Note: the concept of this lesson is quite simple. However, grasping and trusting the message of this lesson is quite difficult. As a servant was totally dependent on his master, the Christian is totally dependent on God. Never in regard to any matter is God in debt to us. Nothing we ever do places God in a position of obligation or indebtedness to us. We are 100% dependent on His goodness. One hundred per cent of salvation occurs through God's grace. The fundamental motivation for all human obedience must be appreciation that arises from our love for God. The basic motivation for obedience is not a human desire to earn, merit, or place God under obligation. When we love God and are filled with gratitude for all Jesus Christ did for us, we obey God. God in His goodness saves us. Goodness is a part of his nature. He always does what He says He will do. He does not save us because we deserve to be saved. He saves us because He loves us.
The approach of this lesson: (1) to illustrate why it is difficult for American Christians to grasp and trust spiritual concepts that are not based on the merit and worth of the individual. (2) To acknowledge the destructiveness of the attitude of superiority. (3) To establish the context of Paul's message in 2 Corinthians 12 by examining the disrespectful attitudes of some Corinthian Christians toward Paul. (4) To focus on Paul's lesson concerning the sufficiency of God's grace.
One of the most challenging, difficult acts of surrender for the typical American Christian is surrendering to grace. Surrendering to grace defies every cultural declaration of the individual's inherent worth. The way to destroy the feelings of inferiority in individuals of an ethnic minority is to replace feelings of inferiority with feelings of pride. The way to destroy destructive stereotypes of inferiority in female individuals is to develop convictions of superiority. The way to destroy the self-concept of inferiority in those who suffer physical or mental restrictions is to change America's vocabulary. A person does not have a disability; he or she has a challenge.
In the American concept of the person, no one should feel any sense of inferiority. Feelings of inferiority are wrong. They must be destroyed because they are destructive to the person.
Inferiority does not and cannot exist. Why? Every person has value and worth simply by existing. Each person must have a sense of self-worth. Each person must function in a sense of pride. Each person must have awareness of "what I can do," "what I can achieve," "what I can accomplish," and "how others need me." Everyone is a "somebody;" no one is a "nobody." "I know my worth! Respect my worth! Treat me on the basis of my perception of my worth!"
Feelings of inferiority are destroyed by producing a sense of worth. This sense of worth commonly generates (1) anger, (2) feelings of superiority, or (3) both.
In no way does this lesson suggest that any person [regardless of situation, circumstances, or heritage] should be denied respect, kindness, and consideration. "Loving others as you love yourself" is a foundation truth of Christ-like existence. Christians must view all people with dignity and treat them with respect and consideration if we are Jesus' disciples.
Never is the objective of this lesson to impose injustices on any person or any group.
The heart of this lesson centers in the struggle of self-perceptions. Typically, a person wants to be accepted on the basis of the merit of "being" and personal achievement. Our common conviction: "I merit your consideration. I earned your respect. I deserve opportunity." A problem is born when we use the self-perception of inherent personal worth to destroy the self-perception of inferiority. The problem: we replace the sense of inferiority with the sense of superiority. Perceptions of inferiority are destructive, but so are perceptions of superiority. The feeling of inferiority makes us dangerous to ourselves. The feeling of superiority makes us dangerous to others.
Personal attitudes of worth, merit, and deservedness that are commonly imposed on people are easily imposed on God. We "want to make a deal" with God, or "bargain with" God, or "earn" salvation. We want to reduce relationship with God to a religious system. We want to create a checklist of necessary acts that [when performed] obligate God. We do not want to be saved by grace! We say to ourselves, "Because of what I do for God, God owes me." That is a short step away from this deceitful lie: "God does not take care of me; I take care of God."
People commonly look at God in the same manner they look at other people. They commonly feel about God as they feel about other people. The attitudes that they impose on people they also impose on God.
The Corinthian Christians and Paul:
Some Corinthian Christians had no respect for Paul. Some did not respect his status as a missionary and preacher (consider their attitude in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 and 4:1-5); regarded themselves as superior to Paul (see 1 Corinthians 4:6-13); said Paul was deceitful (see 2 Corinthians 1:15-18, 23, 24); said Paul exalted himself (see 2 Corinthians 3:1-5); and said Paul's letters were great, but in person he was unimpressive, and he was a terrible speaker (2 Corinthians 10:10).
Their attitudes created pressures that forced Paul to defend himself (see 2 Corinthians 6:1-10). In fact, it was necessary for Paul to reveal things about himself that he did not wish to discuss (see 2 Corinthians 11).
The purpose of this section is to establish a context for Paul's response in chapter 12. Paul was not placing himself in a role of superiority. He was speaking to them in terms they understood. This was not an attempt to exalt himself, but to challenge some Corinthian Christians to examine their own claims and attitudes. Do not allow this material to become the point of the lesson. Use it only as is needed to establish the context.
Read 2 Corinthians 12:1-10.
He said the situation made "boasting" (NAS) [to "glory" (KJV); "boast" or "boasting" (RSV, TEV, NIV, JB, NEB)] necessary, but, in truth, within itself "boasting" had no spiritual value or merit. Paul revealed a personal experience that he did not wish to use. Its usefulness was found in the fact that they would understand Paul's point, not because the experience gave him any special stature or significance. They claimed superior spiritual significance because of their visions and revelations. Paul said if they wanted to establish spiritual significance in that manner, his experiences were superior to theirs.
Paul's experience occurred fourteen years prior to the writing of this letter. He was allowed to enter the third heaven.
Note: Discussion and speculation continue about the third heaven and paradise. Scripture provides little information about either. Numerous views can be found regarding both. While we are curious to know more than we do about each, do not allow speculation about one, the other, or both to obscure Paul's point. He was permitted to enter a spiritual realm usually closed to living humans. He not only was allowed to visit this place, but he was also allowed to return to earth afterward. Not even he fully understood the experience--he did not know if his body went or just his spirit. All he knew was this: he heard things that he was not permitted to speak on earth. His point was simple: he had a spiritual experience that surpassed any experience of his Corinthian Christian critics. This experience did not make him spiritually superior. Experiences from visions and revelations could not and did not make them spiritually superior.
Paul went to Paradise where he heard inexpressible words (words which he understood that were not the words of human language?) which he was not allowed to speak on earth.
Paul as Paul placed no special spiritual significance on himself because of his incredible spiritual experience. Paul founded his spiritual significance on his weakness, not in his incredible experience. He wanted no one to attribute spiritual significance to him on the basis of his incredible spiritual experience. Any significance that others placed on him should be the result of the way he lived and his teachings about Christ.
Paul was given a "thorn" in his physical body. When a thorn sticks into and breaks off in a person's flesh, the thorn is a constant source of irritation and soreness. It affects the person continually. He cannot forget about the thorn, and healing cannot begin until the thorn is removed.
Paul wanted the thorn removed. He asked the Lord three times to remove the thorn. From Paul's perspective, the thorn negatively affected his work and his service to the Lord.
The Lord refused to remove the thorn. It was not in Paul's spiritual best interest for the thorn to be removed. The thorn made Paul's weakness evident. That weakness prevented Paul from falling to the temptation to exalt himself because of his incredible experience. That weakness encouraged Paul to depend on the Lord instead of himself. God's power reaches the full potential of its effectiveness when a person depends 100% on God. God's grace was sufficient for Paul's need. The thorn could not prevent God from accomplishing His purposes through Paul.
Note: the origin of the thorn was Satan. The thorn was Satan's messenger. Paul had the thorn because Satan inflicted it. Satan gave the thorn to Paul (1) to intensify the price Paul paid for serving God and His purposes or (2) to decrease Paul's effectiveness as he served God. Here God clearly used an act of Satan to produce spiritual blessing and benefit for a human. God did not use the thorn to give this person what he wanted physically. God used the thorn to give the person a spiritual blessing.
He no longer asked God to remove the thorn. In fact, he found joy in the weakness produced by the thorn. He wanted the thorn to remain so that the power of Christ would live in him.
Note: the power of Christ that Paul wanted to live in him was not the power to do miraculous acts or speak in tongues. For a long time Paul had been able to do such powerful acts. Paul wanted the power of Christ to live in him in a different sense. Consider Philippians 2:7-11.
God's goodness or grace was sufficient. Paul's effectiveness in serving God's purposes depended 0% on Paul's physical condition and 100% on God's grace. Paul's experiences were not the reason that God could use him powerfully. Paul's weakness and total dependence on God was the reason God could use him powerfully. Paul understood on an even higher level, "It is God; it is not me."
God's power reaches maturity [is perfected, achieves completeness] in human weakness. We can be powerful in God and for God because of God, not because of us. See 1 Corinthians 2:1-5.
God is powerful in us when we are 100% dependent on God. God has enough grace to care for every need we have. No weakness exceeds his grace. No sin [that we repent of] exceeds his grace. No personal flaw is too great for His grace. No failure [that we turn from] is beyond His grace. No struggle is too needy for His grace.
Our common concept is this: we are most effective in serving God's purposes when we possess great personal strength and wonderful solutions. God says that concept is 100% wrong. We are most effective in serving God's purposes when obviously God is at work in us. We are the most useful to God when we are totally dependent on God. Jesus said that even our good works should give God glory (Matthew 5:16). It must be obvious that God is at work in us. It must be obvious that the presence of God, not human ability, makes our service possible.
God's promise is simple: "Trust me, and I will take care of you. Trust me, and I will hold you up and keep you from falling. Trust me, and Satan cannot defeat you. Trust me, and realize that My power is of greatest effectiveness when you are so weak that all you can do is ... trust me."
From the garden of Eden (Genesis 3) to today, the issue always has been the same: do you trust God?
We fear being 100% at the mercy of anyone. We would never advise anyone to place themselves in that situation. We always regard such situations as extremely dangerous. When we consider a human to human relationship, 100% dependence on mercy is dangerous.
However, we are 100% dependent on God's mercy. We can depend on God's mercy for two reasons: (1) It is impossible for God to lie; (2) God keeps His agreements and promises (see Hebrews 6:17,18). Spiritual maturity occurs to the extent we place confidence in God's goodness.
We resist putting 100% trust in God's grace. We prefer that God be at least a little obligated to us. However, we have never existed as servants. Servants surrender to their master's grace.
When we depend on anything other than God for our security, we do not trust God, we do not surrender to grace.
Link to Student Guide
Quarter 3, Lesson 10