| |
The
Experience Of Paul
"Whereof I was made a minister, according to the
gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual
working of his power. Unto me, who am less than the least
of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach
among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of
Christ." Eph. 3:7, 8. "Ye know, from the first
day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been
with you at all seasons, Serving the Lord with all
humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations,
which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews."
Acts 20:18, 19.
All over the civilized world Paul
is spoken of as the "great apostle." In his own
words when compelled to speak of his apostleship and
calling, in comparison with some who had assumed to be
apostles of Christ, he said, "I suppose I was not a
whit behind the very chiefest apostles"; yet in his
own estimation of himself he considered himself "less
than the least of all saints."
It would indeed be a fair and
ordinary example of humility among men for one like our
brother Paul to truly consider himself on a common level
with the rest of us saints. But he says he is less than
some of the Ephesian saints, and we would suppose that the
saints in that city were on a common level with all the
saints everywhere. The apostle is truly in his own
estimation on a lower plane than some saints. His
expression carries him to a still lower degree. He is not
only less than the saints, but less than the least of the
saints; and in order to make no room for anyone below him
he takes the lowest place, and says he is "less than
the least of all saints."
There is no room for the shadow of
a doubt as to his sincerity in this expression. It truly
portrays his deep humility. All the advantages that he had
as pertaining to the flesh, and those things he previously
thought were gain to him, he counted loss for Christ. He
willingly humbled himself continually under the mighty
hand of God. He was graciously helped in this respect, and
when through the abundance of revelations, because of his
unusual humility God gave him abundant grace to keep in
this condition, so that yet greater usefulness and
efficiency might be realized. He could truly say,
"When I am weak then am I strong"; for when self
was in its proper place, God did most wonderfully manifest
His power.
We all look with admiration upon
the useful life of this apostle, and it would be natural
that we all should desire to be used of God to the same
extent as he; but would we be willing to go through the
extreme humiliations with him? His life was one of
continual hardships and sufferings. On every hand he met
the deepest humiliations of affliction, reproach, and
distress. It is evident that aside from His death on the
cross for sin, Jesus suffered no greater afflictions than
Paul, who himself testifies that he was "always
bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord
Jesus"; and, "We which live are always delivered
unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus
might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death
worketh in us, but life in you." "Who now
rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which
is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh, for
his body's sake, which is the church."
These unusual trials doubtless were
the "thorn in the flesh," and all served the
great purpose of keeping him living low down in the valley
of humiliation, where the great grace was continually
poured out upon him. When under the extreme pressure of
all these things his human strength would yield, and his
pitiful cry would be poured out into the heart of the
blessed Master to remove this thorn, the answer came back,
"My grace is sufficient for thee." Praise God!
There has never been a need but there has been on hand
sufficient grace, for every humble child of
We may truthfully conclude that the
secret of this apostle's power was in his humility; for
here only could Christ be magnified in his body.
|
|
