What the Bible says about Weak, God Has Called
(From Forerunner Commentary)

Matthew 10:29-31 It is encouraging that, right in the middle of the sparrow analogy, Jesus says, “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” Jesus puts His disciples dead-center in this analogy about sparrows. Our Savior is saying God knows us better than we know ourselves. Do we know how many hairs are on our heads? Of course, those who are follicly-challenged have a far easier time counting. Yet, no matter how much hair we may have, God knows! And we can be sure that His knowledge does not end with the number of hairs on our heads! God knows everything about us and cares about our every body part, thought, word, and action, and He still loves us. We are like sparrows. Compared to the number of people who live on earth, compared to the great and the near-great among humanity, we are so small and insignificant. Most of all, in comparison to God, we are literally worthless. We can offer Him nothing of value. Even our highest thoughts and ideas are meaningless. Paul makes this point for us in I Corinthians 1:27-29: But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. In Matthew and Luke, Jesus chose not the strong, powerful, stately eagle but the sparrow, the weak and base of the bird family, to make His point. In the larger setting of His purpose, He has chosen you and me, the truly weak and base, who are nothing special among human beings. But the key words are in Paul's repeated phrase, “God has chosen.” We did not volunteer to become His elect. God has chosen us. We did not have any special skills or abilities that impressed Him. God has chosen us despite our insignificance. We did not have any stature in society to advance His work. God has chosen us out of obscurity. God chose those who were foolish, base, despised, and nothing. From the beginning, the sovereign God has been working (John 5:17), creating godly children in His image and character. He has set us apart for a special purpose, sanctifying us, a process that takes a lifetime of constant refinement. He tests us, honing our ability to endure and resist sin, purifying and perfecting our character, and bringing us ever closer to His own righteousness. Throughout that lifetime of refinement, God is there with us, watching over us and loving us. He is neither distant nor uncaring. In fact, just the opposite, as Jesus tells us in Luke 12:32: “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” This term, “Do not fear,” or similar ones like “fear not” or “do not be afraid,” appears over a hundred times in Scripture. By this repetition, God is driving home a point. Do we believe it? Jesus wants us to be much more concerned with the will of our heavenly Father than the opinions of those who may test or discourage us. Every church member needs and desires encouragement occasionally, and we can find no greater encourager than God. Nothing is more encouraging than reading about God's sure promises in His Word, like those we see in Matthew 10 and Luke 12 about the sparrow. God does not forget us, not even for one minute—and definitely not when we suffer under trials. One of the most heartening scriptures is Hebrews 13:5, where God Himself assures us, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Sparrows will never know that a loving God watches over them constantly and never forgets them. They have no idea He notices when they simply light upon the ground. But we know. We know our great God is aware of us at every moment of the day and knows what is happening in our lives down to the smallest detail. Why? Because, in His eyes, we are worth far more than many sparrows. Ted E. Bowling Do Not Be Afraid! Related Topics: Do Not be Afraid | Foolish, God has Called | God has Chosen Foolish and Weak Things | God's Awareness of the Sparrow | Sparrow | Sparrow Most Insignificant of All Birds | Sparrows | Sparrows are Small and Nondescript | Weak, God Has Called

Revelation 3:8 There is criticism or maybe it is simply a statement of fact. They are weak. They do have good characteristics, but they are weak. They have "a little strength." John W. Ritenbaugh What Is the Work of God Now? (Part Four) Related Topics: Church at Philadelphia | Church Eras | Churches of Revelation 2-3 | God's Work | Philadelphia | Philadelphia, Church of | Philadelphian Attitude | Philadelphian Church: Little Strength | Seven Churches of Revelation | Weak of the World | Weak, God Has Called | Work Of God

Revelation 3:8 We tend to think of the Philadelphians as being without fault because Christ does not make a pointed and detailed listing of their sins. Notice, however, that they have "a little strength"—they are weak. This is not a put-down but an honest appraisal. He is in fact commending them for doing as well as they have. We need to consider this in terms of our recent lives in the church. The evidence shows that the Philadelphia group lacks the spiritual strength of the beginning of the Ephesian group. We have not seen many mountains moving out of their places. We are among the generation addressed by Jesus: "When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8). A careful scrutiny of these verses shows something is missing that almost all assume is there: They do not say the church at Philadelphia is full of brotherly love. Philadelphia is the name of the city, and we draw an assumption that Christ calls them "Philadelphians" because they exhibit remarkable love for one another. To be honest, we would have to make the same assumption for each of the groups, and no one has been able to make a significant conclusion in this vein for the Ephesian group in regard to the name "Ephesus," or for the Thyatiran group with "Thyatira," or for the others. Perhaps only one name does fit somewhat: Laodicea, which means "judgment of the people." The Philadelphians have one fine quality—they are faithful. This is what He compliments them for being, meaning they have a commendable measure of obedience. Nevertheless, the Philadelphians, though faithful, are somewhat weak. The Laodiceans are largely derived from a base that came from the Philadelphians, making them weaker still, due to their lackadaisical inattention to their relationships with God. John W. Ritenbaugh A Place of Safety? (Part 5) Related Topics: Church at Laodicea | Church at Philadelphia | Church Eras | Church, Attitudes of | Church, Personalities of | Churches of Revelation 2-3 | Faith | Faithfulness | Laodicea | Laodicea, Church of | Laodicean | Laodicean Attitude | Laodiceanism | Philadelphia | Philadelphia, Church of | Philadelphian Attitude | Philadelphian Church: Little Strength | Weak of the World | Weak, God Has Called

 

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