The
Vision of the Apostle Paul
(2
Corinthians 12: 1-13)
Today
as we continue our Bible study of 2nd
Corinthians and the writings of Paul, we'll be digging into chapter
12. Taking up where we left off last week, we will finish analyzing
Paul's train of thought as he continues to address “boasting”
within the early Church. His chastisement of the Corinthian church,
you will recall, stemmed from reports Paul apparently received about
arguments from within the congregation over who was better equipped
to lead, or whose faith was the strongest, or who had the greatest
Spiritual anointing. So we can clearly see that denominational rifts
have a history dating back to the early church. In other words, this
kind of misbehavior among the leadership of today's church –
competing against one another for additional membership – has been
around for centuries. This is one of several reasons why I, as a
minister of the true Gospel, refuse to align this church, my blog
postings, or this website with any religious denomination. Such
people are in church only for themselves, and in so doing they are
bringing judgment upon themselves because they are there for all the
wrong reasons, and this is essentially what Paul was saying to them.
Having said that, let's take up where we left off last week,
beginning at verse 1 of chapter 12.
“I
must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will
go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. I know a man in
Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven.
Whether it was in the body or out of the body, I do not know – God
knows. And I know that this man – whether in the body or apart from
the body I do not know, but God knows – was caught up to paradise.
He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to
tell. I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about
myself, except about my weaknesses. Even if I were to choose to
boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth.
But I refrain, so that no one will think more of me than is warranted
by what I do or say.” ( 2 Corinthians 12, verses 1-6, NIV)
I consider this to be one of the more intriguing
nuggets of Scripture contained within the Bible, because we have a
clear reference to to what we now call “out of body experiences”.
No doubt you have heard of this in one form or another, and there are
many videos posted on You-tube and other places on this topic.
Clearly Paul knew someone personally who had one of these
experiences, and that lucky person got a glimpse of heaven. He may
have even been alluding to himself, but there's no way to tell that I
can see due to the passage of time. By the same token, I have seen an
equal number of videos or read a number of blog postings about people
having such experiences, winding up in hell and then coming back to
tell the tale. So it works both ways, and you had better believe
there is such a thing as heaven and hell. There are living
eyewitnesses to both, so we would all be wise to heed their warnings
and believe their testimony.
Moving
right along, Paul finishes making his point when he wrote, “I
will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself,
except about my weaknesses. Even if I were to choose to boast, I
would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth.”
So I think that what Paul is really saying is that if anybody is
proud of what a good Christian they are, or if any pastor, teacher or
evangelist sees themselves as being in a better position from a moral
standpoint, Paul is telling those kinds of “religious” people
they need to quit doing that. If they want bragging rights about
anything, whether it is physical (“my church is bigger than your
church”) or spiritual (“my God/faith is better than yours”),
they need to cut out that childish stuff and start focusing the
efforts of their congregations on what really matters, such as how we
treat other people and seeing to the needs of the poor. (The conflict
between Christians and Muslims would disappear overnight if we united
in an effort to do this.) If we're going to boast about anything
within the church, point out the Spiritual growth of certain
individuals who are setting the best example. For instance, the
gentleman who had the vision or dream that Paul wrote about could not
have had such an experience unless he already had an exceptionally
close walk with the Lord. It is to these things that we should all be
aspiring. And now let's continue starting at verse 7.
“To
keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great
revelations, there was given to me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger
of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take
it away from me. 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 my weaknesses, in
insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I
am weak, then I am strong. I have made a fool of myself, but you have
drove me to it. I ought to have been commended by you, for I am not
in the least inferior to the 'super apostles', even though I am
nothing. The things that mark an apostle – signs, wonders, and
miracles – were done among you with great perseverance. How were
you inferior to the other churches, except that I was never a burden
to you. Forgive me this wrong!” (2 Corinthians 12, verses 7-13,
NIV)
Paul's
mentioning of “a thorn in my flesh” has long stirred controversy,
mainly within the church, but not exclusively. To this day I don't
think anyone can say for certain what Paul was writing about. But the
beauty of this passage is God's response of quiet confidence, 'My
grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in
weakness'. The
moral of the story here is that we can accomplish nothing in and of
our own strength, and even when we manage to do so it never lasts.
But when we relinquish ownership of our lives and surrender control
to Christ, then and only then can His strength supplant our own. The
key, as the old adage goes, is to be willing to “let go and let
God”. We have to let go of our pride and our ego and allow Christ
to take over. That's how we let Christ into our hearts. It's not
enough to simply invite Jesus into our hearts as some are teaching.
We must surrender ourselves to Him so his healing can begin and so
his indwelling can be initiated.
When I am weak, Paul wrote, then I am strong. When our
bodies and minds are weak, or when our spirits need to be
replenished, that is exactly when the strength of Christ works best.
Conversely, when we insist on being in charge of our lives or force
situations and various persons to work out for our benefit at the
exclusion of everything and everybody else, Christ cannot work in
those instances because we are standing in His way. God hates control
freaks for this reason, not to mention the fact that being
controlling and manipulative is not only a sin, but they are actually
forms of idolatry – the worship of false gods (in this case the
false god being oneself). Christ, being the complete gentleman that
He is, will never force us to step aside. We must freely choose to do
so out of a desire to please God so we make it to heaven when our
physical lives are over. God is in charge and we're not. He surely
doesn't need our help – he's God. Jesus, his only Son, intercedes
for us from the right hand of his Father's throne. He's already got
everything under control. Jesus said, “My yoke is easy and my
burden is light”, meaning it's easier and better for us to give our
lives to Christ. After all, He gave his life for all of us 2,000
years ago so we could each have eternal life. It seems only natural
to me to want to reciprocate by giving my life over to Him. How about
you? Has anyone reading this considered giving their life to Christ?
Jesus said, “Anyone who clings to his life will lose it, but he who
loses his life for my sake will find it”. That eloquent statement
is even more true today than it was back then, and I believe Jesus
was referring to this very topic. Surrender your life to Christ and
let Him take over, the benefits are light-years beyond what you can
see. Simply ask Him quietly into your heart as a dwelling place. He
will do the rest if you willingly yield to him. How you ask Him
doesn't matter, and who you are or what you have done doesn't either.
Ask Jesus into your heart today, not just for a visit but to live
within you forever, like a good lifelong relationship. You know,
there really isn't much time left before He comes back for us all.
Why not ask Jesus into your heart right now? Simply pray, “Lord
Jesus, come into my heart. I dedicate the rest of my life to serving
you. Show me what you want me to do for you, and I will do it. In
Jesus' mighty name, amen!”
No comments:
Post a Comment