Though I speak...our sufficiency is of God...

II Corinthians 3:5 - Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God... Have you ever experienced a well meaning family member or friend make the statement to you: "I hate the way you "be-little" yourself"? The insinuation, of course, is that you have committed that hideous transgression referred to in secular society as: "Low Self Esteem". Since when is it a "character flaw" to give God credit for the sufficiency in ones behavior, and to honestly discern the insufficiency of the self ? Isn't it interesting how the carnal nature, moreover the "spiritually discerned", (I Cor.2.14), desire kudos for the Egos? How the Mind of Man considers itself sufficient unto itself, and desires acknowledgement? How does this rate in contrast to the Master. Consider how Jesus our Savior emptied himself of divine prerogatives. He who as co-regent of the Universe commanded: "Let there be light"! (Highest Self Esteem), and became a servant!?! Who declared of himself: "I am meek, and humble of heart", (Phil 2.5-8 & Matthew 11.29) - and again, after he healed the blind, entreated the same to say nothing? (Matthew 9.29)I Thessalonians 1.6 - "You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit".Here is our example:Subjection to his parents Luk 2:51 Station in life Mat 13:55; Jhn 9:29 Poverty Luk 9:58; 2Cr 8:9 Partaking of our infirmities Heb 4:15; 5:7 Submitting to ordinances Mat 3:13-15 Becoming a servant Mat 20:28; Luk 22:27; Phl 2:7 Associating with the despised Mat 9:10,11; Luk 15:1,2 Refusing honours Jhn 5:41; 6:15 Washing his disciples' feet Jhn 13:5 Obedience Jhn 6:38; Heb 10:9 Submitting to sufferings Isa 50:6; 53:7; Act 8:32; Mat 26:37-39 Exposing himself to reproach and contempt Psa 22:6; 69:9; Rom 15:3; Isa 53:3 Death Jhn 10:15,17,18; Phl 2:8; Heb 12:2 II Corinthians 3.5 considers all Christians; even one of the best like Paul, no more than what the grace of God makes us. We cannot expect too little from ourselves, or too much from God! How easily we become anxious, bewildered, and distracted. Our bodies become infirmed, our minds become slow and maybe even insane? That is why we owe unlimited gratitude to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb for every clear thought that we think and every logical sentence that proceeds from our tongue and every healthy moment we enjoy. Certainly we see how surely our "Deficiency is of Ourselves", and if we are wise, how our "Sufficiency is of God"!

This is a very interesting topic that I have given some thought. What do you think about this twist on it?God makes us very powerful beings. Yet our power does not come from within our fleshly selves, but from His SPirit within us. So it's our power, given to us from Him. So it's technically His but when He gives it to us it also becomes ours. I think this may be part of our inheritance as saints in Christ Jesus. But not sure. Let's say you invent a pill ("choose the red or the blue pill") that allows humans to be incredibly strong. Once you swallow, it stays in your system. With it you could jump 100 ft. in the air or even fly and you could rip mountains from their foundation and cast them into the sea. Let's say the company that it is invented for, and who produces it, is called "Transformers." Once you have created this pill, instead of selling them, you decide to just give them to certain special people to have. Maybe only to your family. To your sons and your daughters. Not to borrow, but to actually have. It transforms them. The catch is that you always remain in control of it at, let's say, from some central command base. Once you (or they) have taken the pill, the power is in you. And the one thing that activates the powerful "chemicals" to produce the strength is Faith. And the more Faith you have, the more you can do. But the main point of relevance for now is this- that while the power is now yours (and you have been transformed into a powerful being), the power did not in any way come from you, and without faith you are powerless even though it's in you. It's yours, but it's also techinically the companys' who made it. It has their patent on it. It's "Transformer" brand. It's their stuff, freely given to you. See the paradox I am trying to convey? Like Paul says "I can do all things THROUGH Christ who stengthens ME." (Phil. 4:13) Emphasis on the "I" as well. So God gives US strength. We didn't create it ourselves, but He makes us such. So it's this mysterious paradox where we are weak yet strong in Christ. In a sense WE, us human beings, if we are in Christ, are strong. Because we are new creations. We have been transformed. Yes, WE can do all things. Yes, it's in and through Christ, but it is us. It is us. So if we are in Christ we do not have to be weak and defeated. WE can be overcomers, more than conquerors. What do you think?

So God gives US strength. We didn't create it ourselves, but He makes us such. So it's this mysterious paradox where we are weak yet strong in Christ. QuoteYes Todd, and the many other paradoxes that serve as bulwarks to our Faith.G.K. Chesterton referred to the Christian Paradoxes as: "Furious Opposites". Inferring that the truth lies at both ends, instead of in the middle.In the Old Testament's Book of Job, of which Chesterton was especially fond, Job does his best to force God to explain why he, Job, a good man, must suffer such agonies. God answers Job's riddles by flinging other riddles at him. Who do you think you are, God says, to question the wisdom and intentions of your creator? Where were you when I made the universe? "The Iliad is only great," wrote G. K. in an essay on nonsense (The Defendant, 1907), "because all life is a battle, the Odyssey because all life is a journey, The Book of Job because all life is a riddle." St. Augustine's thought on the matter was that Paradox was the price we pay for Self Awareness or Free Will.Here are some familiar Christian Paradoxes:1. To find our lives, we have to lose our lives. Matthew 10:39"He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it."2. To be exalted, we have to humble ourselves.Luke 18:14"I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."3. To be great we have to be servants.Matthew 23:11"But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant." 4. To receive, we have to give.Luke 6:38"Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."5. To be free, we have to become slaves.1 Corinthians 7:22"For he who is called in the Lord while a slave is the Lord's freedman. Likewise he who is called while free is Christ's slave."6. To be strong, we have to become weak.2 Corinthians 12:9"And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 7. To be strong, we have to fast and pray.Matthew 17:21"However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."8. To live, we must be die.Galatians 2:20"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."In Exodus 33:20-23, God says to Moses: "Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me and live. And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock; and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen."It is that we have only known the back of the world. We see everything from behind, and it looks brutal. That is not a tree, but the back of a tree. That is not a cloud, but the back of a cloud. Cannot you see that everything is stooping and hiding a face?" - G.K. ChestertonWhen I see the horrible back, I am sure the noble face is but a mask. When I see the face but for an instant, I know the back is only a jest. Bad is so bad, that we cannot but think good an accident; good is so good, that we feel certain that evil could be explained." - G.K. ChestertonIn I Corinthians 13:12, Paul writes: "For now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face: now I see in part; but then shall I know even as I am known."In Plato's famous analogy, we see only shadows on the wall of the world's cave.In sum and substance, there are truths about God as far beyond our feeble brains as our knowledge of the world is beyond the mind of a robin. Thanx Todd and God Bless this ministry!!!I John 3:2 "Beloved, now are we the son of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14That God would condescend to wrap Himself in a human body and dwell among us is bizzare enough, but to then take on our sins and be crucified by His own creatures when He had the wherewithal and justification to snuff out everyone of us....."What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? Psalm 8:4To reward the underserving with eternity as a GIFT, at an expense we will never entirely grasp.To be "born again".To allow His Spirit to dwell inside of us.To have access to the throne. (Hebrews 10:19)There is seemingly no end to all the great mysterys and paradox's. It's all so bizarre .....that it's beautiful!How can we do anything other than worship Him!In sum and substance, there are truths about God as far beyond our feeble brains as our knowledge of the world is beyond the mind of a robin. Thanx Todd and God Bless this ministry!!! AMEN!"We love Him because He first loved us." 1John 4:19