Sufficient Grace, Part1

Welcome to Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. In 2 Corinthians 12, 7-13, Paul begs God to remove the thorn in his flesh. But God chooses to let it remain, encouraging Paul that God's own grace will be enough.

None of us relishes suffering in our lives, but often it is the very thing God uses to wake us up and help us focus our eyes more intently on our Lord Jesus. Let's listen in on this message titled Sufficient Grace. The title of this series is called Genuine Authority. And what are the attributes of genuine authority? The attribute of genuine authority is one who has sufficient grace. And we're not just dealing with those who are in necessarily positions of influence, though that is what Paul is dealing with here. But let's understand something before we, well, as we begin today.

Listen to me. If you are in Christ, you are an influencer. And the sufficient grace of God is an attribute of the authority that you have in Christ to speak to His goodness and His grace. Now, as Paul is dealing with this, he found himself having to reiterate to his detractors in the Corinthian church and even the members of the church because he felt unfairly that even though he had a lot of support in the Corinthian church, there were those who remained silent even though they should have come to his defense. I think that's pointed out in verse 11 of chapter 12. But as he's going through this, he's recounting his own testimony and his own experience. He is one who has received revelation from God.

And there was never a doubt in Paul's mind with regard to his call and the authority that Christ had entrusted to him for the propagation of the gospel of grace. But because of those revelations that Paul received, now in this paragraph, he's going to be talking about a thorn in the flesh that God had granted him, a gift from God, a thorn in the flesh. And he begins with why. He begins with why.

This is why. Those of us who have children as they're growing up, we recognize, we remember that they always get to the stage where they're always asking the question, why? Daddy, why?

Mommy, why? And sometimes it can be, you know, enough to pull your hair out and just say, because that's why. God goes way beyond that. He begins with why.

And Paul is recounting it here. Verse seven, look with me, and lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations. Lest I should be exalted above measure. The greatest temptation for everyone in authority is to focus on one's own experience and accomplishments.

It becomes about me. Paul had an abundance of revelations, and Paul could say, and he could have gone to the churches, he could have gone out in public, and he says, you know, God and I, we're really connected. I've received a lot of revelations from him. But you know what? That was not the foundation of his ministry.

And it was not the authority of his ministry. So why the thorn, lest I be exalted above measure, that's why. The word exalted above measure is the word huperiro. I love the word. You look at it, it says hyper air.

And that just kind of says it, doesn't it? Hyper air, to think too much of myself. Paul says, the Lord is gracious to me in giving me a gift to keep me from thinking too much of myself.

Paul recognized that. Now this word, huperiro, is used another time in the New Testament in 2 Thessalonians 2, 4, and it's with regard to the Antichrist. And it says this, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

What is that? That's idolatry. And to exalt yourself is nothing short of idolatry. And God, Paul recognized that God was being faithful to grant him this gift as a thorn in the flesh to keep him from idolatry, from thinking too much of himself. Because it is a very real temptation for every human being in any position of authority.

And it is particularly true and dangerous in our American culture where there is such a rampant culture of celebrity worship. Church, be warned. What is God's message to Paul in the thorn? His message is simple, you're still an ordinary mortal dependent upon God.

You're still an ordinary mortal dependent upon God. So what is this thorn in the flesh? The Lord grants him this thorn in the flesh.

The thorn in the flesh is an irritation, it's some form of ongoing trouble. Interesting what Paul calls it, he refers to it as a messenger from Satan. A messenger from Satan, yet it was clearly something that the Lord allowed and yet Paul refers to it as a messenger from Satan. Now what would be Satan's objective in inflicting this thorn in Paul's flesh? Satan's objective, as it always is, is an attempt to distract Paul away from God's character and purpose.

To take his focus off of the objective and become distracted by the immediate, the surroundings, the thorn in the flesh, whatever that thorn in the flesh was. That was his objective with Job way back in the Old Testament. Satan is before God and he accuses Job and he says, you know what, Job's got it made. He's comfortable and Satan says to God, take away his stuff and he'll abandon you. Listen to me Christians, he thinks of that way about you too.

Take away their stuff and they'll abandon you. Only you and God know your answer to that. But that's how your adversary thinks of you and so he inflicted this thorn in the flesh for the Apostle Paul. God allows it, Satan inflicts it, opposite purposes. What is Satan's purpose but to distract Paul away from God's good character and his purpose. But God's purpose, God's objective in the thorn is not to distract Paul, it's to bring his focus back to God. To take him away from the distractions and to focus him upon God himself who alone has the answer why to why. And so he's referred to it as a messenger from Satan, that word messenger interestingly is the word angelos.

It's the word from which we get angel, it means messenger. Now we don't know exactly what that thorn in the flesh was. There are various different theories on that taken from implications in scripture. Some believe it was a physical infirmity, for example his eyes. They thought that was the thorn in the flesh.

Others think it was adverse circumstances and we know that Paul had to deal with incredibly adverse circumstances as recorded back in chapter 11. Others still believe and I will be honest with you this morning, I tend to lean towards this conclusion that the thorn in the flesh was human. A person or a group of people. Why would I say that?

Well, use of the word messenger which is angelos generally used of a personality of some sort. If you were to look back at Numbers chapter 33 verse 55, Moses was recounting once again all the travels of Israel from Egypt headed toward the promised land and he was warning the people of Israel. He says when you go into Canaan you need to drive the Canaanites out because this land is your land and God is giving it to you. And the reason you need to drive the Canaanites out is because if you don't drive them out they will become irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides and they shall harass you. Speaking of people as thorns in their sides. And also from verse 10 he says therefore I take pleasure in reproaches and persecutions where he mentions that those are things that come from people. So I tend, I can't be dogmatic about this but I tend to lean toward the conclusion that the thorn in Paul's side was human. Whether one or a group of individuals.

Whichever one it is, it doesn't matter. Whichever the thorn, whether it's a physical infirmity, adverse circumstances or people, it doesn't really matter because the same principle applies. The same would be true regardless of what kind of a thorn in the flesh it was. An example of that would be for example a few weeks ago I was watching the British Open golf tournament Rory McIlroy was doing such a masterful job and on the last round of the last day he had just finished his tee shot and he went in his backswing and as soon as he was done swinging he turned around, he walked to the grandstands and he pointed with his driver to an individual in there who had been following him around from hole to hole and was heckling him the whole time.

And he pointed that person out and that person was escorted off the field. That's a thorn in the flesh. Paul says it was a messenger of Satan to buffet me.

To ill-treat. The word buffet means to ill-treat or to revile. It is the word that is used in Mark 14 and Matthew chapter 26 speaking of Jesus where they struck him with the palm of their hand. Jesus was buffeted. It's a slap in the face. Paul's thorn in the flesh was to him a slap in the face. Listen to me please. Every authority figure will get the periodic slap in the face. Listen to this also. Every human authority figure needs the periodic slap in the face. The Light and Grace mission is to help you know that God designed you to realize your highest good and your deepest satisfaction in him. The one who is infinitely good. We hope you'll join us again on weekdays at 10 a.m. you