week 12 day 2

Read 2 Corinthians 12

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Corinthians%2012&version=NIV

12:1–6 Paul continued his “foolish” boasting by recounting the visions and revelations he had received (12:1). These revelations did not illustrate Paul’s weakness (11:30), but they set the context for the weakness of his “thorn in [his] flesh” (12:7). The point was that even though Paul had extremely privileged knowledge, he did not flaunt it. His visions had occurred fourteen years earlier, and yet Paul had kept them secret. The visions (12:2) Paul recalled took place around a.d. 42 while Paul was still in Tarsus before Barnabas brought him to Antioch (Acts 11:25–26). The “third heaven” (12:2) and “paradise” (12:4; Luke 23:43; Rev. 2:7) refer to the place where God dwells. Paul’s credentials were based on firsthand witness, not past glories (12:6).

12:7–10 Paul’s sphere of boasting was in his weakness (12:5–10; cf. 5:12; 11:16–33). No one knows for sure what Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” (12:7) was, but it has been speculated that it was some kind of eye disease (cf. Gal. 4:13–15; 6:11).

The focus in these verses is on Paul’s weakness. He had asked God for deliverance from a specific weakness three times. Finally, a direct word from God showed Paul that he was, in reality, trying to throw away God’s gift that kept his fleshly nature from boasting of his privileged position. Paul may have been caught up to heaven, but during his time of struggle with his “thorn,” God had kept him in the dark. His affliction had to meet grace in order to bring about its God-intended result.

Paul thought God’s grace would include the removal of the suffering. But God’s grace was related to his sufficiency at all times, not to the presence or absence of suffering. Paul wanted to increase his power by the removal of the “thorn.” God showed him where his true sufficiency was. Power came through seeing weakness as the very vehicle for manifesting the power of Christ, not through gradually eliminating mortal weaknesses. Weaknesses show the inadequacy of the vessel and affirm the ever-present grace and power of the Spirit within. This had been Paul’s argument throughout the letter (1:9; 4:7, 11, 16–18).

12:11–13 The Corinthians should have commended Paul, but instead they condemned him and forced him to defend himself. Miracles (12:12) had the specific purpose, in biblical times, of authenticating messengers and their message. Paul’s miracles authenticated his apostleship. Paul had given patient exhortations throughout 2 Corinthians 1–7. In 11:1–12:10 he gave a most intimate look into his private reasons for boasting in weakness. Here, his sarcasm (12:13) is still set in the context of patient and careful exhortation.

12:14–18 In 12:15–18 two elements introduce the conclusion of the letter: (1) Paul was about to make his third visit, and (2) he sought the Corinthians, not their money. Titus had gone to Corinth in Paul’s behalf (12:18; cf. 2 Cor. 7:6, 13; 8:6). The slander against Paul in this section was that he used his friends to take people’s money while he himself came off as self-sacrificing and innocent.

12:19–21 Paul’s purpose was edification in God’s sight, not self-seeking defense (cf. 2:17). The Corinthians thought Paul was on the defensive, trying to vindicate himself from a wrong that he had committed. But he had done no wrong.

The concepts of defense and commendation (3:1; 4:2; 5:12; 6:4; 7:11; 10:11–12) are closely related. In 12:19 Paul clarified the difference between how the letter might be perceived (defensive) and how it was actually designed (for edification). The letter’s many defensive and sarcastic sounding passages just show how extreme the situation was. Paul had to go to extreme lengths to get through to the Corinthians.

Discussion question

How do you think Paul’s “thorn” affected his life?

Reflection question

Reflect on verse 9. How do you feel about it? Can this verse change the way you look at your “thorn?”