writing in the dust

The lesson was the same [each time Paul besought the Lord for relief from his “thorn in the flesh,” 2 Corinthians 12.9-10]: the weakness of the believer was not something which prevented the power of God from being effective; it did not have to be ended before the power of Christ could have its say. On the contrary, the implication is, out of the body experiences ([2 Cor.] 12.1-6) and such like were what prevented the power of God from having its proper effect. Ironically, such experiences were too much of the flesh. To make too much of them actually constituted a perversion of the gospel. The corollary for our present concerns is clear: it was precisely not experiences of power leaving behind bodily weakness which Paul saw as the mark of grace, but experiences of power in and through bodily weakness. Continuing human weakness was an integral part of the process of salvation. Human weakness was not a denial of divine power, but an unavoidable and even necessary complement to divine power in the overlap of the ages.