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<h2><a onclick="return mV('2Cr',12,'1-');">2Cr 12</a> - The Strength of Grace in Weakness</h2>
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<p>A. Paul's vision and its legacy in his life.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('2Cr',12,'1-6');">1-6</a>) Paul reluctantly describes his vision.</p>
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<p class="c2">It is doubtless not profitable for me to boast. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord: I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago; whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows; such a one was caught up to the third heaven. And I know such a man; whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows; how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. Of such a one I will boast; yet of myself I will not boast, except in my infirmities. For though I might desire to boast, I will not be a fool; for I will speak the truth. But I refrain, lest anyone should think of me above what he sees me <i>to be</i> or hears from me.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord</span></b>: The "super apostles" among the Corinthian Christians no doubt claimed many spectacular spiritual experiences, such as <b><span class="c3">visions and revelations of the Lord</span></b>. Paul has been "reluctantly boasting" since the last chapter, so now he will boast of his own <b><span class="c3">visions and revelations of the Lord</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Paul's reluctance is expressed in his opening words of this chapter: <b><span class="c3">It is doubtless not profitable for me to boast</span></b>. Paul is tired of writing about himself! He would much rather write about Jesus! But the worldly thinking which made the Corinthian Christians think little of Paul was also making them think little of Jesus, even if they couldn't perceive it.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Visions and revelation</span></b> – whether they are of angels, Jesus, heaven, or other things - are more common in the New Testament than we might think.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, had a vision of an angel (<a onclick="return mV('Luk',1,'8-23');">Luk 1:8-23</a>).</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. Jesus' transfiguration is described as a vision for the disciples (<a onclick="return mV('Mat',17,9);">Mat 17:9</a>).</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. The women who came to visit Jesus' tomb had a vision of angels (<a onclick="return mV('Luk',24,'22-24');">Luk 24:22-24</a>).</p>
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<p class="c5">iv. Stephen saw a vision of Jesus at his death (<a onclick="return mV('Act',7,'55-56');">Act 7:55-56</a>).</p>
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<p class="c5">v. Ananias experienced a vision telling him to go to Saul (<a onclick="return mV('Act',9,10);">Act 9:10</a>).</p>
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<p class="c5">vi. Peter had a vision of the clean and unclean animals (<a onclick="return mV('Act',10,'17-19');">Act 10:17-19</a> and <a onclick="return mV('Act',11,5);">11:5</a>).</p>
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<p class="c5">vii. Peter had a vision of an angel at his release from prison (<a onclick="return mV('Act',12,9);">Act 12:9</a>).</p>
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<p class="c5">viii. John had many visions on Patmos (<a onclick="return mV('Rev',1,1);">Rev 1:1</a>).</p>
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<p class="c5">ix. Paul had a revelation of Jesus on the road to Damascus (<a onclick="return mV('Act',22,'6-11');">Act 22:6-11</a> and <a onclick="return mV('Act',26,'12-20');">26:12-20</a>).</p>
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<p class="c5">x. Paul had vision of a man from Macedonia, asking him to come to that region to help (<a onclick="return mV('Act',16,'9-10');">Act 16:9-10</a>).</p>
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<p class="c5">xi. Paul had an encouraging vision while in Corinth (<a onclick="return mV('Act',18,'9-11');">Act 18:9-11</a>).</p>
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<p class="c5">xii. Paul had a vision of an angel on the ship that was about to be wrecked (<a onclick="return mV('Act',27,'23-25');">Act 27:23-25</a>).</p>
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<p class="c5">xiii. So, we should not be surprised if God should speak to us through some type of <b><span class="c3">visions and revelations of the Lord</span></b>. But we do understand that such experiences are <i>subjective</i>, and prone to misunderstanding and misapplication. In addition, whatever real benefit there are to <b><span class="c3">visions and revelations of the Lord</span></b>, they are almost always limited to the one receiving the <b><span class="c3">visions and revelations</span></b>. We should be rather cautious when someone reports a vision or revelation they have regarding us.</p>
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<p class="c5">xiv. "How often people have wanted to tell me about their visions! I am always suspicious. I want to know what they had for supper the night before! If people have visions of this sort they are silent about them." (Morgan)</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">I know a man in Christ</span></b>: Paul describes this experience in the third person instead of the first person ("I myself had this experience"). This had made some wonder if he is really speaking about himself here, or if is speaking of someone else. But because he transitions into the first person in verse seven, we may be assured that he really is writing about himself.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Then why does he use the third person at all? Because Paul, in describing this remarkable spiritual experience, is describing just the kind of thing that the "super apostles" among the Corinthian Christians would glory in. When he described his humble experiences in <a onclick="return mV('2Cr',11,'23-30');">2Cr 11:23-30</a>, he did not hesitate to write in the first person. No one would think he was glorifying himself as the "super apostles" did. But here, he walks more carefully. He is doing every thing he can to relate this experience without bringing glory to himself.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">Fourteen years ago</span></b>: This dating by Paul<b><span class="c3"> </span></b>does little to help us know when this happened, because scholars are not in agreement regarding when 2 Corinthians was written.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Suggestions have been made the experience he describes happened during Paul's ten years in Syria and Cilicia (<a onclick="return mV('Gal',1,21);">Gal 1:21</a> — <a onclick="return mV('Gal',2,1);">2:1</a>), at his stoning in Lystria (<a onclick="return mV('Act',14,19);">Act 14:19</a>), or during his time in Antioch (<a onclick="return mV('Act',13,'1-3');">Act 13:1-3</a>).</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. The important thing to notice is that Paul kept quiet about this for <b><span class="c3">fourteen years</span></b>, and now he mentions it reluctantly.</p>
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<p class="c4">e. <b><span class="c3">Whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows</span></b>: Paul doesn't really know if he was <b><span class="c3">in the body</span></b> or <b><span class="c3">out of the body </span></b>during this vision. It seems that in his mind, either one was possible.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Many might ask, what really happened to Paul? Was he carried up <b><span class="c3">in the body</span></b> to heaven, or did his spirit separate itself from his body and go there? The whole point of the passage is that if Paul didn't know, we can't know. In fact, Paul emphasizes the point by repeating the idea twice (in verse two and in verse three). Therefore, speculation at this point is useless. "As he could not decide himself, it would be ridiculous in us to attempt it." (Clarke)</p>
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<p class="c4">f. <b><span class="c3">Such a one was caught up to the third heaven</span></b>: The <b><span class="c3">third heaven </span></b>doesn't suggest different "levels" of heaven (although this is what some ancient Jewish Rabbis believed). Instead, Paul is using terminology common in that day, which referred to the "blue sky" as the <i>first</i> heaven, the "starry sky" as the <i>second</i> heaven, and the <i>third</i> heaven as the place where God lived and reigned.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. "In the sacred writings <i>three</i> heavens only are mentioned. The <i>first</i> is the <i>atmosphere</i>...The <i>second</i>, the starry heaven...And, <i>thirdly</i>, the <i>place of the blessed</i>, or the <i>throne of the Divine glory</i>." (Clarke)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. So, this <b><span class="c3">such a one</span></b> – whom we understand to be Paul himself – was <b><span class="c3">caught up to </span></b>the <b><span class="c3">heaven</span></b> where God was. Paul had a vision or an experience of the throne of God, just as Isaiah (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',6,1);">Isa 6:1</a>) and John (<a onclick="return mV('Rev',4,'1-2');">Rev 4:1-2</a>) did.</p>
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<p class="c4">g. <b><span class="c3">He was caught up into Paradise</span></b>: Paul identifies this <b><span class="c3">third heaven </span></b>as <b><span class="c3">Paradise</span></b>. The word <b><span class="c3">Paradise</span></b> is taken from the Persian word for an enclosed, luxurious garden often only found among royalty in the ancient world.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Some early Christians wrongly thought <b><span class="c3">Paradise</span></b> was the place where souls of believers went after death to await resurrection. <span > </span>Some of them (like the ancient theologian Origen) even believed <b><span class="c3">Paradise</span></b> was located somewhere on the earth's surface.</p>
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<p class="c4">h. <b><span class="c3">And heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter</span></b>: In describing this heavenly vision, Paul doesn't relate anything he <i>saw</i>; only a shadowy description of what he <b><span class="c3">heard</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. When we think of this, we realize how different Paul is than most of those who describe their so-called "visions" of heaven today. First, Paul waiting fourteen years to say anything about the incident and he only said anything about it reluctantly. He does everything he can in relating the story to take the focus off of himself (such as writing in the third person). And he doesn't bother at all with breathless descriptions of what he actually experienced. Instead, he says nothing of what he saw, and says of what he heard only they were things <b><span class="c3">not lawful for a man to utter</span></b>. There is <i>nothing</i> self-glorying, self-aggrandizing, or foolish in his description of his experience.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. So what did Paul hear? We don't know! They were <b><span class="c3">inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter</span></b>. God didn't want us to know, so He didn't give Paul permission to speak.</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. However, some commentators can't resist speculating: "It is probable that the apostle refers to some communication concerning the Divine nature and the Divine economy, of which he was only to make a <i>general</i> use in his <i>preaching</i> and <i>writing</i>. No doubt that what he learned at this time formed the <i>basis</i> of all his doctrines." (Clarke)</p>
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<p class="c4">i. <b><span class="c3">Of such a one I will boast; yet of myself I will not boast, except in my infirmities</span></b>: Paul is essentially saying that this "nameless" man who had the vision really had something to <b><span class="c3">boast</span></b> about. But "Paul himself" really could only <b><span class="c3">boast</span></b> in his <b><span class="c3">infirmities</span></b>, which was exactly what he did in <a onclick="return mV('2Cr',11,'23-30');">2Cr 11:23-30</a>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. <b><span class="c3">Thought I might desire to boast, I will not be a fool</span></b>: Again, Paul is sharply – and humorously – contrasting himself with the "super apostles" among the Corinthian Christians. They would not hesitate to <b><span class="c3">boast</span></b> about the kind of vision Paul had. In fact, they would write books, make tapes and videos, and go on speaking tours about such a vision! And if they did, each of them would <b><span class="c3">be a fool</span></b>. Paul will not <b><span class="c3">be a fool</span></b>, so he will not boast in this vision.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. At the same time, we almost sense that it was important for Paul to communicate to the Corinthian Christians that <i>he really did have such experiences</i>. Often, it is easy to think that the only ones who have profound experiences with God are those who <b><span class="c3">boast</span></b> about them constantly. Paul never did, but he certainly had profound experiences with God. The proof of those profound experiences was found in his transformed life and powerful, truthful, ministry.</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. So, Paul felt it important to <i>mention</i> this experience, but not to <i>dwell</i> on it in any way. He wasn't trying to "sell" himself to the Corinthian Christians. In fact, he holds back from his description (<b><span class="c3">But I forbear</span></b>), because he didn't want to persuade the Corinthian Christians that he was just another "super apostle" (<b><span class="c3">lest anyone should think of me above what he sees me to be or hears from me</span></b>). If the Corinthian Christians thought Paul was weak and different than the "super apostles," that was fine with him. He wanted the Corinthian Christians to see the glory of God expressed in weakness, not to see him as "great" as the "super apostles."</p>
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<p class="c4">j. Why was Paul given this vision? First, he was given it for you and me, so we would benefit from what the Lord showed Paul. Secondly, he was given it because what God told him through this vision sustained him through all the trials of ministry, and enabled Paul to give everything God wanted him to give to all generations. This vision helped Paul finish his course.</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('2Cr',12,7);">7</a>) The presence of Paul's thorn in the flesh.</p>
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<p class="c2">And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations</span></b>: Paul's vision was so impressive that it would have been easy for him to be <b><span class="c3">exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations</span></b>. He could have gloried in himself, or caused others to glory in him because of this experience.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Paul was not immune to the danger of pride. No one is. "The best of God's people have in them a root of pride, or a disposition to be <i>exalted above measure</i>, upon their receipt of favours from God not common to others." (Poole)</p>
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<p class="c4">b. To prevent being <b><span class="c3">exalted above measure</span></b>, Paul was given something: <b><span class="c3">a thorn in the flesh was given to me</span></b>. In this, Paul reveals the real reason for telling of his heavenly vision: not to glorify himself, but to explain his <b><span class="c3">thorn in the flesh</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. It seems that everyone could see the <b><span class="c3">thorn in the flesh</span></b> Paul suffered from. It was no secret. His heavenly vision was a secret until now, but everyone saw the <b><span class="c3">thorn</span></b>. Some among the Corinthian Christians probably thought less of Paul because of his <b><span class="c3">thorn in the flesh</span></b>, but they knew nothing of the amazing spiritual experience that lay behind it!</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. "He says, 'There was <i>given</i> to me.' He reckoned his great trial to be a gift. It is well put. He does not say, 'There was inflicted upon me a thorn in the flesh,' but 'There was given to me.'" (Spurgeon)</p>
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<p class="c4">c. What is a <b><span class="c3">thorn in the flesh</span></b>? When we think of a <b><span class="c3">thorn</span></b>, we think of a somewhat minor irritation. But the root word Paul uses for <b><span class="c3">thorn</span></b> here describes <i>a tent stake</i>, not a thumbtack!</p>
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<p class="c5">i. In the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint, the word <i>skolops</i> (<b><span class="c3">thorn</span></b>) shows "something which frustrates and causes trouble in the lives of those afflicted." (Kruse)</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">A thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me</span></b>: In a strange way, the <b><span class="c3">thorn</span></b> was both given (ultimately given by God), but it was also <b><span class="c3">a messenger of Satan</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Satan probably jumped at God's permission to afflict Paul, and did so with malice towards the apostle. But God had a purpose in it all, and allowed Satan's messenger to successfully keep Paul from being <b><span class="c3">exalted above measure</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. <b><span class="c3">To buffet me</span></b> means that this <b><span class="c3">thorn in the flesh</span></b>, the <b><span class="c3">messenger of Satan</span></b>, "punched" Paul. He felt that he was beaten black and blue by this <b><span class="c3">messenger of Satan</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. Paul, punched about by the devil? Who would have thought it? "Perhaps you have looked into the face of a Christian who is always smiling, who never seems to have any worry, is always happy and radiant and, as you have thought about your own circumstances, you have said in your heart, 'I wish I were he! He seems to have no problems. He doesn't have to take what I do.' But perhaps you have lived long enough, as I have, not know that sometimes the most radiant face hides great pressures, and often the man who is being most blessed of God is being most buffeted by the devil." (Redpath)</p>
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<p class="c4">e. It is interesting to consider what a counselor without a Biblical perspective would have said to Paul. Imagine that Paul tells the counselor about his great infirmity, his troublesome "thorn in the flesh," and how Paul feels weak and powerless to continue on against it. We might imagine that the counselor would say, "Well Paul, what you need a positive mental outlook to meet this problem." Or, he might say "Paul, the power is within you to conquer over this infirmity; you should look deep within the inner man to find the resources for success." Perhaps the counselor would then tell Paul "What you really need a support group of caring individuals." Or he might even seek to challenge Paul by saying "Paul, if you really had faith, you would be delivered from this thorn in the flesh." Some of this advice might be good in different circumstances. But Paul will take his problem to the Wonderful Counselor, and He will have something different to say.</p>
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<p class="c1">3. (<a onclick="return mV('2Cr',12,8);">8</a>) Paul's prayer regarding the thorn in the flesh.</p>
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<p class="c2">Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord</span></b>: Paul did exactly what he told others to do in a time of trouble. Paul believed for himself what he wrote in <a onclick="return mV('Phl',4,6);">Phl 4:6</a>: <i>Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God</i>.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">I pleaded with the Lord three times</span></b>: In fact, Paul <i>repeatedly</i> prayed about this thorn in the flesh. We might imagine that when the thorn in the flesh first appeared, Paul thought, "This is no problem. I'll just give it to the Lord in prayer." But nothing happened when he prayed. So he thought, "This is a tough one," and prayed again. When nothing happened after praying the third time, he knew God was trying to tell him something.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Some think that Paul is using a Hebrew figure of speech that really means much more than <b><span class="c3">three times</span></b>. "That does not mean three times. It is the Hebrew figure for ceaselessly, continuously, over and over again." (Morgan)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. Some say it is unspiritual and evidence of little faith to pray for something more than once. That would be surprising to Paul, who <b><span class="c3">pleaded with the Lord three times</span></b>, and to Jesus, who prayed with <i>the same words</i> three times in His agony in the Garden of Gethsemane (<a onclick="return mV('Mar',14,'39-41');">Mar 14:39-41</a>).</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. But there was nothing wrong with Paul's prayer. "God respecteth not the arithmetic of our prayers, how many they are; not the rhetoric of our prayers, how neat they are; nor the geometry of our prayers, how long they are; nor the music of our prayers, how melodious they are; nor the logic of our prayers, how methodical they are; but the divinity of our prayers, how heart-sprung they are. Not gifts, but graces prevail in prayer." (Trapp)</p>
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<p class="c4">c. Paul's prayer was <i>passionate</i>. He <b><span class="c3">pleaded with the Lord</span></b> about this matter. We might even wonder if he wasn't surprised when the prayer was not answered the first or second time.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">That it might depart from me</span></b>: Paul's initial prayer was to escape the suffering this thorn in the flesh brought him. Paul was no masochist. When he suffered, his first instinct was to ask God to take it away.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. But when his passionate, repeated plea for deliverance was not answered, it must have concerned Paul. It added another dimension to this trial. The trial had a <i>physical</i> dimension, in that it was a thorn in the flesh. It had a <i>mental</i> dimension, in that it was a messenger of Satan. And it had a <i>spiritual</i> dimension, in that it was an unanswered prayer.</p>
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<p class="c4">e. What exactly was Paul's problem? We simply don't have enough information to say precisely, but that hasn't prevented many commentators and teachers from giving their opinion.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Some have seen it mainly as <i>spiritual harassment</i>. Others have thought it was <i>persecution</i>. Many have suggested it was a <i>physical</i> or <i>mental</i> ailment. Some have said this was Paul's struggle with lustful and sinful thoughts.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. Among Christians, Tertullian gives the earliest recorded guess at the exact nature of Paul's problem. He thought the thorn in the flesh was an earache or a headache.</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. In more modern times, historian Sir William Ramsay offered the suggestion that Paul's infirmity was a type of malaria common to the area that he served as a missionary. Sufferers of this type of malaria suffer attacks when under stress, and they "feel a contempt and loathing for self, and believes that others feel equal contempt and loathing." This malarial fever also produces severe headaches, described by sufferers as being "like a red-hot bar thrust through the forehead."</p>
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<p class="c5">iv. Each of these suggestions is possible, but God had a definite purpose in not revealing the exact nature of Paul's thorn. If we knew exactly what Paul's thorn was, then everybody who was afflicted, but not in exactly the same way, might doubt that Paul's experience was relevant for them. God wanted everyone with any kind of thorn in the flesh to be able to put themselves in Paul's shoes. "I generally find that each expositor has selected that particular thorn which had pierced his own bosom." (Spurgeon)</p>
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<p class="c1">4. (<a onclick="return mV('2Cr',12,'9-10');">9-10</a>) God's provision to Paul through his thorn in the flesh.</p>
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<p class="c2">And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">And He said to me</span></b>: God had a response for Paul. The answer was not what Paul was initially hoping for, or expecting. But God still had a response for Paul. We often close our ears to God if He responds in a way we were not hoping for, or expecting.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness</span></b>: Instead of removing the thorn from Paul's life, God had given, and would give, His <b><span class="c3">grace</span></b> to Paul. The <b><span class="c3">grace</span></b> God gave Paul was sufficient to meet his every need.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Paul was desperate in his desire to be relieved of this burden. But there are two ways of taking away a burden. It can be done by <i>removing</i> the load, or it can be done by <i>strengthening</i> the shoulder bearing the load. Instead of taking away the thorn, God would strengthen Paul under it, and God would show His strength through Paul's apparent <b><span class="c3">weakness</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. To do this, Paul had to believe that God's <b><span class="c3">grace is sufficient</span></b>. We really don't believe God's grace is sufficient until we believe we ourselves are insufficient. For many of us, especially in American culture, this is a huge obstacle. We are the people who idolize the "self-made man" and want to rely on ourselves. But we can't receive God's strength until we know our weakness. We can't receive the sufficiency of God's grace until we know our own insufficiency.</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. <span>"Great tribulation brings out the great strength of God. If you never feel inward conflicts and sinking of soul, you do not know much of the upholding power of God; but if you go down, down, into the depths of soul-anguish till the deep threatens to shut her mouth upon you, and then the Lord rides upon a cherub and does fly, yea, rides upon the wings of the wind and delivers your soul, and catches you away to the third heaven of delight, then you perceive the majesty of divine grace. Oh, there must be the weakness of man, felt, recognised, and mourned over, or else the strength of the Son of God will never be perfected in us." (Spurgeon)</span></p>
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<p class="c4">c. How did God's <b><span class="c3">grace</span></b> make the difference? How did it meet Paul's need at this point?</p>
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<p class="c5">i. <b><span class="c3">Grace</span></b> <i>could meet Paul's need because it expresses God's acceptance and pleasure in us</i>. When we receive His grace, we enjoy our status of favor and approval in God's eyes. Grace means that God likes us, that He is favorably disposed towards us; we have His approval and promise of care.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. <b><span class="c3">Grace</span></b> <i>could meet Paul's need because it was available all the time</i>. When we sin or fail, it does not put us outside of the reach of God's grace. Since grace is given freely to us in Jesus, it can't be taken at later because we stumble or fall. When we come to God by faith, through the blood of Jesus, His grace is ever ready to meet and minister to our insufficiencies.</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. <b><span class="c3">Grace</span></b> <i>could meet Paul's need because it was the very strength of God</i>. So much of the power of this world is expressed in things that can only bring harm and destruction. But God loves to show His power through His goodness and grace. Sometimes we associate goodness with cowardice or timidity. But when we do, we take a worldly perspective about power and strength, and we deny God's truth about the strength of grace and love. Grace is not weak or wimpy. Instead, it is the power of God to fulfill what we lack.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">My grace is sufficient for you</span></b>: You may emphasize any aspect of this you please.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. "My <b><span class="c3">grace</span></b> is sufficient for you." Grace is the favor and love of God in action. It means He loves us and is pleased by us. Can you hear it from God? "My love is enough for you." Isn't it true?</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. "<b><span class="c3">My</span></b> grace is sufficient for you." Whose grace is it? Jesus' grace. Isn't His love, His favor, enough? What will Jesus fail at? Remember to that Jesus suffered thorns. He cares. He knows.</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. "My grace <b><span class="c3">is</span></b> sufficient for you." It is right now. Not that it will be some day. Right now, at this moment, His grace is sufficient. You thought something had to change before His grace would be enough. You thought, "His grace <i>was</i> sufficient once. His grace <i>may be</i> sufficient again. But not now, not with what I am going through." But God's word stands. "My grace <b><span class="c3">is</span></b> sufficient for you." Spurgeon wrote, "<span>It is easy to believe in grace for the past and the future, but to rest in it for the immediate necessity is true faith. Believer, it is <i>now</i> that grace is sufficient: even at this moment it <i>is</i> enough for thee."</span></p>
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<p class="c5">iv. "My grace is <b><span class="c3">sufficient</span></b> for you." Redpath explains this aspect best: "Do you see the humor of the situation? God's grace: me. His grace sufficient for little me! How absurd to think that it could ever be any different! As if a little fish could swim in the ocean and fear lest it might drink it dry! The grace of our crucified, risen, exalted, triumphant Saviour, the Lord of all glory, is surely sufficient for me! Do you not think it is rather modest of the Lord to say <i>sufficient</i>?"</p>
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<p class="c5">v. "My grace is sufficient <b><span class="c3">for you</span></b>." I'm so glad God didn't say, "My grace is sufficient for Paul the Apostle." I might have felt left out. But God made it broad enough. <b><span class="c3">You</span></b> can be the <b><span class="c3">you</span></b> in <b><span class="c3">for you</span></b>. God's grace is sufficient <b><span class="c3">for you</span></b>! Are you beyond it? Are you so different? Is your thorn worse than Paul's, or worse than many others who have known the triumph of Jesus? Of course not.</p>
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<p class="c5">vi. "This sufficiency is declared without any limiting words, and therefore I understand the passage to mean that the grace of our Lord Jesus is sufficient to uphold thee, sufficient to strengthen thee, sufficient to comfort thee, sufficient to make thy trouble useful to thee, sufficient to enable thee to triumph over it, sufficient to bring thee out of it, sufficient to bring thee out of ten thousand like it, sufficient to bring thee home to heaven...O child of God, I wish it were possible to put into words this all-sufficiency, but it is not. Let me retract my speech: I am glad that it cannot be put into words, for if so it would be finite, but since we never can express it, glory be to God it is inexhaustible, and our demands upon it can never be too great. Here let me press upon you the pleasing duty of taking home the promise personally at this moment, for no believer here need be under any fear, since for him also, at this very instant, the grace of the Lord Jesus is sufficient." (Spurgeon)</p>
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<p class="c5"><span>vii. "John Bunyan has the following passage, which exactly expresses what I myself have experienced. He says that he was full of sadness and terror, but suddenly these words broke in upon him with great power, and three times together the words sounded in his ears, "My grace is sufficient for thee; my grace is sufficient for thee; my grace is sufficient for thee." And "Oh! Bethought," says he, "that every word was a mighty word unto me; as '<i>My</i>,' and '<i>grace</i>,' and '<i>sufficient</i>,' and '<i>for thee</i>'; they were then, and sometimes are still, far bigger than others be." He who knows, like the bee, how to suck honey from flowers, may well linger over each one of these words and drink in unutterable content." (Spurgeon)</span></p>
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<p class="c4">e. <b><span class="c3">Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me</span></b>: Through his <b><span class="c3">infirmities</span></b>, God made Paul completely dependent on His <b><span class="c3">grace</span></b> and on His <b><span class="c3">strength</span></b>. But it was all for good. Paul's continued - even forced - dependence upon God made him stronger than he would have ever been if his revelations had made him proud and self-sufficient.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Many of us think that real Christian maturity is when we come to a place where we are somewhat "independent" of God. The idea is that we have our act so together that we don't need to rely of God so much day to day, moment to moment. This isn't Christian maturity at all. God deliberately engineered debilitating circumstances into Paul's life so he would be in constant, total dependence on God's grace and God's strength.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. Many people see God as a parent that we outgrow. Once we're mature, once we have overcome certain obstacles in life, we can shake off God just the same as we shook off the authority of our parents. And some of us treat God the same way we treat our parents. We give Him a measure of respect, we give Him His due - but we no longer feel we really have to <i>obey</i> Him any more. In our hearts, we have moved out of the house. We think we can make our own rules in life as long as we have supper at God's house once a week and give the "old man" a little recognition.</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. Many harbor a longing for the day when the Christian life will become "easy." We hope for a time when the major struggles with sin are behind us, and now we go on to bigger and better things without much of a struggle. That day is an illusion. If the apostle Paul himself constantly experienced weakness, who are we to think that we will surpass him?</p>
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<p class="c5">iv. In fact, the <i>illusion</i> of strength and independence actually leaves someone in a weaker place. "There is nothing more hindering the work of God than the uplifted and proud Christian." (Morgan)</p>
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<p class="c5">v. "Ministers of the Gospel especially should banish all thoughts of their own cleverness, intellectual ability, culture, sufficiency for their work, and learn that only when they are emptied can they be filled, and only when they know themselves to be nothing are they ready for God to work through them." (Maclaren)</p>
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<p class="c5">vi. "God works through the man who has been wiped clean and turned inside out, his life emptied before the Lord until he is hopelessly weak, that no flesh might glory in His presence." (Redpath)</p>
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<p class="c4">f. <b><span class="c3">Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities</span></b>: In the end, Paul does not resign himself to his fate; he welcomes it. He rejoices that God has forced him to rely on the grace and strength of God all the more, so he can say, <b><span class="c3">when I am weak, then I am strong</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Paul was at such a level of spiritual strength and maturity that God had to deliberately introduce a <i>thorn in the flesh</i>. Most of us provide our own thorns, and half an honest look will show us enough weakness to make us constantly and totally rely on the grace and strength of Jesus. But even if we were to grow to the spiritual strength and maturity of a Paul, God would say to us as well: "I need to keep you depending on Me in everything. Here is something to depend on Me for." This is a place of victory, not of discouragement!</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. "In the Christian perspective there is no place for the aimless non-resistance of dispirited resignation." (Hughes)</p>
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<p class="c4">g. Paul's <b><span class="c3">pleasure in infirmities </span></b>is not the sick musing of an ascetic, thinking that we are justified before God by our sufferings. Paul didn't seek out his thorn in the flesh!</p>
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<p class="c5">i. "The concept, so pernicious in the Church at a later date, of courting martyrdom, of practising asceticism, and even of embracing dirt, disease, and destitution as means to the acquisition of favour before God, is diametrically opposed to the Apostle's mind and to the whole tenor of the gospel in the New Testament, for it is a concept governing a way of life <i>for one's own sake</i>, with a view to making oneself righteous and acceptable before God - a concept of works, not faith." (Hughes)</p>
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<p class="c4">h. <b><span class="c3">For when I am weak, then I am strong</span></b>: What triumph! What can the world do to such a man so firm in the grip of Jesus? God did not allow this <i>thorn in the flesh</i> to punish Paul, or to keep him weak for the sake of weakness. God allowed it to show a divine strength in Paul.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Think about this man Paul. Was he a weak man or a strong man? The man who traveled around the ancient world spreading the gospel of Jesus despite the fiercest persecutions, who endured shipwrecks and imprisonment, who preached to kings and slaves, who established strong churches and trained up their leaders was not a weak man. In light of his life and accomplishments, we would say that Paul was a very strong man. But he was only strong because he knew his weaknesses, and looked outside of himself for the strength of God's grace. If we are going to live lives of such strength, we also must understand and admit our weaknesses, and look to God alone for the favor, approval and work of grace that will strengthen us for any task. It was the grace-filled Paul who said, "<i>I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me</i>." (<a onclick="return mV('Phl',4,13);">Phl 4:13</a>)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. "The valleys are watered with rain to make them fruitful while the summits of lofty mountains remain dry. A man must become a valley if he wants to receive the heavenly rain of God's spiritual grace." (Calvin)</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. "From all this I gather, that the worst trial a man may have may be the best possession he has in this world; that the messenger of Satan may be as good to him as his guardian angel; that it may be as well for him to be buffeted of Satan as ever it was to be caressed of the Lord himself; that it may be essential to our soul's salvation that we should do business not only on deep waters, but on waters that cast up mire and dirt. The worst form of trial may, nevertheless, be our best present portion." (Spurgeon)</p>
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<p class="c4">i. To summarize, instead of using his experience to glorify himself (as the "super apostles" among the Corinthian Christians did), Paul relates how his whole glorious experience humbled him more than ever.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. All Paul's enemies could see was the thorn; they could not see how and why it was there. But Paul knew, and so he rejoiced even in his thorn in the flesh.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. Of course, the greatest example of the principle Paul is communicating was lived by Jesus Himself. "Could anyone on earth be more meek than the Son of God to be hung on the cross, hung in our place that He might redeem us from our sins? As that point of absolute weakness was met by the mighty power of God as He raised Him from the dead, I wonder if the pressure of the thorn in Paul's life was a reminder of the power of the cross." (Redpath)</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. Yet, we should never think that in our lives, the mere presence of a thorn means the glory and strength of Jesus will shine in us and through us. You can resist God's grace, and refuse to set your mind on Jesus, and find your thorn cursing you instead of blessing you. "Without the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, thorns are productive of evil rather than good. In many people, their thorn in the flesh does not appear to have fulfilled any admirable design at all; it has created another vice, instead of removing a temptation." (Spurgeon)</p>
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<p class="c1">5. (<a onclick="return mV('2Cr',12,'11-13');">11-13</a>) Conclusion to Paul's "foolish boasting."</p>
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<p class="c2">I have become a fool in boasting; you have compelled me. For I ought to have been commended by you; for in nothing was I behind the most eminent apostles, though I am nothing. Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds. For what is it in which you were inferior to other churches, except that I myself was not burdensome to you? Forgive me this wrong!</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">I have become a fool in boasting</span></b>: Since he began this section in <a onclick="return mV('2Cr',10,1);">2Cr 10:1</a>, Paul was forced to boast more than he wanted to before the Corinthian Christians. Paul is almost apologizing for writing so much about himself, because he would much rather write about Jesus.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">For I ought to have been commended by you; for in nothing was I behind the most eminent apostles, though I am nothing</span></b>: If Paul thought his "boasting" was foolish, why did he do it at all? Not for his sake, but for the sake of the Corinthian Christians. They were not defending Paul's character and standing as an apostle before the <b><span class="c3">most eminent apostles</span></b> who put Paul down.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. It wasn't so much that the <i>presence</i> of the <b><span class="c3">most eminent apostles</span></b> bothered Paul. It was their <i>influence</i> among the Corinthian Christians that bothered the true apostle.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you...in signs and wonders and mighty deeds</span></b>: Paul could also point to the <b><span class="c3">signs and wonders and mighty deeds</span></b> which <b><span class="c3">were accomplished</span></b> among the Corinthian Christians. Each of these were evidence of Paul's apostolic standing.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">For what is it in which you were inferior to other churches</span></b>: If Paul is inferior in any way, it is only in that he refused to take money from the Corinthian Christians. <span > </span>So, he sarcastically asks their forgiveness: <b><span class="c3">Forgive me this wrong!</span></b></p>
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<p class="c5">i. Trapp calls this "A pleasant irony, such as whereof this Epistle is full."</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. "It is the <i>privilege</i> of the Churches of Christ to support the ministry of his Gospel among them. Those who do not contribute their part to the support of the gospel ministry either care nothing for it, or derive no good from it." (Clarke)</p>
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<p>B. Paul announces his third trip to Corinth.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('2Cr',12,'14-18');">14-18</a>) Paul isn't a con man, trying to deceive the Corinthians.</p>
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<p class="c2">Now <i>for</i> the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be burdensome to you; for I do not seek yours, but you. For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. And I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved. But be that <i>as it may</i>, I did not burden you. Nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you by cunning! Did I take advantage of you by any of those whom I sent to you? I urged Titus, and sent our brother with <i>him</i>. Did Titus take advantage of you? Did we not walk in the same spirit? Did <i>we</i> not <i>walk</i> in the same steps?</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Now for the third time I am ready to come to you</span></b>: On his first visit to Corinth, Paul founded the church and stayed <i>a year and six months</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Act',18,11);">Act 18:11</a>). His second visit was a brief, painful visit in between the writing of 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians. Now he is prepared to come for a third time.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">And I will not be burdensome to you</span></b>: Paul is letting the Corinthian Christians know that when he comes, though he will receive a collection for the saints in Judea (<a onclick="return mV('2Cr',8,'1-');">2Cr 8</a>), he will not receive money from them for his personal support. He will continue his previous practice among the Corinthian Christians of supporting himself, and he <b><span class="c3">will not be burdensome</span></b> to the Corinthian Christians.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. A minister may be <b><span class="c3">burdensome</span></b> to a congregation by receiving support when it is not appropriate, or by receiving too much support. "He who labours for the cause of God should be supported by the cause of God; but wo to that man who aggrandizes himself and grows <i>rich</i> by the <i>spoils of the faithful!</i> And to him especially who has made a fortune out of the <i>pence</i> of the poor! In such a man's heart the <i>love of money</i> must have its <i>throne</i>. As to his professed <i>spirituality</i>, it is <i>nothing</i>; he is a <i>whited sepulchre</i>, and an abomination in the sight of the Lord." (Clarke)</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">For I do not seek yours, but you</span></b>: This is the testimony of every godly minister. They do not serve for what they can get <i>from</i> God's people, but for what they can give <i>to</i> God's people. They are shepherds, not hirelings.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. This is the heart of Jesus towards us. We often think that what God really wants is what we have; but He wants <i>us</i>. Jesus selflessly seeks our own good, and has the complete heart for us, not for what He can "get" from us.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. "Paul is only a faint shadow of the Lord Jesus; and if these qualities are found in his life, it is only because they were found completely in the life of Jesus Christ our Lord." (Redpath)</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children</span></b>: This explains part of the reason why Paul did not want to receive support from the Corinthian Christians. Since he was their spiritual "father," and they were his spiritual "children," it made sense that they should not feel "burdened" to support him.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. At the same time, this is not a compliment towards the Corinthian Christians. Since Paul did gratefully receive support from other churches (<a onclick="return mV('Phl',4,'10-19');">Phl 4:10-19</a>), we know this was not his policy towards all churches. Instead, it is as if Paul is saying, "You Corinthian Christians are not mature enough to support me yet. You are still spiritual children. When you grow up some, you can be partners with me in the work and support me. But until then I am glad to support myself."</p>
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<p class="c4">e. <b><span class="c3">I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls</span></b>: Paul did not resent the lack of support from the Corinthian Christians. Certainly, he would have appreciated it, but more for what it <i>said about them</i> than for what it <i>did for him</i>. For himself, Paul was glad to give; he would <b><span class="c3">very gladly spend and be spent for your souls</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Paul had this heart, even though the Corinthian Christians were unappreciative. In fact, Paul puts it painfully: <b><span class="c3">the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved</span></b>. There is hurt in those words! Yet, Paul would not allow that hurt to cripple him, or even to rob his joy in serving and living. He would still <b><span class="c3">very gladly spend and be spent for</span></b> the Corinthian Christians.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. We can give, and give in any number of ways. But do we resent it when we give or serve? A good way to measure this is to see our reaction when our service is unappreciated. Do we resent it? Paul's service was unappreciated by the Corinthian Christians, yet he did not resent it. Instead, he would <b><span class="c3">very gladly spend and be spent for your souls</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">f. <b><span class="c3">Nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you with guile!</span></b> Here is Paul at his sarcastic self again. He was being accused by some among the Corinthian Christians of <b><span class="c3">being crafty</span></b>. Their accusation probably went like this: "Sure Paul won't take any support money from you. But he will trick you by taking the collection, supposedly for the Jerusalem Christians, and putting it in his own pocket." In response, Paul said, "You bet I'm <b><span class="c3">being crafty</span></b>! I've <b><span class="c3">caught you with guile</span></b> and tricked you superbly!"</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Paul's opponents, the <i>most eminent apostles</i> mentioned in <a onclick="return mV('2Cr',11,5);">2Cr 11:5</a> and <a onclick="return mV('2Cr',12,11);">12:11</a>, were in ministry at least partly for the money. They could not bear the fact that Paul didn't care about money in the ministry, so they assigned <i>their</i> motives <i>to him</i>.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. Some have thought that Paul was speaking seriously here, and admitting that he was <b><span class="c3">crafty</span></b> and used <b><span class="c3">guile</span></b> in his ministry to the Corinthian Christians. "Many persons suppose that the words, <i>being crafty, I caught you with guile</i>, are the words of the apostle, and not of his slanderers; and therefore have concluded that that it is lawful to use guile, deceit, [and so forth], in order to serve a good and religious purpose. This doctrine is abominable; and the words are most evidently those of the apostles detractors, against which he defends his conduct in the two following verses." (Clarke)</p>
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<p class="c4">g. <b><span class="c3">Did I take advantage of you</span></b>? Paul proves that the charge he is <b><span class="c3">being crafty</span></b> is false. He reminds the Corinthian Christians that neither Paul nor any of his associates had ever behaved in a financially inappropriate way before the Corinthians.</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('2Cr',12,'19-21');">19-21</a>) Paul encourages the Corinthians to repent before he comes.</p>
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<p class="c2">Again, do you think that we excuse ourselves to you? We speak before God in Christ. But <i>we do</i> all things, beloved, for your edification. For I fear lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I wish, and <i>that</i> I shall be found by you such as you do not wish; lest <i>there be</i> contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, backbitings, whisperings, conceits, tumults; lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and I shall mourn for many who have sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness, fornication, and lewdness which they have practiced.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Again, do you think that we excuse ourselves to you? We speak before God in Christ</span></b>. Paul is concerned that his defense before the Corinthians Christians may just be taken as excuse making. But Paul is not making excuses; he has nothing to excuse. Instead, he boldly says, <b><span class="c3">"We speak before God in Christ."</span></b> Paul was proclaiming the truth before God, not excusing himself before the Corinthian Christians.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">We do all things, beloved, for your edification</span></b>: <i>Everything</i> Paul did for the Corinthian Christians, he did to build them up in the Lord. Every letter he wrote, every visit he made, every prayer he prayed was with one goal: to build up the Corinthian Christians in Jesus Christ. His heart was for <i>them</i>, not for <i>himself</i>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. If Paul's opponents, the <i>most eminent apostles</i> mentioned in <a onclick="return mV('2Cr',11,5);">2Cr 11:5</a> and <a onclick="return mV('2Cr',12,11);">12:11</a>, were to speak honestly, they would say: "We do all things, beloved, for <i>our</i> edification." But Paul was a different kind of man.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. "It is not his purpose to make the Corinthians squirm, but to bring them to their senses, to help them to rid themselves of the narcotic effect produced on them by the false apostles who had invaded their community." (Hughes)</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">For I fear lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I wish</span></b>: Paul is worried that he will find the same old problems among the Corinthian Christians when he visits a third time, and that they would not have repented.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Just so they know exactly what Paul is writing about, he makes it clear: <b><span class="c3">lest there be contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, backbitings, whisperings, conceits, tumults</span></b>. These all were the fruit of the worldly thinking the Corinthian Christians had bought into, and these must change before Paul comes for his third visit to Corinth.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. If the Corinthian Christians are still showing this ungodly fruit from worldly thinking, then Paul says, <b><span class="c3">"I shall be found by you such as you do not wish."</span></b> In other words, if the Corinthian Christians were not in a state pleasing to Paul (before the Lord), then they would find <i>him</i> to be in a state not pleasing to them!</p>
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<p class="c4">e. <b><span class="c3">Lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you</span></b>: If the Corinthian Christians were still stuck in their worldly thinking, Paul would be <i>humbled</i> among them. He would have reason to think, "I must not be a very good apostle or leader, because these Corinthian Christians will not respond to me." That was not the whole truth, but it would still be humbling for Paul.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. <b><span class="c3">And I shall mourn for many</span></b>: If the Corinthian Christians were mired in their worldliness when Paul came the third time, he would be angry. And he would be firm. But he would also be <i>humbled</i>, and he would also <i>mourn</i>. As much as anything, the worldliness of the Corinthian Christians grieved Paul and made him <b><span class="c3">mourn for many</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. "Paul reveals to us the mind of a true and sincere pastor when he says that he will look on the sins of others with grief." (Calvin)</p>
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<p class="c4">f. <b><span class="c3">Who have sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness, fornication, and lewdness which they have practiced</span></b>: Paul's anger and mourning would not be directed to those who had sinned. More specifically, it would be directed to those <b><span class="c3">who have sinned before and have not repented</span></b>. Paul was not asking for perfection; he was asking for repentance.</p>
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