Estudo | Glenio Fonseca Paranaguá - The sufficiency of Christ meeting the human deficieny
The sufficiency of Christ meeting the human deficieny
Then he told me, My grace is sufficient (or sufficient) for my power is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore more will boast in my infirmities, that rest upon me the power of Christ. 2 Corinthians 12:9
Saul, the persecutor of the church, the remarkable religious man, was transformed into a son of Aba and servant of Jesus Christ, the converted son- servant passed through the school of the desert, being prepared by the Holly Ghost for his discipleship. He became a supporter of the Gospel e made a particular special journey to Heaven, whether in his body or not but he had no idea, but he knew that he had been in an environment named third sky. It was an unusual reality.
There, Paul, the gracious apostle, heard unspeakable things to any other mortal and, when he came back as an outstanding person, he was in danger. Maybe, he is the only person that has had this privilege. However, now, the danger surrounded his soul. Being special makes the person feel selfsuffiency. Nobody can be unique, without falling in the trap of boasting.
The masterpiece of sin is to put us in the same level of the awarded people, with a good opinion of ourselves. Therefore, the Father needs to enter in this dangerous subject. That’s when Aba sent a messenger from Satan to destroy the pride of this super astronaut. The Bible had already predicted: "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:28)
There is nothing in human’s heart that is more opposed to the Spirit of God than the ostentation of the personal glory. Destroying a privileged position was a divine task for an evil messenger. It was God’s project, but Satan was the destroyer.
The Almighty God can use anyone, even the most rebel and evil people to execute any of his proposals in benefit of their children. The Lord is so powerful that even his worst enemies, when requested, they obey Him without any question. In this universe there aren’t two sovereign coexisting at the same time. There aren’t two gods, one good and one evil. Elohim, the threesome God, the only Creator and all the others created beings are just creatures.
The apostle Paul was in great danger of getting arrogant because of the magnitude of his revelations. So, the Lord gave him a thorn in the flesh to break him down. It was a representative of Satan, but the one who had given this order was the Lord himself. Paul needed emptying.
Pride is the main platform of hell to launch sin, while humbleness is the cloak that covers God’s sons. The Devil had no interest in "dishumble" the boasted from traveler of the heavenly sphere. In fact, his intention prepared and articulated strategy to expel this sly renter. Be careful with the invisibility of pride.
Sin made us Theo maniacs. We are a race that wishes to be like God. Even the saints suffer of this evil. We want to be seen as saints. We like to be recognized as mature and developed believers. We feel good when we tell others about our spiritual adventures and we ask to the audience to approve the model of our holiness.
Thank God for his intervention. Aba’s sons need to be empty of their humanist presumption. Sufferings appear as surgical instruments to weak us from our arrogance. While, in the sports, athletes take anabolizants to super strengthen the muscles, in the spiritual life, the Father sends satanic thorns to make us weak. Astheneia is the Greek word that enables us to be dependent of God. Astheneia is the institution of failure.
In God’s kingdom, impotence is the true path of the grace to the spiritual super potency. The more I decrease in weakness, more I will be dependent of God almighty and, in this case, when I get to total impotence, I would become super powerful, through divine omnipotence. Paul knew the value of this lesson when he said: "There is nothing I can not do in the One who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). In God’s kingdom, when I am fragile, then I am strong.
The school of deflation also passes through the jubilation in the lesson of húbris, another Hellenic word that Paul used in his text which means: insult, injury, repression, damage or discomfort. It’s a total contradiction having pleasure in the insults, but that’s the tonic of your learning. "And that’s why I am glad of weakness, insults, constraints, persecutions and distress for Christ sake. For it is when I am weak that I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12:10).
Enduring humiliation without hating the insulter is one of the basic subjects to destroy our pride. The example is Christ and the competency is His life acting in us, administrated by the Holy Ghost, "He (Christ) was insulted and did not retaliate with insults; when He was suffering He made no threats but put His trust in the upright judge" (1 Peter 2:23).
The grace of God is Christ, and the grace of God, in Jesus Christ, is enough for us. If Christ is everything in everybody, He is the divine sufficiency supplying the human deficiency. All the omnipotent sufficiency of God is providing in Christ, all "anagke", or human need.
If Paul felt pleasure when facing indigence or poverty, in his daily life, we have to admit that he is another kind of human being. Even if the Christian is part of the humanity, he is no longer an arrogant humanist. His selfishness was nailed in the cross along with Christ and now he lives in a dimension of abundance of life in his interior
One of the things that cause impression in the Christian life is the capability to endure trials. It just confirms that we are facing another reality. Saul, before his conversion, used to persecute Christians. After his new birth, Paul was persecuted and felt joy in his diogmos or persecution. He did not feel pleasure in suffering, like a masochist, but he had joy in the cause of his suffering.
Christians saw in the persecution a motive of delight for being involved in a cause which has eternal value. Jesus said: "Blessed are those who are persecuted in the cause of righteousness; the kingdom of Heaven is theirs" (Matthew 5:10). What a curious happiness!
It’s strange, but it’s real. Who is more innocent than Christ? Who was more persecuted than Him in this world? And, if Christ lives in us, there is no alternative. "But anybody who tries to live in devotion to Christ is certain to be persecuted" (2 Timothy 3;12). It’s clear that there is no merciful live without persecution, but there won’t be a truly merciful life with the joy in Christ. It’s impossible to have Christ living in us and not be blessed.
The last word used by the old apostle to define the method of his advanced spiritual education was stenochoria that must be translated by agony. The spiritual development does not release us from participating of our inner agony. It is in the painful crisis that the soul grasps the sufficiency of Christ. "Can anything cut us off from the love of Christ – can hardship or distress, or persecution, or lack of food or clothing, or threats or violence?" (Roman 8:35).
There is no growing in spiritual life or progress in holiness without these five special lessons. The power of God only refines us in weakness. All of this, however, for the love of Christ.
John Owen said in the XVII century: "we will not receive any power from God, unless we are convinced that we are powerless in ourselves." The one who is totally weak has all the chances to depend on the divine omnipotence. The one who is perfectly deficient brings the assurance of being supplied by the sufficiency of Christ.
Refinement of weakness goes through these four phases. When insulted, do not retaliate. When in need, do not call people’s attention, but trust only in the one who can accommodate your needs. When persecuted because of the gospel, never defend yourself, even if you can explain the facts which are moving your actions.
Finally, when you are passing through the dark valleys of agony, remember that the Lord also crossed those valleys, becoming, in everything, our sufficiency. Now know that, "we are subjected to every kind of hardship, but never distressed; we see no way out but we never despair; we are pursued but never cut off; knocked down, but still have some life in us; always we carry with us in our body the death of Jesus, too, may be visible in our body" (2 Corinthians 4: 8-10).