Power Through Weakness 2

1. The “Backward” Wisdom of God

2. The “Backward” Wisdom of God
“26 Brothers, think of what you were
when you were called. Not many of you
were wise by human standards; not
many were influential; not many were
of noble birth. 27 But God chose the
foolish things of the world to shame the
wise; God chose the weak things of the
world to shame the strong. 28 He chose
the lowly things of this world and the
despised things—and the things that
are not—to nullify the things that
are, 29 so that no one may boast before
him.” 1 Corinthians 1:26-29

3. The “Backward” Wisdom of God
“God has said to me, „My grace is
sufficient for you, for my power is made
perfect in weakness.‟ Therefore I will
boast all the more gladly about my
weaknesses, so that Christ's power may
rest on me. That is why, for Christ's
sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults,
in hardships, in persecutions, in
difficulties. For when I am weak, then I
am strong.”
2 Corinthians 12:9,10

4. Power and Weakness
THE LOGIC OF GOD’S WISDOM
Christ’s Power
Dependence on Christ
Realization of
Our Weakness
Difficulties

5. Power and Weakness
Mark Galli states:
"We Christians of the closing years of the
twentieth century have a lot to complain about.
We long for political leaders who identify
themselves as Christians and try to live by their
convictions. Yet there was a time when this was
so. We complain that our society has gone
secular, and we yearn and pray that Christian
values (rather than hedonism, lust, and
consumerism) be represented in television,
movies, and popular magazines. Yet there was a
time when popular culture was Christian."

6. Power and Weakness
586 BC:
King Nebuchadnezzar

7. Power and Weakness
30 AD:
Jesus

8. Power and Weakness
Acts 2:42-47
42They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching
and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to
prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many
wonders and miraculous signs were done by the
apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had
everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions
and goods, they gave to anyone as he had
need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in
the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes
and ate together with glad and sincere
hearts,47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the
people. And the Lord added to their number daily
those who were being saved.

9. Power and Weakness
Acts 8:1,4
1 On that day a great persecution broke
out against the church at Jerusalem, and
all except the apostles were scattered
throughout Judea and Samaria.
4 Those who had been scattered preached
the word wherever they went.

10. Power and Weakness
Early Church:
Paul

11. Power and Weakness
Letter to Diognetus (130 AD)
"For the Christians are distinguished from other men
neither by country, nor language, nor the customs
which they observe. For they neither inhabit cities of
their own, nor employ a peculiar form of speech, nor
lead a life which is marked out by any singularity. . . .
following the customs of the natives in respect to
clothing, food, and the rest of their ordinary conduct,
they display to us their wonderful and confessedly
striking method of life. They dwell in their own
countries, but simply as sojourners. As citizens, they
share in all things with others, and yet endure all
things as if foreigners. . . ."

12. Power and Weakness
Letter to Diognetus (130 AD)
”Every foreign land is to them their native country, and
every land of their birth as a land of strangers. They
marry, as do all others; they beget children; but they
do not destroy their offspring. They have a common
table, but not a common bed. They are in the flesh, but
they do not live after the flesh. They pass their days on
earth, but they are citizens of heaven. They obey the
prescribed laws, and at the same time surpass the
laws by their lives. They love all men, and are
persecuted by all. . . ."

13. Power and Weakness
312 AD:
Constantine

14. Power and Weakness
The Three C’s:
○ Canon
○ Creeds
○ Clergy

15. Power and Weakness
The Holy Roman Empire

16. Power and Weakness
The Crusades

17. Power and Weakness
16th Century:
Martin Luther

18. Power and Weakness
The Age of Enlightenment

19. Power and Weakness
The Modern Age

20. Power and Weakness
What is the Church?
Why are we here?