2 Corinthians · chapter 12 of 13
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2 Corinthians 12 relates an extraordinary experience of Paul, caught up into paradise, and the thorn in the flesh God left him so he would not become conceited. When he pleaded for it to be taken away, the Lord answered that his grace was sufficient and that his power is made perfect in weakness. Paul concludes by boasting in his weaknesses and expresses his fear for the spiritual state of Corinth.
Paul continues to boast as a fool, and now reaches an experience he does not usually mention. This chapter contains one of the most comforting passages in the New Testament about suffering: Christ's answer to Paul's prayer, which changes how he sees weakness.
Paul says boasting is necessary, though not profitable, and moves on to visions and revelations of the Lord. He knows a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven, into paradise, whether in the body or out of it he does not know, and heard things that cannot be told. On behalf of such a man he will boast, but not on his own, except of his weaknesses. He refrains so that no one will think more of him than what they see and hear from him.
So that he would not be conceited by the greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given him in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment him. Three times he pleaded with the Lord to remove it. The Lord's answer was that his grace was enough and that his power reaches its fullness in weakness. So Paul will boast all the more gladly of his weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on him. For Christ's sake he is content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities, for when he is weak, then he is strong.
Paul admits he has been a fool, but the Corinthians forced him to it, for they ought to have commended him. The signs of a true apostle were performed among them with utmost patience, with signs, wonders and mighty works. In what were they less favored than other churches, except that he did not burden them? He asks their forgiveness for this wrong.
For the third time he is ready to come, and he will not burden them, for he seeks not what is theirs but them. He will gladly spend and be spent for their souls, even if the more he loves them the less he is loved. Neither he nor Titus took advantage of them. Finally he fears that when he comes he may find quarreling, jealousy, anger, factions, slander, conceit and disorder, and that he may mourn over those who have not repented of their impurity and sexual immorality.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
So that he would not be conceited by the greatness of the revelations, Paul received a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass him. Scripture does not specify what it was, which allows many to identify with his experience.
Three times Paul pleaded with the Lord to take it away, and the answer was that Christ's grace was sufficient and his power is perfected in weakness. God does not always remove the trial, but promises his grace to sustain.
For Christ's sake Paul is content with weaknesses, insults and hardships, for when he is weak, then he is strong. The strength that counts is the one that comes from Christ, not one's own.
Paul is willing to spend and be spent for their souls, even if he is loved less. Pastoral love gives and does not expect reciprocity.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: To the third heaven, into paradise. — 2 Corinthians 12:2-4
Answer: So that he would not be conceited because of the greatness of the revelations. — 2 Corinthians 12:7
Answer: Three times. — 2 Corinthians 12:8
Answer: That his grace was sufficient, for his power is made perfect in weakness. — 2 Corinthians 12:9
Answer: When he is weak. — 2 Corinthians 12:10
Answer: Spend and be spent for their souls. — 2 Corinthians 12:15
2 Corinthians 12 offers comfort to anyone who has prayed for something without getting what they asked. God does not always remove the thorn, but he assures us his grace is sufficient. In a small group, this text can open an honest conversation about prayers not answered as we hoped and about how God sustained us.
It also invites us to review our relationship with weakness. In a culture that admires strength and success, Paul shows that limitation can be the place where Christ's power is seen. Asking for help, admitting limits and depending on God is not failure: it is the way to receive his strength.
2 Corinthians 12 ends with Paul's fear about the state of the church and his wish that they repent before his visit. Chapter 13, the last of the letter, contains the final warnings, the invitation to self-examination and the Trinitarian blessing.
Paul does not explain it, and so interpreters propose different possibilities: a physical illness, a persistent difficulty, the opposition of his adversaries or a temptation. What the text stresses is its purpose, keeping Paul humble, and Christ's answer, which gives sufficient grace.
It is an expression Paul uses for the place of God's presence, paradise. He does not explain it in detail, and we should not look for more precision than the text offers. Paul speaks of the experience in the third person, avoiding boasting about it.
The text describes it as a messenger who harasses Paul, and attributes it to Satan, though God allowed it with a purpose. It is an example of how God can use what the enemy does for the good of his servants, while remaining sovereign.