Surprised by Weakness

By Isobel Lin

Hiding our weakness

Imagine that you're reading the brochure for the next Christian conference. As you scan over the photos and read the speaker blurbs, you can't help being impressed by the speakers. University degrees, theological degrees and successful ministries abound.

And then you read the next blurb, for Isobel Lin:

Isobel took five years to complete an engineering degree, which everyone else did in four. In her first year at work, she was instrumental in burning down a smokehouse worth two million dollars. She started several innovative projects as an engineer without completing any of them, and has carried this particular skill over into her current work as a domestic engineer. Isobel attends church at Fairfield but hasn't listened to a whole sermon in the last four years. And she often forgets to take her Bible on holidays.

Unfortunately, it's all true, but you would be surprised to read it, wouldn't you? Because we are part of a culture that does everything it can to make ourselves look good. Boastfulness is part of our culture, even amongst Christians. We boast in the size of our churches, the length of our prayers or the depth of our Bible knowledge. Our world despises weakness, and so we hide our weakness as best we can.

Boasting in weakness

Imagine if the apostle Paul was speaking at a conference today. What would his blurb say?

Paul was personally appointed as an apostle by Jesus Christ. He has fathered numerous churches all over Asia and received many visions and revelations from God. Paul is a prolific writer, being the author of the 13 out of 21 New Testament epistles, and he is arguably one of the most intelligent men of all time.

But if you were to compile a blurb from Paul's description of himself in say, 2 Corinthians, it would make mine look good.

Paul is a fool, a wimp, a poor speaker, friendless, frail and, let's be honest, he's well past his prime.

It comes as a shock. We can't help but ask why Paul would boast about his weaknesses. 2 Corinthians itself gives us two reasons.

1. Because of the super-charged opposition

2 Corinthians contains a battle of boasts between Paul and some high-profile opposition. The "super-apostles' were saying that in comparison with them, Paul was inferior and weak. This boasting was causing the Corinthians to distance themselves from Paul and the gospel he preached.
Paul thinks boasting is for fools, but he decides to boast for the sake of his ministry to the Corinthians, a boast that mocks the claims of the "super-apostles': "What anyone else dares to boast about"”I am speaking as a fool"”I also dare to boast about. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I? Are they Abraham's descendants? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to be speaking like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, been exposed to death again and again. I have been stoned, shipwrecked, been in danger, gone without sleep, food, water. And on top of all that, I have the daily worry over all the churches I've planted ... including you!' (11:21b-23)

Paul summarizes in 11:30: "If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness." And he adds a joke at the end to make it clear. "At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me, but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands." (11:32-33).

In ancient Rome, during a siege on a city, the first man up the city wall would receive a crown of gold for their valour. Paul makes it clear that he's no hero. Rather than being the first one up the wall, he's the first one down the wall. And instead of a crown of gold, he gets a ride in a smelly fish basket.

Paul boasts to mock the ridiculous boasts of the "super-apostles'. But there's also another reason"

2. Because of Christ's strength

In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul tells an amazing story. It is about a man who had a spiritual vision or revelation, was caught up in the presence of God, and in his vision heard things that were too wonderful to repeat. Even if he could express these things he wasn't allowed to. Paul reveals himself to be that man, but he doesn't use this vision to boost his reputation. Instead he tells this story because of its weak ending:

So to keep me from being too elated by 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 being too elated. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 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. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insult, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (12:7-10)

The end of verse 10 is puzzling. How can Paul be both weak and strong at the same time?

The key is Paul's thorn in the flesh (12:7). We are very curious about what this thorn could be. Was it a physical illness like poor eyesight, or an external factor, like sexual temptation? We know from the passage that it was given by God, it was a messenger of Satan, and that it tormented Paul. However, what's more important are the truths that we can draw from the thorn about God's purpose and God's provision.

Firstly, God's purpose in giving Paul the thorn was humility. The great revelations that God gave Paul could have made Paul conceited. He could have been like the modern gurus who have "special revelations from God' and sell that "wisdom' in books and videos. He could have become a "super-Paul', a super-super-apostle!

But God gave Paul a thorn so that he would continue to depend on God. Like Joni Eareckson who became quadriplegic in 1967: "My (wheel) chair, because it is visible, is a constant reminder of how much I depend on (God). A sudden pain inside my back, a corset that breaks, or a battle with bedsores"”all remind me how (weak) I really am" (from A Step Further).

Secondly, God's provision for Paul is certain. "Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness'" (12:8). The most important part of this verse is that the grace and power are from God. In the suffering caused by the thorn, God's grace would be sufficient for Paul. Whatever he needed, God would generously give him.

What Paul wanted was the thorn removed. However, what Paul needed was for the thorn to remain and for God to help Paul in his weakness"”because it is in human weakness that Christ's power is made perfect, made complete. That is, when Paul is weak, then Christ's power is most potently at work, sustaining him for his gospel ministry.

Paul knows that "" the weakness of God is stronger than men" (1 Cor 1:25). This doesn't mean that he throws in the towel when he is weak, and "just lets God work'. Rather, "" I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me" (Col 1:29). Paul recognizes whose power he relies on.

Paul gladly boasts about his weaknesses because through them Christ's power is at work in Paul. It is through boasting about his weakness that he is boasting about Christ. Paul doesn't seek out troubles and hardships. Paul doesn't strive to be weak or incompetent. He's not a masochist or an ascetic. But Paul has a sober delight, a willing acceptance of situations that show his weakness"”not for the sake of suffering, but for the sake of having Christ's power dwelling in him. Paul is weak and yet superior to the super-apostles. He is superior because in his weaknesses, Christ's power works through him.

Surprised by weakness

We can sum up two things that we learn about weakness from Paul. Weakness: it's good, and it's powerful!

1. It's surprisingly good

Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, is crippled by a thorn. Our reaction is that this is bad"”his ability to preach the gospel will be hindered. Paul's reaction is that this is good"”because in his weakness, Paul cannot rely on his own strength. Therefore Christ's power will be at work. When no-one turns up to an evangelistic meeting run by your church or your Bible study group slowly dwindles, what will your reaction be? That this is bad, because the gospel is being hindered, or that this is good, because God is guarding us against conceit and teaching us to rely on Christ.
2. It's surprisingly powerful

Imagine a woman at church who struggles under the cloud of depression. Sometimes she doesn't make it to Bible study. Sometimes she doesn't even have the energy to take her turn on the morning tea roster. The world would look at her and see weakness. But Paul would see God's power at work, sustaining her day to day, year to year as she continues in her Christian walk. Sure, she struggles. But by his power, she hasn't given up, and by his power, she manages to serve others.

In the end, is it really a surprise? Society may despise weakness, but we glory in the cross of Christ"”the very weakness of Christ through which we experience the goodness and power of God.

So, if I am boasting, I'll speak of my disgrace,
for my weak self displays the power of God's grace.
Christ's spirit works within me,
in weakness, he is strong.
So I look to my Saviour to safely bring me home.
Â© Emu Music 2002

Edited version for The Briefing from a talk given at eQUIP 04