Tag: The Book of 2 Corinthians

Strength in Weakness (2 Corinthians 12:1-12)

On By Tim ValentinoIn SermonsLeave a comment

There are many paradoxes in the Christian life—truths that seem to oppose one another, and yet they somehow work together. We might call such realities “truth in stereo.” For example, God is sovereign over history, yet human beings can make real and meaningful choices. The Scriptures are authored by God, and yet they come to us through hands of human beings. Jesus Christ is fully human, and yet he is also fully divine. The first shall be last, and the last shall be first. The list of examples is long.

The paradox in Paul’s famous “thorn in the flesh” testimony in 2 Corinthians 12 is likewise stark: “When I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor 12:10b). But how could he say such a thing? Is he making a self-contradictory, self-refuting statement? No, Paul learned firsthand that the thing he most wanted removed from his life was the very thing God was using for the apostle’s good and heaven’s glory. That is why, paradoxical though it may seem, believers can learn to glory in their weaknesses. As Hershael York has said, “It is in our weaknesses—more so than in our strengths—that Christ is most clearly revealed.” 

In sharing his testimony, Paul gives us three good reasons to glory in our weaknesses: First, glory in your weakness to direct people’s focus away from yourself. Paul’s goal in life was not to get people to think that he was wonderful. His goal in life was to get people to think that Christ is wonderful. As John the baptist said of Jesus, “He must increase; I must decrease” (John 3:30).

Second, glory in your weakness to distance yourself from your own strengths. Jesus said, “Apart from me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5a). Believers should take him seriously on that reminder! Besides, we tend to learn a lot more about God in the thorns of life than we do in our “third heaven” experiences, which Paul also describes in this passage.

Third, glory in your weakness to display the greatness of Jesus Christ. Somewhere in his agonizing “wrestling match” with God, Paul’s attitude toward his thorn changed. The very thing that troubled him the most was the thing that moved him into deeper intimacy with the Lord. It’s a good reminder that if we have a thorn in our life (and who doesn’t?), we can face it, and let God grace it. Just like Paul did.

Charles Spurgeon has said, “A primary qualification for serving God with any amount of success…is a sense of our own weakness…. Dear reader, are you mourning over your own weakness? Take courage, for there must be a consciousness of weakness before the Lord will give you victory. Your emptiness is but the preparation for your being filled.” Spurgeon was right. Our weakness is the vessel of God’s strength. If such a paradox is truth is stereo, then let the weak turn up the volume on this one and dance.

Sermon Resources:

Strength in Weakness (Sermon Outline PDF)Download
Strength in Weakness (Sermon PowerPoint PDF)Download

Contact This New Life directly for the sermon audio file.

The Christ Community, Part 12: The Church as the Ambassadors of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:9-6:2)

On By Tim ValentinoIn SermonsLeave a comment

After winning the gold medal in the women’s tennis event at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Serena Williams told a reporter, “I didn’t think it could be better than winning Wimbledon, but at Wimbledon, I was just playing for myself. The Olympic gold means more to me because I was playing for my country.” 

It’s an interesting observation. When you’re competing to bring honor only to yourself, the victory may be wide, but it’s not very deep. When you’re competing to bring honor to an entire country, however, the victory is both wide and deep. But why? It’s because—in a sense—you’re sharing the celebration with the people you represent. Your victory is their victory, too. The joy is wider, and the satisfaction is deeper.

Imagine the significance, then, of representing not just a nation but an entire kingdom. And not just any kingdom but the kingdom of God. In 1 Corinthians 5:20, Paul says: “We are…Christ’s ambassadors.” In other words, we’re sent by the risen King—Jesus Christ—and we are sent to operate on his behalf in a certain cultural setting. We’re royal citizens of heaven, but we’re also heaven’s ambassadors on earth in a certain time and a certain ZIP code. 

What are ambassadors? Ambassadors are government representatives commissioned to serve in a foreign country for the purpose of accurately communicating the position and policies of the government they represent so that the people to whom they speak will be brought into—and kept in a good relationship with—the government of the country they serve. When Paul writes, “We are Christ’s ambassadors,” he’s saying: The followers of Christ are the representatives of Christ in the world. That is both an honor and a challenge. This sermon takes a brief look at both the marks and message of an ambassador.

When it comes to the marks, Paul indicates that ambassadors of Christ must display loyalty, authenticity, humility, and winsomeness. They must have confidence in the message God sends them with and truly value the people he has made. There’s a sense of urgency to the task, and they have to be willing to let God share his message through them.

When it comes to the message, ambassadors of Christ speak about God and his grace. They do this because the benefits of the gospel are astounding. Paul writes, “God made him [Jesus] who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor 5:21). Ambassadors also speak about God and his invitation. They do so because the consequences of rejecting the gospel are disastrous. Paul writes, “We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God!” (2 Cor 5:20). To whom are you being an ambassador for Christ?

Sermon Resources:

The Church as the Army of God Outline (Sermon Outline PDF)Download

Contact This New Life directly for the sermon audio file.

The Christ Community, Part 11: The Church as the Army of God (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

On By Tim ValentinoIn SermonsLeave a comment

Scattered throughout the New Testament are words, phrases, and illustrations that give the church a military flavor. In Philippians 2, for example, Paul speaks of “Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier.” In Philemon 2 he refers to “Archippus our fellow soldier.” In 2 Timothy 2 Paul exhorts his young apprentice to “endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” Moreover, Paul writes in 1 Timothy 6:12, “Fight the good fight of the faith.” The Christian life is a battle.

But the military motif is found not only in Paul. It’s also found on the lips Jesus. In Matthew 11:12, Jesus offered this challenging statement: “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.” Forcefully advancing is something an army does. It’s no wonder, then, that theologians have long spoke of “the church militant,” that is, the church on mission, as opposed to “the church triumphant,” the company of believers who left the battlefield of this earth and have gone to be with Jesus.

Now, we have to interpret these kinds of Scriptures carefully. The Christian mission does not involve taking up arms against a human enemy to advance the cause. That’s a gross distortion of the nature and purpose of the kingdom of God. When Jesus stood before Pilate, he said in John 18, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.” Moreover, the previous night—when Jesus was arrested in Gethsemane—Peter pulled out a sword and tried to attack the authorities, but Jesus said in Matthew 26:52, “Put your sword back in its place…for all who live by the sword will die by the sword.” 

So, when we look carefully at the military flavored passages of the New Testament, it’s quite clear the type of conflict Christians are engaged in is radically different from the normal concept of warfare as we understand it. In fact, in this particular fight, the enemies are invisible. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5:

3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Our is a different kind of war, says Paul. “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood.” So, the military image is designed to teach believers that: The church of Jesus Christ is a spiritual army that fights spiritual enemies with spiritual weapons. This message takes a look at some of those weapons. It also emphasizes that believers are not struggling for a victory, but from a victory—the victory Christ has already won.

Sermon Resources:

The Church as the Army of God (Sermon Outline PDF)Download

Contact This New Life directly for the sermon audio file.