2 Corinthians 12

2 Corinthians 12:1

F. Paul’s Revelations Support His Apostleship (12:1-10) 12:1 The apostle wishes he didn’t have to boast at all. It is not becoming or profitable, but under the circumstances it is necessary. So he will pass on from the lowest, most humiliating event in his ministry to the highest, most exalted. He will tell about a personal audience with the Lord Himself. 12:2 Paul knew a man who had this experience fourteen years ago. Although Paul does not identify him, there is no question but that he himself is the person referred to. In speaking of such an exalted experience, he will not mention himself personally, but will simply speak in a general way. The man referred to was in Christ, that is, a Christian. 12:3 Paul does not know whether he was in the body or out of the body at the time. Some have conjectured that this might have happened during one of Paul’s persecutions, such as the one at Lystra. They say that he might have actually died and gone to heaven. But the text certainly does not demand such an interpretation. In fact, if Paul did not know whether he was in the body or out of the body, that is, alive or dead, at the time, it would be strange if any modern commentators could throw additional light on the subject! The important thing is that this man was caught up to the third heaven. Scripture implies the existence of three heavens. The first is the atmosphere above us, that is, the blue sky. The second is the stellar heaven. The third is the highest heaven where the throne of God is. It is clear from what follows that Paul was actually in the same place of bliss as that to which the Lord Jesus took the repentant thief after his death, that is, to God’s dwelling place. 12:4 Paul heard the language of Paradise and understood what was spoken, but he was not allowed to repeat any of it when he came back to the earth. The words were inexpressible in the sense that they were too sacred to be uttered and therefore not for publication. G. Campbell Morgan writes: There are some who seem eager to talk of visions and revelations which they have had. The question is as to whether such eagerness is not proof that the visions and revelations are not of the Lord. When they are granted (and they certainly are granted to the servants of God under certain circumstances), they produce a reverent reticence. They are too solemn, too overwhelming, to be lightly described or discussed, but the effect of them will be apparent in all life and service. 12:5 When boasting of weakness, the apostle didn’t mind mentioning himself. But when boasting of visions and revelations of the Lord, he would not apply them directly to himself, but would rather speak of the experience impersonally as having occurred to some man he knew. He was not denying that he was the one who had the experience, but was simply refusing to involve himself directly and personally. 12:6 There are many other great experiences of which the apostle could boast. If he should desire to engage in this boasting, he would not be a fool in doing so. Anything he would say would be the truth. But he is not going to do it, because he does not want anyone to think more highly of him than they actually find him to be or than they hear from him. 12:7 This whole section is a most accurate description of the life of a servant of Christ. It has its moments of deep humiliation, such as the event at Damascus. Then it has its mountain top experiences, such as Paul’s exhilarating revelation. But normally after a servant of the Lord has enjoyed one of these experiences, the Lord allows him to suffer some thorn in the flesh. That is what we have here. We learn many priceless lessons from this verse. First, it is proof that even divine revelations of the Lord do not correct the flesh in us. Even after the apostle had listened to the language of Paradise, he still had the old nature, and was in danger of falling into the snare of pride. As R. J. Reid has said: A man in Christ is safe in the presence of God as he listens to the untranslatable things spoken in paradise, but he needs a thorn in the flesh upon his return to earth, for the flesh in him would boast of his paradise experience. What was Paul’s thorn in the flesh? All we can say for sure is that it was some bodily trial which God allowed to come into his life. No doubt the Lord purposely failed to specify exactly what the thorn was so that tried and tested saints down through the years might feel a closer kinship with the apostle as they suffer. Perhaps it was some form of eye disease, perhaps an earache, perhaps malaria, perhaps migraine headaches, perhaps something connected with Paul’s speech. Moorehead states: The precise nature of it has been concealed perhaps that all afflicted ones may be encouraged and helped by Paul’s unnamed yet painful experience. Our trials may be very different from Paul’s, but they should produce the same exercise and fruits. The apostle describes the thorn in the flesh as a messenger of Satan to buffet him. In one sense it represented an effort on Satan’s part to hinder Paul in the work of the Lord. But God is greater than Satan, and He used the thorn to further the work of the Lord by keeping Paul humble. Successful service for Christ depends on a weak servant. The weaker he is, the more the power of Christ accompanies his preaching. 12:8 Three times Paul pleaded with the Lord that the thorn in the flesh might depart from him. 12:9 Paul’s prayer was answered, but not in the way he had hoped. In effect, God said to Paul, I will not remove the thorn, but I will do something better: I will give you grace to bear it. And just remember, Paul, that although I have not given you what you asked for, yet I am giving you what you need most deeply. You want my power and strength to accompany your preaching, don’t you? Well, the best way to have that happen is for you to be kept in a place of weakness.This was God’s repeated answer to Paul’s thrice repeated prayer. And it continues to be God’s answer to his suffering people throughout the world. Better than the removal of trials and sufferings is the companionship of the Son of God in them, and the assurance of His strength and enabling grace. Notice that God says, My grace IS sufficient for you. We don’t have to ask Him to make His grace sufficient. It already IS! The apostle is completely satisfied with the Lord’s answer, so he says, Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.When the Lord explained the wisdom of His actions, Paul said in effect that that was the only way he would want it to be. So instead of complaining and grumbling about the thorn, he would rather boast in his infirmities. He would get down on his knees and thank the Lord for them. He would gladly endure them if only the power of Christ might rest upon him. J. Oswald Sanders puts it well: The world’s philosophy is, What can’t be cured must be endured. But Paul radiantly testifies, What can’t be cured can be enjoyed. I enjoy weakness, sufferings, privations, and difficulties. So wonderful did he prove God’s grace to be, that he even welcomed fresh occasions of drawing upon its fullness. I gladly glory … I even enjoymy thorn.Emma Piechynska, the wife of a Polish nobleman, led a long life of frustration and disappointment.

Yet her biographer paid a remarkable tribute to her triumphant faith: She made magnificent bouquets out of the refusals of God!12:10 Naturally speaking, it is quite impossible for us to take pleasure in the type of experiences listed here. But the key to the understanding of the verse is found in the expression, for Christ’s sake. We should be willing to endure in His cause, and in the furtherance of His gospel, things which we would not ordinarily endure for ourselves or for the sake of some loved one. It is when we are conscious of our own weakness and nothingness that we most depend on the power of God. And it is when we are thus cast on Him in complete dependence that His power is manifested to us, and we are truly strong. William Wilberforce, who led the fight to abolish slavery in the British Empire, was physically weak and frail, but he had deep faith in God. Boswell said of him, I saw what seemed to me a shrimp become a whale.In this verse Paul is obeying the word of the Lord in Mat_5:11-12. He is rejoicing when men reviled and persecuted him.

2 Corinthians 12:11

G. Paul’s Signs Support His Apostleship (12:11-13) 12:11 At this point Paul seems to be weary of his seeming boastfulness. He feels he has become a fool in boasting as he has done. He should not have done it, but the Corinthians really compelled him. They should have been the ones to commend him when his critics leveled their cruel attacks against him. Though he was nothing in himself, yet he was certainly not behind the most eminent apostles in whom they gloried. 12:12 He reminds them that when he went to Corinth and preached the gospel, God attested the preaching with the signs of an apostle. These signs were miracle powers given to the apostles by God so that their hearers might know that they were indeed sent by the Lord. The words signs and wonders and mighty deeds do not describe three different types of miracles, but rather miracles viewed in three different aspects. Signs were miracles that conveyed a definite meaning to human intelligence. Wonders, on the other hand, were so remarkable that they stirred up human emotions. Mighty deeds were performances that were obviously of superhuman power. It is nice to notice that Paul says that the signs of an apostle were accomplished among them. He uses the passive voice. He does not claim credit for them himself, but says God did them through him. 12:13 As far as the display of miracles was concerned, the Corinthians were not a bit inferior to other church es. They witnessed as many of these, at the hands of the Apostle Paul, as the other churches which he visited. In what sense then were they inferior to any of the other churches? The only difference Paul can see is that he had not been burdensome to the Corinthians. That is, he had not insisted on financial assistance from them. If this made them inferior, then Paul asks them to forgive him this wrong. This was the only sign of an apostle he did not insist on!

2 Corinthians 12:14

H. Paul’s Pending Visit to Corinth (12:14-13:1) 12:14 Now for the third time I am ready to come to you. This can be understood to mean the apostle had been ready to visit Corinth three times, but that he had only been there once. He did not go the second time, because he did not want to deal harshly with the believers. Now he is ready to go the third time, and this will be his second visit. Or it may mean he was about to make his third visit. The first is recorded in Act_18:1. The second was the sorrowful visit (2Co_2:1; 2Co_13:1). This will be the third. When he does come, Paul is determined that he will not be burdensome to them. He means, of course, he will not accept any financial return from them. He will be independent of them as far as his support is concerned. The reason for this is that he was not after their material wealth but after themselves. Paul was more interested in people than he was in things. He wants to play the part of a parent, as far as the Corinthians are concerned. Children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. This is simply a statement of life as we know it. In the normal course of events, it is the parents who work hard and diligently to see that the children have food and clothing. The children ordinarily do not take this care for the parents. So Paul is saying he would like to be permitted to act as a parent to them. One should be careful not to read too much into this sentence. It does not mean that parents ought to lay up wealth for the future of their children. This has nothing to do with future needs, but only with present necessities. Paul was thinking only of the supply of his immediate needs as he was serving the Lord in Corinth. He was determined that he would not depend on the saints there. There was no thought in his mind that they ought to be laying up a nest egg for his old age or that he should be doing that for them. 12:15 Here we have a beautiful glimpse into the unquenchable love of the Apostle Paul for the people of God in Corinth. He was willing gladly to give himself in tireless service and sacrifice for their souls, that is, for their spiritual welfare. He loved them more abundantly than the false teachers who were in their midst did, yet he was loved less by them. But that did not make any difference. Even if he had no hope of return of love from them, he would keep on loving them. In this he was truly following the Lord. 12:16 The apostle takes up the very words which his critics were using against him. They were saying, in effect, Well, granted that Paul himself did not take money from you directly. However, he used trickery to get it. He sent delegates to you, and they took money back to him.12:17 If I did not sponge off you directly, did I send others who did? The apostle asks the Corinthians directly if these charges against him were true. 12:18 He answers his own question. The expression, I urged Titus, probably means I urged Titus to visit you. But Paul did not send him alone. He sent another brother along with him lest there might be a breath of suspicion about Paul’s motives. What happened when Titus reached Corinth? Did he insist on his rights? Did he ask the Corinthians to support him? Did he try to make a gain of them? No, it appears from this passage that Titus worked for his living by engaging in some secular occupation. That is suggested by the questions, Did we not walk in the same spirit? Did we not walk in the same steps? In other words, both Titus and Paul followed the same policy of working so that they would not have to be supported by the Corinthians. 12:19 The Corinthians would think, from all that Paul had said, that his aim was simply to excuse himself to them as if they were his judges. On the contrary, what he really was doing was writing these things to them as in the presence of God, in order that they might be built up. He wanted to strengthen them in the Christian life and warn them against the perils that were facing them. He was more interested in helping them than in defending his own reputation. The supplied words (italics) in the expression, we do all things, might perhaps better read we write all these things (cf. 2Co_13:10). 12:20 Paul desired that when he visited Corinth, he might find the Christians going along happily one with another, having renounced the false teachers, and having acknowledged the authority of the apostles. Also when he visited them, he wanted to come with joy and not with heaviness. He would be greatly grieved if he should find contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, and other forms of carnal conflict. 12:21 After all, these Corinthians were Paul’s joy and crown of rejoicing. They were his glorying. He certainly did not want to come to them and have to be ashamed of them. Neither did he want to have to mourn over many who had sinned and had not repented of their uncleanness, fornication, and lewdness. To whom does Paul refer as the many who had practiced these sins? It is only reasonable to assume they were in the church in Corinth; otherwise he would not be discussing them in this way in a Letter to the church. But it cannot be assumed that they were true believers. It specifically says they practiced these sins, and Paul elsewhere makes it clear that anyone whose life is characterized by such behavior cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1Co_6:9-10). The apostle would mourn over them because they had not repented and would therefore have to be excommunicated. Darby points out that this chapter opens with the third heaven and closes with vile sins on earth. Between the two, he notes that there is the remedythe power of Christ resting on the Apostle Paul.