2nd Corinthians 12:7-10 | The Thorn in the Flesh
Tonight we are going to look at this thorn in the flesh that the Apostle Paul talks about. He first starts mentioning it in verse 5 “5 Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities.”. Before we get into this passage, let me give you some introductory thoughts. There is a lot of debate in this passage because the Apostle Paul doesn’t go into a lot of detail about this thorn in the flesh. People have different thoughts on it. I’m not dogmatic about it because it is not 100% clear.
My thoughts are that this thorn in the flesh is a physical ailment. This is probably the most common view. In verse 5 he says “infirmities” and in verse 7 he says “thorn in the flesh”. I believe this is a physical ailment. Some people believe it is a devil that is bothering him but I believe it is a physical ailment. Specifically I believe this has to do with the Apostle Paul’s eyes.
Go to Acts 9. Acts 9:4 “4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. 6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.”. Let me just say this. I’m not preaching about Paul’s conversion but I do want to mention that the Apostle Paul did not get saved on this road like many people believe. Everyone gets saved the same way when a soulwinner gives them the gospel and they call on the Lord for salvation. Ananias preaches to Paul. Why didn’t Jesus preach the gospel to him? God has given to us the ministry of reconciliation.
Acts 9:7 “7 And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. 8 And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.”. Paul was blinded for 3 days when he met the Lord on the road to Damascus. When Ananias shows up and preaches the gospel to him, this is when his eye sight is restored. My opinion is that his eyesight was never 100% fully restored after this time period. I believe he always had a struggle with his eyes after this. This is completely an opinion so I’m letting you know that.
Let me give you a correlation for why I believe that. If you remember in the Old Testament, you had Jacob. Jacob wrestled with the pre-incarnate, 2nd member of the Godhead – The Lord Jesus Christ. We know that because Jacob said that he saw God with his eyes. Jacob meets this man which we know is the Lord Jesus Christ. There are similarities with this and Paul’s encounter with Jesus. Saul meets Jesus and afterward his name is changed. Jacob meets Jesus and his name is changed from Jacob to Israel. Paul meets Jesus and at that meeting he is physically disabled. He is blinded. Jacob meets Jesus and Jacob’s thigh is touched and Jacob limped on that leg for the rest of this life. That limp was a reminder of the day that he met Jesus. This is what Jesus had to do to get Jacob’s attention. To me it makes sense that since Jacob never fully recovers that Paul never fully recovers either. That is my thought.
Let me give you 1 more kind of evidence for why I believe his thorn in the flesh had to do with his eyesight. In Galatians, Paul is writing to the Church of Galatia. In Galatians 6:11 he says “11 Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand.”. Now the Apostle Paul is referring to the fact that he is writing this letter to the Galatians and he says it is a large letter. He is not referring in my opinion to the length of the letter because the Book of Galatians is only 6 chapters. There are books that he wrote which are much longer. I believe he is referring to the fact that his writing was very large. In other books, Paul often dictates his letters to other people. For whatever reason, the Book of Galatians Paul writes himself. This seems to be another clue that the Apostle Paul struggled with his eyesight. Usually Paul didn’t write his own letters which could indicate trouble with eyesight. When he does write one, he talks about how large of a letter it was.
Also in Galatians 4:15, Paul says “13 Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first. 14 And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. 15 Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? for I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me.”. Paul is communicating that this Church loved Paul so much that they would have been willing to pluck out their eyes and give them to Paul which would be a strange compliment unless you have a problem with your eyes. All of these things indicate to me that the Apostle Paul has some sort of trouble with his eyes.
Let me give you 1 more thing in way of introduction. Whatever the thorn in the flesh was, there are some things that we know for certain about this thorn. We won’t all have problems with our eyes or physical ailments but we will all have our own crosses to bear or things that bother or hurt us. I believe God had Paul keep this vague for a reason. Whatever the thorn in the flesh is, it doesn’t really matter. You can apply it to whatever struggle or storm of life that you go through.
What characteristics do we have about this thorn? The first one is that it was humiliating. 2nd Corinthians 12:7 “7 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.”. Paul says that because he was given an abundance of revelation. What Paul means by this is that Paul wrote most of the New Testament. I believe he is referring to the fact that he was used to pen down most of the New Testament for us. Of course if you take that verse in its context, he just got done talking about this man who went up to the 3rd heaven and couldn’t repeat it. I’m sure he is referring to that also.
Paul is stating that because he got the opportunity to see revelations in heaven and got to write so much of the Bible, he was given this thorn in the flesh. This prevented Paul from getting too arrogant or lifting himself up. This thorn in the flesh was humiliating. Maybe there is something in your life that is not the greatest thing to boast or brag about it. Maybe there is something that you have which is embarrassing that you don’t want to talk about.
Secondly, not only was this thorn humiliating but this thorn made him weak. 2nd Corinthians 12:9 “9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness….”. This thorn kept him weak and prevented him from accomplishing some things that he wanted to. It was humiliating and it was debilitating.
Thirdly, it was painful. 2nd Corinthians 12:7 “7 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,…”. Buffeting him means something that was hitting him or painful. If this is a physical ailment then I believe that it was physically painful. However, it could also be emotional pain. Whatever it is, the Apostle Paul had something in his life that he did not want. There was something that was humiliating, debilitating and painful. I believe God gives us this passage because this is something that some people in this room can relate to. People in this room have thorns in the flesh of physical problems and things that buffet us or give us pain.
Let us jump into the passage now. We will look at 3 thoughts regarding this thorn in the flesh. Point 1 – The request. 2nd Corinthians 12:8 “8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.”. This is something that Paul made a request for. He went to God on 3 different occasions to pray and ask God to get rid of it. I don’t necessarily believe this is 3 times that Paul prayed and asked but maybe 3 seasons of prayer where he requested for it to depart. Maybe at times it got very painful and he really besought God to remove it. He might have taken days or weeks of fasting to beg God to remove it.
I don’t know how Paul prayed about this. However, I do know that Paul was a bit of a Type-A personality. I’d imagine he said something like this “God, you know I can do more soulwinning if you remove this. I can start more Churches. I can travel more. I can accomplish more.”. 2nd Corinthians 12:8 “8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.”. It’s interesting that our usual response to difficulty is to try to get God to take it away. I don’t think there is anything wrong with that. However, what we learn from the Apostle Paul is that it isn’t always God’s plan to remove it.
Let us make a few applications. Paul believed that God would hear his prayer. Paul was not just a Christian praying and serious about his walk with God. Paul the Apostle is someone who God knows hears his prayer. Paul is a man who was used by God to heal other people. The Bible shows us the power of the Holy Spirit that was upon the life of Paul. Imagine being able to lay hands on people and heal them but when you come to God yourself for a personal ailment and God doesn’t heal you. Paul was not wondering if God heard his prayer. Of course we aren’t Paul. However, God is not a respecter of persons. As much as God is willing to listen to Paul, God is willing to listen to us pray to him.
1st John 5:14 “14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:”. We have the opportunity to come into the throne of God and give our requests before God Almighty. James 1:6 “6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.”. The Bible tells us that we have confidence that if we ask that God will hear us. Realize that simply asking doesn’t guarantee that God will answer that prayer. There are requirements such as asking according to his will. We need to ask in faith believing that God can answer that prayer.
Let me give you the main reason why prayers don’t get answer. James 4:2 “2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.”. The biggest reason prayers aren’t answered is because we don’t pray. In order to have answered prayers, you have to pray. When you do pray, make sure that you are praying according to the will of God. You need to pray in faith. You need to pray being right with God. Paul believed that God would hear his prayer and we must also believe that God hears our prayers.
Here is a convicting thought. Christians who are mightily used by God have active prayer lives. James 5:16 “16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”. Effectual means effective. Did you know prayer works? Coming to God and asking works. However, notice how it said “of a righteous man”.
Verse 17 “17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.”. He prayed earnestly or with passion and effort. Verse 18 “18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.”. Qualifications for prayer include praying, praying in God’s will, praying in faith, be a righteous man. You have to be right with God. Did you know that your relationship with God and how right you are largely affecting how much God will hear your prayer. If there is a problem within your relationship in marriage then God won’t hear us. You can’t live a sinful life and expect God to answer our requests. It is a sobering thought that Christians that are greatly used by God are very active in their prayer lives. We need to get more serious about prayers. “ye have not because ye ask not”. We see Paul’s request.
Go back to 2nd Corinthians 12. Point 1 – The request. Point 2 – The response. 2nd Corinthians 12:8 “8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee:…”. What does God’s response mean? It means no. Paul the Apostle helped heal others and he beseeches God in prayer and asks God to take away his thorn. God’s response is “No.”. Paul felt like he needed something or wanted something. God basically says that Paul has everything that he needs. 2nd Corinthians 12:8 “9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness….”.
We need to realize that when we come to God, sometimes the answer from God is no. We can’t expect God to say yes to every request that we make. Sometimes people complain that they prayed to God and they didn’t get what they want. Maybe the answer was no. Maybe God did answer their prayer but not with the answer that they wanted. You can’t expect God to say yes to every request we make. You better make sure that how you pray lines up with the requirements such as praying, praying in his will, being right with God and praying in faith. However, even if all of those things are correct, the answer from God might be no.
When we pray in faith, we need to have the faith that God knows best. Faith is not believing that God will give you what you ask for. Unless the Bible says that God will do something, God doesn’t have to do it. God will not submit himself under your authority. Faith is not believing that God will but believing that God can. Faith is coming to God with the belief that he can and be willing to accept whatever answer that God gives. We have to realize that sometimes the answer is yes and our faith shouldn’t be shaken just because we don’t get the answer that we want. Believing that God can doesn’t mean that God must or that God will.
In Daniel 3, Nebuchadnezzar has made a statue and required everyone to worship it. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refuse to do that because it is wrong. Daniel 3:16 “16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.”. They don’t have to take time to think about it because they live by standards and have already made their choice. Verse 17 “17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.”. They say that God is able to deliver them.
Daniel 3:18 “18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.”. You see, they had faith because they said he is able. However, they also state in verse 18 “but if not”. God can but it doesn’t mean that God will. They don’t presume to know the will of God. Faith is “God can. I hope that God will. If not, it doesn’t change anything.”. This is faith unwavering.
There might be some thorn that you are struggling with. You are wondering why God isn’t hearing you but he does hear you. You are wondering why he doesn’t answer but maybe he did answer. There might be things in your life that God knows best.
Just recently there was a shooting in Texas. I bring this up because I remember of a shooting years ago in Northern Illinois University. There was this girl at the University who got really sick. She had a big exam and she prayed to get better and she had her Deacon pray to get better. With each prayer she got worse. The answer from God was “No”. Later on they heard that a gunman walked into class that day. It happened in the classroom that she was supposed to take an exam in. Sometimes the answer is “No” and God knows best. We have to trust in God.
Faith is not believing that God will answer every prayer. Faith is believing that God can answer any prayer but also that God knows best. Paul went to the Lord and the response from God was “My grace is sufficient for thee”.
We saw the request and response but let us look at the rejoicing. You wouldn’t expect rejoicing when there is a thorn in the flesh that hurts, humiliates and debilitates you. 2nd Corinthians 12:9 “9 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.”. God might be giving you a trial to make you the kind of purpose that God wants you to be. Paul looks at this as a negative that he is weak. However, God wants Paul to be weak so he has to rely on God.
2nd Corinthians primarily is given to ministers. However, this applies to all of us. If you want to be greatly used by God, there is a price. The price for Paul is this thorn in the flesh. God may be using whatever the trial or trouble in your life that is painful and humiliating to make you weak. Why? So in Christ you can be strong.
2nd Corinthians 12:9 “…Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 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.”. Paul says that if you are going to boast about anything then we should boast in these things. Why would we boast in these things? When we are weak, we are actually strong.
The beautiful thought is that if God can change your circumstances and doesn’t then you can receive those circumstances as God allowing them in your life for a certain purpose and plan. You can rejoice. You can pleasure in these things for the sake of Christ. If you believe that God can but God doesn’t then you can realize that God is doing something in your life.
My wife and I were talking about this situation that we’ve been dealing with. We were talking about that it might be a permanent thing. You say “How do you deal with something like that?”. Sometimes that is all you can do. The whole point of faith is believing that God can do something but that God knows what he is doing. We must be ok with it.
1st Thessalonians 5:18 “18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”. We should give thanks even if something is painful, humiliating and permanent. It doesn’t say to give thanks for everything. It says to give thanks in everything. Faith is believing that God can but if God chooses not to then God knows best. We see Paul’s request, the response and the rejoicing of Paul.
Let’s pray.