God’s Grace Is Sufficient For You
Seventh Sunday After Pentecost
Light of Christ Anglican Church
The Rev. Michael J. Moffitt July 07, 2024
SCRIPTURE: 2 Corinthians 12:2-10
This morning I want to begin with a brief time of recapping where we are in the church calendar. I think it may be helpful and possibly a needed refocus on our relationship with Jesus Christ as his followers, disciples, and ambassadors. Why? Because there has never been a more important time for those who profess to be the body of Christ- the beloved of the Savior, to know what that means, why it matters more than anything else and why it should change how we live.
The seasons of the church revolves around two principal feasts, Christmas (involving Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany} and Easter (involving Lent, Easter, and Pentecost).
Then between the two seasons is a large part of the year referred to as ordinary time. This part of the season focuses on the growth of the church, ending in a season known as “Kingdomtide” which concludes with the feast of Christ the King.
It’s important that we focus on this season as a time of putting into practice all that we celebrated and learned from Advent to Pentecost. This is the time where we ask the Holy Spirit to build us up as the people of God who have now hopefully seen and embraced the joy and the glory of the gospel message. We have focused on the fact that Jesus came, born of a woman, and lived his life in preparation for His role as Messiah. We saw that the fact that our Savior came as promised by God as early as Genesis 3:15, in the Garden of Eden, should give us the hope and assurance that he will return in His second coming as he promised. We followed along during Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany focusing on the revelation of the Christ child as his life here among us unfolded. We were reminded of Jesus choosing the disciples, teaching them what he really came for was to fulfill all that God had promised in the law and the prophets. Essentially, this would serve as a reboot as the Holy Spirit was downloading a major update into their hearts and minds. We remembered how Jesus showed the disciples how to live within the world as His faithful followers. He continually lived as the perfect example of a human being living in loving obedience to the Father. He pointed out his life in contrast to the religious leaders who were in blind disobedience to the law of God, the very thing they claimed to love above all else. Most of them had no real heart for God, because they didn’t really know him. They loved their lifestyle of importance and expected people to respect them as the real men of God. They didn’t understand that God wanted his people to know him intimately and love him.
In Lent we came to God in intentional times of repentance and joyfully celebrated the marvel of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter morning. We thought again of what it must have been like when Jesus revealed himself risen from the dead. I can only imagine the joy of his disciples seeing him as he revealed himself in his resurrected body, complete with the scars of his crucifixion. Then we followed the apostles through their different moments of beholding Jesus and their moment of amazement as they were able to observe him ascending back to the Father. It was with great joy that they returned to Jerusalem to await the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in power.
Then 50 days after the resurrection on Pentecost the Holy Spirit came like a rushing wind and settled upon the disciples and others who had followed Jesus, 120 in all. Through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit the disciples were transformed into the men and women of God that Jesus had promised.
There was great celebration for quite a while and the church grew in number and in joy as they gathered daily to worship, to pray, to hear the word of God expounded by the Apostles and to daily celebrate the Eucharist together. Thousands upon thousands came to saving faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Some scholars believe that this lasted for 1 ½ to 2 years until the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7: 54-60. Persecution started becoming frequent and the disciples scattered. Acts 8:1,
“And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.”
I’m sure that they were frightened and surprised by this turn of events, but Jesus told them to take the good news of the gospel to the nations and it apparently took a swift kick in the keister to get them to move out into the world.
Today we’ll be primarily focused on 2 Corinthians 12:2-10 but first I want to point out that there is a common theme of rejection among our scripture readings this morning. Did you pick up on that?
Ezekiel was given a message that God told him would be ignored. Listen again to Ezekiel 2:3-5,
“And he said to me, ‘Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them.”
The Lord told the prophet that the people of Israel would not listen and obey but they would no right to complain because they would know that a prophet had been in the midst of them and once again they had ignored it.
In Psalm 123 the psalmist cries out to the Lord for mercy because he has grown weary of the contempt and scorn of those people who were at ease and would have contempt for the words of the psalmist.
In our gospel reading we read of the reception of Jesus in Nazareth, his own hometown. Jesus marveled at the hardness of their hearts and their unbelief. The irony of it is that wherever Jesus went those who claimed to be looking for the Messiah didn’t have the spiritual eyes to see and the ears to hear even when the fulfillment of God’s promises was standing right in front them. Even with signs and wonders their hearts remained hard. However, those who really were looking for the salvation of Israel recognized Jesus even when he was a tiny baby ie; Simeon and Anna the prophetess in the temple at Jesus’ dedication as first born son. Neither of them were likely considered of real value to the religious leaders. They were probably just two old harmless people who hung around the temple praying and fasting for God to fulfill his promises of the messiah. Luke says of Simeon,
“Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.”
Luke records in chapter two verses 27-32 that Simeon came in the Spirit to the temple that day and when Joseph and Mary came in to dedicate their first-born son, Jesus, Simeon recognized him through the eyes of the Spirit as did Anna a prophetess who had been waiting for the Lord’s anointed.
Now we will turn our attention to 2 Corinthians 12: 2-10. This section follows a problem that Paul addresses in chapters 10-11. There were some who Paul referred to as “super-apostles” who sought to be seen as superior to Paul but in reality were false teachers. When Paul calls them “Super” he is being sarcastic. They were following behind Paul throughout the Roman empire trying to steal his converts by claiming that Paul’s gospel was inadequate and needed to be supplemented with special revelations revealed to these super apostles. In chapter 11: 13-15 Paul reveals the nature of their ministries not coming from the Holy Spirit,
“For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.”
Throughout chapter 11 Paul continues defending his credentials as an apostle and then shares with the church at Corinth how much he had suffered for the sake of the gospel. He speaks of beatings, imprisonment, betrayal of those within the church and without. He adds a long list of trials, trouble and hardship because he had willingly followed the path laid out for him by the Lord Jesus.
Then in chapter 12 he changes directions a bit to let them know that he too had received visions and revelations from Christ.
In our day and time it isn’t unusual to hear about a book or a movie coming out about an after death or out of body experience that someone had. People are fascinated with this subject because most everyone wants a glimpse of life after death. Apparently the super apostles were traveling around claiming they had special messages and revelations that had been given them by God. Unlike Paul they were also charging for this information by claiming that since they were anointed men of God they should be able to get paid for their efforts.
In the last part of chapter 11: 30-31 Paul writes,
“If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.”
Then he begins chapter 12 writing about the experience he had with dreams and revelations. He writes that he too had an experience that was profound and changed his life forever. He writes in verse 2-3,
“I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. 3 And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—”
Before we move on to Paul’s reason for revealing this event let’s consider what he is actually claiming. Many interpreters believe that Paul referred to himself in the third person out of modesty. This section is designed to demonstrate that Paul was in no way inferior to these false apostles. He could have easily made the case that they weren’t superior to others as well but that wasn’t the issue here. But remember this is a time where Paul is boasting. The false teachers have no claim to superior revelation because Paul had received such an extraordinary revelation. He had been caught up to the third heaven.
Dr. Richard Pratt in his New Testament Commentary on 1 & 2 Corinthians points out,
“Rabbinical sources speak of “seven heavens; so it is difficult to know for certain the precise meaning of “Third Heaven”. If Paul operated with a sevenfold view of heaven, he acknowledged that he had not reached what the Old Testament called “the highest heavens” (Deut.10:14; Nehemiah 9:6)--- the place where God dwells. Nevertheless, the third heaven indicated that the experience was astounding. The trance was so intense that Paul did not even know if he had been in the body.”
In verse 4 Paul speaks of this level of heaven as paradise, the place where the dead in Christ enter (Luke 23:43). Paul states that while there he heard inexpressible things that he was forbidden to tell, words from angels and God that were to remain hidden.
Have you ever wondered what you would do if you had a dream or vision, or even actually were transported to the throne room of heaven? Do you think you would keep it to yourself? Would you consider writing a book about it and going on a speaking tour about the experience?
As I considered this section the question came up as to why this event is only found in 2 Corinthians 12: 1-10? Paul’s letters account for almost half of the books in the New Testament. He wrote 13 of the 27 books and yet he mentions this vision or revelation in 10 verses of chapter 12. That’s not all that seems surprising. He not only mentions this amazing life altering event in only one place but even here he doesn’t present the claim as the reason to believe anything he says. He does not claim to be an authority on what happens after death or what heaven looks like.
He brings this up to say that unlike the super apostles this gift from God, this privilege of encountering whatever he saw is the very thing that he WILL NOT boast in. Instead he will boast in his weaknesses.
He even describes the event as happening to someone that he knew. He presents the story in the third person so as not to exalt himself.
Listen again to 2 Corinthians 12: 4-5,
“and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses—”
It's clear that he is referring to himself especially since he says as much in verse 7,
“So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan given to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.”
It is astonishing that Paul introduces this absolutely stunning experience of being “caught up into paradise” only to give it a passing “boast” and then turn all his attention to the real marks of an apostle — namely, suffering for Christ’s sake.
Paul never mentions this experience again. He does not use it validate his words or his life as an apostle. He shifts all the focus off of the dramatic and onto the painful reality of suffering with joy. Why? Because he wasn’t boasting about something that God choose to do in his life, that would likely be the normal human response. This encounter doesn’t point to the necessity of the need for God’s grace to be poured out as a daily need in order to persevere. Paul knew his own heart, his own background, and the fact that whatever God did in and through him was reason to praise the Lord and point to Jesus as our greatest need.
It requires no great grace or power of God to boast in things that seem to set you apart as privileged. But to boast about weaknesses, and to be content with insults and hardships and persecutions and calamities — that is not what ordinary sinful humans are like. That requires supernatural grace. This is what Paul wants to focus on as the evidence of his apostleship.
In fact, he says that the Lord Jesus gave him a thorn in the flesh, although we never find out what it was. What we do know is that it was given so that he would be hindered from boasting as a superhero of spiritual experiences. When Paul pleaded that Jesus would take the thorn away, the Lord answered, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness”. So Paul concluded,
“Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
The once in a lifetime encounter with God before his throne of Grace is never mentioned again by Paul, at least not in his letters in the New Testament. Paul mentions it once, and then shifts all the focus onto the truths that people can see and think about and test in his writing and his life.
In other words, the truth of Christianity is not rooted in mystical experiences that only a few people have. It is rooted in God-given revelation through writings that are open for all to see and study and test. It is validated in real lives that others can see and examine.
I think a great example of this is found in Ephesians 3 where Paul invites the church to follow him as he unveils the “mystery of Christ”. I can imagine people paying close attention for this amazing mystery to be unveiled. Ephesians 3:2-6,
“Assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you, 3 how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. 4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. 6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
His way of opening heaven was not by appealing to experiences that can’t be shared. His way was by appealing to shareable truths written for all to see and understand and experience.
Behind these writings he put his own life as evidence of reality. Not his life in the rare moments of mystical experience, but his life as a flesh-and-blood man who had to deal with all the hardships of life and ministry.
He wrote in Philippians 4:9,
“What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me — practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”
Philippians 3:17,
“Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.”
1 Corinthians 11:1, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”
In other words, Paul’s way of leading us into the truth and glory of Christ was not to talk about his privilege of an out-of-body experience of paradise. Instead, his way was to live an open life of total devotion to Jesus, through much suffering, and to write Spirit-given words that are open to all — readable, public, ready for all to examine. This is a mark of humble, serious, personal reality. It is unusual, contrary to ordinary human proclivities, attractive. I want to be like that.
Today a lot of people are concerned about the direction of our country and of the world, and rightly so. The message the gospel given to the apostle Paul to proclaim was given at a time of great persecution of the church. Paul knew it because he was at one time one of the most persecutors of those who were Jews and surrendered to Christ. Most of you know his story well enough to realize that there was an earlier when Paul encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus. It set him on a path of surrender to the lordship of Jesus and a life of persecution by those who had been just like him in their zealousness. Somehow these encounters made him a willing soldier of the cross who persevered through terrible times of suffering and betrayal. Could that happen again? Could it happen here? Do you know Jesus well enough to live and die for him? I encourage you to ask him this question, “Lord, am I ready to live and die for your glory?
Let’s pray.
