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I. Introduction
A. 2Corinthians 10:9–11 I do not want to appear to be frightening you with my letters. 10 For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account.” 11 Let such a person understand that what we say by letter when absent, we do when present.
B. Review
1. On Paul’s second missionary journey, Paul preached the gospel in Corinth, spending a year and half getting a church started there.
2. However, during his third missionary journey, while Paul was in Ephesus, he received several reports that trouble was brewing in the Corinthian church.
3. To address these issues he wrote a letter (mentioned in 1Cor.5:9-11, but now lost to us), and then the letter we call 1Corinthians. Further reports led Paul to visit Corinth, a visit which Paul aborted quickly because it was making things worse instead of better.
4. After this unfortunate visit, Paul wrote a severe letter to the Corinthians (another letter which is lost to us, but mentioned in 2Cor.2:3-5, 9; 7:8), rebuking them for turning against him and pleading with them to stop supporting the people who were attacking Paul.
5. After Titus brought back a generally good report about the Corinthian response to his severe letter (2Cor.2:12ff.), Paul wrote this letter, which we call 2Corinthians.
II. Explanation
A. One of the things Paul does in this letter is answer charges that these agitators have leveled against him. And that’s one of the things he’s doing in this passage.
1. In v.10, he even quotes one charge which has been made against him: For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account.”
2. Corinth and rhetoric – In Greek culture, rhetorical excellence was at a premium. Not only were political leaders expected to speak eloquently, but so also leaders in philosophy and religion. And success in one’s field was dependent on how skilled you were at delivering a speech.
3. In this environment, Paul’s eloquence seemed inadequate for a person who claimed to hold such a prominent position as apostle of Christ.
B. Then in v.11 he assures them that, when he comes to visit, he will be anything but weak toward any who are still refusing to acknowledge his apostleship.
C. But before saying either of these things, he tells them in v.9 that in his letter he did not want to come across as frightening to them.
1. He is not trying to scare them; he’s trying to help them, he’s trying to love them.
2. Sometimes you’ve got to confront, sometimes you’ve got to rebuke. But, like Paul, you should always try to make it clear that you are acting in sincere love, not in fierce anger.
3. Just like being a parent, being a leader in Christ’s church sometimes requires boldness and courage, and an unwillingness to shrink back in the face of threats and dangers. But the people need to know that behind the boldness, there is meekness, gentleness, humility, and compassion.
4. And that’s what Paul subtly communicates in v.9.
III. Today, my application is all about weakness.
A. Paul’s detractors claimed he was too weak to be a true apostle. And their accusations of Pauline weakness here are twofold:
1. They claim that though he acts tough in his letters, he is actually cowardly and wimpy in person.
2. They claim that when it comes to Paul’s speaking ability, he has no eloquence or rhetorical flair.
B. And so Paul spends a lot time in the rest of his letter explaining his weakness.
1. In chapter 12, he doesn’t argue with the idea that he is weak, but actually glories in his weakness, and says that it’s his weakness which makes him strong (2Cor.12:9-10). He also doesn’t dispute the weakness in his speaking skills, admitting as much in 1Cor.1:17, 2:1-4 and 2Cor.11:6.
2. But here in chapter 10, he pushes back on the notion that he’s weak in person, assuring them that he will be anything but weak if any are still refusing to acknowledge his apostleship when he visits. He points out that their very existence as a Christian church is proof of the fact that his apostleship is of Christ. He also comes on very strong against his detractors in chapter 10-11, showing himself to be anything but weak.
C. But there are principles in all this which are extremely relevant for us in our lives.
D. In 1Corinthians 1:17, he tells us why he didn’t preach the gospel with words of eloquent wisdom: “lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.”
1. There is a reason Paul is weak. It glorifies Christ! If Paul was a spell-binding orator, it would glorify Paul. But God doesn’t ordinarily choose tools which will distract from His glory. He chooses ordinary tools so that everyone will know that He is the One at work doing great things.
2. Paul says that the manner of his preaching matches the message he preaches. He preaches the cross and so he preaches it in a cross-like way.
a. As Jesus died not for Himself but for the salvation of others, Paul is preaching not to draw attention to himself, but to bring salvation to others.
b. As Jesus humbled Himself to the point of enduring the cross, so Paul, in preaching the cross, humbles himself as well.
c. Paul’s not interested in impressing people with his rhetoric, he just wants to preach Christ crucified!
E. Paul is a weak man who is imbued with the power of God, an earthen vessel filled with the treasure of God (2Cor.4:7). God’s power is made perfect in his weakness (2Cor.12:9).
1. Paul had not always been meek. He was certainly not meek back in the days when he was a persecutor of the churches. He was the one who took initiative and got permission to go after the Christians to punish them and even execute them. That’s not meekness.
2. Paul’s meekness was a result of God’s work in his heart. Before he could be useful as God’s tool, God had to bring him low, and break him down. Only then could he be a vessel of God’s power.
F. This is the way it was for all the apostles. They were also weak men imbued with divine power.
1. For 3 years Jesus had to confront them and correct them and humble them over and over. He had to let them fail and let them see who they really were in themselves. He had to empty them.
2. Then He filled them with His HS at Pentecost. Look at Acts 4:13: “When they saw the boldness of Peter&John (speaking boldly the message of Christ), and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.”
a. They were astonished that these weak, untrained men were so competent and so compelling. And as they considered this strange phenomenon, they suddenly realized that they were just like Jesus.
b. This is what it means that they "recognized them as having been with Jesus."
(1) “He too sat at the feet of no rabbi, and yet He spoke with an authority that amazed the masters, even from when He was only 12 years old. They remembered it well. People had expressed the same surprise at HIM: John 7:15 The Jews therefore were marveling, saying, "How has this man become learned, having never been educated?"” – FF Bruce
3. And this is how the disciples came to bear such a resemblance to Jesus and do the same kinds of things Jesus had done. This wasn’t who they were at first.
G. And God is doing this with us as well. He is fashioning us into the image of Christ.
1. 2Corinthians 3:18 “And we...are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
2. 2Tim.1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.”
a. That may seem like a strange combination of qualities: power and love and self-control.
b. The world’s notion of power isn’t usually associated with love and self-control. But the power which God’s Spirit gives comes along with love and self-control, along with other fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness (Gal.5:22-23).
H. The Corinthians looked at this all wrong. They were so full of themselves. They thought that being strong was what was important, and being thought of as wise, and being honored.
1. They thought that real, godly leadership was macho, and that swagger is a fruit of the Spirit, a notion which is still prevalent in the minds of many Christians today, at least here in America.
2. Paul belittles this attitude of the Corinthians in 1Cor.4:10, “We’re fools for Christ’s sake, but you’re wise in Christ. We’re weak, but you’re strong. You’re held in honor, but we in disrepute.”
I. Paul was a weak man imbued with the power of God, an empty vessel filled with the fullness of God. And that’s what we’re supposed to be too: weak people imbued with divine power, vessels emptied of self and filled with Christ. But this requires two things of us:
1. To accept our weakness
2. To rest in God’s power
J. Accepting our weakness
1. I think every one of us senses our weakness; I think everyone of us is intimidated by our weakness. We live in fear of our weakness being exposed to everybody. We’re afraid they’ll find out how ignorant we are, or how unskilled we are, or how undisciplined we are, or how foolish.
2. And often more energy is spent hiding our weakness than addressing our weakness before God.
3. So, the first question we need to ask ourselves is this: How do we respond to our weakness? What do we do with our weakness? Where do we go with our weakness?
a. Do you resent it? Are you angry that you’re so weak — and not competent and capable and self-assured like so many others seem to be?
b. Do we try to hide it so no one knows we’re weak, desperate for it to remain a secret?
c. Do we emphasize our strength so people think we’re strong?
d. (One of the great reasons people don’t like the gospel is because the gospel makes people look weak while God looks strong. And people don’t like looking weak. They want to look strong.)
e. That’s not what Paul did and that’s not what we should do.
f. OR do we embrace our weakness because we know that our success is not dependent on our strength or cleverness or competence? And because our weakness actually glorifies Christ?
g. Do we think of ourselves as blessed when we are meek and poor in spirit (Matt.5:3, 5)?
4. I believe God wants us to be confident in the face of our weakness – not because we feel like we can do it, but because we feel confident that the Lord is with us – and He can do it.
a. Even if He allows me to look like a fool, He can use that for His glory; I am a fool for His glory.
5. This is the lesson Paul has been desperately trying to teach the Corinthians since the beginning: Consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” – 1Cor.1:26–31
6. It’s all Him. It’s not us. He is our strength! He is our wisdom! He is our righteousness! He is our competence!
7. We take ourselves so seriously. God wants us to be able to smile at our weakness & brokenness.
8. And even if we ever look big in the eyes of the world, God calls us to not accept their praise and admiration, but give it to the Lord. God calls us to glory in our humiliation (James 1:10).
K. Resting in God’s power
1. Which do you think is greater: your weakness or God’s strength?
2. Do you realize how arrogant it is to think we’re too weak for God’s power to help us?
3. So, why are we so intimidated and paralyzed by our weakness? God made us weak on purpose — so He can accomplish great things through us and it will be obvious that the credit belongs to Him and not to us.
4. God WANTS us to know we can’t do it, but He also wants us to know that He can!
5. There is real change that God works in the hearts and lives of His people.
a. We are not stuck as we are. We are not trapped in the prison of who we are and what we’re like.
b. We cannot change ourselves by ourselves, of course.
c. But the Holy Spirit can produce profound change in us, no matter how weak we are.
d. We have seen it in Paul the persecutor. We see it in the other disciples.
e. We see it in thousands of stories down through history.
f. We see it in testimonies of many even here in our own congregation.
g. Addictions overcome. Wounds healed. Anger subdued. Despair vanquished. Bitterness erased. Pride turned to humility.
6. You see, our real need is not to escape from our pain or our poverty or our wounds.
a. All those things are just pointers to our real need. Our real problem is that we are off-track.
b. We are like a train which has run off the track and crashed.
c. A train is a beautiful thing when it’s running along on the track. But there are few things more horrendous or horrifying than a train crash.
d. There is chaos and pain and confusion and blood and death and fires burning. And there is no way for the train to right itself, no way for the train to get itself back on the track.
e. The train needs help from outside itself. The train needs powerful help from outside itself.
f. And that’s where each of us is. And even though the train may be dirty and in need of a wash, that’s not the real issue. And even though the furniture may be out of place, that’s not the issue.
g. We don’t just need adjustment, we need salvation. We don’t just need modification, we need redemption.
7. And God has sent help with a capital H E L P. He sent a man who is more than a man. He sent a man who carries with Him all of the powers of heaven itself to rescue man in his desperate crisis.
a. There is no other place to go for help, no other rescuer to call out to.
8. And the question is, How are we going to respond to this all-powerful Rescuer?
a. Are we going to cry out to Him from the wreckage: “I’m over here! I’m stuck and I need help. Come and rescue me!”
b. Or are we foolishly going to say, “I’m fine. I can get out of this mess myself. I don’t need help.”
9. And this doesn’t just pertain to those who have not come to know Christ, it pertains to believers as well. Every single day, every moment we are either crying out for Christ’s help or we are relying on ourselves to handle things. Every day we are either rejoicing that the Rescuer has come to us and helped us so amply or we are patting ourselves on the back for how well things are going or we are despairing that we have not received the help we really need.
10. Which are you? Which of these best describes the pattern of your life?
11. Accept your weakness, and accept God’s help.
12. He’s always ready to help us, but sadly we’re not always ready to be helped.