Luther and Lewis

For where man’s strength ends, God’s strength begins, provided faith is present and waits on Him. And when the oppression comes to an end, it becomes manifest what great strength was hidden beneath weakness. Even so, Christ was powerless on the cross, and yet there He performed His mightiest work and conquered sin, death, world, hell, devil, and all evil. Thus all the martyrs were strong and overcame. Thus, too, all who suffer and are oppressed overcome. Therefore it is said in Joel 3:10: “Let the weak say, ‘I am strong’” —yet in faith and without feeling it until it is accomplished.—Martin Luther, Magnificat AE 21:340

[On the fall] Up to that moment the human spirit had been in full control of the human organism. It doubtless expected that it would retain this control when it ceased to obey God. But its authority over the organism was a delegated authority which it lost when it ceased to be God’s delegate. Having cut itself off, as far as it could, from the source of its being, it had cut itself off from the source of power.—C. S. Lewis, Business of Heaven, p. 240.