Welcome back to the course Seeking Jesus. My name is John Hilton. In recent videos, we've looked at Christ establishing his church and ministering to his people, both in Acts and in the Book of Mormon.
Today, we're going to study the Apostle Paul's witness of Jesus Christ. As with so many of our videos, we could have a whole course just on this subject. In this class, we'll focus on one aspect of Paul's teachings about Christ.
Did you know that one word Paul frequently uses is weak? I don't mean that the word he uses is not strong. I mean, he uses the actual word weak a lot.
When I figured that out, I thought, I'm not sure I want to read Paul because I hate being weak. And that's too bad for me because I've got a lot of weaknesses. For one, I'm a bit of a control freak. I mentioned that to a friend the other day. I said, you might not know this, but I really like to be in control of things.
My friend looked at me and said, John, everybody who knows you knows that about you. And I was like, is it that bad? And he said, yeah, it's that bad. Another weakness I have is that I worry a lot. I'm really trying to overcome this, and I'm better today than I was a few years ago, but I still worry.
Are my kids doing okay? Will we have enough money for that thing we really want? Did the person who just gave me a high five wash his hands recently? There's lots to worry about. What about you?
Do you have any weaknesses? Maybe you're trying to be kinder in how you talk about others. You're at a party, eating chicken, drinking Sprite, someone mentions the Thompson family, and once again, you're tempted to gossip. Or you might struggle with fear, worried that your happy ending isn't going to come true.
Maybe you have a physical weakness that causes you pain. Your weakness could be a struggle to forgive others or even God for things that have happened to you. Or maybe it's some hard trials you've been experiencing for what feels like forever.
We all have weaknesses. In fact, the Apostle Paul had weaknesses. Paul wrote, To keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me. and keep me from becoming proud.
Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. We don't know what this thorn in the flesh was, but it was definitely a weakness. It could have been a temptation or maybe a physical limitation.
Perhaps Paul struggled with his eyesight or it might've been an emotional ailment. Whatever it was, it was painful to Paul. He might've felt, God, if you would just take this away from me, I could do so much more to build up your kingdom.
Have you ever felt that way? God, if I didn't have to worry about money, I could focus so much more on the church's humanitarian program. Or Lord, if I didn't have an injured foot, I could stand by the door of the chapel and fellowship people as they came in. Or God, if this temptation were no longer a part of my life, I could be a more faithful saint. Paul didn't just ask the Lord, he begged the Lord to remove this weakness.
And he didn't only beg one time either, he begged on multiple occasions, take away my weakness. But the Lord didn't get rid of Paul's weakness. Even though Paul continually pleaded for it to be taken away, he wrote, each time I asked, take away this thorn, the Lord said, my grace is all you need.
My power works best in weakness. Paul continues, so now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ can work through me. That's why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, for when I am weak, then I am strong. Think about Christ's statement to Paul. My grace is all you need.
My power works best in weakness. Is that really true? Does Christ's power really work best in weakness?
Well, I guess he chose Abraham, a young man with an abusive dad to become the father of many nations. And he chose a prisoner named Joseph to prevent starvation in Egypt. And he chose Moses, a man slow of speech, to talk to Pharaoh. He also told Gideon to reduce his army to 300 and helped a foreign widow named Ruth start a royal bloodline. So yes, the Lord does like to work through weaknesses.
In fact, Paul tells us that Jesus was crucified in weakness, but now lives by the power of God. There's an interesting phrase you sometimes hear in the software industry. It's not a bug, it's a feature. Or, it's a feature, not a defect.
This phrase means that sometimes, something that seems like a bug or a defect is actually an intended feature. For example, imagine your banking app. requires you to authenticate using a code texted to you every time you use it.
You can see that as a defect because it slows you down in accessing the app. But the app developers might see it as a feature because it helps keep your account safe. As another example, consider the website Wikipedia. It's the largest reference work in the history of the world, and it's almost entirely written by volunteers. 20 years ago, somebody might have said, an encyclopedia that anyone can edit?
What a terrible idea. But the open source nature of Wikipedia has made it one of the most visited websites in the world. Allowing anyone to edit articles was a feature, not a defect. I mention all of this because there's one phrase I hope you remember from this video. Weakness is a feature, not a defect.
Weakness can help us draw closer to Christ and accomplish His work. Jesus said, My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness. Weakness is a feature, not a defect. We can think of weakness as a general term for the fallen condition in which we live.
God can also work through our individual weaknesses. It should go without saying that God can also work through our strengths. It should also be obvious that every weakness we have in life doesn't necessarily come directly from God.
We live in a fallen world and plenty of challenges happen just because of mortality. But we can find strength when we remember that weakness is a feature, not a defect. One reason weakness is a feature is that it helps us avoid pride.
Do you remember what Paul said? He wrote, I was given a thorn in my flesh to keep me from becoming proud. Paul's weaknesses helped him stay humbled and ours can do the same for us.
Maybe weakness is also a feature because our weaknesses and those of others can help us learn valuable lessons. Elder David A. Bednar recounted being in a meeting that included President Gordon B. Hinckley and Elder David B. Haight, an apostle then aged 97 and in poor health. President Hinckley asked Elder Haight to say the closing prayer, but Elder Haight struggled to stand and offer the prayer. Elder Bednar recounts, after several attempts to rise to his feet, President Hinckley courteously said, David, it's all right. suggesting, I believe, that it was permissible for Elder Haight to remain in his chair and offer the prayer.
Elder Haight responded in a voice that was both firm and appropriate and said, President, I must stand. There was simply no way that mighty apostle was going to sit as he communicated with his heavenly father. So once again, Elder Haight worked to stand and was successful.
I shall never forget the spirit I felt as I listened to Elder Haight pray. I hope on that occasion I was quick to observe a powerful lesson about the dignity and the humility that should always attend our prayers. That lesson only came to Elder Bednar because of weakness. Another reason weakness could be a feature and not a defect is that it helps us see God's power at work in our lives. When God called Jeremiah to prophesy, Jeremiah said, I can't speak for you.
I'm too young. Because Jeremiah had this weakness, he was forced to rely more on God than his own natural abilities. Weakness is a feature, not a defect. So, when you feel weak, maybe that's a sign that God wants to use you for his purposes.
After all, Christ's power works best in weakness. Let's explore two common weaknesses and see how Christ might use them to work in us. One weakness we all struggle with is temptation. Paul understands what it means to be mortal and fight against sin.
Listen to his words in Romans chapter 7. The trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human. a slave to sin. I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it.
Instead, I do what I hate. I want to do what is right, but I can't. I want to do what is good, but I don't.
I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. Paul could be talking about life today. A girl gets home from school and says, I got to do my homework right now, but I'll just look at Instagram for a minute.
Or a return missionary says, I'm committed to waking up early to read the scriptures, but when the alarm goes off, I always hit snooze. Another person promises, for sure I'm going to the temple next week. Paul writes, I love God's law with all my heart, but there is another power within me that is at war with my mind.
This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am. While there are several possible meanings of this passage, and the JST adds some important insights, one possible way to interpret these verses is that Paul at times felt a tug of war between the natural man and the man. and his desire to come closer to Christ.
Nephi may have felt this too. He wrote, O wretched man that I am! My heart sorroweth because of my flesh, my soul grieveth because of mine iniquities.
I am encompassed about because of the temptations and the sins which do so easily beset me. And when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my sins. Nephi built a boat and followed the Liahona. Paul traveled thousands of miles and stood firm in the face of persecution. Nephi and Paul were good, righteous people.
They, like all of us, continued to face temptation, even though they wanted to do what was right. They and we struggled at times. How could that weakness be a feature, not a defect?
After describing his own inner battle between good and evil, Paul wrote, who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God, the answer is in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Perhaps the weakness of sin can be a feature as it helps us turn more deeply to Christ. In fact, Paul said, I am glad to boast about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ can work through me. Weaknesses can give occasion for Jesus to work in us.
There was once a man who started drinking alcohol as a college student in the northeastern United States. By the time he started medical school, his drinking was interfering with his classes and he temporarily had to leave school. For nearly 20 years, he tried to juggle work, family, and his alcohol addiction.
Finally, after decades of struggle, this man, along with a few other individuals, started an organization that today numbers in the millions. I'm talking about Dr. Bob Smith, the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. There's no doubt that alcohol was a weakness for Dr. Smith.
But through Jesus Christ, this weakness became a strength. Dr. Smith wrote, I don't believe I have any right to get cocky about getting sober. It's only through God's grace that I did it. I may have contributed some activity to help, but basically it was only through his kindness. Weakness, even the weakness of sin, could be a feature that helps us focus more on Jesus Christ and rely on him.
Remember the Savior's message to Paul, my grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness. We might ask, is Christ's grace more powerful than the weakness of the flesh? Yes, it is.
Paul writes, where sin abounded, grace did much more abound through Jesus Christ our Lord. In other words, sin and temptation are real, but Christ's grace is stronger. That sounds good, but emphasizing Christ's grace might make some of us a little nervous.
After all, if there's so much grace and mercy, won't that tempt people to break the commandments? Somebody might suggest, well, it's good to sin. You'll be able to help others who are sinning. Or maybe a person says, it doesn't really matter if I give in to temptation because Jesus will pay for my sins anyways. Paul was aware of this line of reasoning.
There were rumors in Paul's day that some Christians said it was fine to sin because Christ would cover the cost of all their sins. Paul wrote, should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no means.
In other words, just because grace is real doesn't mean we should keep sinning. Notice Paul's logic. How can we who died to sin, go on living in it.
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore, we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. Paul's emphasizing that because of Christ's grace, you and I can become new people, born again through Jesus Christ. My old person was crucified. I died with Christ on the cross when I was baptized, buried in the water, and now I'm a new person.
Yes, I will still struggle with temptation, but now through Christ's grace, I can walk in newness of life. And the need to consistently turn to Jesus Christ on that journey is part of the feature of the weakness of sin. About now, a person might be thinking, yes, grace is good for most people, but I'm different. I keep sinning even when I know better. There really isn't hope for me.
Is that true? In Romans chapter 5, didn't Paul teach, Christ died for those who live really good lives? No, no, no, wait, that's actually not what he taught.
Paul actually wrote, Christ died for the ungodly. Paul then emphasizes, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Christ didn't wait and say, once you repent, then I'll die for you. No, no, no. It's while we were still sinners, Christ died for that.
Think about what that means in your life. No matter what you or I do, we can never think, I'm too far gone, it's too late, because Christ died for sinners. In addition, some of us might have a close friend or a family member who we're worried about. We might think, it's too late for them, they've gone too far off track.
Well, Christ died for them also. We can have faith in him that he will be able to reach out to those we love. We've been focusing on how Christ's grace is enough for the weakness of sin, but sin is not the only weakness we face.
In addition to struggles with sin and thorns in the flesh, Paul experienced many trials. He said, I have shivered in the cold without enough clothing to keep me warm. How did Paul keep going in the face of so much difficulty?
He wrote, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. This verse reminds us that Christ's grace can strengthen us to be better and endure more than we could with our own moral capacities. When our thorns in the flesh, when our trials, when our weaknesses are more than we can handle, we can pray to receive strength through the Savior's atonement. Part of his answer to that prayer just might be, my grace is all you need.
My power works best in weakness. As you listen to this story, think about what it teaches you about Christ's words to Paul, my grace is all you need, my power works best in weakness. Corrie Ten Boom was a Christian who bravely helped many Jews escape from the Nazis during World War II.
Tragically, she was caught and put in a concentration camp where she endured unspeakable suffering. After the liberation of the concentration camps, Corrie would frequently travel to speak about her experiences. She told people her story of God's forgiveness of sins and of the need for people to forgive those who had harmed them. Corrie was put to the test in 1947 while speaking in Germany.
At the close of the service, a balding man in a gray overcoat stepped forward to greet her. Corrie froze. She knew this man well.
He'd been one of the most vicious guards at Ravensbrück, one who had mocked the women prisoners as they showered. It came back with a rush, she wrote, the huge room with its harsh overhead lights. The pathetic pile of dresses and shoes in the center of the floor. The shame of walking naked past this man.
And now he was pushing his hand out to shake hers and saying, A fine message, Fräulein. How good it is to know that, as you say, all our sins are at the bottom of the sea. And I, who had spoken so glibly of forgiveness, fumbled in my pocketbook rather than take that hand. He would not remember me, of course. How could he remember one prisoner among those thousands of women?
But I remembered him. and the leather crop swinging from his belt. I was face to face with one of my captors, and my blood seemed to freeze. You mentioned Ravensbrück in your talk, he was saying. I was a guard there, but since that time I have become a Christian.
I know that God has forgiven me for the cruel things I did there, but I would like to hear it from your lips as well, Freulein. Again, the hand came out. Will you forgive me? And I stood there.
I, whose sins had again and again to be forgiven, and could not forgive. My sister Betsy had died in that place. Could he erase her slow, terrible death simply for the asking? The soldier stood there expectantly, waiting for Corey to shake his hand. She said, I wrestled with the most difficult thing I had ever had to do.
For I had to do it. I knew that. Standing there before the former SS guard, she prayed, Jesus, help me. I can lift my hand. I can do that much.
You supply the feeling. Corey thrust out her hand. She wrote, as I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes.
I forgive you, brother, I cried with all my heart. For a long moment, we grasped each other's hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God's love so intensely as I did then.
But even so, I realized it was not my love. I had tried. and did not have the power.
It was the power of the Holy Spirit. Christ's power works best in weakness. Weakness is a feature, not a defect. Whether we're trying to conquer sin or overcome horrendous trials, Christ's grace is enough. That doesn't mean everything will be easy, and it doesn't mean everything will be solved in mortality.
Paul wrote, If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most miserable. Our inner fights between good and evil are not of the same nature. We are of the same nature. We are of the other difficult trials we face, these can be won through Christ, but some of these battles may take time, maybe a lifetime or even more to resolve.
But with the Savior's strength, we can keep going today. In another context, on another continent, Jesus told Moroni, Thou hast been faithful, wherefore thy garments shall be made clean. And because thou hast seen thy weakness, thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father. Note that Jesus didn't tell Moroni, you will be strong right now. In this case, being made strong was connected to the next life.
Now, before we conclude, let's talk briefly about how grace works. I've seen people create different models. I'm going to put a couple of graphics on the screen for you.
I'm not suggesting any of these are correct. They're just to help us visualize. I've heard some people say, you have to do everything you can possibly do, and then Jesus makes up the rest. I could imagine myself in a pit and Jesus is holding his hand down to me, and if I can just jump high enough to reach and grab onto Jesus, he'll carry me that last little bit. Is that how you picture grace?
Or maybe we think of grace as a 50-50 effort. I have to do my part, Jesus does his part, and he'll come down to meet me where I'm at. Or maybe my part is really small.
Perhaps Jesus is reaching down 95% of the way, and all I have to do is come up a little. Which of these three models do you think is best? My guess is that some of you are thinking each of these visuals is terrible.
It's interesting. About 10 years ago, when I would ask students to come up and sketch how they pictured grace, I would often get drawings like these. The idea many students had was that there's a gap between what we do and what's needed, and Christ fills that gap.
Sometimes students would quote 2 Nephi 25, 23, which says, we know that it is by grace that we are saved after all we can do. And say something like, we have to do everything we can, and then Christ makes up the rest. But is that really what Nephi meant?
I love these words from Sherry Du, spoken at Women's Conference. She said, as covenant women, I'm pretty sure we have a tendency to zoom right in on the after all we can do part of the grace and works equation. but then wonder how we can possibly do more than we already are, though we're pretty sure whatever we're doing isn't enough. Does that ring true to anybody? The scripture we quote so often is not about sequence, and it's not about feverishly working our way through an exhaustive list of good works.
Jesus Christ is the only one to walk this earth and actually do all that could be done. Instead, doing all we can do is about becoming and behaving like true disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is our part. That being said, make no mistake about it.
Notwithstanding all we can do, and despite the little we actually do, it is the Savior's grace that will ultimately save us. We can never earn exaltation, but we can indicate by the way we live our lives that we want to be part of the kingdom of God more than we want anything else. Brad Wilcox taught, Grace is not a booster engine that kicks in once our fuel supply is exhausted.
Rather, it is our constant energy source. It is not the light at the end of the tunnel, but the light that moves us through the tunnel. Grace is not achieved somewhere down the road. It is received right here and right now.
It is not a finishing touch, but the finisher's touch. Ultimately, both our efforts and Jesus Christ's grace are important. As Paul taught in Philippians chapter 2, work on your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work.
for his good pleasure. Commenting on this passage, C.S. Lewis said, Christians have often disputed as to whether what leads the Christian back to God is good actions or faith in Christ. This seems to me like asking which blade in a pair of scissors is most necessary. The Bible really seems to clench the matter when it puts the two things together into one amazing sentence.
The first half is, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, which looks as if everything depended on us and our good actions. But the second half goes on, for it is God who worketh in you, which looks as if God did everything and we nothing. I'm afraid that is the sort of thing we come up against in Christianity. I am puzzled, but I am not surprised. You see, we are now trying to understand and to separate into watertight compartments what exactly God does and what man does when God and man are working together.
How could we integrate these ideas into a drawing? Take a moment and give it a try. It's hard for someone who failed art in 6th grade, but here's a couple of attempts.
In this image, Jesus is clearly the main person. I'm doing a few things, but those things I'm doing aren't really me. It's Jesus'coming down even below all things to lift me up and give me the strength to move forward. Maybe we could represent this better by including shades of green to show that it's not just my own power, but it's Jesus'power that is working within me. Or maybe I should focus more on how the Savior's strengthening power helps me become one with him.
Or maybe the whole chart concept is unhelpful, and we might picture a wall as representing challenges we face in life. As we climb up a ladder to surmount these difficulties, Christ is right there, helping us move forward. In fact, as we remember from a previous class, Christ is the ladder.
Maybe none of these drawings are any good, and you'll create your own depiction that helps you visualize the Savior's grace. However we draw it, I hope you'll remember the Savior's words, My grace is all you need. My power is all you need.
Power works best in weakness. Weakness is a feature, not a defect. You might have more than your fair share of weakness in your life. Your weaknesses may cause you to say, that's not fair.
But remember these words from Elder Dale G. Renlund. Because of the atonement of Jesus Christ, ultimately, in the eternal scheme of things, there will be no unfairness. Our present circumstances may not change, but through God's compassion, kindness, and love.
We will all receive more than we deserve, more than we can ever earn, and more than we can ever hope for. You might have some pretty intense struggles in your life. You might say, I just can't keep going.
Maybe you're right. You can't keep going. But you plus Jesus can. Remember his words, my grace is all you need.
My power works best in weakness. Weakness is a feature, not a defect. It's a feature that can help us connect with Christ.
Through the Savior, our weaknesses can even become strengths. In a class about Paul's teachings about the Savior, I want to let Paul have the last word. Imagine Paul writing directly to you. What do these words teach you about weakness and the Savior's power?
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God's right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.
So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world.
But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. You have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature and be renewed.
as you learn to know your Creator and become like Him. In this new life, it doesn't matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave or free. Christ is all that matters, and He lives in all of us.
Thanks for staying until the very end. I want to make sure that you know there are pre-class readings for each of these videos in the course, as well as additional resources like PowerPoints and quiz questions to explore. Click the link in the description to access these additional learning resources.