For most of us, the idea of strength in weakness doesn’t make any sense. Strength and weakness are opposites. They don’t go together at all. Weaknesses are bad and are to be avoided at all costs. Strengths are good, and something all of us want. That explains why most of us do everything we can to avoid, overcome, or conceal our weaknesses. They make us feel vulnerable. They can even frighten us.

The apostle Paul was under attack at Corinth by people who claimed they were better speakers and had supernatural powers and visions. They claimed they were better apostles than Paul. Instead of engaging in one-upmanship with them, Paul took the opposite approach. He claimed that his ministry followed the model of the Suffering Servant and backed it up by listing all the hardships he had endured in the service of Christ. Paul also told the story of an unusual spiritual experience he had in the past. This vision was so extraordinary that Paul was afflicted by “a thorn in the flesh” to keep him from boasting about it.

The passage we heard from 2 Corinthians 12 describes a moment in Paul ‘s life when he had a heavenly experience. Scripture does not provide many details. In fact, Paul seemed reluctant to even mention his own name, instead saying, “I know a man…” Scholars agree, however, that Paul was talking about himself. He was not even sure if his experience was physical or spiritual, but he did know he was given the unique privilege of going to heaven and returning to tell of it.

Much debate has surrounded Paul’s “thorn in the flesh.” The point is not the specific thorn but that it existed at all. The flesh is still corrupt and corrupting, even in an apostle who was given divine revelation and visions. But God is greater than Satan and greater than the flesh. Through human brokenness, as God servants are made humble, the power of Christ shines through their lives and ministries.

This thorn greatly pained Paul, but God’s provision was and is sufficient. God’s grace for personal trials is always able to meet human need. In the face of the thorn that remained, Paul did not complain about his state. Rather, he cultivated a new attitude, recognizing that what was weak in him served to magnify what was strong in God. God always wants those who are weak to be channels of His great power. His struggle with physical vulnerability revealed to him more surely than any divine ecstasy could the nature of the power of God; this is a power that shows itself in this world in and through weakness.

There is a correlation between weakness and spirituality. The more vulnerable we are, the more open we make ourselves to the presence of God, and the deeper our faith and our spirituality. God’s sovereign grace is most evident in the life of his people when they are inadequate rather than strong. Paul boasted in his weaknesses.

When we are beaten low, it is then we can recognize and apply God’s sovereign grace. Weakness, failure, trouble, doubt, fear…all the things that seem to confine our individual Christian lives and the life of our Chrisitan community, is the stuff that lays bare the operation of God’s sovereign grace.

That grace is shown in the message of the cross. It puts all virtues in a very different light. The cross was shameful. To the Jew it was the symbol of God’s curse. To the Greeks, it was a symbol of public disgrace. To the Romans, it was the death of traitors and rebels. Nothing in the structure of these cultures prepared anyone for the preaching of the cross. It was a stumbling block to Jews and absurd to the Greeks, but to those whom God had called, it was Christ-the wisdom of God and the power of God. In our modern culture that stresses personal autonomy and social advancement we should more directly conform our mindset to the gospel of our weakness.

It is okay for our weaknesses to be seen. Don’t be afraid to be a fool who boasts of the weakness of his or her virtues. When we see the weakness of our virtues, then we realize that the kingdom does not rest upon our virtue and power, but upon God’s.

(An audio version of this message can be found at https://www.spreaker.com/episode/2-corinthians-12-verses-1-10-a-thorn-in-the-flesh-is-not-a-sign-of-weakness–66465377?fbclid=IwY2xjawKy5lRleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETE0RnRlOUNnZHplVWpYQmJvAR7bx_7UmAR3gtMDb7gknajs0Km9icBkS1lbjZMOe3694cO7w3nwBoXB33rk4A_aem_MCaXcs_kSo5b25NV0_2sPA)

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New King James Version (Brentwood, TN: Worth Publishing; 2013; pp. 1614-1615)
2. The Rev. Dr. Alan Brehm, “Strength in Weakness.” Retrieved from www.thewakingdreamer.com
3. Sally A. Brown, “Commentary on 2 Corinthians 12:2-10.” Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org
4. Dan Lewis, “The Gospel of Our Weakness.” Retrieved from www.journeywithjesus.net