The Strength Found in Weakness: Paul’s Message

Posted on by korgrocker

“even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 NLT

Is there any benefit in continuing to speculate about Paul’s thorn in his flesh? In a previous blog, we considered some of the possibilities, referring to Scriptures that might have provided a hint or two. We considered his sight, or a tremble, but the description of a “thorn in the flesh” implies a bit more of a physical affliction, perhaps one that is painful or debilitating in another way. Perhaps Paul had some form of mental illness, such as depression, which is a terrible place to be. There is a hint of this in 2 Corinthians 1:8, “We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it”. It may have been another person, causing him constant grief, and there are several examples of this, such as in 1 Timothy 1:20, “Hymenaeus and Alexander are two examples. I threw them out and handed them over to Satan so they might learn not to blaspheme God”. Lastly, some scholars think that Paul was battling with a specific sin, basing their thoughts on what he wrote in Romans 7. But we have to admit that, in the end, we do not know what Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” was. And it is perhaps just as well, because if we knew the specifics, it could become something people could have blamed ever since for their spiritual state, even presenting themselves as “super-spiritual” and boasting about it.

The Lord’s response to Paul, every time he pleaded for it to be taken away, was “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness”. And that’s the thing, because it’s all about doing God’s work in His strength, not in our own. We pilgrims have a tendency to battle on in our own strength whenever burdens and obstacles get in our way on our journeys to Glory. Perhaps we experience some difficulty in a relationship or suffer a setback at work. The car breaks down, and we are facing an expensive bill. All situations that are not unusual, but instead of looking to God for a remedy, we jump through mental hoops trying to fix the problem in our own strength. Paul discovered that whenever something got in his way, God had the solution to his problem. His “thorn in the flesh” was an ever-present reminder of God’s strength and his weakness. 

Paul went even further than just being reminded of the power of God. He took pleasure in his weaknesses, “in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that [he suffered] Christ”. His affliction was a constant reminder that God was with him, whatever he was facing, and, let’s face it, Paul had to face some horrendous situations. 

We pilgrims spend too much time living our lives without giving God and His power a second thought, or is it just me? There is so much we take for granted. The basics we receive for life just don’t receive a second thought. We live in our warm homes, enjoying a meal, a warm and soft bed, but do we take time to thank God for His provision? Do we give any thought to those who are homeless, who are hungry, persecuted and in distress? And then when problems do come our way, is the first port of call the doctor’s surgery, or the bank manager? We pilgrims are weak and helpless, when it comes to many things we find in this life, and too often we forget that God is all-powerful and we are all-weak. He is a loving Heavenly Father, who has set a course before us in this life and we must never forget that in our weakness we are yet strong through His power that is within us. Paul wrote, “For when I am weak, then I am strong”. It is the spirit-filled life that he described, and the one that we should be following.

Dear Heavenly Father. Please forgive us for the times when we fail to offer our thanks for Your provision. For the times when we do things in our own strength rather than looking to You. You are the almighty God, but we are overwhelmed that You would adopt children like us. Thank You. Amen.

The Ephesians Beasts

Posted on by korgrocker

“For I swear, dear brothers and sisters, that I face death daily. This is as certain as my pride in what Christ Jesus our Lord has done in you. And what value was there in fighting wild beasts—those people of Ephesus—if there will be no resurrection from the dead? And if there is no resurrection, “Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!” Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.””
1 Corinthians 15:31-33 NLT

It appears that the early believers in Ephesus were having a difficult time. The Romans loved their “games,” where gladiators fought each other, often to death, and unfortunate people were set against wild animals such as lions for the entertainment of the crowd. So when this movement of Christ-followers emerged, they became candidates for the lions unless they recanted their faith and denied Christ. But looking closer at 1 Corinthians 15:32, it seems Paul was referring to having to fight the wild beasts, who were the people of Ephesus. He wasn’t, as far as we can tell, a violent man, so to what was he referring?

“The name of the Lord Jesus
was greatly honoured“.

As a background, Paul found himself in Ephesus on his Third Missionary Journey. We read in Acts 19:8, “Then Paul went to the synagogue and preached boldly for the next three months, arguing persuasively about the Kingdom of God”. At first, he had great success: “This went on for the next two years, so that people throughout the province of Asia—both Jews and Greeks—heard the word of the Lord” (Acts 19:10). After the “Seven Sons of Sceva” episode, we read, “The story of what happened spread quickly all through Ephesus, to Jews and Greeks alike. A solemn fear descended on the city, and the name of the Lord Jesus was greatly honoured. Many who became believers confessed their sinful practices” … “So the message about the Lord spread widely and had a powerful effect” (Acts 19:17-18, 20). 

But all was not well in the Ephesian silversmith industry. A businessman called Demetrius had a good business going, manufacturing images and shrines of the Greek goddess Artemis. We are told that he “kept many craftsmen busy”. A riot broke out when the silversmiths objected to Paul’s preaching, claiming it was damaging their livelihood. We can read all about it in Acts 19. On this occasion, Paul was prevented from getting involved by the Ephesian believers, but the raw hatred and religious fervour could have spilt over into violence against Paul. There was also a possibility that Paul’s “wild beasts” referred to the demonic influences in Ephesus, with the Seven Sons of Sceva’s attempt to cast out a demon indicating the demonic stronghold present in that city. 

Paul’s reference to “fighting wild beasts—those people of Ephesus” was perhaps referring to his experiences there. The riot in Ephesus would have been a frightening experience, and at such times, men behave as “wild beasts”, out of control and capable of violence. But if we have difficulty understanding the silversmith’s anger and reaction, think about the UK Miners’ Strike in 1984, where there were scenes of violence directed against the police and the government. If the Prime Minister of the day, Margaret Thatcher, had personally tried to reason with the miners, she would have been just as vulnerable as Paul would have been, had he found himself before the braying mob of Ephesian beasts.

Paul pointed out to the Corinthian believers that there was no value in fighting the “wild beasts”, regardless of what they were, if there was no resurrection from the dead. Why should I have faced into such danger for no benefit, Paul argued? In fact, to make his point to those who believed there was no resurrection, Paul went on to say that the people might just as well make the best of their lives on earth. He quoted from Isaiah 22:13, “But instead, you dance and play; you slaughter cattle and kill sheep. You feast on meat and drink wine. You say, “Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!”” 

The same logic applies to believers today. If there is nothing to look forward to after death, then why bother with having faith in a lie? If, when we die, there’s just blackness and a realm of nothingness, we might as well live life to the max, complete with every sin imaginable. But because of Jesus, and our faith in Him, we, like Paul, have a different future from those around us who don’t believe there will be something better over the terminal horizon. Jesus said, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am” (John 14:1-3). A few verses on in John 14, Jesus also said, “ … I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me”. 

We pilgrims have much to look forward to. A life to come that is worth fighting for. A life that will be in God’s presence in a place Jesus called Paradise. So we keep short accounts with God as we persevere in our journeys to glory. We follow the Master in obedience, doing His work as He has ordained. The enemy, the devil, and his minions will do their utmost to destroy us, “But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world” (1 John 4:4). We are equipped for the battles ahead, and we put on the spiritual armour of Ephesians 6 with the confidence and certainty that we are on the winning side.

Dear Father God. Thank You for Jesus. We thank You for all He did for us at Calvary, and for showing us the way to glory. Amen.

The Spirit-filled Life

Posted on by korgrocker

“Oh, that my actions would consistently 
reflect Your decrees! 
Then I will not be ashamed 
when I compare my life with Your commands.”
Psalms‬ ‭119:5-6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In our pilgrimage through life why is that we inevitably do things that we shouldn’t? Intuitively we have a good idea of what we should be doing. Much of the time we know what the Bible says about the way we should or shouldn’t live. At other times we receive a disturbing nudge from our consciences. But come what may, we still end up frustrated with ourselves because we did wrong. The Bible calls this dilemma sin. I’m sure we’ve all been in this place, and we will come up against it again in tomorrow’s part of our journey, but that is of small comfort. As I said earlier – we inevitably do things we shouldn’t. The Psalmist in today’s verses was equally frustrated. We don’t know what he’d done to cause his cry of exasperation, but it was something that didn’t line up with God’s ways. And it was something he was ashamed of, so perhaps there was a public element about his actions.

The Apostle Paul expressed a similar degree of annoyance with himself. He said in Romans 7:21, “I have discovered this principle of life – that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong.” Sound familiar? He goes on to say, “Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.” 

Thankfully Paul’s journey didn’t end in verse 24 of Romans 7. We read in the next chapter, “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.”

At this time of year we remember the coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The Son of God was born into this world, where He experienced all the problems and temptations that we do. And because of that He understands our issues of life. He understands our constant battles with sin. He was here Himself, but he didn’t sin. In fact, at Calvary He took on all our sins Himself to free us to live in line with the Holy Spirit life to which we have been called.

The Psalmist felt and expressed that heart cry – how can I live God’s way without polluting it with my sin? And in answer he tried to line his life with God’s decrees. A form of legalism? But sadly, it’s a trap we too can fall into. We try and live by our own efforts to avoid having to come as a repentant sinner into God’s presence. By setting ourselves rules and regulations that we can keep, and that makes us feel holy and righteous. But there is no alternative to living under God’s grace, living the Spirit-filled life. So instead of living by rules, we live our lives infused with the Holy Spirit, allowing Him to lead and guide us, allowing Him to bring to the surface all our sins and allowing us to repent of them. Living a life walking close to God, not through our efforts trying to live by His rules. Jesus said, “… I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full (John 10:10). That’s the only way to live.