2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Butler's Comments

SECTION 1

Weaknesses in the Body (2 Corinthians 12:1-10

12 I must boast; there is nothing to be gained by it, but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heavenwhether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. 3And I know that this man was caught up into Paradisewhether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows4and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. 5On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses. 6Though if I wish to boast, I shall not be a fool, for I shall be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. 7And to keep me from being too elated by the abundance of revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to harass me, to keep me from being too elated. 8Three times I besought the Lord about this, that it should leave me; 9but he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12:1-4 Ecstatic Experience: Paul must boast (Gr. kauchasthai dei, to boast it behooves me). If he is to rescue the Corinthians from the false teachers, he must engage in the boasting game although it is not expedient (Gr. sumpheron, gains nothing). As far as spirituality is concerned, comparing the credentials of one human being to another, little is gained except to prove who is a true teacher and who is a false one. That is a necessary evil that has to be settled at times (as it was here in Corinth). Paul must not only engage in the contest, he must win it! It came to that point in Corinth! So Paul cites credentials that no other human being could claim (except, perhaps, the apostle John). He cites the vision and the revelation no other had experiencedbeing caught up into the third heaveninto Paradise. Paul undoubtedly had many visions and revelations. We know about four of them. The first was his conversion experience on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:3-6; Acts 22:6 ff; Acts 26:12 ff). The second is simply referred to in Galatians 1:11. The third would be his call to Macedonia (Acts 16:9-10). And the fourth would be the one he cites here in 2 Corinthians 12:1-21. We would probably have heard nothing about any of them had not the defense of his gospel message necessitated their telling. We note that it had been fourteen years after the event that he finally decided he must tell of his being caught up into Paradise. And even here he is using this unique experience only as an introduction to the event in which he is really going to boastthe thorn in the flesh.

Why does he speak of himself in the third person? The Greek verb oida is present tense, meaning, I am knowing a man. It was not so mystical and ethereal that he could not remember it. But it may have been so totally spiritual (disencumbered of all that is material and physical) that he simply did not know whether he was there in his earthly body (or any kind of body) or not! Some think Paul uses the third person to down-play any possible implication of egotism on his part. Twice he says he does not knowbut that God knows. Evidently, the mode of his existence in Paradise was one of those things he was not supposed to know or utter.

Fourteen years ago would place the event about 43 A.D., about 10 years after his conversion near the time he was helping Barnabas at Antioch (Acts 13:1 ff). The third heaven (Gr. tritou ouranou) is Paul's best way to express in inadequate human language a reality which is outside space and time and human experience. Paul was speaking in terms contemporary with his age. The third heaven was the way the Jews talked of God's dwelling place. They believed the first heaven was the atmosphere around the earth, the clouds and the air man breathes. The second heaven was beyond the clouds out where the stars and planets were. The third heaven was the invisible realm where God's throne was. Modern man may be amused at this, or scoff at it, but it is still difficult to improve much on this language in spite of the fact that space is at least 6 billion light years away at its known limits. Every time the Bible speaks of someone having come from or gone to heaven (God's immediate presence) it is simply talking about the realm of existence which is invisible to the human eye. It is as real as anything that is visible to the human eye. It does not mean that heaven is away out there beyond the 6 billion light years of space. It just means it is a sort of fourth dimension of life and reality that is not visible to the physical senses. (see Hebrews 4:14).

Paul is knowing (Gr. oida, present tense) that this man was caught up into Paradise. He knew where he had gone, he knew he had heard things, and he knew he was not permitted to utter them. There was no fuzziness in his memory about the reality of the experience even after fourteen years! It was not a dream; it was not an imaginationit had actually happened.

Paradise in the Greek text is paradeisos. It is an oriental word, first used by the historian Xenophon, denoting the parks of Persian kings and nobles. It is an old Persian word Pairidaeza akin to the Greek compound, peri, around, and teichos, a wall. The Septuagint (the Greek language Old Testament, translated about 250 B.C.) has the Greek word paradeisos (Paradise) in Genesis 2:8 to describe Eden as God's garden. The LXX (Septuagint) also uses the word in Numbers 24:6; Isaiah 1:30; Jeremiah 29:5; Ezekiel 31:8-9. In Luke 23:43; Jesus promised the penitent thief that he would be with Christ that very day in Paradise. Jesus sent a letter to the church at Ephesus to tell all who conquered they would be granted to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God (Revelation 2:7). We assume Abraham's bosom (Luke 16:19-31) is the same as Paradise. There the beggar was comforted while the unbelieving rich man was in torments separated from Paradise by an impassable gulf. Paul was caught into (Gr. eis) the third heaven. The Greek text does not say he was caught up. He was snatched away (Gr. harpagenta) through the dimension of space and time or outside the physical realm immediately into the realm of the totally spiritual where the living Christ dwells. What do we know about Paradise? It is (1) a beautiful, perfect garden (like Eden) where man is surrounded by everlasting goodness, perfection, enjoyment, satisfaction, accomplishment, companionship, dominion and participation with God; (2) where the loving, powerful, compassionate, forgiving, tender, faithful Jesus is, having finished man's justification before God and where he takes all who trust in him; (3) the city of Almighty God, beyond this created universe, not subject to its futility and doomwhere there is no hunger or thirst, no scorching heat, no tears (Revelation 7:15-17). It is a place of eternal joy, eternal life (no death there). There is no mourning, no sorrow, no pain, no ugliness, no cares and no darkness there. It is a realm of reality that will last forever in which, by the grace of God, forgiven sinners may express their gratitude to God, serve him, and bask in his grace and goodness.

While we are in his body of dust we see Paradise by faith. But is nonetheless real, for faith makes sure what we hope for by God's faithful promise, and faith is the conviction of things not seen by the physical eye (Hebrews 11:1). We understand it is unseen (2 Corinthians 4:16-18), but we also understand it is as real as Jesus Christ's triumph over the tomb (Acts 17:30-31).

Paul's experience in Paradise was indescribable (Gr. arreta hrematta, unspeakable words). He also says it was not permissible for a man to speak of it (Gr. ouk exon anthropo lalesai). Perhaps he was so captivated by what he saw and heard he could not remember whether he was in the body or out of the body. He was undoubtedly overwhelmed or awe-struck with the majesty, perfection, holiness, power and beauty of God. He probably paid no attention to whether he had a body or not! That is how marvelous it will be in paradise. Here, we pay so much attention to the body we cannot enjoy life but there it will be just the opposite. He was like Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1 ff) (only a million times over). He was like Daniel or the apostle John who fell down as if dead when in the presence of heaven's occupants. Furthermore, he was not permitted to speak of the things he saw and heard. God assigned certain persons the job of speaking of Paradise and God assigned only certain aspects of it to be described. God has his reasons for keeping knowledge of Paradise limited to the Bible we now have. In the first place, it is beyond all comparison (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). We could not comprehend it had God given permission to describe it. There is nothing in human experience or language by which to make a comparison, thus, no adequate description. Second, we might not be able to bear what God could tell us about it (see John 16:12 ff). Should God tell us more many might neglect the spiritual exercises and necessities of this life of preparation as those did in Thessalonica (see 1 Thessalonians 4:1-18; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-28; 2 Thessalonians 3:1-18).

We rest secure in the absolute faithfulness of God's revelation through the apostles that it is the place where we shall be at home (secure, happy, fully ourselves, surrounded by love) with the Lord; that it is very far better than this vale of tears; and endures forever. It is better than we can think or imagine. It is beyond what human language can describe. The best that can be done is Genesis chapter one, and Revelation, Chapter s twenty-one and twenty-two. Beginning and ending, God's word talks about Paradise! And Paul saw it and heard it, and would not boast about having such an unparalleled experience!

2 Corinthians 12:5-6 Enigmatic Explanation: If you saw Paradise and were told you could not tell anyone else about it or brag about being the only person ever to have seen it, could you keep it a secret? How would you explain your dilemma? Paul's dilemma was that he needed to boast about his credentials as apostle, while at the same time he desperately desired that the Corinthians know him only as a simple Christian believer who was no super saint, who had his weaknesses and sufferings just as they did.

That is the reason his explanation of this tremendous experience in Paradise in these two verses (2 Corinthians 12:5-6) are so enigmatic! He wanted the Corinthians to be his friends, his brethren, and his flock because of his personal integrity, his love for them, and the spiritual power of his message rather than because of some super demonstration of apostolic authority.

He will boast on behalf of the man (Paul) who must demonstrate a super credential for his apostleship. He has to because it is the truth. He really was in Paradise. If he tells them this truth about the apostle Paul, it will not be foolish. He could boast about the excursion in Paradise for hours upon end if he wished. He could make all kinds of comparisons between his singular, supernatural trip out of this world into the next, and those other teachers in Corinth who were bragging about their background. And it would all be true because he, alone, could lay claims to such an exalted honor. But he will only mention that the event happened. He will not go on and on boasting or comparing.

What he will do is tell these brethren about the ordinary, everyday, servant of God, Paul, who lives depending upon the grace of God because of his thorn in the flesh. On his own behalf he will glory in his weakness. He started out preaching (1 Corinthians 1:26-31) to the Corinthian brethren that God's power found its energizing in things which were weak. Now he will show that he practices what he preaches. He is content with weakness because that is where the power is! Human weakness, admitted and accepted, makes available an instrument through which divine power may flow. Human weakness, admitted and accepted, turns to the source (1 Corinthians 1:30) of absolute power. Paul wished not to be judged by what he could tell about super-duper experiences but by what they have seen in his ordinary, workaday life as a servant of Christ and a preacher of the gospel.

Paul's refusal to boast and testify about his great mountaintop experience in Paradise should be a good guideline for the multitude of religious stars circulating Christendom today testifying of their great spiritual experiences or visions or revelations. People are not converted to Christ by human experiences, no matter how extraordinary. It is the gospel which is the power of God unto salvation and that is found exclusively in the scriptural record. No human experience atoned for sin; no human experience can absolutely verify the justifying grace of God; no human experience can impute Christ's righteousness to sinful man; no human experience can give birth to the Spirit of God in man's nature. Salvation for the human race was earned by the perfect life of Jesus Christ accomplished by the historical, vicarious death of Jesus Christ, and sealed (or validated) by the historical, bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. Any existential experience any human being has of salvation or sanctification follows and is totally dependent upon his knowledge of, belief in, and obedience to the Person, Jesus Christ, as documented in the facts stated above (the gospel). When Christians speak, let them speak the facts of the gospel and keep their experiences to themselves! People are converted and edified by the word of Godnot by our experiences. In fact, experiences are most often misleading. They give people the impression that Christianity is nothing more than religion which has its source in human imaginations or feelings or experiences.

Paul did not boast about being caught into Paradise because he did not get there on his own power. He did not assault the gates of heaven and fight his way in; he did not climb a bean-stalk and find the goose with the golden eggs; he did not earn a trip there by being a good little boy. He was an invited, transported, guest. He was caught to third heaven (Gr. harpagenta heos tritou ouranou). Harpagenta means, to snatch or catch away (see Acts 8:39; 1 Thessalonians 4:17; Revelation 12:5) and has the idea of force suddenly exercised. He would not boast because he probably saw the same thing going on there that John saw in his visiongreat potentates casting down their crowns in deep humility before the throne of Christ and falling down on their faces before the throne (see Revelation 4:1-11; Revelation 5:1-14; Revelation 7:1-17; Revelation 20:11-15, etc.). It was a trip for Paul that made all boasting utterly foolish, absolutely disgusting, repugnant, stupid, blasphemous! Not even an apostle who miraculously spoke in foreign languages, healed terminally ill, raised people from the dead, was commissioned to write the living and abiding word of God, and was transported to Paradise would boast! How dare we boast of anything! (Romans 3:27-28; 1 Corinthians 1:26-31; Ephesians 2:9).

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 Exasperating Extremity: Paul was given an excess (Gr. huperbole, cast over, or beyond) of revelations. He had more than any one in Corinth might claim, perhaps more than any other true apostle might claim! Wherefore, lest (Gr. hina me huperairomai, subjunctive mood, present tense) he be continually exalted or raised up there was given him a thorn in the flesh. The Greek word skolopsi is translated thorn but is often used to denote a sharp, pointed stake or stick as well as a thorn. What Paul was given hurt him like a wooden stake being driven into his flesh. It was te sarki, in the flesh and not psychological. The stake continually harassed him (Gr. kolaphize, present tense verb, to buffet, to strike with clenched fists over and over, see Matthew 26:67; Mark 14:65; 1 Corinthians 4:11; 1 Peter 2:20). Paul lived with this pounding, beating stake being driven into his flesh day after day. It is doubtful that Paul was using the words in a figurative sense so we must assume it was some form of physical handicap which was painful or some disease. We do not know precisely what it was. Some say it was some sort of ocular (eye) disease because of his need to write with large letters (Acts 9:1; Galatians 4:15; Galatians 6:11). Others think it may have been malaria which haunted the coasts of the eastern Mediterranean. Still others think it was some debilitating, impairing, painful disfigurement (a withered limb or crippling arthritis) which made him ugly and hindered his work (see 2 Corinthians 2:10). It definitely was in the flesh and not simply the opposition he suffered or some fleshly temptation he endured. William Barclay cites the view that it might have been epilepsy since in the ancient world when people saw an epileptic they spat to ward off the evil demon they suspected possessed him. In Galatians 4:14 Paul says that when the Galatians saw his infirmity they did not reject him and the Greek word literally means you did not spit at me.

What the stake was is irrelevant to us. Paul is not the only person in the Bible, or in history, who has had a stake in the flesh. People have them, are born with them, endure them every day. The fact that God permitted Satan to deliver it is the problem! It is the every recurring theological or philosophical problem of reconciling the Biblical claim of the existence of a God of absolute power and righteousness, with the opposite claim that there is a supernatural (not absolute) being who exists with powers of evil and hurtfulness and is allowed to exercise those wicked powers contiguous to the all-powerful and all-good God. Satan was permitted to harass Job (see Job, Chapter s 1 and 2). He was permitted to tempt the perfect man, Jesus. Whatever he does, he does only by the permission of God. Evil is never out of control of an Absolutely Good God. That is what the scriptures teach and that we believe, whether it appears to be so to the finite experiences and thinking of man or not! God has given sufficient evidence of his infinite and absolute power, and sufficient evidence that his propositional revelation (the Bible) is absolutely trustworthy. We may therefore believe his declarations of Satan's limited powers. God's revelation to Paul concerning the purpose of his stake in the flesh will go a long way in satisfying the Christian's mind about the presence of evil and suffering in this world. Please see Special Studies on The Problem of Evil, Questions About Whether the Devil Can Actually Perform Supernatural Deeds or Not, and, Is There Demon Possession Today As There Was During the Time of Christ's Incarnate Ministry? at the end of this chapter. If the problem of pain and evil is a real threat to your Christian stability, we suggest you make a thorough study of the Bible books of Job and Psalms, and, in addition, read The Problem of Pain, by C.S. Lewis, and, What the Bible Says About Self-Esteem, by Bruce Parmenter, pub. by College Press.

Paul's stake in the flesh was to keep him from elevating himself and losing the grace of God, to make him a vessel of God's power in the world. It was a continual reminder to him that he was not sufficient of himself. He absolutely needed God's grace! Without it he would be nothing! Without it he would be eternally lost. Whatever it took to keep in the grace of God he cherished, boasted about and was well pleased with.
C.S. Lewis writes, in, The Problem of Pain:

When Christianity says that God loves man, it really means that God loves man: not that he has some -disinterested,-' really indifferent, concern for our welfare, but that, in awaul and surprising truth, we are the objects of his love. You asked for a loving God: you have one. The great Spirit you so lightly invoked, the -Lord of terrible aspect,-' is present: not a senile benevolence that drowsily wishes you to be happy in your own way, not the cold philanthropy of a conscientious magistrate, nor the care of a host who feels responsible for the comfort of his guests, but the consuming fire himself, the love that made the worlds, persistent as the artist's love for his work and despotic as a man's love for a dog, provident and venerable as a father's love for a child, jealous, inexorable, exacting as love between the sexes..

The problem of reconciling human suffering with the existence of God who loves, is only insoluble so long as we attach a trivial meaning to the word love, and look on things as if man were the center of them. Man is not the center. God does not exist for the sake of man. Man does not exist for his own sake. Thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. We were made not primarily that we may love God (though we were made for that too), but that God may love us, that we may become objects in which the divine love may rest well pleased. To ask that God's love should be content with us as we are is to ask that God should cease to be God..
What we would here and now call our -happiness-' is not the end God chiefly has in view: but when we are such as he can love without impediment, we shall in fact be happy.

We have quoted all that to help you appreciate that God's graceeven though it may include a stake in the flesh is sufficient to make us into a person God can really take pleasure ina person humble, dependent on him, firm in conviction that he is our goodness, grateful, and able to serve others. The goodness and holiness of Jesus worked through people while he was here on earth by the power of persuasion. While here he worked on that which was matter and physical by sheer forceby miracles. But his spiritual power he worked only through those who allowed themselves to come under the persuasive, disciplining power of his grace. Grace (or, love) is the most persuasive power there is. If grace cannot mold a person into someone God can enjoy and use, nothing else can. Grace is all sufficient! Paul needed nothing else!

For God to say to an apostle, My grace is sufficient for you is to say everything there is to be said. It is the ultimate statement from God! It eliminates a long, long list of things man, in his finitude, thinks is necessary for sufficiency. The world believes itself to be insufficient if it has no money, fame, influence, comfort, political freedom, peer-esteem, happiness, independence and self-esteem (pride). All these things are unnecessary for a man's sufficiency in the judgment of God! God's grace is sufficient because the power of God is made perfect in weakness!

The Greek word teleitai (present tense verb) is translated perfect. It means to bring something to its fulfillment, its goal, its purpose, its aim. Paul is saying that continuing stakes in the flesh are God's instruments to continually bring the grace-gift of his power to its purpose in the believer's life. And what is the end God seeks by giving us his power? It is to conform us to the image of his dear Son (Romans 8:29)to make us into a Jesus-person.

Three times Paul prayed (Gr. parekalesa, called upon, besought) the Lord that his stake in the flesh should depart (Gr, aposte, fall away we get the English word apostasy from it) from him. Three times, the answer from God came back, No!My grace is sufficient for you. God hears and answers all prayers made to him. According to his own infinite wisdom and love he answers either, Yes or No. Let us be thankful that he often answers, to our eternal benefit, No. Even an apostle found himself praying to his own spiritual and eternal detriment! The Greek word arkei is translated, sufficient and literally means, sovereign, rule, enthrone (see our comments on 2 Corinthians 9:8). In other words God's answer to Paul's call that his stake in the flesh be taken away was, My grace must rule and be enthroned as sovereign in your life and this stake is necessary for that. Sinful, rebellious man will not allow God's grace to rule him without some stake continually thrust into his flesh! Yes, the goal God has for all your physical weaknesses and mine is to give us something in which we may boast and to make us content with his everlasting grace.

These next statements from Paul are almost incredible! It is never easy to endure physical weakness. But Paul says (2 Corinthians 12:9-10) that he is glad and content with his sharp stake in the flesh. The Greek word hedista is translated more gladly and is an adverb in the superlative degree literally meaning, most sweetly (see also 2 Corinthians 11:19). The Greek word eudoko is translated content and means literally, well-pleased. Paul was not bitter about his weaknesseshe was sweet. He was not merely resigned to them, he was well-pleased.

He gloried (boasted), and was pleased to do so, with insults (Gr. hubresin, English, hubris, meaning arrogances, haughtinesses, insolences toward him), with hardships (Gr. anagkais, being needy, hard-up, destitute), with persecutions (Gr. digomois, being pursued, chased, hounded), with calamities (Gr. stenochoriais, literally, narrowness of place, or between a rock and a hard-place, means, anguish and distress).

Question! Are you well-pleased when you are insulted, destitute, hounded, and between a rock and a hard-place? Are you sweet and well-pleased with your physical weaknesses and sharp, stabbing stakes in the flesh? We are not talking here about stoic resignationbut about being pleased, well-pleased. Are these weaknesses with the divine assurance of infinite grace all you need? Can you get by on just that? Lord, deliver us from our usual reaction to weaknessesshame, complaint, resentment, excusing failures, and self-indulgence for compensation. It is the way of the world to glorify human strength, beauty, fame, power, wealth and independence, or to indulge the flesh as a compensation for weaknesses and sufferings. But the way of God is diametrically opposite. The way of God is to be sweet, well-pleased and gratefully accepting the sovereign rule of God's grace as the compensation for weaknesses and sufferings. The world cannot sing that songthe world does not know that song, it is the song sung in heaven (see Revelation 15:2-4; Revelation 19:1-10; Revelation 4:1-11; Revelation 5:9-14; Revelation 7:13-17).

The creature presumptuously assumes his Creator admires human power. The Creator declares he admires human weakness which depends on the Creator's grace. No room for merit there. No room for demanding there. No room for bragging there (except in God's grace). The history book of God's dealing with mankind (the Bible) shows that God's power rested (Gr. episkenose, overshadowed) upon people the world would call weak.

How Paul could carry on a world-wide ministry, day in and day out, suffering the beatings, shipwrecks, dangers and hardships (2 Corinthians 11:21-29) he enumerates is beyond comprehension. Add to those overpowering obstacles his sharp stake in the flesh and his accomplishments for Christ are nearly incredible! It is a wonder that he could get out of bed each morning and put one foot in front of the other. When he was weak, he was strong because he was ruled every day by the sovereign grace of God. Grace, amazing grace energized him, drove him, empowered him. He was immersed in the wonderful grace of Jesus. His faith in that grace provided the energy and motivation. God's providential sustenance each day provided the necessary physical strength to fulfill his mission. What Paul wanted to do sometimes conflicted with what the Lord wanted him to do (see Acts 16:6-10), so the Lord had to redirect his plans. Perhaps the Lord did his hindering of Paul through this sharp stake in the flesh. But whatever Christ had for Paul to do, Christ supplied the physical necessities to accomplish it. What Paul had to supply was faith. Faith with God's grace produces divine power and victory in what the world calls weakness and defeat. With this powerful victory Paul is well-pleased!

Applebury's Comments

Visions and Revelations of the Lord
Scripture

2 Corinthians 12:1-10. I must needs glory, though it is not expedient; but I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ, fourteen years ago (whether in the body, I know not; or whether out of the body, I know not; God knoweth), such a one caught up even to the third heaven. 3 And I know such a man (whether in the body, or apart from the body, I know not; God knoweth), 4 how that he was caught up into Paradise and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. 5 On behalf of such a one will I glory: but on mine own behalf I will not glory, save in my weaknesses. 6 For if I should desire to glory, I shall not be foolish; for I shall speak the truth: but I forbear, lest any man should account of me above that which he seeth me to be, or heareth from me. 7 And by reason of the exceeding greatness of the revelations, that I should not be exalted overmuch, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, that I should not be exalted overmuch. 8 Concerning this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9 And he hath said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my power is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Wherefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in injuries in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

Comments

I must needs glory.Paul had been forced by existing circumstances at Corinth to boast about his weakness. Although there was nothing to be gained by it, since he had demonstrated through the miracles which he had performed as an apostle that the approval of God rested upon him, he nevertheless, proceeded to relate an incident that had happened in the life of one on behalf of whom he could boast.

visions and revelations of the Lord.Paul had been given the privilege of seeing the risen Christ at the time of his appointment to the apostleship, but the incident to which he was referring had to do with the visions and revelations which the Lord had permitted him to see and hear after his conversion.

I know a man in Christ.Although there can be no doubt that Paul was speaking of himself, he did so in an entirely impersonal manner for the simple reason that this was something that the Lord had done in contrast to the long list of weaknesses which he had experienced.

fourteen years ago.The incident was so vivid that it remained in the mind of Paul even after all those years. There is no point in trying to fix the date when this occurred, since Paul chose to point out the significant fact that it had remained in his mind throughout this long period of his labor and suffering for Christ.

whether in the body.While Paul knew exactly when the incident had occurred and what had happened at that time, he could not say whether it happened to him bodily or in the spirit. But he knew that he had been caught up even to the third heaven. It made no difference whether bodily or spiritually, for it was something the Lord had done and it had left this lasting impression upon him.

the third heaven.This expression has caused much speculation on the part of commentators. Some even suggest that after he was caught up to the third heaven he was again elevated to an even higher position called Paradise. It seems better to assume that the third heaven was Paradise where Paul heard unspeakable words.

I know such a man.Paul again emphasized the impersonal aspect of the incident. He did not know whether it was bodily experience or not, nor did it matter, for he said, God knows.

Paradise.Jesus said to the thief on the cross, Today, shalt thou be with me in Paradise. It is safe to say, then, that Paradise is the place where the Lord is. We do not know all things about the future state, but we do know that absence from the body is at home with the Lord. As to Paul's experience, he knew that he had been caught up into Paradise and had heard things that could not be revealed. See Studies in Luke, pages 278-279 and 380.

It is impossible to put into human language the glories that shall be revealed for the saints of God at the coming of Christ. John says, Beloved, now are we children of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be. But we know, that when it shall be manifested, we shall be like him; for we shall see him even as he is (1 John 3:2). This was enough to make Paul willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be at home with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8).

On behalf of such a one I will glory.In face of the boastful claims of the false teachers at Corinth, Paul had lowered himself to that which should have been entirely unnecessary: the giving of a detailed account of the sufferings which he had undergone as an apostle of Christ. But he was determined to limit his boasting to his weakness. There is no inconsistency between this and his boasting on behalf of the one to whom the Lord had given such visions and revelations, for it was a thing the Lord had done, not Paul. Furthermore, it was something that could not possibly have happened to those who were boasting about their power and position among the Corinthians for they were ministers of Satan, not of Christ. Paul occupied an unassailable position when he restricted his boasting to the things done by the Lord and his own weakness.

I shall not be foolish.It was not foolish to boast in the thing which the Lord had done. Paul spoke the truth about what the Lord had done with him and limited his remarks to this lest anyone should exalt him above what they saw in him and heard from him.

And by reason of the exceeding greatness of the revelations.Paul was now ready to relate the incident about which he had boasted. Such an exalted experience could easily tempt one who was less dedicated to Christ to distort its meaning and lead others praise him rather than the Lord. To prevent this thing from happening, there was given Paul a thorn in the flesh.

thorn in the flesh.Paul identifies this as a messenger of Satan to buffet him. Much speculation has been indulged in in an effort to identify the thorn in the flesh. No one really knows what it was, except for the things Paul said about it. It was in the flesh as a messenger of Satan and acted as an opponent in the boxing ring that kept him from being too elated over what had happened. It kept him from using what the Lord had done for him as a means of self-glory.

a messenger of Satan.Paul wrote to the Ephesians indicating that the forces of Satan are like an opposing army against which the followers of Christ must wage war. The church has been equipped with the whole armor of God with which to stand against the wiles of the devil. See Ephesians 6:10-18.

God permitted Satan to afflict Job with great bodily suffering. But Job remained steadfast and faithful to the Lord through all of it. Paul reminded the Corinthians that God would not permit them to be temped above their ability to endure, for He would with the temptation make the way of escape that they might be able to endure it. See 1 Corinthians 10:13. In this life, the people of God constantly face the enemy who will destroy them unless they remain faithful to the Lord.

I besought the Lord thrice.Whatever this thorn in the flesh was, it brought such distress to Paul that he asked the Lord three times that it might depart from him. The answer was: My grace is sufficient for thee: for my power is made perfect in weakness.

God does not always answer our requests in the manner in which we might expect. Certainly He was not deaf to the plea that Paul made. The favor that He had already bestowed on him in commissioning him as an apostle of Christ, in endowing him with all the signs of an apostle, in providentially watching over him through all the things he suffered for the sake of Christ, was sufficient to assure him that he could triumph over this thing even though it had brought him great distress. He had written to the Corinthians in the first letter about his apostleship despite his having persecuted the church of God. He said, By the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not found vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace which was with me (1 Corinthians 15:10).

for my power is made perfect in weakness.Paul's reason for relating this experience is now made clear. The thorn in the flesh symbolized human weakness. There were some things that he could not do; only the Lord could have caught him up to the third heaven. Thus the power of the Lord stood in bold contrast to the weakness of Paul even though he was a true apostle of Christ.

that the power of Christ may rest upon me.Jesus had promised the eleven that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit should come upon them. See Acts 1:8. On the Day of Pentecost they were baptized in the Holy Spirit and were empowered to speak in other languages that those who heard the message on that day might know that it came from God. More than that, they were enabled to perform miracles that demonstrated that the Spirit of God was speaking through them. See Acts 2:43 and Hebrews 2:3-4.

All of the signs of an apostle were done by Paul in the midst of the Corinthians. God's providential protection had covered him like a tent that protects the desert traveler from the burning sun. For all this, Paul gladly boasted in his own weakness.

I take pleasure in weakness.Paul had listed the weaknesses that were his, the injuries he had sustained, the wants in which he had found himself, the persecutions which he had endured and the distresses which he had undergone for Christ's sake.

for when I am weak, then I am strong.This is the remarkable climax of the boasting that was forced upon Paul. Being aware of his weakness, he had committed himself to the providential care of the Lord. Knowing his weakness, he determined to preach Christ and Him crucified, for therein lay his strength.