/For gladly, you will put up with the ignorant ones, being thoughtful;
for you put up with someone if he enslaves you, if someone consumes, if
someone takes, if someone exalts himself, if someone strikes you on the
face...If it is necessary to boast, in the things of my weakness I will
boast...Boasting is necessary, not beneficial on the one hand; on the
other hand I proceed to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a
man in Christ, fourteen years before...that one was caught up as far as
the third heaven...that he was caught up into the paradise and he heard
unspeakable words which man has no authority to speak. On behalf of that
one, I will boast. On behalf of myself I will not boast, if not in the
weaknesses. For if ever I want to boast, I will not be ignorant, for
truth I speak; but I refrain, that no one considers in me above what He
sees in me or he hears out of me...And He (the Lord) said to me,
"Sufficient for you is My grace, for power in weakness is completed."
Gladly, then, I boast rather in my weaknesses, in order that the power
of Christ abide upon me./
We sure like to think that we are smart. You may read, watch the
Discovery and History channels, and listen to talk radio all the time,
but you really ought not brag about being smart, because there's always
somebody else who knows more than you do. And even if you are very well
informed about many facts, that doesn't mean that you aren't ignorant of
some matters. Even the 12 disciples of Jesus, well trained though they
were, found themselves clueless about the parable Jesus taught.
It's true that nobody likes a "know-it-all", because their bragging gets
old rather quickly, and often they think they know a lot more than they
really do. So Paul warns you, as well as the Corinthians, to be careful
with your boasting. Paul could have been just such a braggart, but he
knew better. He thought he was right by persecuting Christians, but then
God corrected him the hard way. So Paul warns others not to follow in
his ignorant footsteps, and he forbids *almost* all boasting.
Two kinds of bragging are permitted, though. The first is really an
anti-boasting. It is to speak boldly and confidently, not about your
strengths, but about your weaknesses! Say what?! Yes, You should talk
about your failures, you should admit your helplessness, you should brag
when you fall behind and lose. Why? For the same reason you confessed
your sins this morning before God. You say what God says about yourself,
that you are a sinner, by nature, and by what you've done wrong.
But you know that's only the first half of your confession of sin. It is
completed in the powerful 2nd half of Confession, where you receive
absolution--God's complete forgiveness, from the pastor as from God
Himself. So whenever your heart is heavy with guilt, you go to your
Pastor, your Minister called by Christ to deal with you according to His
divine command, to absolve you whenever you repent of your sins and want
to do better; as surely & certainly as if Christ dealt with you Himself.
A second kind of boasting is also permitted--when you brag about what
God does for people. Paul bragged about a special "revelation" which a
man once received up in heaven. Paul boasts of this disciple, but really
He's not touting St. John and his words or works, rather the words &
works that God revealed to us through him. God lifted him into heaven,
and it was God speaking words, some of which were recorded in the last
book of the Bible. So Paul's boasting is really about the Lord!
So too is your bragging to be about the Lord Jesus. You boast that
before you could even think to choose Him, He chose you for faith in
Holy Baptism, cleansing you from your sin to make you His Own holy
possession forevermore. You brag that His powerful gospel word has saved
you at the + of Calvary, where your Savior gave His life on your behalf.
You boast that the price He paid there, His body given & blood shed, are
now received by you as real food & drink indeed for your forgiveness &
life in the Lord's Supper.
But don't be those who boast about all the stuff they do for the Lord.
"I helped out at a food kitchen!" or "I'm going on a special mission
trip!" or "I gave so much money to charity!" Jesus Himself forbids such
bragging, and urges you to do your loving service so anonymously that
your left hand doesn't even know what your right hand has done.
Otherwise, when you attempt to boast before Jesus on the last day about
all that you've done in His name, He'll answer, "I never knew you!"
Instead you brag of your weaknesses and God's strengths. You confess
your sinfulness, how you've fallen short of God's glory and are in
desperate need for His rescue, remedy and redemption. Then you confess
Christ Jesus, Who has saved you from sin, death & the devil by His all
sufficient grace at Calvary. Amen.
John C. Drosendahl, Pastor
[email protected]
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