No student of the New Testament who wishes to come to grips with the nature of the Christian ministry can afford to neglect the second epistle of St Paul to the Corinthians. In this letter the apostle paints a remarkably candid picture of his own experience as a minister of Christ. His autobiographical sketch reaches a climax in 2 Corinthians 12:10, in the words ‘When I am weak, then I am strong!’

At first glance Paul would seem to be indulging in a meaningless contradiction. How can he be both weak and strong? How can he sum up his vocation in terms which are normally thought to be mutually exclusive? Yet on further reflection we discover something very different: what appears on the surface to be a clear absurdity is for Paul a profound teaching. Over and over in this epistle he describes his ministry in terms of two completely different, yet overlapping, experiences. In chapter one he defines his vocation in terms of comfort experienced through suffering; in chapter three in terms of glory manifested through shame; in chapter four in terms of life working in death; in chapter six in terms of riches won through poverty; and in chapters twelve and thirteen in terms of power expressed through weakness.