2 Corinthians | Chapter 12

2 Corinthians 12:1-6

“Caught Up into Paradise”

I. Intro.

The remarkable thing about Paul’s boasts (which he willingly admits is foolishness) is that they are not about the things most people would brag about. Paul doesn’t mention:

• Impressive degrees from prestigious schools.
• The long list of books and papers he has written.
• The number of people who have become followers of Jesus.
• The famous people he was associated with.
• The size of the churches he has pastored.

The false teachers in Corinth contended that the reason Paul didn’t speak of these things was because he didn’t have anything to brag about. But that’s simply not the case! Instead, Paul boasts about the things that caused him to become humble and broken: beatings, fastings, imprisonments, stoning, shipwrecks, and dangers from every side. He then includes the one event that caused him to see ministry from a completely different view: when all that he had dreamed about—all of his accomplishments, education, and experiences that he had thought made him successful—was flushed down the toilet, kicked to the curb.

I believe many Americans are suffering from an identity crisis that seems to be getting worse. I further believe that we Christians are not immune from this disease; in fact, we may be more susceptible to it. We long to find our identity in something other than Jesus: the church we attend, the denomination, the ministry we are involved in, etc. It is time that we flush all that down the toilet like Paul did 20 years earlier in Damascus.

You would think that this would have settled the issue with these false teachers, but Paul, in chapter 12, describes a personal experience that finally sounds like something others would see worth boasting about: the time he was caught up into Paradise and heard things that, he declares, are not lawful for a man on earth to speak about. Why does he mention this? The answer will be revealed in verses 7-10, as Paul speaks about a thorn in the flesh to buffet him from pride.

II. Vs. 1 I Had a Dream

Vs. 1: In Acts chapter 1, after the ascension of Jesus into heaven, the Church faced its first crisis: leadership—specifically, who would fill the position vacated by Judas? As they gathered, Peter outlined the necessary qualifications to be an apostle, and in verse 22, Peter says that they must choose someone who had been with them “beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”

I mention this to explain why Paul now felt it necessary to share this experience of being taken up into the third heaven. The false teachers knew Paul had come to Jesus after all these events, so how could he be an apostle? He starts by saying in verse 1, “It is doubtless not profitable for me to boast. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.” Paul actually saw the risen Jesus; therefore, he was a witness of the resurrection of Jesus. Perhaps you are thinking, didn’t Paul have that encounter with Jesus at his conversion on the way to Damascus? No. As we read that account in Acts 9, Paul only says that he “HEARD” the Lord, not that he “SAW” the Lord. So, the event Paul mentions here is the time he physically met the Lord and saw and heard from the Lord. We get further clarification from Paul on this encounter in Galatians 1:12, where Paul says concerning the gospel he preached that “I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Then, in Galatians 2:6, speaking of a meeting Paul had with the leadership of the early Church (James, the half-brother of Jesus, Peter, John, and others), Paul says in Galatians 2:6, “But from those who seemed to be something—whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God shows personal favoritism to no man—for those who seemed to be something added nothing to me.”

III. Vs. 2-4 Paradise

Vs. 2-4: I call your attention to several things:

• First, Paul refers in verse 1 to “visions and revelations,” which is plural and means that Paul had more than one encounter with Jesus.
• Second, note that Paul, in his humility, is reluctant to say, “Hey, I had many encounters with the risen Jesus.” Instead, he says, “I know a man who 14 years ago… was caught up into the third heaven.” So how do we know that Paul is making reference to himself? First, we have the statement in verse 6 where he says, “lest anyone should think of me above what he sees me to be or hears from me.” Then, in verse 7, he says that because of the “abundance of revelations,” a thorn in the flesh was given to him.

So, what do we know of this encounter? Well, we know that it occurred 14 years earlier, but we don’t know if he was taken up bodily or not, and we don’t know what he heard or saw. Now, if I were to write a commentary on what Paul saw and heard 14 years ago, it wouldn’t be worth the paper it was written on. It is interesting to me that he calls the location “the third heaven” and also calls it “paradise.” The word “Paradise” comes from a Persian word which means a “walled garden.” When a Persian king wished to bestow a special honor on someone dear to him, he made them a “companion of the garden” and gave them the exclusive right to walk in the royal gardens with him in close companionship. That is what Paul describes as the dwelling place of the Lord!

The Jewish terminology of heaven was viewed three ways:

• First is the atmosphere around the earth, the clouds, etc.
• Then, beyond that, we have the second heaven made up of the planets, moon, stars, and other galaxies.
• Finally, you have the third heaven—the invisible realm where God’s throne is—a place Paul calls Paradise. It’s the invisible dimension of life because we can’t see it for the most part, unless God chooses to reveal it to us, as in the case of the apostle John, Stephen at his stoning, and Paul here, just to name a few.

If you trace back the 14-year date from the date of the writing of this letter, it makes this encounter somewhere around the time when he came out to Tarsus and back to Antioch (some ten years after his conversion). The other thing Paul tells us is that whether this was in his body or out of his body, he wasn’t sure, and if it was out of his body, he didn’t miss it. When we are home with the Lord, who cares about the old tent? Home is the place where you can relax, be at ease, kick off your shoes, stretch out, and feel comfortable. That, apparently, is what being with the Lord is like. Perhaps this is the reason he gives this account in the third person because it was almost like it happened to someone else, as he was not aware of his body.

Another thing Paul tells us is that what he heard, he could not tell us about. He must have heard things that contributed to his understanding of life and reality. But he could not describe these things in earthly words, just like John and the Old Testament prophets who had visions of the Lord, visions of heaven, and were never able to quite accurately describe what they saw. They had to put it in symbols, using words prefaced with “LIKE.” The only commonality between all these visions of heaven is that not a single person could accurately put into human language what they witnessed. What this reveals to us in this realm is that when we are with the Lord, our knowledge will be vastly increased. We will know secrets we never dreamed existed, secrets that are so beyond us now they cannot be put into language.

IV. Vs. 5-6 At Home While Away

Vs. 5-6: But instead of boasting about this experience and using it to put those false teachers in their place, Paul says, “If I bragged about this encounter, even though it would be 100% true, I wouldn’t want anyone to use it to get their eyes off of Jesus and onto me.” Calvin wrote that such inexpressible things were given to Paul personally because he was a man who suffered enough to break a thousand hearts and needed to be strengthened. Thus, he was given a greater view of glory in order to keep him afloat through the beatings, imprisonments, and shipwrecks of his ministry.

The very fact that Paul, for 14 years, has never once mentioned this experience he had with the Lord tells us that, despite its personal revelation and powerful encounter with the risen Jesus, what he experienced had “NO bearing or importance to the gospel,” else he clearly would have spoken of it every chance he got. Consider the number of times Paul shared his testimony of his conversion and how the Lord transformed him on the road to Damascus. Yet here, in this amazing revelation, Paul has never spoken of it until now, 14 years later, and then only to say that he won’t talk about it. Paul had learned that no matter how impressed people would be with any person, talent, or experience, none of those things matter when compared with the person and work of Jesus. Paul is saying, “I don’t want you to see me based on what I experienced mystically, but rather on how I lived among you practically.”

What a lesson we can learn from our brother Paul, who didn’t want to block anyone’s view of the most incredible person there has ever been—JESUS. Paul practiced “invisibility” so that all could see the “Invisible God,” who alone is the only One worthy of following! Think of all the books out there in the Christian bookstores about these experiences of people who went to heaven and came back to write about it. Then think of Paul, who went to heaven and for 14 years never mentioned it until he was forced to do so, and then only to say he wasn’t going to talk about it. Why talk about heaven when you can talk about the One who created heaven?

2 Corinthians 12:7-10

“Splinters for Saints”

I. Intro.

Paul does not boast about the revelation that caught him up to Paradise, but rather about the pain which brought him low—the thorn in the flesh. While we don’t know exactly what this “thorn” was, it appears to have been both debilitating and humiliating. This is a remarkable rebuke to the false teachers who worshipped health and wealth, viewing affliction and weakness as the absence of God’s blessings. In God’s plan of redemption, weakness (the crucifixion) had to come before power (the resurrection). This spiritual principle is true in our sanctification as well, as we are told that “His strength is made perfect in our weakness.” The trouble with arrogant Christians is that they feel Christ belongs to them rather than that they belong to Christ. Remember, Christian, “Every kite must have a string attached and anchored upon the earth that it may not only enjoy the view of the heavens but the safety of the earth as well!”

II. Vs. 7 A Thorn in the Flesh

Vs. 7: Paul had already told us what he would boast about in 11:30 when he said, “If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am.” The one thing he did speak of concerning the revelation of Jesus when he was caught up into Paradise was that it brought with it an irritating agony in his life which he calls a “thorn in the flesh.” As you study this passage, everyone seems to have an opinion about just what this “thorn in the flesh” was:

• Some feel the thorn in Paul’s life was bad eyesight. They come to this conclusion because of two passages in Galatians. First, in 4:15, Paul writes that the church there was willing to “pluck out your own eyes and give them to me.” Then, in 6:11, Paul writes, “You see with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand.” I have little doubt that Paul had eye problems, perhaps ones that not only bothered his sight but weren’t very attractive to others as well. But I’m not certain this is what Paul is referring to.
• Some feel that he had a speech impediment because he mentions having difficulty uttering things as he wanted to. I think that is a stretch.

Here is what we know:

• It was in the flesh: As such, it was most likely something physical, as the word “thorn” can mean “splinter, stake, or thorn.” (Many like to point out that it is the word used to describe the stake that holds up a Bedouin’s tent in a windstorm.)
• It was continual: The word “buffet” is rare and comes from a word that means “a fist.” In the Greek, it is in the continual tense, meaning it was a continual striking, not just one punch.
• It came from a “messenger of Satan” but was allowed by the Lord: Satan is the instrument the Lord used, similar to the case of Job, where Satan had to appear before the Lord to get permission to afflict Job. Satan’s purpose was to destroy and harass Paul, to make life miserable for him, but God’s purpose was to strengthen him, to humble him, and to keep him usable in His hands.
• It was seen as a gift: In verse 7, Paul refers to it as a gift that caused God’s strength to be perfected.

III. Vs. 8-9a A Spiritual Principle

Vs. 8-9a: Though we aren’t certain specifically what the “thorn in the flesh” was, we do know Paul did not like it as he went to the Lord about it three times. Paul’s request was that this messenger of Satan with his thorn be removed for good. As earnest as Paul was in his prayer, God had a better plan than removing the thorn, as the thorn had a purpose that made it useful to the Master.

Some of us are too busy telling God what He ought to do about our situation, which in turn renders us incapable of hearing what He wants to do. Because of this, we become certain that the only thing to do about our situation is to remove it altogether. The Lord did not say, “My grace will prove to be sufficient” or “My grace will be enough to get you through.” No, the Lord told Paul, “I allowed the pressure to be such on this thorn so that you will understand that each moment there is ample provision for your every need, because no matter the thorn, God’s grace is able to exceed the need.”

Paul’s human weakness made way for more of Christ’s power and grace! There is a spiritual principle here that we need to get a grip on, dear saints: “The spiritual principle is that His strength is made perfect in our weakness”! That is to say that God’s power continually increases as our weakness grows. This spiritual principle, known as the “Paradox of Power,” is as much a law in the spiritual realm as gravity is in the natural realm.

So, what do you think God will be doing with us based on this spiritual reality of “Human weakness makes way for more of Christ’s power and grace”? He will be involved in those things that cause us to realize we are weak! So, let me ask you personally, “What is it that makes you feel weak?” If you are feeling weak, that means that though you may be under attack, you are also being led this way so that you will have far more of God’s strength and grace! Now, the opposite of this spiritual principle is also true: “Human arrogance and pride make for less or none of Christ’s power and grace.”

Listen carefully: “It is far more important to God to keep us humble than it is to keep us comfortable.” God allows us to feel weak to keep us from that which would render us useless in the work of spreading His Kingdom. The most dangerous thing each of us faces daily is “spiritual pride.”

IV. Vs. 9b-10 Pitching His Tent Among the Weak

Vs. 9b-10: Paul uses a very interesting phrase here in the latter part of verse 9 where he writes “that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” This is the same word used in John 1:14 of Jesus that describes Exodus 40:34 of the tabernacle. In other words, the all-powerful Jesus “pitches His tent” with His people in their weakness. We are often led to believe that God pitches His tent with the famous and powerful, those who are popular and on center stage in life, but not so. Jesus pitches His tent with the weak and unknown, the suffering shut-in, the anonymous, quiet servant!

There is no virtue in suffering if it is for any reason other than “Christ’s sake”! Here, Paul utters the “Paradox of Power”: “For when I am weak, then I am strong!” So, Paul comes to two decisions based upon this “spiritual principle”:

1. First, he would never permit himself to brag about what he was doing (Vs. 9b): Mac Davis, the country crooner, once wrote the lyrics to the song, “It’s Hard to be Humble,” writing, “Oh Lord, it’s hard to be humble when you’re perfect in every way. I can’t wait to look in the mirror ’cause I get better looking each day. Oh Lord, it’s hard to be humble, but I’m doing the best that I can.” If Paul found himself wanting to brag about something he was doing, he would find some area of weakness and speak of that instead. Paul was going to take precautions so that he would not succumb to the temptation to be proud. He didn’t view this as other people’s responsibility to keep him humble. Paul wasn’t looking for folks to put him down! In 1 Corinthians 15:31, Paul says, “I die daily,” not, “You slay me!” There are people who feel it’s their business in life to keep somebody humble by never encouraging them, never being nice, because they are afraid it will “go to their heads.” You cannot keep somebody humble by putting them down—it’s the responsibility of each individual to face this problem in their own life. Paul says, “I’m going to remind myself of who I really am by boasting only in my weaknesses, my failures, the times when I don’t do very well. That is what I want to boast about.”
2. Second, Paul says whenever trouble comes, I’m not going to gripe, complain, or feel sorry for myself (Vs. 10): Paul wanted to recognize that this “thorn” was the best thing for God to work in his life because, “When I am weak, then I am strong.” Dear ones, when is the devil beaten in our lives? Well, based upon this “spiritual truth,” NOT when we feel great and confident, when it looks like wonderful things are happening, and everything is going well. No, the devil is being defeated when we are under attack, feeling weak and helpless. When we don’t know what to do; when, in our weakness, we come before the Lord and plead with Him for strength to go on one more day, for grace to help us stand—that’s when we are winning, that’s when the Kingdom of God is being spread.

In 2 Chronicles 26:16, we are told of Uzziah and his downfall as it reads, “He became powerful; his pride led to his downfall.” Oh, how many times this phrase has been repeated in mankind’s history. In every place there has been a thorn, Satan will seek to distort the reason for it, as surely as the Lord will seek to sanctify the reason for it. Henrietta Mears once said, “I believe my greatest spiritual asset throughout my entire life has been my failing sight, for it has kept me absolutely dependent upon God.” God doesn’t need our perceived strengths; He wants our weaknesses, our sufferings, our inadequacies, our disabilities, our failures, and our fears. And if we will boast in those things, His power will pitch its tent among us.

2 Corinthians 12:11-13:4

“I Do Not Seek Yours, But You!”

I. Intro.

Twice in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he admonished them to “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ” (4:16, 11:1). Mark Twain once said, “When I was a boy of fourteen, I thought my father was the most ignorant man in the world, but when I was twenty-four, I was amazed at how much the old man had learned in ten years.” I think Paul could relate to that quote! He founded this church and, as such, was their spiritual father. He had stayed among them for 18 months, teaching them how to live as Christians. But after he left, some false teachers with smooth words came in, and these same believers began to see Paul as unimpressive. Because of what was at risk, Paul was forced to stand up against them based on who he was, so they wouldn’t reject what he taught. Here in this section, Paul gives four marks of a true apostle.

II. Vs. 11-13 The Way God Works

1. Vs. 11-13 Not just what God did through Paul but the way in which God did it through Paul:
Here in verse 12, Paul indicates that there were signs—marks of authentication—that distinguished the true apostle from the false. Furthermore, he says that they were visible while he was among them. Prior to saying that in verse 11, Paul expresses his surprise that these Corinthian believers didn’t defend him when the false teachers began to defame his character; after all, they had been eyewitnesses of these marks in his life. Since they were so deceived by these false teachers, Paul now embarrassingly has to defend himself for their benefit. Notice that Paul describes these marks or signs in three ways:

• Signs: By the use of this word, Paul is saying that these miraculous marks were meant to convey something more than just the miracle; they were symbolic and meant to signify or represent something.
• Wonders: Second, Paul says that these signs or marks were used to cause the person witnessing them to stand up and take notice.
• Mighty deeds: Finally, the first thing noticed about these signs is that it was not a talent or ability of man that produced them. They were amazing demonstrations of the power of God.

What is amazing to me is that these signs that Paul brings up here to identify himself as an apostle are not something you often see him talking or writing about. In the 16th chapter of Mark, Jesus said certain signs would follow those who believe: “In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Looking at that list and comparing it with the list recorded for us by Luke in Acts, you will soon discover that Paul has four out of five of these signs, the only one missing being “if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them.” Now if you again read verse 12, you see that Paul says these signs “were accomplished among you.” These things weren’t miracles they HEARD that God accomplished through Paul—they were miracles they SAW God accomplish through Paul!

Yet I submit to you that more impressive than God at work through Paul was God at work in Paul. Simply put, it wasn’t all about the miraculous works God did but the WAY they were done. Look carefully at verse 11 as Paul describes this in a paradoxical statement:

• First, he says, “For in nothing was I behind the most eminent apostles.” Paul says, “I am not inferior at all to these superlative apostles; I have everything they have and more.”
• Next, Paul says, “though I am nothing.” In one statement, Paul says, “I am the equal of anybody,” then in the very next sentence, Paul declares that he is “nothing.”

This reveals that God worked through Paul in such a way that Paul remained invisible, and God remained the center of attention. Paul was all about God and nothing about himself. This attitude is echoed in Paul’s words in Philippians 4:13 where he writes, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” The “can do” attitude was encompassed by “Christ who strengthens me.” The confidence was not upon relying on self but surrendering everything to Christ! There is no limit to what God can and will do through any person who has surrendered all their time, talent, and treasure to the Lord so that He alone gets all the glory.

One of the ways you can test the false apostles of our day is to listen carefully to what they say about themselves. Do they claim anything is coming from them? Do they claim to be remarkable people of remarkable ability, or are they talking about the power coming from Christ? Paul adds in verse 13, “Did you reject all this only because I failed to let you support me? I’m sorry I should have let you do that. Forgive me that wrong.” This is a reference to the fact that he supported himself when he was with them instead of living off the fat of the congregation.

III. Vs. 14-18 About Others

2. Vs. 14-18 Not about self but about others:
Paul’s readiness to come to them was not based on his educational qualifications but because he was willing to spend and be continually spent on their behalf. How strange to fallen mankind is the Christian life that is selfless and sacrificial! Oswald Chambers wrote: “Our interest in another is to be centered in what is Christ’s interest in them.” The principle Paul states is giving of oneself in selfless love for others. He uses the analogy of a parent to their children, as it is the responsibility of parents to provide for their children and not to expect the children, while they are children, to support their parents. One of the great marks of a true servant of Christ is that he gives himself without restraint to those to whom he is ministering. But like so many teenagers, these Corinthian believers were not responding back in love, to which Paul says he will continue to love sacrificially on their behalf.

Years ago, a story appeared of a mother who went down to breakfast and found a bill from her son lying beside her plate. It read:

• Mowing the lawn — $2.00
• Drying the dishes — $1.00
• Raking leaves — $3.00
• Cleaning the garage — $4.00
• Total — $10.00 owed

When the boy came home from school, he found a bill lying beside his plate that read:

• Purchasing clothes — nothing
• Washing clothes — nothing
• Cooking meals — nothing
• Health care — nothing
• Providing a place to live — nothing
• Love, Mother

That was Paul’s parental attitude, as he didn’t expect or demand anything in return. It would have been nice if he got it back, but even if he didn’t, it wasn’t going to stop him. That’s a true sign of a person called by God, and one we can test ourselves with, can’t we?

Vs. 16-18: Not only did they not treat Paul as he had treated them, they went further and said that the only reason he treated them this way was so that he could win their approval in order to take advantage of them in the future. I had this conversation with a successful businessman in our area who was talking about how he went about choosing those he would hire. He told me that when they applied for a position, if all they were interested in was what the company offered in benefits, salary, vacation, health insurance, etc., it was a clear sign that they were not the right candidate for the job. Paul had no concern for his salary; he wasn’t asking questions about his retirement or vacation time. His concern and only care regarding others was to be a blessing because he had been so blessed by the Lord. In the 6th chapter of this letter, Paul explained it this way in verse 10: “…as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.”

Dear ones, I believe the “entitlement mentality” has permeated the Church as it has our society, and people are more concerned about “What the Church can do for me” than “What I can do for the kingdom of God.” Jesus said in Luke 22:25-26: “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’ But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves.”

IV. Vs. 19-13:1 Approved by God Alone

3. Vs. 19-13:1 Doesn’t look for affirmation from man:
A true servant of Christ does not need to justify himself before the people to whom he ministers. Paul was a God-pleaser, not a man-pleaser. Because of this, Paul states that he wasn’t afraid to do what was right, even though it wasn’t popular. In verse 20, Paul makes a list of 8 things that William Barclay called the “marks of an unchristian church.” One of the reasons why people have rejected Jesus is because of their experience in Church—we simply don’t live like our Lord told us to. Because Paul got his approval from God, not from the church, he was free to address the issues that needed to be corrected, and in verse 21, he lists those as well—and in this case, they have sexual connotations. Finally, in 13:1, we note that Paul’s behavior was consistent with them, something that a hireling may not be for fear of losing their job. The reason why he was able to maintain this was because he answered to God, not the Church, denomination, etc.

V. Vs. 2-4 Trusting God’s Power

4. Vs. 2-4 Trusts and rests upon the power of God working in lives:
Twice in verse 4, Paul mentions the “power of God,” and by doing so, he is assuring the fact that he is trusting that God will correct their behavior. Paul’s not afraid to address the 11 issues that he lists, but he is trusting in the power of God to bring about the needed repentance. He is not saying, “Wait till your father gets home!” He is encouraging those actively involved in rebellion to get their hearts right before separation occurs. Effectiveness is the proof of reality! The health of a Church is not seen in the splendor of their buildings, the elaborateness of its worship, the wealth of its giving, or the size of its congregation. No, it is seen only in changed lives. If there are no changed lives, then the essential health of the Church is missing! That is the only thing Paul was to be judged upon as it related to his ministry, and they were living proof of his effectiveness.

Allan Redpath said, “God’s goal in your life is not only to get you living sacrificially with no other motive, no limit to your availability, no expectation of reward, but He waits for the day when He hears you say these very words of Paul to the Church in Corinth, ‘I do not seek yours, but you!’” (verse 14). We move from fans to followers when we are no longer looking only to get something from Jesus and instead are only wanting Jesus!