2 Corinthians 12

2 Corinthians 12:1

“I’m embarrassed that I have to glory in anythingeven in my difficulties,” said Paul. The false teachers who were undercutting Paul’s ministry said, “He’s a lightweight. All he does is teach doctrine. We have visions and revelations.” “All right,” said Paul. “If you want to talk about visions and revelations…”

2 Corinthians 12:2

So reticent to talk about this was Paul that he doesn’t even use his own name. From the Book of Acts, we know that fourteen years prior to this, Paul had been left for dead after being stoned in the city of Lystra. It seems certain that this is the backdrop for the text before us.

2 Corinthians 12:4

What is the third heaven? The Bible refers to three heavens: The atmosphere around us is the first. The stars above us constitute the second. And the place where God dwells is the third. This is another proof text that nullifies the theory of “soul sleep"the theory that says that when a person dies, he remains in a state of nothingness until the resurrection of the dead at the Second Coming of Christ. After being stoned, Paul did not enter a state of nothingness but was taken immediately to paradiseliterally “a walled garden"to heaven. It was literally impossible for Paul to describe what he saw and heard in heaven. But I suggest that whatever it was, it was the reason he wanted to immediately go back into the city and start preaching again. I’ve had a sneak preview of coming attractions, and I’m ready to go! he might have thought. Maybe they’ll kill me once more! This verse makes me a bit skeptical of those who write books and embark on speaking tours after “dying” on the operating table. Paul didn’t even mention this experience for fourteen yearsand only then to say he couldn’t describe it.

2 Corinthians 12:5

Do you hear the tension? Do you feel the struggle? “I don’t want to talk about some revelation or vision or heavenly experience,” says Paul. “Rather, I want you to judge me by the way I lived among you day after day after day.” Human nature says, “Let me share with you my revelation, my vision.” Not Paul. He said, “I want you to judge what I’m saying based not on what I experienced mystically, but on how I lived among you practically.”

2 Corinthians 12:7

Following his heavenly excursion, a messenger of Satan was sent to keep Paul humble. Think about this. What was the singular reason Satan was cast out of heaven? Pride. Yet here God used the very pride of Satan to work humility in Paul. Directly following a presentation I gave in sixth grade, in which I was able to share the Lord, I got into a fight at lunchtimethe one and only fight of my school career. It wasn’t about the gospel. It was over a girl. The guy who drew me into this fight was Doug Gerdwagen. Of all the guys in the school, Doug Gerdwagen was my nemesis. To me, he was an arrogant, cocky bully. But guess who the Lord used to humble me. And guess who the Lord will use in your lifeyour own Doug Gerdwagenthe very person you think is worse than you. What was the thorn in the flesh of which Paul speaks? Commentators have suggested it was an eye disease, malaria, an irritating person who followed him around, or physical repercussions of the stoning he endured. We don’t know for sure what it was. But this we do know: The word translated “thorn” is the word for “tent stake"the eighteen-inch-long spikes necessary to anchor Bedouin tents in the fierce desert winds. Thus, Paul’s thorn more closely resembled a sword in his side than it did a sliver under his skin.

2 Corinthians 12:8

Whether it was concerning a pain in his body, eyesight that was failing rapidly, or a person causing great difficulty, three times Paul prayed, “Lord, take it away.”

2 Corinthians 12:9

Like Paul, we ask for help from the Lord. As far as our Father is concerned, however, the purpose of prayer is not that He might give help to us, but that He might give Himself to us. The Father says, “You want Me to take away the pain, to solve the problem, to get you out of the situationbut that’s not what you need. You need Me. And the very problem you’re seeking to get away from, the very situation you desire to get out of is the very one that is causing you to talk to Me, spend time with Me, and depend on Me. You’ll be stronger when you’re weak because you’ll have no other choice than to draw strength from Me. You’ll do better when you’re weak because you’ll have to rely on Me.” It is the wise woman who says, “Okay, Lord. I’m not going to get out of the marriage because he’s a thorn in my flesh.” It is the wise man who says, “I’m not going to try to alleviate that problem the way the world suggests, Lord. Instead, I’ll just glory in itfor it’s the way You get me close to You. And when I’m close to You, Your strength is made known to me.”

2 Corinthians 12:10

“It’s a pleasure, Lord, to have this thorn under my skin that causes me grief,” said Paul. What a statement! I want to get there! “What power there is in an accepted sorrow,” wrote Madame Guyon four hundred years ago. Understand this, dear saint, it is not wrong to pray to the Father when there’s a thorn jabbing at you, or to share with the Father the desires that are mounting within you. You desire a certain thing to open up, to work out, to be taken away. There’s no problem with communicating this to the Father. Whether it’s a physical thorn in the fleshsickness, disease, or bodily difficultyor whether it’s an emotional thorn in the flesh, we are to pray not once, not twice, but without ceasing (1Th_5:16). However, life is not a playground. It’s a battlefield. And the sooner we understand this, the wiser we’ll be. This is not heaven. If you’re seeking to have heaven here nowno thorns in your flesh, no problems poking you, no disappointments coming to youyour life will be hellish because this is not heaven. When I finally realize that, like Paul, for me to live is Christ and to die is gain, life becomes extremely meaningful and completely enjoyable. We’re here for a short season. There will be thorns in our flesh. There will be things poking us and disappointing us. Oh, what power there is, though, in accepted sorrow. Pray without ceasing until the Lord either takes away the difficulty, brings about healing, develops the relationship, opens the jobuntil He either does that which you’re asking or lets you know, as He did with Paul, that His grace is sufficient for you to bear the pain or the disappointment. Never forget that God is not as interested in your present comfort as He is in your eternal state. Trust Him when He says, “This thorn is necessary to draw you close to Me, that you might give your all in service to Me, that you might depend wholly upon Me.” For it is then you will hear from Him the words your soul longs to hear: “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of the Lord” (see Mat_25:21). Pray. For as you grab the lever of prayer with the hand of faith, one of two things will happen: Blessings, healing, the working of God will come down upon youor else the lever will yank you up into heaven, where you’ll hear your Father say, “Now that I’ve got your attention, I don’t want you healed because it is in your weakness that My strength will flow through you.” Brothers and sisters, pray three times, thirty times, three hundred times until you either get the answer you’re asking for or you hear the Father say, “No, and here’s why…” Don’t settle for anything less. If you pray this way, I believe you’ll experience successful prayer 100 percent of the time. Talk to the Father about your thorns, your difficulties, and keep praying until the answer comes your way or until, like Paul, you have understanding and revelation and can say, “That’s a closed issue. I don’t need to talk about that anymore. I get it, Father. Your grace is sufficient for me.” Prickly Problems A Topical Study of 2Co_12:7-10 It’s a most prickly problem, a truly thorny issue. We hear about it regularly and struggle with it frequently. That is, why does the pain persist? Why does the problem keep poking me? I’ve prayed about it, claimed victory over it, and want deliverance from it. But it just seems to always be there, causing consternation and agitation within me. Why does the problem remain? If you have wrestled with such issues, the text before us is just for you. What was the thorn in Paul’s flesh? Some think it was a demon hassling him. Some say it was a person who was harassing him. Others believe it was a physical problem hurting him. Some suggest Paul suffered from the recurring migraines associated with certain types of malaria. Others surmise Paul had an eye disease due to the fact that the Galatians were willing to give him their own eyes, if that were possible (Gal_4:15). According to a second-century document, Paul squinted constantly and his eyes ran continually. “You see with what large letters I write to you…” Paul writes in Gal_6:11perhaps implying that he didn’t see very well. Although we don’t know for certain what Paul’s thorn in the flesh was, this much we do know: It wasn’t a sliver because the Greek word used for “thorn” is the same used for “tent stake.” The Bedouins are a nomadic people who, with the exception of the TV antennas sticking out of their tents, live today as they have lived for thousands of years. Since their only concession to modern society is color TV, the “thorn” we read of here in 2 Corinthians would be similar to the eighteen-inch spikes used by the Bedouins to pitch their tents today. Why did God allow this tent stake, this problem, this pain in Paul’s life? Our text gives three reasons… To Produce Protection In the verses prior to our text, Paul explained to the Corinthian believers how he had been caught up into heaven (2Co_12:1-4). Therefore, because he had such an incredible, unspeakable experience, the thorn in his flesh kept him from becoming proud. One morning, during a particularly successful season, the wife of a college basketball coach knocked on the bathroom door as he was shaving. “Honey,” she said, “someone from Sports Illustrated is on the phone.” “Sports Illustrated!” he said as, with lather still on his face, he grabbed a towel and ran down the stairs. “Sports Illustrated?” he said eagerly, adjusting the phone to his ear. “Yes,” said a cheerful voice on the other end. “For seventy-five cents an issue, you can subscribe to Sports Illustrated for a full year!” And his bubble was burst. Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall (Pro_16:18). Therefore, to protect us, the Lord sends pains and problems to hedge us in. Through the harlot Gomer as a picture of Israel, and the prophet Hosea as a picture of the everlasting love of God, He says, Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths. And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now.Hos_2:6-7 The Lord knows my vulnerabilities. And He knows your weaknesses. Thus, by His grace, the thorns He allows in us are truly His protection for us. To Propel Prayer I have found oftentimes when my prayer life becomes lax or lazy, I find myself estranged from my Father. But prickly problems indeed propel me to pray. So, too, as one who prayed night and day (Rom_1:9; 1Th_2:13; 2Ti_1:3), Paul prayed three times for the thorn in his flesh to be removed. When you are dealing with an issue, which returns again and again, what should you do? Pray and pray and pray. Pray until you are either healed, delivered, set freeor until the Lord speaks into your heart the reason why the problem will remain. Pray for either a release from the thorn or a revelation concerning the situation. Such is the model of Paul and of Jesus. Three times in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed, “Father if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me” (Mat_26:39, Mat_26:42, Mat_26:44). The thorn of the Cross was not removed, but Jesus received peace when He concluded His prayer, “Thy will be done.” Keep praying, saint. The Lord will either remove your thorn, your pain, your struggleor give you understanding to go along with it. To Precede Power It was after Paul prayed three times for deliverance that at last he could say, “Most gladly, therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (see verse 2Co_12:9). “Let me mow the lawn,” begged Benjamin when he was four. “Okay,” I said. So, grabbing hold of the handle to my push mower, Ben pushed and grunted as the veins stuck out on his four-year-old neck. “Help me, Daddy!” he called. “Okay, Ben,” I said. And with Ben in my arms, I mowed a few strips of the lawn. When we decided to take a break, it was an excited and elated Benny who ran in the house yelling, “Mommy! Mommy! I mowed the lawn!” What does God want to do? He wants to empower your life. But it’s not until you come to the end of your rope that you can see your need for His strength. That’s why the strongest people you will ever meet are those, who at some point in their lives, have absorbed a “thorn in the flesh” and have come to be at peace with it. Rapport with Me Whenever I think I am the only one suffering from a particular thorn in my flesh, the judgment hall of Pilate tells me otherwise. You see, it was there that Jesus absorbed not a single thorn in His flesh, but an entire crown of thorns, pressed into His skull (Mar_15:17). Therefore, He can relate to whatever problem I face; whatever battle I fight; whatever sharp, pointed thorn I endure because He has been there, tempted in all points like meyet without sin (Heb_4:15). Reminder to Me My tendency is to say, “Only my thorn is heavy.” But the crown of thorns on Jesus’ brow reminds me that because of Adam’s sin, we’re all cursed with thorns (Gen_3:18). Therefore, God is not picking on me alone. We’re all in this together, for every one of us will bear our own thorn. Revival Within Me The crown of thorns preceded the Cross of Calvary, which opened the way to heaven for mewhere there will be no more tears, no more pain, no more thorns. This produces revival within my heart and renewed love for the One who absorbed more thorns than I could ever imagine. Precious sisters, dear brother, don’t try to remove the thorn the Lord has given you. Embrace it and see it produce protection in your walk, prayer in your heart, and power in your lifeall to the glory of the One who endured the thorns; all to the praise of the One who paid the price.

2 Corinthians 12:11

In 1Co_4:7, Paul had told the Corinthians that whatever a man has is given to him by the Lord. Therefore, Paul was not superior to the self-described “super apostles” because he was anything special, but because the ministry he had was given to him by the Lord.

2 Corinthians 12:12

The “superstars” stressed the miraculous. Paul, on the other hand, labored daily, teaching the Word. Although miraculous gifts did, indeed, flow through Paul, he didn’t boast about them or focus on them the way others did. Why? Because he knew that miracles don’t produce faith. Faith comes only by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Rom_10:17).

2 Corinthians 12:13

“The one thing I didn’t do to you that I did in other churches is take money from you because I didn’t want to be a burden to you,” Paul said.

2 Corinthians 12:14

“I’m going to come and see you, but I’m not going to raise an offering for myself,” Paul told the Corinthians. “I’m not interested in your money. I’m interested in you. Why? Because I’m a father to you.”

2 Corinthians 12:15

“Others come and smite you in the face, take your money, pounce on youand yet you respect them,” says Paul. “I give my all for you, yet the more I give to you, the less I’m loved by you.” Why is it that the more you give to some people, the less they respect and love you? If someone is haughty and arrogant, sometimes people will be in awe of him. But if someone says, “I’m willing to spend all I have on your behalf,” people think he must not be very special. Don’t be depressed, surprised, or discouraged when the more you love people, the less they love youfor this provides you a great opportunity to give simply for the sake of giving in true agape love. When you give to someone and he gives back to you, when you’re nice to someone and she’s nice to youthat’s wonderful. But the highest form of giving is when you give and nothing is given back. Your reward will be great in heaven, and your personality will be shaped more closely into the image of Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 12:16

Paul quotes his critics who claimed that even though he was not charging the Corinthians, he had a plan and was simply setting them up for the big take.

2 Corinthians 12:17

“Titus, a third brother I sent, and I are ministering with the same mentality. We’re not tricky. We have no ulterior motive. We just want to be a blessing to you,” said Paul. The world still thinks we as believers have another agenda politically or monetarily. “You claim to just love Jesus,” they say, “but what’s your real agenda? Is it to take control of the government, or to get rich?” The answer is neither. Like Paul, we just want people to be built up in their faith that they would do well in the Lord.

2 Corinthians 12:20

“I’m worried that when I come, you’ll not like what you see in me, and I’ll not like what I see in you because of the correction that will need to take place,” Paul told the Corinthians.

2 Corinthians 12:21

What does “bewailing” mean? It speaks of a death moan, of grieving because of death. “Things are so out of order,” said Paul, “that when I come I fear there will be some disciplineeven the death of some.” In this regard, we think of Ananias and Sapphira whom God had to deal with severely (Act_5:1-11) and of Elymas, the sorcerer who was smitten with blindness that others might see (Act_13:8-12). Sometimes some dark and heavy correction comes down when things get out of order the way they did at Corinth.