INTRODUCTION
The previous section of this letter ended with Paul being lowered from a city wall in a basket, a humiliating departure. In this next section Paul describes being carried up into the highest heaven, providing a stark contrast indeed. This boast was necessary because apparently the false apostles were trumpeting some of their ecstatic experiences, and this required a response.
THE TEXT
“It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities. For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me. And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong” (2 Corinthians 12:1–10).
SUMMARY OF THE TEXT
All this boasting is no good, so here’s a little more of it (v. 1). Let us talk about visions and revelations. This is embarrassing, so Paul shifts to the third person (although he comes back to the first person in v. 7). He knew a man who fourteen years before was caught up into the third heaven (v. 2), but he was not sure if it was in the body or not. Fourteen years prior would have been around A.D. 42, prior to the first missionary journey. Only God knows if it was in the body or not (v. 3). This man in paradise heard things there that would not be lawful for him to repeat (v. 4). I will boast of third-person me, but if it comes to first-person me, the only thing I can brag about are my infirmities (v. 5). Even if Paul wanted to boast, which he doesn’t, he will not go too far into that folly. He is going to lay off, in case anyone thinks more highly of Paul than what they can see or hear (v. 6). The vision of paradise was so exalted that God gave him a thorn in the flesh to keep him centered and steady (v. 7). Paul sought the Lord three times for that thorn’s removal (v. 8)—as the Lord Himself had done in Gethsemane. God, in His severe mercy, said no. The reason was that God’s grace is perfected in weakness (v. 9). Our infirmities are the kiln in which God solidifies the final gloss. In submission to this decision, Paul says that he will gladly glory in his infirmities, so that the power of Christ might rest upon him (v. 9). He says it another way. He takes pleasure in . . . in what? Infirmities, reproaches, necessities, persecutions, and distresses—these are all leaves in his laurel crown. All this is for Christ’s sake—because when he is weak, in that moment he is strong (v. 10).
DIFFERENT HEAVENS
This reference to paradise here is one of three references in the New Testament. In Revelation 2:7, it is the location of the tree of life. In Luke 23:43, Christ tells the thief on the cross that they will be together that day in paradise. And in this place, Paul equates paradise with the third heaven (vv. 2, 4).
But Jesus also said that He was going to spend three days and three nights in the heart of the earth (Matt. 12:40), which would make paradise subterranean, like Abraham’s bosom (Luke 16:22). So I take the Lord’s resurrection and ascension as the time when He transferred paradise up to the heavenly realms (Matt. 27:52; Eph. 4:8-10).
THAT MYSTERY THORN
Calvin once said that the apostle Paul had “troubles hard enough to break a thousand hearts.” This exalted experience had happened before a lot of those troubles had occurred, and it was such an ecstatic event that God gave Paul a thorn in the flesh to keep him from getting exalted “above measure.” Always keep one eye on the false apostles. If Paul needed a great trial to keep him from getting conceited, what could be done for those false brothers who were already conceited?
We cannot say for sure what that thorn was. My supposition is that it was failing eyesight, which would have been a great grief to a scholar like Paul—to whom certain manuscripts were precious (2 Tim. 4:13). Paul says that the Galatians had loved him so much they would have donated their eyes to him (Gal. 4:15). He signed that letter in large letters (Gal. 6:11). When he was on trial in the Sanhedrin, he could not see or identify the high priest (Acts 23:5).
WATER TO WINE, WEAKNESS TO STRENGTH
Power in weakness is one of Paul’s great themes in his instruction of the Corinthian church. They had despaired of life itself one time (2 Cor. 1:8-9). We have our treasure in jars of clay, Paul had said earlier, in reference to a hornet’s nest of troubles. Death was at work in him, but life in the Corinthians (2 Cor. 4:7-12). Then there was that long litany of abuse earlier (2 Cor. 6:4-10), and we have not forgotten what we just learned in the previous chapter (2 Cor. 11:23-33).
And what is Paul’s response to his request to have the thorn removed? If it was his eyesight, he was asking to be able to see his troubles better. When God said no, after the third request, Paul says several remarkable things. He says that he boasts in his infirmities, and that he does so gladly (v. 9). Doing this is so that the power of Christ might rest upon him. This is not just admirable stoicism. He is pursuing glory. Whatever else this infirmity can do, it bears the weight of the power of Christ. And this is why Paul takes pleasure in his troubles—not out of masochism, but rather as someone who knew how to read the story he was in.