Confusion about weakness

When the Apostle Paul speaks of his "weakness," he is not speaking of moral weakness. There is confusion in the Church on this point.

I know it because I labored under this confusion for decades (and I don't consider myself unique in my thinking). I have taken a second look at the Scriptural data, and it has persuaded me that the "weakness" Paul describes, on the occasions that he refers to his weakness, is physical or emotional-not spiritual or ethical. Let me cite a few examples:

"And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling" (1 Corinthians 2:3).

"If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness" (2 Corinthians 11:30).

"But he 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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (2 Corinthians 12:9).

"For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12:10).

A fair look at the above verses, in their respective contexts, shows that they refer to weakness that is not sin. The reason this is important and not just semantic quibbling is because ambiguity and equivocation on this is robbing the Church of power. There is a certain way we have of regarding ourselves that is not helpful, that tends to perpetuate dysfunction because it perpetuates an ethos of little expectation of progress in holiness. Many Christians seem resigned to spiritual weakness, when Paul was not saying that at all. I wish I had a nickel for every time I heard from the pulpit that we are weak (meaning moral slouches). I would like to hear sometimes: "You are strong" in the Lord! (1 John 2:14.) Start believing Philippians 4:13, or take some Wite-Out to it!"

Compounding the confusion is the unhappy confluence of a built-in ambiguity in the lexical item "weak" and the unrelenting emphasis on Christians as "Sinners," with a capital "S." That emphasis is nowhere found in the New Testament with reference to people who have been saved by the blood of Christ. On the contrary, the abundantly repeated emphasis in Paul's, Peter's, and John's epistles is on our being "Saints," and powerful saints at that-if indeed we will believe it and lay hold of our rightful possessions in Christ.

Try to read Romans 6 and come to any other conclusion but that we have the power and the authority of Christ at our disposal: We are meant to walk in "newness of life" (v.4). We are commanded point-blank not to allow sin to rule in our bodies to obey it (v.12). That comes with a promise that it will work! Sin shall NOT have dominion over us (v.14). We are now slaves to God, in the same way that we were slaves to Satan (v.18, 22). You used to have "increase," but it was to depravity; now your "increase" is in holiness (v.19).

John is very forceful on this point. He writes his letter "so that you may not sin" (1 John 2:1). Sin, when it happens (1:9), should be an anomaly. We can overcome (5:5). We can keep His commandments (5:2).

It is time to stop re-infecting ourselves with bad theology. If someone wants to keep repeating that we Christians are "weak," please let him always clarify the statement with the adjectives "physically" or "psychologically." Say that we are tired, and weary, and perplexed. But let's lose the morbid and counterproductive self-image of the Christian as "Sinner" and (morally) "weak." Paul gives instructions for self-image, as he does for other areas of Christian life: "You also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ" (Romans 6:11).

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