The topic today is one that is often thought of and usually taught in a negative way. The very idea of glorying in our own weakness is counter-intuitive to our own nature. Yet it is a concept described in several places throughout the Bible and in one particular well-known group of verses which we will be taking a look at today.
This is an important principle that every believer should understand, and unfortunately through wrong beliefs, the idea has been twisted to mean something other than what the Bible actually says. If you have been struggling with the concept of glorying in your weakness, this study will set you free.
Our main scripture text is going to be 2nd Corinthians 12:7-10, let’s read it now:
“And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
For this thing I sought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
And he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.‘ Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest on me.
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”
Now in a previous study regarding God’s Divine Healing, we learned that Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” was not a physical sickness or disability, but it was a person who was persecuting Paul and hindering his ministry. Even so, Paul says something that to our human mind does not seem to make any sense… What sort of fool would actually take pleasure in their weakness! But there is a principle here for us to see and learn.
In order for us to understand what God is saying to Paul here and what we are to learn, we must read in the original Greek text because our English translation does not do the verses justice. Look at verse 9… the Lord says My grace is sufficient for you: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.
That word “sufficient” that we see there, in the Greek text it is in the present active indicative. What this means is that it is something that is continuously happening, to you and for you. It is always present and always active. Notice that the Lord says “My grace is…”; wherever you go, His grace is, tomorrow His grace still is, next week comes around, His grace is, a trouble shows up in your life, His grace still is – His grace always is.
Next the Lord says: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.
The word “strength” in the Greek is the word dunamis, which is where we get our English word dynamite. Now dunamis means inherent power to manifest miracles.
The very area you are weakest, the very area you are being attacked, is the area where the miracle-working power of Jesus is most potent. It is clear that Paul understood this, because look at his immediate response after God finished His speaking in verse 9. Paul repents immediately. Paul changes his mind and thinking to agree with God right there, and states that he will most gladly glory in his weaknesses so that the power of Christ may rest on him. Wow! What a statement! Paul is saying not only will he glory in his weaknesses, but most gladly. Furthermore, the reason which he gives for this is so that the power of Christ would rest on him. Do you see that word “power” there? It is the same Greek word dunamis again. Also the word “rest” in this verse is the Greek word episkēnoō, which means “to fix a tent on, or to dwell in as a house.”
The principle here is this: When you boast in your weakness, the power of God will abide in and camp over you like a shield. However many of us do not do this, we get discouraged, upset and unsettled. We fixate on our problems, instead on the solution which is Jesus Christ. When we focus on our problems, we actually cut-off the flow of God’s miracle power in our lives, like squeezing a pipe to stop a water flow in animated cartoons. However when we focus on Christ Jesus, we are able to truly rejoice in our infirmities and His dunamis power will rest upon us in force and be effective in our lives.
The biggest enemy to God is self. Satan is a selfish spirit. When we are focusing on our problems, what we are really doing is being self-occupied. However when we are boasting in our weaknesses, we are really being Christ-centered – because He is the only way in which we can truly boast in our weaknesses. And when we truly release our grip on our problems and give them to Him, He is then willing and able to work on our behalf.
This is the practical application. Just because we have needs does not mean that the power of God is activated automatically. We all have problems, needs and weaknesses; and God’s power is available for each and every one of us, but look at verse 10:
Paul says that he takes pleasure in infirmities, reproaches, needs, persecutions and distress for Christ’s sake: (Never forget that) for when I am weak, then I am strong.
Many of us have read this verse before, but we still think that we are strong when we are strong in our own strength, but it’s all for Christ’s sake. In closing I want to show you something from the genealogy of Jesus Christ that illustrates this point. Turn now to Matthew chapter 1, and let’s read verses 1 through 6:
“The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brothers;
And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;
And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon;
And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;
And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;”
Now it’s interesting to note that out of the entire genealogy of Jesus Christ, there are only a total of four women mentioned. Obviously there were more women because without women there would be no babies, but only four had the honor of being mentioned. Now if you are a naturally curious person like I am, you want to understand why the Holy Spirit singled out these four women. Nothing is in the Bible by coincidence, it is all Divinely inspired, every single word and letter.
In verse 3 we see the first woman mentioned is Tamar. She is the daughter-in-law of Judah (Genesis 38). Judah got Tamar as a wife for his firstborn son, who later died. He then passed her on to his other son who also died. So she was a childless widow. Very undesirable in that culture. So later on through trickery she tricks her father-in-law Judah into sleeping with her because he would not rightfully give her on to his third son Shelah as was customary in those days. Now from this act she gets pregnant, and gives birth to twins, and one of them, Perez, ends up in the genealogy of Jesus Christ.
Now think… Judah has many other brothers – he is after-all part of the twelve tribes of Israel, he has many brothers and God could have chosen any of them to be the lineage of Jesus Christ, but he chose the one with the stigma of sin. You’ll notice with each of the women listed, they all have some taint of sin or weakness in their life.
In verse 5 we see Rahab mentioned. Now Rahab is the prostitute in Jericho that hid the Israelite spies because she believed in the Lord (Joshua 2). So she hung the scarlet rope in her window that when the city was conquered she would be spared. And when the walls of Jericho miraculously fell, her house was the only house left standing (Joshua 6), because she put her faith in the LORD, and the scarlet rope which is a picture of the blood of Jesus. And she did not remain a prostitute, we see that she married Naasson’s son Salmon, and gave birth to Boaz, who eventually married Ruth.
Now Ruth is described in Ruth 3:11 as a virtuous woman, so where is her taint of sin? It is the fact that she is a Moabite. God had stated in Deuteronomy 23 that no Moabite will ever enter the congregation of the LORD. The law disqualified Ruth, but Jesus redeemed her. Jesus is greater than your family-tree; Jesus can redeem you from your blood-line.
Next in verse 6 we see David the king who begot Solomon, from “her who had been the wife of Uriah”. That is referring to Bathsheba, a name we all should recognize. The one who David saw bathing from the rooftop. David had many wives, but God chose the one that had the stigma of sin, with adultery and murder.
So what is God saying here, that sin is acceptable? Certainly not. Just as Paul says “Shall we continue sinning so that Grace may increase?” No. But what God is saying is that your bad past does not disqualify you from a good future. Jesus can redeem you. Your weaknesses are not what you should be focusing on, Jesus is.
The grace of God can explode miracle-working power in your weaknesses if you will surrender it to Him. Repent, change your mind to agree with God, and His power will flow into your life.
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