2 Corinthians 12:1–6:

“It is necessary to go on boasting, though it is not profitable, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body or out of the body, I do not know, God knows—was caught up to the third heaven. And I know that this man, whether in the body or apart from the body, I do not know, God knows, was caught up into Paradise and heard things too sacred to be put into words, things that a person is not permitted to speak. On behalf of such an individual, I will boast. But on my own behalf, I will not boast except about my weaknesses. For even if I wish to boast, I will not be a fool, for I will be telling the truth. But I refrain from this so that no one may regard me beyond what he sees in me or what he hears from me.”

So my focus is on verse 5. He said, “On behalf of such an individual, I will boast. On my own behalf, I will not boast except about my weaknesses.”

Remember this has been part of my series going through this passage, and I am now in verse 5. He is talking about boasting, and he is talking about boasting in a negative way.

But what we have a lot of the time is that people are actually forced to boast. You are told, “Tell us your story.” You are told, “Tell us what God has done.” Why? Because, they say, it is supposed to be a way for you to “help people’s faith.” Really? Or a way to have you elevated in the eyes of the people.

Paul is saying, “I don’t want that kind of elevation.” At least because whatever happened does not add to me; it is God. So how can I now make that a basis for which I am going to boast and compare myself with other people?

We have normalised boasting. That is the truth. If somebody is not boasting, telling you stories, we think the person is not a “man of God.”

“You have not told us any story of what happened. You have not told us you raised the dead. You have not told us you healed the sick. You have not told us you have millions and millions in your account. You have not told us the story of how you gave this money and got back this money. You have not shown us a method.”

Itchy ears (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

We have normalised boasting. We have normalised people talking about their highs, and they can even make it up because that is what we are demanding.

We are demanding people who will tell us stories, so the people can make it up.

But Paul is saying, “I am going to boast in my weaknesses. I am going to shine a light not on this amazing revelation.” Remember, this is Paul talking about himself, saying, “I know a man in Christ who was caught up to the third heaven.”

So somebody saying, “I heard something.” No. “Even what I heard is even more advanced than what you heard, because what I heard I am not even permitted to talk about.” But he is saying, “No. I am not going to boast about that. I am going to boast about my weaknesses. I am going to shine a light to show you that I am like you.”

Do you see that? “I am not going to show you that I am elevated. I am not going to tell you stories that make me feel elevated.”

But I keep seeing it, that this is what we demand. We demand people who will tell us story: “How many countries I have been to.” We demand people who will tell us stories. We demand, “This is the method.” We demand, “This is what I did to get this thing.”

We demand it, because our eyes are not set on the things in heaven; our eyes are set on the things on earth. And so we have these people who will tell us stories—visions, revelations. Those are the things Paul is saying he is “boasting” about here.

Remember, he cannot even boast about having a Rolls-Royce, right? He cannot, because he does not have a Rolls-Royce. He cannot boast about the size of his crowd. He says, “I am going to boast about my weaknesses.”

“I am going to talk about the things that I have suffered.”

And he is still suffering. He is not saying, “After suffering a little while, then I did this thing, and then it happened, and God gave me victory.” No. “I am still suffering, and I am going to tell you about my suffering, about my continual suffering.”

Remember what Jesus said was going to happen to Paul: “I will show him how much he must suffer for My name” (Acts 9:16). That is like, “I want you to be My servant, but you are going to suffer for it.”

That can only make sense by spiritual reasoning, not by a carnal mind. The carnal mind cannot grasp it. It can only make sense by spiritual reasoning (1 Corinthians 2:14), because God said, “I am going to show him how much he is going to suffer.” And Jesus said, “If you do not hate your own life, you cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26). He said they are going to suffer for His name’s sake (Matthew 5:10–12; John 15:18–21). He said, “The one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 24:13).

But what do we want?

We have servants of Satan who have come into the church and have made Christianity about the things of this world, and have made a lie of the words of Paul, who said, “If our hope in Christ is for this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Corinthians 15:19).

So what is Paul saying here? “On behalf of such an individual I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except about my weaknesses.”

And the point I am trying to make, having gone through some things, is that we have normalised boasting. We need to stop it.

Our head is filled with stories of boastful people, and therefore they have mirrored to us that this is the way—the way of boasting is the way. It is not the truth.

God bless you. See you later.