Some of you may know Nick Vujicic (VOY-ee-chitch). He is one of the most sought after motivational speakers in the world today. And if you have heard him and seen him it is no wonder. Vujicic was born with a rare condition called tetra-amelia syndrome. It simply means that he has no arms and legs.
The life he has lived though, is far from being an invalid. His youtube videos depict him swimming, skateboarding, surfing, and playing ball.
The life he has lived though, is far from being an invalid. His youtube videos depict him swimming, skateboarding, surfing, and playing ball.
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II CORINTHIANS
11:16-22 |
As I said, he tours the world giving speeches, reminding people that God has a purpose for each and every individual.
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It doesn’t matter what may be your (so called) “defect”. It doesn’t matter how weak you may be, God—in His infinite wisdom—has woven you into His divine plan for this world. And you have a role to play in it.
Vujicic would even say that what is perceived to be your greatest limitations, may even be your greatest tools for accomplishing God’s intentions.
As we look at the passage before us, and on into the next chapter of this epistle, we find Paul telling us something of the same thing. In this section Paul excoriates the Corinthians for looking down on him. The Corinthians were so arrogant. They said that Paul was too weak to be followed. But Paul takes the opportunity to tell them that they are right. He is weak. As a matter of fact, he glories in these weaknesses.
In verse 30 he summarizes everything by saying, “f I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.” Then, over in chapter 12:8-9 he says, “’My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
My hope is that you will find in these messages a reason to glory in your defects and see your limitations not as something to be mourned, but as something to be celebrated.
It doesn’t matter what your weakness is: It may be a physical limitation, a financial limitation—maybe even a limitation of character—even a spiritual limitation of sin—all of these have a part to play in God’s economy of things. All of them can be us useful in bringing about God’s purposes in this world.
This morning, I want us to think about being weak people. And I want to set out for your three reasons why it is good to be weak. That’s what Paul does in this latter half of chapter 11. The Corinthians were strong—they were proud. And Paul shows them that their pride (which of course stems from the false teaching they have embraced) has lead them into all kinds of error. And if they would really think about it, they would understand that it is a godly thing to be weak. There is virtue in being deemed inadequate worlds eyes.
When you look at this passage, what you find is that it is a good thing to be weak, because when you are this kind of condition puts you in a position where you are too weak to boast, too weak to be abusive, too weak to become overly popular.
I. To boast / talk [16-18, 21b, 30]
It is interesting how many times the word boast appears in this epistle. It has been liberally sprinkled throughout the chapters we have studied so far. And we are going to find a very high concentration of them in this passage and the next chapter.
There is already a sense in which boasting is something that is very much near and dear to the Corinthian people. And in verses 16, 17, and 18, you see that Paul picks up this idea of boasting. He’s says he’s going to do a little bragging. But it is clear when you read this that it is not natural to Paul to do this. Every time he says he is going to boast, he hedges it by saying that he’s a fool for doing it and it is not as the Lord would have done but it is the fool’s way.
What he is doing is he’s talking like a heathen. And he’s doing so to poke fun at the Corinthians. Basically he’s saying, “You like people who brag? Okay. I’ll do some bragging. This will be fun.”
And again, as you read through this what you find is that it is terribly awkward for Paul to speak like this and he ends up focusing on things that are not really all that flattering. He really brags about his weakness (that’s what you find in verse 30. He’ll repeat the idea in chapter 12).
But this is just the point. Proud fools are eager to talk about themselves. People who are weak—people who are truly humble and focused on the Lord, aren’t prone to chatter on and on about themselves—their accomplishments, their credentials, their greatness.
Now, we recognize that self-promotion is something that is oftentimes necessary. For instance, in the work world, you have to talk about what you’ve accomplished and the skills you have. Customers need to gain some confidence in you and your abililities.
So there is a place for modestly talking about yourself and pitching your work. But there is a difference between tooting your horn and blowing it. There is a difference between being selling yourself and being a complete narcissist.
Young people, I want you to think in terms of “selfies.” It is perfectly fine to take pictures of yourself—there is a time and place for it. If you are visiting a monument or you are celebrating a special occasion, you can pop out your camera and take a picture, right?
But how many pictures of yourself are on your phone or news feed? There are a lot of people today who are overly preoccupied with themselves.
You see a person who is godly is going to have a bit more difficulty doing that kind of thing. They are not going to be overly focused on flaunting himself.
There’s another side to this boasting too. Pride not only promotes yourself by making people take notice of you, but it also talks people down. That’s what was going on in Corinth. They were talking down the Apostle Paul. He’s nothing. He’s a fake. He’s got no credentials. He can’t talk.
It accomplishes the same thing. It inflates yourself. It is an attempt to make yourself look good in the eyes of others.
A proud person is going to be a lot like that mass shooter this past week. They are going to pick people off one by one until they are the last person standing—until everyone recognizes that you deserve to be in the lime light.
But someone who is humble (weak) isn’t going to be comfortable with that. They are not going to talk down their co-workers or friends. They are going to cover their weaknesses and sins, and dwell on the good qualities.
I wish I could spend some more time on this, but I think I need to go on. Let’s just say that a person who is godly is going to be too weak to brag.
Another quality of a godly person is that he is too weak to oppress and be abusive.
II. To abuse – oppress [19-21a]
Look at verse 19 and following. Paul talks about how these star struck Corinthians are being completely tyrannized by their leaders.
He says in verse 19, “you gladly bear with fools.” And then he goes on to define what he means by that. In verse 20 he says, “You bear it if someone makes slaves of you, or devours you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or strikes you in the face. 21 To my shame, I must say, we were too weak for that!”
What he says hear is that he was way too weak to conduct the kind of ministry that is currently being conducted in Corinth. These Corinthians were being ravaged and treated like slaves by their leaders. People were swindling them and taking their money. That’s probably what it means when Paul says that they were being “taken advantage of.”
It says that they were being devoured. That may have to do with money again, but it may also have to do with insults that they endured. The leaders may be treating them in a disdainful way. Maybe they were being manipulated into doing things that were wrong or went against their will.
Paul even talks about getting punched in the face. Commentators don’t know if this was real or metaphorical. But this does happen. A few years ago there was the crazy guy, Todd Wilson, I think was his name. He was supposedly one of those faith healers—name it and claim it guys. He was renown for punching and kicking people who came up on stage. And everyone loved it! He had a huge following.
But what is clear here is that pride produces an oppressive atmosphere. The leaders, being consumed with themselves, begin to abuse people because everyone else is considered a slave.
Pride is the principle, and tyranny is the outward manifestation of it.
It really is a satanic ministry. The false teaching mimics, not just the theology of Satan, but the lifestyle of Satan. For he comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Satan is a tyrant.
And anyone who has the pride of satan is going to use strong arm tactics to get what they want from the people around them. That can be in the church, in the state/government of a nation, in a home (mother or husband who is more full of him or herself, than building up her children or his wife). It happens anywhere where the leadership wishes to leach off its people rather than see to their greater prosperity.
A godly person says with the apostle Paul, “I was too weak for that.” I don’t treat people like that. I treat them with dignity and respect.
But the thing is, they love it! They love it. These people are so warped that they want more of this abuse. That’s the real kicker here. These Corinthian people endure it willingly.
I like what John Calvin says on this passage.
It has been the invariable custom, and will be so to the end, to resist contumaciously (with determined fervor) the servants of God, to get enraged on the least occasion, to grumble and murmur incessantly, to complain of even a moderate strictness, and to hold all discipline in abhorrence; while, on the other hand, they put themselves under servile subjection to false apostles, impostors, or mere worthless pretenders, give them liberty to do any thing whatever, and patiently submit to and endure, whatever burden they may choose to impose upon them.
I’m getting a bit off track here. Let me get back on task. What I’m saying is that a godly person isn’t going to create this culture of abuse or oppression. He’s too weak in that he is seeking to serve, rather than be served. Paul was too busy ministering to these people and wasn’t trying to get anything out of them. He gave them the utmost respect and treated them with kindness.
He was too weak to flex any carnal muscle, boss them around, or violate them in any unnecessary way. It is only proud men who will do that.
The last thing I want you to notice is that a godly person is going to be too weak to become exceedingly popular.
III. To become popular
In verse 22 is where Paul begins his bragging. Everything up to this point has been sort of introduction and prefacing. Again, you can tell he’s not comfortable with bragging in that he doesn’t get right to it.
But look at what he does. He compares himself to these false teachers. And he uses their own standard. The false teachers took pride in their jewish roots. “Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I.”
Verse 23 is where things start rolling. “Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one” Again you see how uncomfortable he is. He says, “I am talking like a madman.” In other words, this is ludicrous.
But he goes on to talk about all the things he’s suffered over the course of his ministry. He was beaten many times over. He was stoned. His life was in constant danger. He went without food and was exposed to cold temperatures.
And he tells this story about being let down in a basket through a window when he was in Damascus.
What is he saying here? He’s poking fun at these false teachers. They have all these fans. They have huge followings. They are getting these stellar speaking opportunities. Why is that? It’s because their words are spiritually inconsequential. People don’t get mad when you tell them things they want to hear.
You could say that Paul has a following too. People are chasing him everywhere he goes because they want to kill him. Why do they terrorize him? It is because he is bringing the truth of God’s word to them, and they hate it.
Paul’s essentially saying, “I’m not doing the popular thing; I’m doing the necessary thing.” I’m too weak to get a mass following of people because I’m preaching the gospel. I am preaching about the weakness of man—his sinfulness, his inability to overcome death, man is spiritually decrepid, there is no hope of life save in the person of Christ.
That is not a message that is received well. Telling people that they need to submit themselves to Jesus Christ will not make you the homecoming king or queen.
There is power only in one thing: it is Christ himself.
This is why Paul can say, “The God and father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying. That is the focus. The focus is on the praise of God and the glorification of Christ. Who cares what happens to me. I don’t want to be the lime light. What I want is that God may be lifted up. That He will be glorified. And if that means me becoming the most anemic, pathetic creature alive, then so be it. If it means me having to suffer because I preach his Power and exclusive ability to save, then let it be.
This is why the Bible tells us that we will be persecuted. No body likes being told that they are weak. No body wants to have to look to Christ and recognize his power. So we should expect that we’ll get some blowback on that.
And that is a good thing. It can be good not to be popular.
But it is good to be weak.
Vujicic would even say that what is perceived to be your greatest limitations, may even be your greatest tools for accomplishing God’s intentions.
As we look at the passage before us, and on into the next chapter of this epistle, we find Paul telling us something of the same thing. In this section Paul excoriates the Corinthians for looking down on him. The Corinthians were so arrogant. They said that Paul was too weak to be followed. But Paul takes the opportunity to tell them that they are right. He is weak. As a matter of fact, he glories in these weaknesses.
In verse 30 he summarizes everything by saying, “f I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.” Then, over in chapter 12:8-9 he says, “’My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
My hope is that you will find in these messages a reason to glory in your defects and see your limitations not as something to be mourned, but as something to be celebrated.
It doesn’t matter what your weakness is: It may be a physical limitation, a financial limitation—maybe even a limitation of character—even a spiritual limitation of sin—all of these have a part to play in God’s economy of things. All of them can be us useful in bringing about God’s purposes in this world.
This morning, I want us to think about being weak people. And I want to set out for your three reasons why it is good to be weak. That’s what Paul does in this latter half of chapter 11. The Corinthians were strong—they were proud. And Paul shows them that their pride (which of course stems from the false teaching they have embraced) has lead them into all kinds of error. And if they would really think about it, they would understand that it is a godly thing to be weak. There is virtue in being deemed inadequate worlds eyes.
When you look at this passage, what you find is that it is a good thing to be weak, because when you are this kind of condition puts you in a position where you are too weak to boast, too weak to be abusive, too weak to become overly popular.
I. To boast / talk [16-18, 21b, 30]
It is interesting how many times the word boast appears in this epistle. It has been liberally sprinkled throughout the chapters we have studied so far. And we are going to find a very high concentration of them in this passage and the next chapter.
There is already a sense in which boasting is something that is very much near and dear to the Corinthian people. And in verses 16, 17, and 18, you see that Paul picks up this idea of boasting. He’s says he’s going to do a little bragging. But it is clear when you read this that it is not natural to Paul to do this. Every time he says he is going to boast, he hedges it by saying that he’s a fool for doing it and it is not as the Lord would have done but it is the fool’s way.
What he is doing is he’s talking like a heathen. And he’s doing so to poke fun at the Corinthians. Basically he’s saying, “You like people who brag? Okay. I’ll do some bragging. This will be fun.”
And again, as you read through this what you find is that it is terribly awkward for Paul to speak like this and he ends up focusing on things that are not really all that flattering. He really brags about his weakness (that’s what you find in verse 30. He’ll repeat the idea in chapter 12).
But this is just the point. Proud fools are eager to talk about themselves. People who are weak—people who are truly humble and focused on the Lord, aren’t prone to chatter on and on about themselves—their accomplishments, their credentials, their greatness.
Now, we recognize that self-promotion is something that is oftentimes necessary. For instance, in the work world, you have to talk about what you’ve accomplished and the skills you have. Customers need to gain some confidence in you and your abililities.
So there is a place for modestly talking about yourself and pitching your work. But there is a difference between tooting your horn and blowing it. There is a difference between being selling yourself and being a complete narcissist.
Young people, I want you to think in terms of “selfies.” It is perfectly fine to take pictures of yourself—there is a time and place for it. If you are visiting a monument or you are celebrating a special occasion, you can pop out your camera and take a picture, right?
But how many pictures of yourself are on your phone or news feed? There are a lot of people today who are overly preoccupied with themselves.
You see a person who is godly is going to have a bit more difficulty doing that kind of thing. They are not going to be overly focused on flaunting himself.
There’s another side to this boasting too. Pride not only promotes yourself by making people take notice of you, but it also talks people down. That’s what was going on in Corinth. They were talking down the Apostle Paul. He’s nothing. He’s a fake. He’s got no credentials. He can’t talk.
It accomplishes the same thing. It inflates yourself. It is an attempt to make yourself look good in the eyes of others.
A proud person is going to be a lot like that mass shooter this past week. They are going to pick people off one by one until they are the last person standing—until everyone recognizes that you deserve to be in the lime light.
But someone who is humble (weak) isn’t going to be comfortable with that. They are not going to talk down their co-workers or friends. They are going to cover their weaknesses and sins, and dwell on the good qualities.
I wish I could spend some more time on this, but I think I need to go on. Let’s just say that a person who is godly is going to be too weak to brag.
Another quality of a godly person is that he is too weak to oppress and be abusive.
II. To abuse – oppress [19-21a]
Look at verse 19 and following. Paul talks about how these star struck Corinthians are being completely tyrannized by their leaders.
He says in verse 19, “you gladly bear with fools.” And then he goes on to define what he means by that. In verse 20 he says, “You bear it if someone makes slaves of you, or devours you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or strikes you in the face. 21 To my shame, I must say, we were too weak for that!”
What he says hear is that he was way too weak to conduct the kind of ministry that is currently being conducted in Corinth. These Corinthians were being ravaged and treated like slaves by their leaders. People were swindling them and taking their money. That’s probably what it means when Paul says that they were being “taken advantage of.”
It says that they were being devoured. That may have to do with money again, but it may also have to do with insults that they endured. The leaders may be treating them in a disdainful way. Maybe they were being manipulated into doing things that were wrong or went against their will.
Paul even talks about getting punched in the face. Commentators don’t know if this was real or metaphorical. But this does happen. A few years ago there was the crazy guy, Todd Wilson, I think was his name. He was supposedly one of those faith healers—name it and claim it guys. He was renown for punching and kicking people who came up on stage. And everyone loved it! He had a huge following.
But what is clear here is that pride produces an oppressive atmosphere. The leaders, being consumed with themselves, begin to abuse people because everyone else is considered a slave.
Pride is the principle, and tyranny is the outward manifestation of it.
It really is a satanic ministry. The false teaching mimics, not just the theology of Satan, but the lifestyle of Satan. For he comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Satan is a tyrant.
And anyone who has the pride of satan is going to use strong arm tactics to get what they want from the people around them. That can be in the church, in the state/government of a nation, in a home (mother or husband who is more full of him or herself, than building up her children or his wife). It happens anywhere where the leadership wishes to leach off its people rather than see to their greater prosperity.
A godly person says with the apostle Paul, “I was too weak for that.” I don’t treat people like that. I treat them with dignity and respect.
But the thing is, they love it! They love it. These people are so warped that they want more of this abuse. That’s the real kicker here. These Corinthian people endure it willingly.
I like what John Calvin says on this passage.
It has been the invariable custom, and will be so to the end, to resist contumaciously (with determined fervor) the servants of God, to get enraged on the least occasion, to grumble and murmur incessantly, to complain of even a moderate strictness, and to hold all discipline in abhorrence; while, on the other hand, they put themselves under servile subjection to false apostles, impostors, or mere worthless pretenders, give them liberty to do any thing whatever, and patiently submit to and endure, whatever burden they may choose to impose upon them.
I’m getting a bit off track here. Let me get back on task. What I’m saying is that a godly person isn’t going to create this culture of abuse or oppression. He’s too weak in that he is seeking to serve, rather than be served. Paul was too busy ministering to these people and wasn’t trying to get anything out of them. He gave them the utmost respect and treated them with kindness.
He was too weak to flex any carnal muscle, boss them around, or violate them in any unnecessary way. It is only proud men who will do that.
The last thing I want you to notice is that a godly person is going to be too weak to become exceedingly popular.
III. To become popular
In verse 22 is where Paul begins his bragging. Everything up to this point has been sort of introduction and prefacing. Again, you can tell he’s not comfortable with bragging in that he doesn’t get right to it.
But look at what he does. He compares himself to these false teachers. And he uses their own standard. The false teachers took pride in their jewish roots. “Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I.”
Verse 23 is where things start rolling. “Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one” Again you see how uncomfortable he is. He says, “I am talking like a madman.” In other words, this is ludicrous.
But he goes on to talk about all the things he’s suffered over the course of his ministry. He was beaten many times over. He was stoned. His life was in constant danger. He went without food and was exposed to cold temperatures.
And he tells this story about being let down in a basket through a window when he was in Damascus.
What is he saying here? He’s poking fun at these false teachers. They have all these fans. They have huge followings. They are getting these stellar speaking opportunities. Why is that? It’s because their words are spiritually inconsequential. People don’t get mad when you tell them things they want to hear.
You could say that Paul has a following too. People are chasing him everywhere he goes because they want to kill him. Why do they terrorize him? It is because he is bringing the truth of God’s word to them, and they hate it.
Paul’s essentially saying, “I’m not doing the popular thing; I’m doing the necessary thing.” I’m too weak to get a mass following of people because I’m preaching the gospel. I am preaching about the weakness of man—his sinfulness, his inability to overcome death, man is spiritually decrepid, there is no hope of life save in the person of Christ.
That is not a message that is received well. Telling people that they need to submit themselves to Jesus Christ will not make you the homecoming king or queen.
There is power only in one thing: it is Christ himself.
This is why Paul can say, “The God and father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying. That is the focus. The focus is on the praise of God and the glorification of Christ. Who cares what happens to me. I don’t want to be the lime light. What I want is that God may be lifted up. That He will be glorified. And if that means me becoming the most anemic, pathetic creature alive, then so be it. If it means me having to suffer because I preach his Power and exclusive ability to save, then let it be.
This is why the Bible tells us that we will be persecuted. No body likes being told that they are weak. No body wants to have to look to Christ and recognize his power. So we should expect that we’ll get some blowback on that.
And that is a good thing. It can be good not to be popular.
But it is good to be weak.