

This is the beauty of it all. As often as we stumble and fall, God’s power shines through. It forces us to realize that we are completely reliant upon the grace of our God, the love that He has for us, and for His strength to sustain us. In other words, when we are at our weakest, we are reminded God is shown to never falter as our strength to help in time of need.

For Paul, this meant that he would be content in whatever situation he found himself in. Whether it was being challenged over what he taught, rejected, shipwrecked, jailed, or even death, in all these he could be content because it wasn’t about how strong he was, rather about the complete power of God’s grace.

Remember the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence and all that they suffered? I’m sure if you asked every single one of them, they would do it all over again. The challenges you face on a daily basis are much greater than what those men faced. You are facing an enemy you cannot see, one who knows your every weakness, and one who will stop at nothing to rip you away from the record of God’s book of life. What your enemy doesn’t know, however, is that it doesn’t matter how strong we are. We stand secure on the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. We stand on the fact that every single sin has been wiped clean from your record, you are spotless in Him. Standing in God’s grace, you too can be like Paul. You can be content with whatever life throws at you because when I am weak, then I am strong. In Jesus’ name, Amen.