Welcome! Over the week we are going to be reading 2 Corinthians together as a church, 1 chapter every week day. We’re encouraging everyone to read the passage, pray, and share with a few others what they felt God was pointing out to them in his word. Every day we’re going to be hearing from someone at Redeemer about what they felt God pointed out to them as they read the passage.
This morning Jonathan is sharing with us, you can watch his video above. Read on to hear some more thoughts on the passage, and to get some ideas for further study.
Back at the beginning of this series, in the introduction to 2 Corinthians, we heard two verses that were a key to the whole book, and we arrive at them in todays reading.
But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
When I am weak, then I am strong. This concept is the key theme which brings this whole book together. When we are shown to be powerLESS, God is revealed to be powerFULL, and in our inadequacy the wonder of his grace is revealed. This is a life defining truth which it is essential for all of us to grab hold of, especially in these challenging times.
To begin the passage Paul describes a vision he has had of heaven, a brief glimpse of the glory of things to come! What an incredible experience! It seems that the experience was so incredible, so clearly outside of anything earthly that it seemed as if Paul was observing it happening to someone else, hence the way he talks of himself in the third person in verses 2-4. What joy we have as believers knowing that we can look forward to having an eternal experience of somewhere as glorious as that!
Paul also talks of the thorn in his flesh, emphasising that it has been given to him to ‘keep him from becoming conceited’. Despite the fact that this seems to be something that Satan has given to Paul, he is certain that God is using it to bring humility. Paul also clearly believes that God can do something about it, as it is to God that Paul pleads for it to be taken away. God’s power is greater than any other power, and he can use anything to help us grow. It is so important for us in this time that we recognise God’s power to use any situation for his goodness.
Most of all, if we are to take anything away from this chapter, even from this book, it is this - when we are weak, God is strong. That is a truth we all need to focus on today.
Further Study
Jenny Salt is a former nurse and flight attendant who is now a lecturer in pastoral care and preaching at Sydney Missionary Bible College. She has spoken at many Christian events worldwide, including the 2012 Gospel Coalition Women’s Conference where she spoke on 2 Corinthians 12. You can watch the video of her talk below.
