Page 64 - The Gate and the Way

II Corinthians 12:7-10
Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me
from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan
to torment me - to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the
Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, "My grace is
sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will
rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with
persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am
strong.

People of God, consider how contradictory the attitude of Paul is with that manifested
by the world and the church today. Paul said, “I will rather boast about my weaknesses.”
What do men boast about today? Do they not boast about their strengths? Yet, it is these
very strengths that hinder growth in conformity to Christ.
Consider some of the many things men identify as their strengths today. The ability
to earn a prodigious amount of money is one of man’s chief strengths. Having wealth
accumulated, much property, investments, and money in the bank gives a man a sense of
power and achievement. Some men boast about their intellect. They may have excelled in
college, or earned advanced degrees; They may be highly knowledgeable in certain fields of
endeavor, or have a great capacity to reason logically, and this gives them a sense of
empowerment. Other men are strong physically. They have an athleticism that gives them
a sense of invulnerability, of endless strength to accomplish whatever they set their minds
to do.
In every such instance where a man comes to rely in, and operate from, a position of
natural strength, there always exists the potential of conflict with the spirit. When a man
has found that his natural strengths have carried him far in life, he very often will judge that
these same natural strengths will bring him equal success in the kingdom of God. This is
great error. Whenever Yahweh sets forth to accomplish anything, it must be by the
following principle:

Zechariah 4:6
“Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says Yahweh of hosts.

Truly, “It is the Spirit who gives life, the flesh profits nothing.” Among the last
recorded words of Christ to His disciples before He ascended are the following:

Acts 1:8
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;
and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and
even to the remotest part of the earth."

Some who heard these words might have wondered, “What is wrong with the power
we already have? Are not our wealth, our physical strength, and our mental powers of the
soul adequate? Cannot we look to our natural strengths as we labor to be Christ’s
witnesses?” It was certainly the pattern of the Jews in that day to carry forth all their