Faith Baptist Church
4258 Botetourt Road
Fincastle, Virginia 24090
(540) 473-2325
The Apostle Paul agreed with God in allowing him to suffer as he did. He concluded in his suffering that God had allowed it to occur for the purpose that the power of Christ would rest upon him, II Cor.12:9. Paul went on to say that he took pleasure; that he fully agreed with God’s divine purposes. He knew that regardless of his adversities that he was not alone. He knew God was working out a far more eternal weight of blessings for him. He knew his undeserved sufferings tested his faith like no other tests, and that all suffering for the believer is temporary, II Cor.4:15-18.
He said “for when I am weak, then am I strong.” II Cor.12:10. When we have learned to lean less on our old earthly props when trials come, then we will come to understand the power of God in our lives. God puts spiritual muscle on our faith, and it is with our faith that we fight the good fight which is the Christian warfare. Dr. Richard Lenski says in his commentary on this text, “The power of Christ reverses everything the world knows as power in a man...”
Paul said in Phil.4:12 I know [perfect, active, indicative verb of hoida, to have full perception] I have known in the past with the present results that I keep fully knowing now both how to be abased; that is to be brought into the most humble of conditions; to have the riverbed stream of water run dry, to be alone and misunderstood, and I know how to abound; that is, to be exceedingly overflowing with good times, good fellowship, good health.
Paul said, “In all things I am instructed”. The word instructed comes from the Greek word, mueo. This word referred to one who was knowledgeable in the rites of passage into a secret society.
Paul had learned the various levels of passage into the secret place of God’s presence through handling the testing of prosperity and hunger; of handling abundance and undeserved suffering. He learned through undeserved suffering to trust the Lord. He learned to recall his training in the promises which came from the Lord; the same training we receive from the word of God. Compare yourself to Paul for just a moment.
He had experienced the highs and the lows of being a Christian and in all points he had come to realize that nothing happened in his life that God did not know about. By voluntarily giving control of his life to the leadership of the Holy Spirit, Paul was able to stay inside the plan of God in good times and in hard times.
He knew God loved him enough to see him through any hardship he faced. He also had the humility to keep his head on straight when he was appreciated by others. He had the humility to stay true to the Lord when he had things going his way; when he had money in his pocket, when his health was good and his when friends were agreeable. He didn’t thump his chest and say look at what I have done by my might and by my ingenuity.
Many believers do not have the spiritual perception and the subsequent capacity that perception produces to love God in all circumstances and to remain faithful when things are going well. They are more impressed with what they can do for God than for what God can do for them. They would rather do something for God than let God make them something through Biblical instruction. They believe activity, rather than the perception of God’s word, constitutes spirituality and they are wrong.
They have the cart before the horse.
The greatest adversity we believers face today in America is our prosperity.
Within our prosperity there is an assumed element of independent power whereby if we are not careful, we might feel that we can come and go as we please, even when it comes to our faithfulness to the Lord, both during the week and on the Lord’s Day. If any of us feel that way then we have not learned as we should about the power and the person of Jesus Christ.