Grace > Weakness

Kent Hinrichsen

Summer Retreat • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

2 Corinthians 12:1–10

Grace

Weakness

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Notes

Transcript

Introduction

Start off with doing the plank for 2 min.

“Veteran strength coach and Men’s Health contributor Dan John has a firm answer: two minutes. That’s what he recommends in his new book, Can You Go? If you can’t hold a plank for 120 seconds, you’re either a) too fat; b) too weak; or c) doing something wrong in your workouts. A fit, healthy guy should be able to do a two-minute plank.”

Weakness

What does it mean to have a weakness?

Weakness- the state or condition of lacking strength

What are some examples of a weakness?

Muscle weakness

Mental weakness

Fleshly (spiritual weak)

Is a weakness something that you are proud of?

Most of us would say no. Personally, if I know that I am bad at something, I know that I’m prone not to even try it because I don’t want to look bad or possibly lose at something. I know that in those times I’m battling against my pride. We would agree that our weaknesses are things that we are not be proud of. I think it’s safe to say that we would not boast about our weaknesses.

You want to hear something that confuses me.

This is the exact opposite attitude that the Apostle Paul has about his weaknesses.

Read 2 Corinth. 12:9b-10

2 Corinthians 12:9b–10 (CSB)

Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

How in the world can Paul have this attitude about his weakness? Let’s study this passage in context and hopefully we will see how Paul can say things like “I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses”

Transition statement: So what is the situation Paul is in when he wrote those verses?

Background to 2 Corinth. 12

Paul is writing to the church in Corinth and this church has a history of false teachers who try to discredit the teaching of Paul because they think they are more important than Paul. You could say that these false teachers are trying to cancel the Apostle Paul.

I don’t know about you but if someone is attacking my character, my gut reaction is to prove that I am worthy of respect. For example, there was one time when I was in high school, it was during P.E. class and a girl that was near me said to my face, “Kent, I don’t think you are a good basketball player”. Let me tell you, when I was in high school, I had a lot of pride in my basketball ability. So what is my gut reaction, I turned to her and said, “prove it, play me 1-on-1 right now.” I was so caught up in what others thought of me as a basketball player that I put a beatdown on this girl in this 1-on-1 game. But needless to say my response was one that didn’t represent Christ well. My response was prideful and showed that I really had my identity grounded in basketball.

All that to say is that usually when someone tries to discredit us, our flesh, our sinfulness wants to come back and prove ourself by our own works. But that is not what we see here with Paul and the false teachers in Corinth. Even though Paul, in a sarcastic and comical way give examples of things that have happened to him that by themselves would put him above the false teachers at that time, in the end Paul has his foundation for his apostolic authority grounded in the grace that can be found in Jesus Christ.

Read 2 Cor. 12:6-10

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 12

6 For if I want to boast, I wouldn’t be a fool, because I would be telling the truth. But I will spare you, so that no one can credit me with something beyond what he sees in me or hears from me, 7 especially because of the extraordinary revelations. Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so that I would not exalt myself. 8 Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it would leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.”

Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. 10 So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

What Paul is saying here is that if we did not have any weaknesses, we would be prone to grow self-dependent instead of depending on God. I want you to see this weekend that God desires a deeper relationship with you and me. A relationship with God starts when you recognize your sin/weakness. When we cry out to God for help, He meets us where we are at. He gives us the power of the Holy Spirit. This is all done through what is called Grace. Grace is undeserved favor that we receive when we are in a right relationship with God which is done by believing and trusting in Jesus as your savior.

Grace > Weakness

So for this weekend I hope you will see that Grace is greater than our weakness. We will dive deeper to what this means and how to apply to our lives in the upcoming sessions.

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