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Christ’s Strength Through Our Weakness

💡Big Idea

• Christ was weak, yet found power in God. In the same way, we must be weak so that we may find power in Christ.

Takeaways and Next Steps

📖Bible Passage

2 Cor 13.4

For He was crucified through weakness, yet He lives through the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, but we will live with Him through the power of God toward you.

Points

• Paul did not have a great “image”.
  • People said he was a poor speaker or did not have a great bodily image.
  • They wanted someone who was a good leader, good speaker, a charismatic.
• Our fallen world cares more about “image” or reputation more than character, virtue, or righteousness.
• Paul does not play their game. Rather than attempting to conform his image to their expectations, he points them to the image of Christ (2 Cor. 13:4).
  • By doing this, he also indirectly suggests that if they reject Paul now then they also would have rejected Jesus Christ back then during Christ’s time on this Earth.

How was Christ weak?

• He suffered pain.
• He felt fatigue, hunger and sadness just like any of us.
• He was betrayed by His own disciples, arrested, imprisoned, crucified.
• This is one of the reasons why Jews reject Christ even to this day, because of His weakness.
  • How could God be defeated by mere man?
• Christ was weak, in His humanity. This is because He hid His glory and power.
• Romans 8.3 For what the law couldn’t do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God did, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh;
• Isaiah 53:2-5[[Isa-53#v3|]][[Isa-53#v4|]][[Isa-53#v5|]]
• Because He was weak like us:
  • He knows how we feel to be weak. He knows what it is like.
  • He was weak because He put Himself in that position voluntarily to save sinners like you and me!

How was Christ powerful?

• Yet, though He was weak, He conquered sin and death!

How was Paul weak and yet powerful?

• They said his letters were weighty and powerful
  • but his speech was weak and contemptible¹.
• They rejected Paul’s message because it was offensive and viewed as nonsense.
  • 1 Cor 1:18-21 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are dying, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise. I will bring the discernment of the discerning to nothing.” Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the lawyer of this world? Hasn’t God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For seeing that in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom didn’t know God, it was God’s good pleasure through the foolishness of the preaching to save those who believe. [[1 Cor-01#v19|]][[1 Cor-01#v20|]][[1 Cor-01#v21|]]
    • The world considers the Gospel to be weak and foolish. But God uses the supposed weak fools to destroy the wisdom of the so-called wise.
    • This is the only thing that can change lives and save sinners: the power of God, not man.
• Paul was also weak in that he was gentle with the Corinthians. This was to their benefit.
  • He was patient with them.
  • Yet he also warned them in power that if they continued in unrepentant sin, that they would meet discipline and punishment: 2 Cor 13.2
    • We must also remember Ananias and Saphira who met fearful punishment from God for their sin.

Application

• How am I weak in God?
  • Paradoxically it is good to be weak. Rather we must be weak, so that we may rely on Christ.
    • Our strength comes from Christ and only Christ.
    • We cannot be mighty in Christ without first humbling ourselves.
      • Let us glory in God alone. Let us give God the honor.
      • When we are weak, then we are strong.: 2 Cor 12.10
      • See Psalm 71
• Perhaps you are burdened by your weakness. Physically, mentally, morally…
• But you can flourish in your weakness! Why? Because you can rest in the strength of God!
  • What is the key to the Church’s strength? How do we become powerful? Weakness, that is the key!
• If you do not believe in God’s word today, I implore you:
  • Let Him who glories, glory in the LORD.

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Further Study

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💬Discussion Questions

1. Historically, how when and how has the Church failed to live out this teaching? When did the Church fail to humble itself in weakness? When did the Church seek strength in its own might, rather than in Christ?
2. When and how have you and I failed to live out this teaching? When have we failed to humble ourselves? When have we sought strength in ourselves rather than in Christ?
3. How can we humble ourselves? How can we find strength by relying on Christ?
4. Why can it feel so difficult/scary to humble ourselves and rely on God’s strength?

Footnotes

Footnotes

1. i.e. embarassing ↩