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how did greek and roman ideals of a hero's strength contrast with paul's experience?

The passage, plainly, with room to sit with it.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Most gladly therefore I will rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest on me. Therefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in insults, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Paul wrote this letter to the church in Corinth, a major Greco-Roman city, likely in the mid-1st century CE. He was defending his apostleship against critics and explaining his own experiences, including a persistent "thorn in the flesh" which he had prayed for God to remove.

What does it mean for you to find strength not despite, but through, moments of weakness?

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Read alongside it

  • Philippians 4:12-13

    Paul speaks of learning contentment in various circumstances, empowered by Christ.

  • 1 Corinthians 1:26-29

    Paul explains how God often chooses the weak and foolish to shame the strong and wise.

  • Isaiah 40:29-31

    Describes God giving strength to the weary and increasing the power of the faint.

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