2 Corinthians 12
BSASBPaul, pushed into boasting by rivals who despise him, tells of a rare heavenly vision, then turns at once to the thorn that keeps him humble. The Lord’s answer, ‘My grace is sufficient for you’, shows that Christ’s power shows itself most in human weakness. Paul then reminds the Corinthians of his unselfish care for them and warns that he fears finding sin among them when he returns.
2 Corinthians 12:1
Paul dislikes boasting, and he says it does no good. But his critics at Corinth keep pointing to their spiritual experiences, so he will answer on their ground. He moves to visions and revelations that the Lord himself gave him.
BSA: revelations (“disclosures of truth, secrets from the Lord”): These are truths the Lord uncovered for Paul. He did not work them out himself.
Greek: ἀποκαλύψεις (apokalypseis, G602) — “unveilings.” The word means pulling back a curtain. God shows what could not be seen before.
2 Corinthians 12:2-4
Paul speaks of himself in the third person, as if embarrassed. Fourteen years earlier he was taken up into the presence of God. He cannot say whether he was in the body, and he does not need to. What he heard cannot be put into words.
BSA: caught up (“seized, snatched away”): It was something done to Paul by God. Paul did not climb there by effort or skill. Paradise (“a heavenly garden, future bliss”): It is the place of God’s own presence and joy.
Greek: ἡρπάγη (hērpagē, G726) — “was seized, snatched.” The word is forceful, like grabbing something suddenly. Paul was carried off, and he did not choose it.
See also: Luke 23:43; Revelation 2:7.
2 Corinthians 12:5-6
Paul separates the man who received the vision from the Paul who is weak and ordinary. He will boast only in his weaknesses. He could say more and still be truthful, but he holds back so people will judge him by what they actually see and hear.
2 Corinthians 12:7
To guard Paul from pride, God allowed a painful thorn. Paul does not say what it was, and Christians have guessed in different ways. He says it came with Satan’s hand in it, yet God’s purpose was to keep him humble. Weakness became a protection.
BSA: conceited (“proud, haughty, lifted up”): Great gifts can lift a person up in pride. The thorn pulled Paul back down. torment (“buffet, strike”): The thorn kept hitting him like repeated blows. It was not a passing ache.
Greek: σκόλοψ (skolops, G4647) — “stake, thorn.” The word can mean a sharp stake, not only a small splinter. It suggests a pain that pierces and cannot be ignored.
See also: Job 2:6.
2 Corinthians 12:8
Paul prayed earnestly, three times, for the thorn to go. He took it to the Lord, as Jesus himself had prayed more than once in Gethsemane. Prayer is not wrong when the answer is no.
BSA: pleaded (“besought, begged, called upon”): Paul asked with urgent, heartfelt need, not with a polite request.
See also: Matthew 26:39-44.
2 Corinthians 12:9
The Lord’s answer was not removal but something better: his own grace. Where Paul is weakest, Christ’s strength shows most clearly. So Paul turns from complaint to gladness, because Christ’s power settles over him like a tent.
BSA: grace (“unmerited favor, loving-kindness”): Paul receives help he has not earned, and it is enough for each day. perfected (“made complete, fulfilled”): Christ’s power reaches its full effect in a person who has no strength of his own.
Greek: ἐπισκηνώσῃ (episkēnōsē, G1981) — “may pitch a tent over, rest upon.” Paul pictures Christ’s power setting up a tent over him. It is a place of shelter and a place where God dwells.
See also: Philippians 4:13.
2 Corinthians 12:10
Paul lists the hard things he meets for Christ’s sake: insults, hardships, persecutions and difficulties. He does not enjoy pain for its own sake. He delights because each one is a place where Christ’s strength meets him. Weakness becomes the doorway of power.
BSA: delight (“take pleasure, appreciate”): Paul is content and at peace in these trials because he sees Christ at work in them.
See also: 2 Corinthians 4:7-10.
2 Corinthians 12:11
Paul feels foolish for boasting at all. He says the Corinthians forced him to it, because they should have spoken up for him. He is not behind the self-styled super-apostles, though he calls himself nothing, which is true humility.
BSA: commended (“recommended, spoken well of”): The Corinthians owed Paul a good word, since he founded their church.
2 Corinthians 12:12
Paul’s apostleship was shown among them by signs, wonders and miracles. These marked a true messenger of Christ. Yet he puts perseverance first. Steady endurance under hardship was part of the proof as well.
BSA: perseverance (“patient endurance, steadfastness”): Patient endurance through trouble was part of the evidence that Paul was a genuine apostle.
Greek: ὑπομονῇ (hypomonē, G5281) — “patient endurance.” The word means staying under a heavy load without giving way. It is more than waiting, and it describes holding firm.
See also: Romans 15:18-19.
2 Corinthians 12:13
Paul asks with gentle irony how the Corinthians were treated worse than other churches. The only difference was that he did not take money from them. He asks pardon for this wrong, and he is clearly hurt that his generosity is held against him.
2 Corinthians 12:14
Paul is about to visit a third time, and he will again ask nothing from them. He does not want their wealth. He wants them. He compares himself to a father, who provides for his children and does not expect them to provide for him.
BSA: children (“born to parents”): Paul speaks as their spiritual father, who brought them to faith and who cares for them.
See also: 1 Corinthians 4:15.
2 Corinthians 12:15
Paul will gladly spend all he has, and even himself, for their souls. He asks a sad question: if he loves them so much, should they love him less? True love gives itself away and often goes unrepaid.
BSA: spend (“use up, expend”): Paul will pour out his money and strength until nothing is left.
Greek: ἐκδαπανηθήσομαι (ekdapanēthēsomai, G1550) — “I will be completely spent.” The word is a strong form of spending. Paul will not only give money. He will be used up completely.
See also: Philippians 2:17.
2 Corinthians 12:16-18
Paul repeats what his critics said: he took no money himself, but he was crafty and cheated them through others. He answers with plain questions. Neither Titus nor the brother who went with him took advantage of them. All walked the same way, in the same Spirit.
BSA: footsteps (“tracks, paths”): Paul and Titus left the same trail of honest, unselfish living.
2 Corinthians 12:19
Paul says he is not defending himself before the Corinthians as if they were his judges. He speaks before God, in Christ. His aim in everything is to build them up, even when his words are hard.
BSA: build you up (“for your edification, spiritual growth”): Paul’s goal is their growth in faith, like building a house that stands firm.
Greek: οἰκοδομῆς (oikodomēs, G3619) — “building up.” The word comes from building a house. Paul sees his work as raising up the church, not tearing it down.
See also: Ephesians 4:12.
2 Corinthians 12:20
Paul now gives his real worry. He fears that when he arrives he will find the church not as he hopes, and they will find him not as they hope. He lists the sins of a divided church: quarreling, jealousy, rage, rivalry, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder.
BSA: gossip (“whisperings, secret talk”): These are quiet words said behind a person’s back, and they harm a church. arrogance (“haughtiness, pride”): Pride puffs up one person against another and breaks fellowship.
See also: Galatians 5:19-21.
2 Corinthians 12:21
Paul also fears being humbled before them. He will grieve over those who sinned in sexual ways and have not repented. His grief shows a shepherd’s heart. He wants repentance, which means turning away from sin, so that no harsh action is needed.
BSA: repented (“changed their mind, turned away”): Repentance is a real change of mind that leads to a changed life.
Greek: μετανοησάντων (metanoēsantōn, G3340) — “having repented.” The word means to think again and change direction. It is more than feeling sorry.
See also: 2 Corinthians 7:9-10.