Weakness Leading to Holiness: 2 Corinthians 12:1-10

This sermon was delivered on June 26th, 2011

12:1 "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)

1. The Description of Our Weakness
-I don't know very many of you
-but as a person raised in the church, one thing I know is that all of us in here are or
have been or will be beleaguered by weaknesses
-I've seen all types of weakness in the life of the saints
-elderly people struggling with all sorts of diseases
-people going through financial hardships, esp in this time
-someone in this room is going through some type of unemployment
-some of you are struggling in relationships right now, maybe marriage or maybe
friendships
-some of you just don't feel like you have enough
-in fact, weakness and suffering is as certain as death and taxes in the Christian life
-Jesus promised that there would be suffering of many types
-so what does this passages teach us about it?
-first, Paul doesn't tell us what his problem is...that's strange?
-why? well I'm not sure...nobody can really tell what the thorn in v. 7 actually was
-but what does this tell?
1. because it remains anonymous, it remains accplicable to our lives
2. this shows God's richness and wisdom
-second, it's not sin
-God always grants requests to break free from sin
-Paul prayed for that here
-well, what is it?
-in v. 10, Paul defines it for us:
-insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities
-note: insult denotes someone being proud around you and injuring you
but we take this b.c God in Jesus has already taken it for us
-note: calamity here indicates literally the metaphor "between a rock and a hard
place"
-it means you have no where to go
-what do we do when we find ourselves in these kind of situations?
-we fret, we worry, we become restless, offended, etc.
-when we are insulted, we want to strike back (Piper)
-when we are between a rock and a hard place, we want to get out
-but usually there is nothing we can do; the damage has been done
-essentially what we want to do is make the situation right
-literally, we want to justify ourselves
-we want to correct the insult, fix the financial situation, save our marriage,
cure the disease
-and far too often we want to do it on our own..this is the situation we find
ourselves in

2. The Source of Our Weakness-If you've been struck with affliction for very long at all, the first thing you begin to do is
ask the question "why?" and esp. "Why for so long? I understand for a little bit, but why
for so long?"
-Maybe you've been out of work for a significant amount of time now...6 months, a year,
2 years? and you want' to say how long o Lord?
-well that's exactly what Paul said: v.8 three times I pleaded, take it away!
-Paul, stuck with a thorn in the flesh, prayed, not once, not twice, but three times
-if he asked three times, im sure he was wondering how long
-it's natural to want to ask this question
-we live in a world cursed by sin...not supposed to be that way
-but hidden behind the question "how long?" is another more deeper question: "who's
behind this?"
-cool illustration?
-see v. 7-->messenger of Satan
-see v. 7-->was given
-it was given by Satan, under the sovereignty of God
-this is the way in your life too-->Satan is responsible for the evil, but God is not out of
control
-this is not to say that God causes evil...God and testing trials?
-theodicy of the cross (Ferguson)
-apply it to you life
-so how does this comfort you? b/c God is behind it, working it for good
-if your friend is behind it, you know you can rest easy, no matter how hard it is

3. The Reason for Our Weakness-but I still haven't answered why God lets it go on for so long
-well let's look at the passage itself!
-I think far too often when we examine this passage, we think God doesn't give Paul an
answer to the question: why?
-but He does...in fact, He gives three...lets look at them

1)First, and most obviously, Paul says that it is because of his pride that the affliction is
given
-see v.7-->the messenger of Satan was sent to keep Paul from being conceited
-now in this case, the reason is obvious...God had taken Paul and given him a vision far
more magnificent than anyone else had seen
-the natural inclination of the human heart is to boast in the cool things we've done
-have you ever wondered why so often in your life, when you've done something
awesome and great (in work or at home), that soon afterwards you mess up real bad?
-that's not a bad thing...that's a good thing...that's the grace of God
-its b/c Jesus is wanting us to see that we don't trust in the stuff we do but we trust in
Him
-when you are weak, when you are broken, when you are dejected its hard to take
refuge, rest, and boast in the things that you do
-you can't be proud when you are broken
-u see ur need of Jesus when u r broken
-now some of you may be dealing with weaknesses that don't seem to have any
connection to pride problems in your life
-maybe you've lost your job, but you were never excessively boastful or proud about
work
-well, sometimes its just hard to see why God does what He does...must trust Him
-but the point is that in one way or another, God is removing reliance on the things of
this world and replacing them with reliance in Him, in many different ways and means

2). Second, look at v.9
-when Paul asks the Lord to take his affliction away, Jesus simply answers "my grace is
sufficient for you"
-now that's quite a strange answer, until you realize exactly what the Lord is saying
-when Paul pleads "take it away!" Jesus answers "I have given you grace"
-more specifically, Jesus is saying "I came and lived a perfect life and died on the cross
for you so that you could rule and reign with me"
-more specifically than that, Jesus is saying "I love you."
-so when Paul asks why so long, Jesus responds "I love you."
-when you plead to the Lord over the weaknesses and struggles in your life, His answer
is always this: "I love you."
-now that seems strange, and I know what you are thinking..."If He loved me, then He
wouldn't put this burden on me"

3) But on the contrary, and thirdly, let's finish v. 9-->"my power is made perfect in
weakness."
-what does that mean?
-when Jesus says "His power is made perfect" He certainly doesn't mean that His power
is imperfect...that would be ridiculous...Jesus is God!
-so what does it mean?
-the Greek word here translated "perfect" actually means more along the lines of "being
made complete" or "finishing" or "reaching a purpose"
-let's reread the verse now "My power reaches its purpose in weakness"
-now that is really groundbreaking!
-it is through the weakness, suffering, pain, and failure in your life that God's purpose
comes about in your life
-you see, God values your holiness more than He values your comfort or earthly
security
-it is as if God is an artist, and you are the canvas, and he paints a beautiful picture
using suffering, pain, weakness, and calamities
-and what is His purpose?...see 1 Thess 4:3: "this is the will of God for you: your
sanctification"
-now the word 'sanctification' simply means this: making you look and act more and
more like Jesus
-God's will for your life then, is holiness!
-through suffering and weakness, God is testing you and refining you and getting rid of
all of your impurities
-remember James 1:2-4: "count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various
kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness, and let
steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in
nothing"
-through weakness, God makes us strong in HIm and makes us look more like Him
-and that gives us reason to boast!

4. The Solution to Our Weakness-so we've seen now the definition of our weakness, the source of our weakness, and the
reason for our weakness. Finally, we find the solution to our weakness.
-the way I see it, there's two solutions to our weakness and suffering offered in this
passage, which in the end turn out to really be just one.

1) First, and most obviously, is prayer-see v.8-->"three times I pleaded with the Lord about this"
-Paul prayed to the Lord, and he prayed continually
-now here's what's peculiar-->Paul prayed 3 times, but we don't ever have any record of
God taking this away from him
-I'm sure all of you at one point or another have prayed and prayed and prayed for
something or someone, only for your desire not to be met
-maybe that desire still hasn't been met, and you think your prayer is useless.
-but the reason Paul prayed so much isn't b/c He didn't think God couldn't hear him...He
did! God knows everything
-the reason Paul prayed so much is b/c God wanted Paul to feel his weakness and
inadequacy!
-think about it...if we are honest, I'd bet that none of us in here pray as much as we
should
-as a matter of fact, we usually just pray when we need something or when we've
exhausted all other options
-prayer becomes a last ditch effort and a measure of desperation
-now a lot of us are ashamed when we realize that...I only pray when I'm absolutely
desperate
-the correct response, however, is not simply that I just need to pray more
-the correct response is: I need to be desperate more!
-the problem isn't that we don't pray enough...the problem is that we aren't desperate
enough and that we don't realize our inadequacies enough
-prayer comes naturally from a desperate heart
-remember 1 Thess 5:17-->"pray without ceasing"?
-the only way to do that is to live in a continual state of need and inadequacy before the
Father, realizing how much we simple just cant do
-paulson desperation models the Christian life

2)The second "solution" to our weakness is Christ's all sufficient grace-let's return again to v. 9 "my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in
weakness"
-what is Jesus saying here? what does it mean?
-three things:

1)Jesus gives us little daily mercies and graces to get through tough and difficult times
-these come in many forms, from a kind word from a friend, to a meal, or to
preaching, baptism, and the Lord's Supper

2)As we have already seen, His grace is working to make us look more and more like
Jesus
-concentrate on "for"
-part of God's gifts and grace is hardships, for that is when He is loving you the
most and changing your life the most

3)Resting in Jesus above all else
-recall that I said in weakness, we try to justify ourselves?
-when we are insulted, we want to quip back
-when we suffer, we desire not to be weak
-when we suffer calamities, we just want to get out of it and find shelter
-the truth of the matter is, however, that in Jesus we already have that shelter
-when you are insulted, know that Christ has spoken for you
-in Jesus we have already been justified!
-when you are sick, know that Christ is healing all sickness and is one day giving you a
new body
-when you are unemployed, know that Christ is bringing you into His riches
-when you are in a bad marriage, know that Christ has provided a marriage with Him
-know, that His grace is sufficient
-the call here is to rest in Him...to find our all and all in Jesus and our identity and
meaning and purpose
-it is to trust in what He's done for us, rather than in our next paycheck or in our own
strength
-it is to let go of the idols of our heart and look to HIm
-and we find this in looking to the cross
-this is where His grace is most gloriously displayed...at the cross
-you are saved, you are not the same as you used to be, and you are heading to
heaven, trust in that! and in all the promises of God...set your heart upon these
things and and lean on that with all your might
-not to say that these troubles here are not real or important
-and it's not to say that you shouldn't fight the bad things in your life like disease
and unemployment
-just to say that Jesus is so much better than that
-and it's to say that your future is so much better in Jesus
-when we do this, we begin to trust less and less in our own power and might, and trust
more and more in desperate love on the promises of God
-and when that happens, then we can boast in weakness
-in closing, John Newton's hymn "Prayer Answered by Crosses"

I asked the Lord that I might grow
In faith, and love, and every grace;
Might more of His salvation know,
And seek, more earnestly, His face.
’Twas He who taught me thus to pray,
And He, I trust, has answered prayer!
But it has been in such a way,
As almost drove me to despair.
I hoped that in some favored hour,
At once He’d answer my request;
And by His love’s constraining pow’r,
Subdue my sins, and give me rest.
Instead of this, He made me feel
The hidden evils of my heart;
And let the angry pow’rs of hell
Assault my soul in every part.
Yea more, with His own hand He seemed
Intent to aggravate my woe;
Crossed all the fair designs I schemed,
Blasted my gourds, and laid me low.
Lord, why is this, I trembling cried,
Wilt thou pursue thy worm to death?
’Tis in this way, the Lord replied,
I answer prayer for grace and faith.
These inward trials I employ,
From self, and pride, to set thee free;
And break thy schemes of earthly joy,
That thou may’st find thy all in Me.
We would do well to remember that.