Let us turn to that portion we
were reading there in 2 Corinthians chapter 12. 2 Corinthians chapter 12, I'll
read verses 10 and 11. Paul says, 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. I have become a fool in glorying,
ye have compelled me, for I ought to have been commended of you.
For in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though
I be nothing. And I want to draw to a close
this short series that we've considered with regards to the
believer, the life of faith, and the paradox of that life
of faith, our fifth and final consideration really of the subject,
but turning from those verses in the sixth chapter, we're looking
there at verses 9 and 10, but now turning in particular to
these words here in chapter 12, at the end of verse 10, when
I am weak, then am I strong. When I am weak, then am I strong. Isn't that the testimony of those
who know anything at all of saving faith, that faith that centers
in the person and the work of the Lord Jesus. The vital thing,
of course, in saving faith, justifying faith, is that one who is the
object, the Lord himself, the Lord's, our righteousness. And so to take up these words
as we draw this short series of sermons to a close this evening,
when I am weak, then am I strong. Though Paul goes on in the following
verse, in the end of that 11th verse, to declare with regards
to himself, in nothing he says behind the very chiefest apostles.
For what a man was this, he was the great apostle to the Gentiles,
a man greatly gifted. He sat at the feet of Gamaliel,
he was a learned man, He was a gifted man, he was a laborious
man, nothing behind the very chiefest apostles, he says, though
I be nothing. He felt himself really to be
so weak that he was nothing at all, a mere cipher. All weakness really in himself. And yet, as we've sought to say,
he introduces these personal passages in the course of the
letter because he's continually having to defend himself. He had been instrumental under
God in the establishment of the church there in Corinth. He'd
been assured when he was there that God had much people in that
city. There were those, the election
of grace, they were dead in trespasses and sins, but Paul was to preach.
and by that preaching there must have been gracious awakening
in many hearts, a church was established and Paul moves on
with his ministry from place to place and then false teachers,
false apostles come in amongst them with their heretical teachings
and he makes reference to some of these, as we've seen over
the course of these past few weeks. He speaks of them in chapter
11. In verse 13 he says, for such
are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves
into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel for Satan himself,
he's transformed into an angel of light, Therefore, it is no
great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers
of righteousness, whose end, he says, shall be according to
their works. But then, with regards to himself,
he says here, in the words following our text, truly the signs of
an apostle were wrought among you in all patience. in signs and wonders and mighty
deeds, contrasting himself and his ministry amongst them with
those heretical teachers who they were so ready to give ear
to. Well, as we come then to consider
something of what he is saying in this paradoxical statement
at the end of verse 10, When I am weak, then am I strong. In the context, he says, 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. And first of all, to say something
of his weakness, and all that that entailed, the humbling The
humbling of this man. How he feels his utter weakness
now. Though I be nothing, he says.
Now, he was very different once upon a time, because he was sore. He was the son of a pharisee. As I said, he'd been schooled
at the feet of a great Jewish rabbi, Gamaliel. and he was very
proud of his Pharisaic religion. Oh, what a proud man he was and
he reminds us, doesn't he, there in Philippians chapter 3? He says, I might also have confidence
in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that
he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more circumcise
the eighth day of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin,
And Hebrew of the Hebrews is touching the law, a Pharisee
concerning zeal, persecuting the church. Oh, he persecuted
these followers of Jesus of Nazareth because he saw it as some sort
of deadly sect. Touching the righteousness which
is in the law, why he considered himself blameless. He was one
who honoured God's law, kept God's law to the very letter
so he thought. He was a proud pharisee. But how he was humbled when confronted
by the Lord Jesus there in the 9th of the Acts going to Damascus
to persecute more Christian believers and the Lord arrests him. He's apprehended of the Lord
Jesus Christ and he's humbled to the dust, trembling, astonished. There he is, groveling as it
were in the dust before the Lord Jesus as we see in the opening
verses of Acts chapter 9. And he's blinded and he has to
be taken by the hand and led into the city. goes to someone
in the street called Strait and then one of those despised Christians
is commanded by the Lord to go to this man, this persecutor,
Ananias. And Ananias is to go to him and
lay his hands upon him so that his sight might be restored and
is to convey a certain message to him. Who is this man? well
Ananias is told there in verse 15 of that chapter
Acts 9.15 the Lord said unto him go thy way for he that is
this man Saul of Tarsus he is a chosen vessel unto me to bear
my name before the Gentiles and kings, and the children of Israel,
for I will show him how great things he must suffer for my
name's sake. And Ananias went his way, and
ended it at the house, and putting his hands on him, said, Brother
Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, had appeared unto thee in the way,
as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy
sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost and immediately there
fell from his eyes as it had been scales and he received his
sight forthwith and arose and was baptized. What a remarkable
transformation in this man. This proud Pharisee now a humble
follower of the Lamb. He was favoured of God He was
a chosen vessel of the Lord. And so he can say, and he's not
boasting in the words that we have here in verse 11, in nothing
am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though he says I be
nothing. That's how he considered himself.
But how this man had to learn continually learning humility. He says here at verse 7, lest
I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the
revelations. He was a favored man, shown remarkable things,
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." Oh, what had God appointed for this
man in order for his humbling? Well, there was this thorn in
the flesh, he says. This thorn in the flesh. He continues,
doesn't he? Verse 8, For this thing I besought
the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto
me, My grace, is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made
perfect in weakness." There's the key, you see. Oh, it's the
grace of God, my strength is made perfect in weakness, in
all the weakness of this man. The Lord makes known his strength.
And Paul says, Most gladly therefore will I write the glory in my
affirmatives, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. but all God's appointment, what
was God's appointment for him? there was to be a thorn in the
flesh a thorn in the flesh something
painful crippling a thorn festering away troubling him he was so
restless he wanted this thing to be taken away, to be removed
where was this? it's a thorn in the flesh. Now what are we to understand
by the flesh? Well, we know that the flesh
is the All-Nature. The Lord says, doesn't He, in
John 3, where He speaks of the necessity of the new birth, He
must be born again. That which is born of the flesh
is flesh, says Christ. That which is born of the Spirit
is Spirit. And dear this man, there's something
in his flesh, there's a thorn oh how the flesh you see is lusting
against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh and now these
two are contrary one to the other and Paul says she cannot do the
thing that she would how he troubled him how he felt it, he feels
what he is you see this is how the Lord humbles a man is it
not when he feels what the flesh is, oh wretched man that I am
who shall deliver me from the body of this death he gets a
sight, he gets a sense of himself and that sin that is so in him,
that indwelling sin this is how the Lord humbles a man and teaches
a man and shows him what he is, his impotence how he cannot do
anything for himself Moses says in the Psalm, Psalm 90, Thou
turnest man to destruction. That's what God does, He turns
a man to destruction. And then He says, Return, you
children of men. Isn't that what the Lord does
when He begins with the soul of the sinner? When grace comes
into that sinner's soul, the man is turned to destruction. There's nothing but destruction
in himself. no hope in himself, no help there. The Lord must do the work. The Lord must say the words,
return ye children of men. Oh, there's a thorn then, there's
a thorn and it's very much situated in his flesh. And it's spoken
of also, isn't it, as the messenger of Satan. There was given to
me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan, to buffet
me lest I should be exalted above measure." Now we know that Satan is not really a free agent. Certainly amongst all the remarkable
lessons we learn in the book of Job there is that lesson,
right at the beginning. because Satan, in a sense, can
only do what he does, in Job's case, because he's under the
sovereign hand of God. This is the mystery. There's
a mystery. Because God is not the author of sin. And yet Satan
is subject to the sovereignty of God. And I don't pretend to
be able to explain that. But God cannot be the author
of sin. He survives too pure to behold iniquity. He cannot
look upon sin. God is the Holy One. But there is Satan and here we
see that under the sovereignty of God there was given to me,
Paul says, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh and he
calls it the messenger of Satan to buffet me. lest I should be
exalted above measure." Now, what is it to be buffeted? What
is it to be buffeted? Well, the word that we have here,
this particular verb, it's derived, really, from the noun for a knuckle
or a fist. We're to think of the pugilist,
we're to think of of bare-knuckle fighting, the viciousness of
that. I mean, you're probably aware
of the damage that can be done when there's a boxing match and
two men fight one another and they wear boxing gloves. And
yet, what damage can be done to a man's face? Well, imagine
what he must be like when he's bare-knuckles, buffeting. Well, this is the world that
we have here. the messenger of satan is buffeting him he is
being mauled by satan and so mauled that his features can
hardly be discerned you can't even quite see who this man is
because his face is so pulverized and this is poor you see it is
so dreadful to get a proper sight of ourselves and what we are
as sinners how awful it is this is what this man knew he is buffeted
by satan and he knows what his flesh is and of course he speaks
in some detail of the anxiety and the anguish of all that in
Romans chapter 7 when I would do good evil he is present with
me he feels the the awfulness of his sin and all this is for
his humbling he is being humbled all the time he is being humbled what a terrible experience lest
I should be exalted above measure he says this is the the Lord's dealings with him
in order to humble Paul. And what is the Apostle's response?
How does Paul respond to all of this? Well, we read the chapter and we see how self-effaced he is really.
He's learning the lesson. He's been saying a great deal
about himself throughout this epistle as he's defended himself. But he doesn't really want to
speak of himself and so he doesn't speak directly really when we
look at the earlier part of the chapter. He says it is not expedient for
me doubtless to glory All that he's been saying at the end of
chapter 11 with regards to himself and the difference between him
and those false teachers, verse 23 there, are they ministers
of Christ? I speak as a fool. I am more
in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more
frequent, in deaths oft, and so on and so forth. all about
himself, has he got a big ego? Well, that's not the case really.
And so when we come into chapter 12, it is not expedient for me,
doubtless to glory, and then he says, I will come to visions
and revelations of the Lord. I knew a man. You see here, he's so reluctant
to speak of himself. Who is he speaking of? Who is
this man? Well, this man is Paul. but he doesn't want to keep speaking
about himself and so he speaks in the third person he speaks of a man I knew a man
in Christ about 14 years ago whether in the body I cannot
tell or whether out of the body I cannot tell God knoweth such
in one caught up to the third heaven now you know what the
third heaven is well it's paradise he goes on to say that doesn't
he in verse 4 this man was caught up into paradise we think of
three heavens there's the azure heavens as it were
there's the atmosphere around this planet earth we look up
into the heavens and we see the clouds in the sky and then on
a nice clear night we look out into the starry heavens We look
out into the vastness of the universe. That's the second heavens. But there's a third heaven. And
what is the third heaven? Well, that's altogether outside
of time. And that's altogether outside
of space. That's the heaven of heavens.
That's where God is. He's paradise. And this man was
caught up there. I knew a man, he says, speaks quite clearly in the third
person, how he was caught up, he was caught up into paradise
and heard unspeakable words which it is not lawful, not possible
for a man to utter. or we saw remarkable things.
You see, as I've said all along, we have these passages in the
epistles where Paul is so personal and speaks of himself and his
experiences because he's the pattern believer. There in 1
Timothy 1.16, a pattern, literally a type, a type of them who should
hereafter believe. that's how God has dealt with
this man and so as he writes under the inspiration of the
Spirit he doesn't just deal with great doctrinal truth in his
epistles he doesn't just deal with the practical aspect of
the Christian life how the Christian is to live his life how those
doctrines are going to affect him in the manner of his conduct
but he speaks very personally at times and he does that in
this epistle defending himself But all the time his one object
really was only to preach Christ. I determine not to know anything
among you, he says. Save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. There at the beginning of the
first letter to the Corinthians. We preach Christ and Him crucified. Even here in chapter 4 of this
epistle, the second epistle. Again, we see him as one who
is determined to preach nothing but Christ. There in verse 5
of chapter 4, we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord. and
ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. He doesn't want to speak about
himself, he's so modest. What is he? He's a nothing. Paul
is nothing. Paul's all weakness, utter weakness. He won't speak of himself if
he can help it. And It's interesting, isn't it,
with regards to what he is dealing with in this chapter and these
remarkable revelations. This man who was caught up into
the third heaven. It was a long time ago. He didn't
want to speak about it. He'd said nothing for 14 years. He kept it very much to himself.
He'd not gone bragging about things, you know, Oh, there are
some people and they love to tell you all about themselves
and all that they've done for the Lord and all that the Lord
has shown to them and how important they are. But here is Paul, he's
had a remarkable experience. But how careful he is, he doesn't
want to project himself. He's not a personality preacher.
I knew a man in Christ about 14 years ago, he says. And it's
only now he speaks because it's necessary to do so to defend
himself against the false teachers. Oh, he says, verse 11, I have
become a fool in glory, and ye have compelled me, for I ought
to have been commended of you, for in nothing am I behind the
very chiefest apostles. And again at verse 12, truly
the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience
in signs and wonders and mighty deeds. He was very much an apostle to
them. Go back, go back to what he says
there in chapter 9 of the first epistle that he writes to them.
And he reminds them in no uncertain terms Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen
Jesus Christ our Lord? Are not ye my work in the Lord?
If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you. For
the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord. How much they owed to this dear
man. He was their apostle. who'd first
preached the gospel to them. And then so many of them had
turned against him. Oh Paul, what a man, what a man
he was. He was no reprobate. He was no peddler of heretical
doctrines. He tells them, doesn't he, to
examine themselves in chapter 13 at verse 5 to prove themselves,
to know themselves but he says there at verse 6, I trust you
shall know that we are not reprobates. Here is a man then who is learning
humility he doesn't want to speak of self
he wants to speak continually of the saviour not that he would say that it's all together
wrong to to speak of our experience of course there is a time there's
a place for that for the psalmist would bear his
testimony to the Lord. Come and hear, all ye that fear
God, I will declare what he hath done for my soul. It's not wrong
to tell what good things the Lord has done for our souls in
salvation. Are we not to be ready always
to give an answer to every man that asks a reason of the hope
that is within us? Can we not bear testimony to
the grace of God? Oh, Paul surely would desire
to do that. Why, he says again in the first
letter to them, there in chapter 5 and verse 10, by the grace
of God, I am what I am. Oh, he was a debtor to grace
all his days, all his days. And so he really wants to give
the glory to God he feels himself to be nothing he feels himself
to be utter weakness but when I am weak then he says am I strong? then am I strong? and so let's
turn in the second place to say a little with regards to his
strength we thought about how he was humbled He was not to
be exalted above measure, the Lord has to deal with him. But also in a sense this man
is greatly honoured. He is greatly honoured. Where
does his strength come from? When I am weak then am I strong. I can do all things, he says,
through Christ which strengthens me. But it all comes from the Lord,
how Paul knew a divine revelation of Christ to his soul. He doesn't
tell us here what this particular revelation was, but obviously
he was favored to behold things that are really unspeakable. There at verse 4, unspeakable
words, which it is not lawful, not possible for a man to utter. Of such and one will I glory,
yet in myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities." Well,
what was the revelation? The revelation obviously centers
in the Lord. It's the Lord. It's the Lord. It was a remarkable experience.
It was in the depth of his soul. whether in the body I cannot
tell or whether out of the body I cannot tell God knoweth it
was some remarkable experience we know certainly with regards
to the beginning of his ministry when he is first called by the
grace of God there was a wonderful revelation granted to him writing
in the epistle to the Galatians that he's made so abundantly
clear the gospel which he preached.
Paul an apostle not of men neither by man but by Jesus Christ and
God the Father who raised him from the dead and all the brethren
which are with me unto the churches of Galatia he says. He's an apostle
but not of men, neither by man, it's all by Jesus Christ and
God the Father. And what does he go on to say
at verse 11? I certify you, brethren, that
the gospel which was preached of me is not after man for I
neither received it of man, neither was I taught it but by the revelation
of Jesus Christ. It was revealed to him. He goes
on, verse 15, it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's
womb and called me by His grace to reveal His Son in me, that
I might preach Him among the heathen. Immediately I conferred
not with flesh and blood, neither went I up to Jerusalem to them
which were apostles before me, but I went in to Arabia and returned
again unto Damascus. And after three years I went
up to Jerusalem to see Peter. Oh, the Lord, you see, was the one
who favoured him in a remarkable way, this revelation. Christ,
he said, revealed in me. As we've said many, many a time,
it doesn't just say that Christ was revealed to me. He was revealed to him and if
we know anything of salvation the Lord Jesus Christ has been
revealed to us by the Spirit here in the Word of Truth but
Paul says that revelation was in me He pleased God to reveal
His Son in me all those precious prepositions, those little words
profound truth in little words here in the Word of God. It was
an inward revelation, the Kingdom of God coming into the soul of
a man. The life of Christ in the soul
of a sinner. And it's not just Paul. It's
not just Paul, it's all the apostles. Remember what Peter says at the
end of John 6, that chapter, that long chapter, where we come
to the opening part and it's the feeding of the five thousands
and there's multitudes and they want to take Jesus and they want
to make Jesus king and the Lord begins to minister and how winnowing,
how winnowing, how separating one by one they're departing
the chapter of the great diminishings that was Sidney Norton's comment
on that chapter the chapter of the great diminishings The Lord's
searching, sifting, winnowing ministry, and you come to the
end and they're all departing. The Lord turns to the twelve,
will ye go away also? Are these twelve going to go
also? And Peter, Lord to whom shall we go? Lord to whom shall
we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life, And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ,
the Son of the Living God. Oh, was it not Peter there at
Caesarea Philippi in Matthew 16 who said, when the Lord inquires
of the disciples, Whom say ye that I am, thou art the Christ,
the Son of the Living God. And remember what the Lord said,
Blessed art thou, Simon, by Jonah, flesh and blood hath not revealed
it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." It's a revelation. It's a revelation. It's a man
in Christ. And Paul is speaking of himself,
you see, there in verse 2. I knew a man in Christ. He's in Christ because Christ
is in Him. Because God has revealed His
Son in Him. And if any man is in Christ Jesus,
he's a new creature. All things are passed away, all
things are become new. There's the evidence, you see,
that we're in Christ. There's a change. There's a turning
from the world and the ways of the world. There's a departure
from the old ways, there's new ways, there's a different lifestyle,
when a man's in Christ. And everything is there, of Him,
i.e. in Christ Jesus, who of God is
made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. That as it is written, that he
that glorieth is to glory in the Lord. This is what Paul would
do, he would glory in the Lord. Oh, there is everything. There
is everything. What does he say here at the
end of this 11th verse? Though I be nothing. That 172nd hymn we sang as our
opening praise, I think it was the first hymn we sang when I
first started to preach on this short series just a couple of
weeks ago. It's a remarkable hymn, and of
course it has those words that we have here at the end of verse
11 at the top of the hymn, the I be nothing. I remember the
first time I ever, well the first recollection I've ever seen in
this hymn. Many, many years ago, dear old Leslie Beavis had been
deacon there at Swanwick Shore Chapel many years and I remember
going to his funeral. Oh, it must be, how long ago? It must be 40 years. It must be almost 40 years ago.
And this hymn was sung on that occasion. and I think of the
words there in verse 5 Medley says I can do nothing Lord it
is true yet in thy strength can all things do nothing I merit
Lord I own yet shall possess a heavenly throne or when I am
weak you see then I am strong I am nothing and yet I am in
possession of all things. We were looking at those words
this morning, weren't we? The end of the 10th verse there
in chapter 6. It's a remarkable life, the life
of faith, the paradox of the Christian's experience. Having
nothing and yet possessing all things. When I am weak then am
I strong. And where is that strength? Well,
the Psalmist tells us, the Lord is my strength. The Lord is my
strength and song and He's become my salvation. That's where it
is. It's all in the Lord. And it's there in that 118th
Psalm, and I'm told, I don't know, but they reckon, you know,
that 118th Psalm is the middle of the Bible. The very middle
of our Bible, the 66 books. I don't know, you can maybe try
to work it out. Some clever person, someone much
cleverer than I maybe can work it out, but that's what I'm told.
that that's the middle of the Bible. And verse 14 is pretty
well the middle of the psalm. The Lord is my strength and song
and he's become my salvation. When I am weak then am I strong. here is Paul and he speaks of
these revelations I will come to visions and revelations of
the Lord and you might say to me I've never had a vision well
I've never had a vision I don't think you can say if
you're a child of God you've never had a revelation because
Christianity is a revealed religion the Lord has to reveal himself
to us but where does he reveal himself?
he reveals himself really here in his words doesn't Peter speak
of a more sure word of prophecy? a more sure word of prophecy
in that passage in 2 Peter 1 verse 17 through to 21. He speaks of
a more sure word of prophecy. And what is that sure word of
prophecy? It's this book. It's this book. It's the Bible.
The psalmist says, Thou hast magnified thy word above all
thy name. How God has magnified his word.
God's name is himself. and he has magnified his word
in that sense above himself if God's word isn't true well God
is no more what a great blessing God has given to us in here in
his word and you see we have to turn from our weak feeble
frail sinful selves and we have to turn to the sure word of God
here in scripture And when we do that, we're turning to that
One who is revealed to us here in Scripture. The Word incarnates. The Scriptures
and the Lord bear one tremendous Name, the written and incarnate
Word in all things are the same. We have to turn to Him. And how
He identifies with His people in all their weakness, that's
the amazing thing. and that's how he becomes the
strength of his people look at what we have in verse 4 of chapter
13 though he was crucified through weakness yet he liveth by the
power of God for we also are weak in him but we shall live
with him by the power of God towards you oh here is Paul you
see he is so concerned for these Corinthians and many of them
so despised him and yet he's so concerned for their spiritual
well-being what does he say? there at verse 9 in that 13th
chapter we are glad we are glad when we are weak and ye are strong
and this also we wish even your perfection oh this this man had
such a a large heart. He was a large hearted man. The way in which he was concerned
for their spiritual well-being. In spite of all their opposition,
in spite of all the problems and difficulties that had arisen,
he writes two epistles to them. and his concerns for their spiritual
goods and he's prepared himself to
be nothing to that end that there might be a gracious ministry
that they might be directed to the Lord Jesus who is the only
and all the strength of his people. Oh the Lord then be pleased to
bless these remarkable words of the text to us. the very chiefest apostles, though
I be nothing. Amen.