Shouldn’t I be ashamed of how tiny my church is?

One of the most common things I see from churches online is a photo of growth. A full room. A crowd. A caption about momentum, or community, or revival.

And I think most of it is well meaning. But it does something to us.

It quietly teaches us what we’re supposed to look for when we try to recognise God at work.

And it makes a statement—even if unintentionally—about how Jesus builds his church, and what we think we have to offer the world.

In some contexts I’ve worked in—even recently—there’s a view that the way to encourage Christians is to keep appealing to numbers and statistics.

—A study shows there’s “quiet revival.”
—We’re seeing so much interest from university students.
—We have this pot of money that God has provided to help grow your church.

Again, those statements are usually well intentioned.

But the Apostle Paul uses a very strong word for this kind of thing. He calls it boasting.

And here, in 2 Corinthians, Paul explains why this kind of thinking is so attractive, but also why it is so dangerous.

He’ll say three things:

1) You are attracted to glory—and it hurts you.
2) Only through weakness can the gospel be clear to you.
3) Christ will not remove our weaknesses because he loves you.

First, 1) You are attracted to glory—and it hurts you.

Please look at vv. 19-21:

¹⁹ For you, being so wise, gladly put up with fools! ²⁰ In fact, you put up with it if someone enslaves you, if someone exploits you, if someone takes advantage of you, if someone is arrogant toward you, if someone slaps you in the face. ²¹ I say this to our shame: We have been too weak for that!

Luther described people who project power like this as “theologians of glory.” All of us find them attractive.

And Paul is absolutely devastating in his sarcasm in v. 19

you, being so wise, gladly put up with fools!

The reason why you find them attractive, says Paul, is because they mirror and reflect your own pride.

If your pride is in your wisdom, you’re attracted to teachers who project wisdom.

If your pride is in your popularity, you’re attracted to leaders who project popularity.

If your pride is in your financial security, you’re attracted to pastors who project wealth.

And, warns Paul, you therefore get what you deserve.

if someone enslaves you—you say “give me the cuffs”
if someone exploits you—you say “here’s my money”
they take advantage—you say “welcome in”
they’re arrogant—“I’m just learning”
they slaps you in the face—you say “I fell down the stairs”

“You want worldly glory?” Paul says, “You’ll get the outcome of worldly glory.”

But, what you won’t get is Christ:

You won’t get assurance your sins are forgiven.
You won’t get cleansing for a guilty conscience.
You won’t get a God who is for you in every single failure you make.

You are attracted to glory—and it hurts you.

You are like this. I am like this. Everyone is like this.

Every single time I see another email, Facebook post, YouTube video with more subscribers, impressive growth, glorious stats, part of me burns inside, because I want that success.

Part of me wants to ditch all this weakness stuff, and get the glory and success I deserve.

Because at least part of me is exactly the kind of spiritual fool that Paul is making the Corinthians out to be.

And at least part of you is too. Because all that worldly glory can offer is a worldly gospel. It comes in an infinite variety of forms. And every one of them will re-enslave me to the things from which Christ has set me free.

If you think truth is proven by numbers then you already know that rules out the Christian faith!

There has always been outside of Christ bigger crowds, faster growth, and louder confidence.

So, if we already recognise these are not valid tests for truth …why smuggle that attitude back into the Church? You are attracted to glory, Paul says, and it hurts you.

Instead—and Paul labours this point—

2) Only through weakness can the gospel be clear to you.

What qualifies Paul for ministry, and what validates his message?

Vv. 21-23:

But in whatever anyone dares to boast—I am talking foolishly—I also dare: ²² Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the descendants of Abraham? So am I. ²³ Are they servants of Christ? I’m talking like a madman—I’m a better one: with far more labours, many more imprisonments, far worse beatings, many times near death.

He starts with the sort of things his opponents think qualify them. And Paul has not mentioned these things before now…

Why did Paul not post on social media the number of baptisms he’d done?

Why did Paul not promote his stats and numbers in the church email?

Why did Paul not splash around stashes of money donated from Philippi?

His point here is to say: not by accident, or because these things weren’t true: But because he deliberately chose not to.

Paul could have boasted. But he didn’t. Because he’s not a theologian of glory.

He’s what Luther called a “theologian of the cross.”

And so here is what Paul embraces, here is what Paul glories in… vv. 24-29:

²⁴ Five times I received the forty lashes minus one from the Jews. ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked. I have spent a night and a day in the open sea. ²⁶ On frequent journeys, I faced dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own people, dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, and dangers among false brothers; ²⁷ toil and hardship, many sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, often without food, cold, and without clothing. ²⁸ Not to mention other things, there is the daily pressure on me: my concern for all the churches. ²⁹ Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation?

Somebody said to me a few weeks ago: “Pete, so many people hate you, aren’t you embarrassed by that? You keep talking about all the problems you have, it’s really not a great advert for your church.”

Exactly.

Glory is not what’s on offer here at Manchester Lutheran Church.

But listen to how Paul thinks about ministry in vv. 30-33:

³⁰ If boasting is necessary, I will boast about my weaknesses. ³¹ The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is blessed forever, knows I am not lying. ³² In Damascus, a ruler under King Aretas guarded the city of Damascus in order to arrest me. ³³ So I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped from his hands.

Now, we’ve also got to be careful about feeling sorry for ourselves, and finding glory in today’s trend of “Who’s the biggest victim?”

But the point is: we should never gather as a church because of glory or impressiveness.

If we do that. And if we signal to people that this is why church is attractive, we are doing something completely different to Paul.

And I’m not good at that stuff anyway—I’m a weak and unimpressive person.

But if anything that’s a blessing.

Paul was a lot more impressive, and had every reason to boast if he’d wanted to, but held himself back. That’s his point in 12:1-6:

^12:1 Boasting is necessary. It is not profitable, but I will move on to visions and revelations of the Lord.

What he means is: he’s going to prove his point. He COULD boast, but has chosen not to. Now he’ll show us why.

 ² I know a man in Christ who was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether he was in the body or out of the body, I don’t know; God knows. ³ I know that this man—whether in the body or out of the body I don’t know; God knows— ⁴ was caught up into paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a human being is not allowed to speak. ⁵ I will boast about this person, but not about myself, except of my weaknesses. ⁶ For if I want to boast, I wouldn’t be a fool, because I would be telling the truth.

Paul has FAR MORE REASONS THAN ANYONE ELSE to boast. And yet he doesn’t. He’s actually seen and heard heaven itself.

So if Paul does not boast—why on earth would any of us?

Finally, continually in vv. 6-7, he explains why:

But I will spare you, so that no one can credit me with something beyond what he sees in me or hears from me, ⁷ especially because of the extraordinary revelations.

Because Paul does not want in any way to distract from people seeing Christ in him as he lives out his Christian vocations, and people hearing Christ from him as he speaks the Christian gospel to others.

He lives for Christ. And he speaks for Christ. That’s it. That’s his ministry. That’s God’s power at work. And Paul avoids anything else that might make him look bigger and so obscure or detract from people seeing and hearing Christ alone in Paul’s life.

Only through weakness can the gospel be clear to you.

And so:

3) Christ will not remove our weaknesses because he loves you.

Vv. 7-9:

Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so that I would not exalt myself. ⁸ Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it would leave me. ⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.

Christ will build our church. His Word will continue to bear fruit. He will continue to transform our lives for good.

But he will always do so in a way, that keeps us feeling, knowing, seeing that we are weak.

Because only as we and our pride and need for glory don’t get in the way, can Christ be heard in the Word we share… …and seen in the vocations we live.

Paul is not advocating weakness as a kind of guilt-inducing power. He’s not glorying in playing the victim.

Instead, he’s saying, weakness allows Christ to be seen, because I am not seen.

It allows Christ to be heard, because I am not heard.

This is what the Christian season of Gesimatide is centred on.

And as we head into Lent, it teaches us what Christian discipline and fasting a really all about.

Christian discipline is not about building yourself up.

It is about putting your self-trust to death.

Paul’s words fit beautifully with what Jesus taught about fasting. Don’t use fasting to make yourself glorious before God. Don’t use fasting to make yourself glorious before others. Use fasting to put my own glory to death. And the gospel will be free to shine on its own.

Shouldn’t I be ashamed of how tiny my church is?
You are attracted to glory—and it hurts you.
Only through weakness can the gospel be clear to you.
And so…
Christ will not remove our weaknesses because he loves you.

Don’t be a church hungry for glory, because “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.