Apostolic Weakness

We are obsessed with strength—and our obsession runs far deeper than most of us realize

Our longing for power is not spiritually neutral. It reflects the wisdom of the spiritual powers that shape this present age. The Bible acknowledges their influence, but it also makes a staggering claim: we are called to overcome them. But we cannot overcome the powers by using their own wisdom. We need another kind of wisdom—the wisdom of God, revealed through weakness.

That powerful, immortal spiritual beings should be instructed by fallen, mortal creatures made from dust is one of Scriptures most astonishing testimonies to Gods delight in weakness.

This is why weakness mattered so much to Paul. When the Corinthians were captivated by impressive and powerful false apostles, Paul made weakness the test of true apostleship. His opponents boasted in strength; Paul boasted in weakness. The apostle who carried extraordinary authority referred to himself as "the least of all the saints." Yet we have built a spirituality that constantly urges us to become bigger, stronger, more influential, and more powerful.

Biblical weakness is not merely a virtue to admire or a theological theme to study. It is an expression of who God is. Biblical weakness is rooted in divine weakness. When Paul pleaded to be delivered from weakness, Jesus did not offer to make him stronger. Instead He said, "My power is made perfect in weakness." If that is true, then our resistance to weakness limits Gods power.

That raises a disturbing question: How much of Gods power do we fail to experience because we are unwilling to embrace weakness?

Gods greatest revelation of Himself is found in the weakness of human flesh. He triumphed over the powers in a body of dust in the ultimate display of weakness. He continues to live in the weakness of human flesh, and those who follow Him are called to walk the same path. Yet much of our spirituality remains intoxicated with strength. Whenever we reject weakness in our pursuit of power, influence, or victory, we choose the wisdom of the powers over the wisdom of God.

Paul predicted something radically different: a people in the image of Jesus—a people whose weakness displays divine wisdom, instructs the spiritual powers, and participates in Gods plan to break their hold over the world.

The question is not whether we will encounter the wisdom of the powers. The question is whether we will instruct the powers as Paul predicted—or remain their students.