Power Perfected In Weakness
The present tense of the verb suggests that the phrase "my power is made perfect in weakness" means God's power continues to be made perfect in weakness. The Greek text has no word answering to "my" but it appears that translators are correct in adding the word.
The text has immediate reference to Paul's own set of circumstances. If Paul wants to faithfully serve God (and he most certainly does) then he is to remember this truth: God's strength has always been and goes on being made perfect in weakness. Paul sees that truth demonstrated in his own labours across the world.
But the central and decisive demonstration of that truth is found in Jesus Christ who was "crucified in weakness" (2 Corinthians 13:4) and in that weakness he defeated all the powers of evil, cruelty and cynicism that led the creation to tear itself away from God and wake up in chaos (compare
Colossians 2:15).
There is no silly claim here that God lacks "coercive" power. By "coercive" power I mean power that needs no co-operation to gain its object. Coercive power wills it to be so and it is! For example God can speak and non-existent galaxies obey and appear before him. He speaks through Christ and plain water immediately blushes and becomes wine. The power that is made perfect in weakness is another kind of power--but it is power nevertheless. It is non-coercive power. It's the power of love meeting hatred, it's the power of holiness meeting sin and it's the power of reconciling forgiveness meeting the fragmentation of rebellion. It is power that works within the parameters of relationships, respecting their structure and allowing them the possibility of the veto. (This needs further nuancing but I think you get my meaning.)
In the Corinthian context the power that is made perfect in weakness is God's will to redeem those who are too blind to know they need redeemed or are too hard to want to be redeemed. He who wants to rescue such people within the parameters of a relationship must come to them without coercion and the astounding thing is that God wants to do just that. He who would redeem us from our ugliness must love us even in our ugliness.
God seems to have a soft spot for the under-dog and weakness calls out not only his non-coercive power it calls out his coercive power to serve that power that is more costly to exercise.
There was a time when a man's aged body and a woman's barren womb said "no" and God in the power of love said "yes". A nation was enslaved and a mighty pharaoh said "no" to their freedom but God's powerful love said "yes". A restless sea and a brooding wilderness opposed their going home and said "no" and God's holy love said "yes". One day a representative of Rome and leaders of his own people consigned the Messiah to death's keeping and when God came asking for him the grave said "no". But God pounded his great fist on death's door and said an eternal "yes". All of that coercive power in the service of the power of love. Holy love's power that cannot bully its way into our lives is freely offered and is brought to perfection in our weakness.
All this reminds us that God's "coercive" power doesn't exist in isolation but is given its complexion by his "character". The exercises of his coercive power expressed his holy love and faithfulness. It not only makes sense to say that God's holy love determines how his coercive power will be exercised, it is following the biblical witness. A good and holy man will not say, "I am physically very powerful and my power will be the determining factor in all I do." Nor would a holy God even though he is omnipotent.
The passage doesn't say, "Your power is made perfect in weakness." The passage doesn't say, "You are made powerful in weakness." The power lies always with God and because in our weakness we are the place where God's saving power is made fully present we are said to be strong. But we are never said to be able. We hear, "Therefore he is able to save to the uttermost those that come to God by him" Always he and never we.
©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.
Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.