\n\t\t\t\t\t\tDownload Audio\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\tText: II Corinthians 12:1-10<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I. False teachers of the Jewish persuasion had entered the congregation in Corinth<\/p>\n A. They wanted to convince the brethren that they had to follow the Law of Moses to\nbe acceptable to God.\n
B. The problem was dealing with Paul.<\/p>\n
1. His teaching was clearly contradictory to their own<\/p>\n
2. Thus, they began spreading doubt on Paul’s credentials<\/p>\n
C. Paul countered this directly – II Corinthians 11:1-3<\/p>\n 1. Paul’s chief concern is how willing the Corinthians were to accept a\ndifferent teaching – II Corinthians 11:4. 19-20\nII. Compared to these false teachers, Paul realizes that he appears to be weak – II Corinthians\n11:21a\n
A. Not that he hasn’t shown evidence of strength – II Corinthians 11:21b-28<\/p>\n B. He shows weakness because he empathizes with those who are struggling – II\nCorinthians 11:29\n
C. But he would rather boast in his weakness – II Corinthians 11:30-31<\/p>\n
III. Paul’s early flight<\/p>\n
A. Soon after he became a Christian, Paul was preaching in Damascus – Acts 9:19b-22<\/p>\n
B. But the Jews were not happy about this development – Acts 9:23-24<\/p>\n C. With the help of his fellow Christians, he escaped Damascus – Acts 9:25; II\nCorinthians 11:32-33\n
D. What Paul is saying is that he saw this running off as a sign of weakness<\/p>\n
1. Think about other times<\/p>\n
a. When facing down the false prophet Elymas – Acts 13:8-11<\/p>\n
b. When driven out of Antioch of Pisidia – Acts 13:50-51<\/p>\n c. At Lystra, Paul is stoned, but he goes back into the city – Acts\n14:19-21\n
2. Paul is not the type of man to run<\/p>\n 3. But I’m sure his enemies made the most of the fact that he didn’t stay and\nface them in Damascus\n
IV. Paul’s infirmity<\/p>\n
A. Paul relates a story of himself, told in the third person – II Corinthians 12:1-4<\/p>\n
B. Why third person? – II Corinthians 12:5<\/p>\n 1. You would expect someone who received such a glorious vision to boast\nabout it and make frequent references to it.\n
2. Paul is only bring it up because it explains what happened next<\/p>\n C. He could boast and be telling the truth, but he wants to be known for who he is\nand not for his past accomplishments – II Corinthians 12:6\n
1. Who is he?<\/p>\n
2. A poor speaker who is not much to look at – II Corinthians 10:10<\/p>\n
D. Instead, he mentions what resulted from his heavenly vision – II Corinthians 12:7<\/p>\n
1. What his infirmity was is never mentioned<\/p>\n
a. He did mention having a problem in Galatia – Galatians 4:13-14<\/p>\n
b. Whatever it was, his description of it is something painful<\/p>\n E. He asked three times for it to be removed, but he was told that Jesus’ grace was\nsufficient – II Corinthians 12:8-9\n
V. Who is stronger?<\/p>\n
A. The false teachers who talked boldly and eloquently, and never faced difficulties?<\/p>\n B. Or Paul who faced multiple hardships because of his beliefs and kept going? – II\nCorinthians 12:10\n
C. And what about you? <\/p>\n
1. Do challenges in life weaken you or make you stronger?<\/p>\n
2. Is your life about yourself or about the Lord you serve?<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Download Audio Text: II Corinthians 12:1-10 I. False teachers of the Jewish persuasion had entered the congregation in Corinth A. They wanted to convince the brethren that they had to follow the Law of Moses to be acceptable to God. B. The problem was dealing with Paul. 1. His teaching was clearly contradictory to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[118,1210,1113],"class_list":["post-91726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-paul","tag-strength","tag-weakness"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":83738,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-pauls-thorn-in-the-flesh-his-bad-eyesight\/","url_meta":{"origin":91726,"position":0},"title":"Was Paul’s thorn in the flesh his bad eyesight?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 27, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In II Corinthians 12:1-10, Paul talks about his \"thorn in the flesh,\" which kept him from exalting himself, especially after entering paradise.\u00a0 Does Galatians 4:15 show his thorn in the flesh was his eyes? Also, did he see Paradise or just hear words he couldn't repeat? Answer: \"Boasting is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16576,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/god-of-the-weak\/","url_meta":{"origin":91726,"position":1},"title":"God of the Weak","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 8, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Warfel","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":61195,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/works-in-the-book-of-romans\/","url_meta":{"origin":91726,"position":2},"title":"Works in the Book of Romans","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 8, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"by Irvin Himmel via\u00a0Truth Magazine\u00a0XXIII: 2, pp. 43-45, January 11, 1979 Frequently Paul mentions works or deeds in his epistle to the saints at Rome. Whatever he means by \"works,\" the term expresses something opposed to grace and faith. He insists that justification does not find its source in works.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":88360,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/beyond-our-strength-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":91726,"position":3},"title":"Beyond Our Strength (Hamilton)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 6, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II Corinthians 1:3-11 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0After Gideon crushed the Midian and captured two of its kings: Zebah and Zalmunna - Judges 8:12 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0After admitting that they were involved in the killing of the men of Tabor, Gideon reveals that they had killed his brothers, and then\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":68208,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-baptism-was-a-work\/","url_meta":{"origin":91726,"position":4},"title":"If Baptism Was a Work","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 24, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton The claim is made that baptism cannot be part of the salvation process (the process from lost sinner to saved and justified in Christ) because it is claimed that \"baptism is a work\" and \"we are saved through faith and not of works\" (Ephesians 2:8-9). However,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":41073,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-strength-is-a-disadvantage\/","url_meta":{"origin":91726,"position":5},"title":"When Strength Is a Disadvantage","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 25, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Gary Henry \"And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 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