Paul's Letters 2 Corinthians

Visions And Revelations

Discover Jesus as: Treasure 2 Corinthians 12 Read on Bible Gateway (HCSB)

Day 530 of 730
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INTRO

Paul was concerned that his church in Corinth was not being faithful to the Lord. Paul was pretty forward in his letter. There were people who crept into the camp and were discrediting Paul and his apostleship. Paul responded by boasting about who he is in the Lord, attempting to connect with the church in Corinth. Historically the Corinthians were fascinated with visions and revelations. So, Paul addressed this in chapter 12.

TEACHING

2 Corinthians 12:1: Visions happen while a person is awake. You could be standing somewhere and all the sudden you feel as though you are in a different place—that is a vision. In this other place the Lord will show you something. A vision could take a long time or it could be very quick. This was the type of vision Paul was talking about. MacArthur notes six times visions are recorded in the book of Acts:

  1. Visions lay out the foundation for you to walk it out with God (Acts 9:12).
  2. Visions can be seen and heard (Acts 16:9–10).
  3. The Lord can actually appear in visions (Acts 18:9).
  4. Visions can be warnings (Acts 22:17–18).
  5. Visions can give direction (Acts 23:11).
  6. Visions can give encouragement and assurance (Acts 27:25–29).1

Paul boasted about these visions because he knew it was needed in order to connect with the Corinthian believers. Joel 2:28–32 explains visions and prophecies will be experienced until the coming of Christ. This means God continues to speak to people through dreams and visions today. Please don’t discredit these things! Paul spoke about his revelations as well.

Revelations come from Christ (Galatians 1:12). Some of Paul’s actions were dictated by revelations (Galatians 2:2). Mysteries were revealed to Paul through revelations (Ephesians 3:3). Clearly Paul had something to boast about.

2 Corinthians 12:2–4: Paul was talking about himself here but was still reluctant to boast. During his time, Jewish rabbis talked in third person. Paul could have been culturally speaking the Corinthians language. MacArthur wrote that, since Paul’s experience in the third heaven “took place 14 years before the writing of 2 Corinthians, the specific vision Paul related cannot be identified with any incident recorded in Acts.”2

Let’s talk about the third heaven. Paul was not making a distinction between the third heaven and paradise; they are the same place. Revelation 2:7 states the tree of life is in Paradise, and Revelation 22:14 explains the tree of life is in heaven. According to MacArthur, “The first Heaven is the earth’s atmosphere (Genesis 8:2; Deuteronomy 11:11; 1 Kings 8:35); the second is interplanetary and interstellar space (Genesis 15:5; Psalm 8:3; Isaiah 13:10); and the third is the abode of God (1 Kings 8:30; 2 Chronicles 30:27; Psalm 123:1).”3

At some point Paul received a call in his life, but he had yet to share everything. Whether he was caught up bodily into heaven (like Enoch in Genesis 5:24, or Elijah in 2 Kings 2:11), or his spirit temporarily separated from his body, it’s not important. It is an interesting picture Paul paints in this Scripture.

2 Corinthians 12:5–6: MacArthur explains Paul “refrained from boasting out [his unique experience], however, because he wanted the Corinthians to judge him based on their observations of his ministry, not on his visions.”4 You don’t just bank on the visions; you’ve got to walk it out. “Thorn in the flesh” is also translated as “stake for the flesh,” which was a demonized person, not a physical illness. Nelson’s Commentary explains three interpretations for what the thorn of the flesh could be:

A bodily ailment—some kind of physical ailment, such as ongoing headaches, ringing in your ears, a severe limp, or a heart defect.

The constant temptation of the flesh—such as pride, finances, anxiety, people pleasing, or fear.

Persecution or opposition.

Nelson’s Commentary states, “Paul’s thorn was a painful, humiliating experience given to prevent pride.”5

Any number of things will humble you so you depend on the Lord and not yourself. Somewhere in Corinth was a person who was demonized. Possibly this person was Paul’s thorn in the flesh who was trying to damage Paul’s credibility.

2 Corinthians 12:9–10: Thorns of the flesh make us utterly dependent on God.

CLOSING

I encourage you to continue to dive into the rest of the verses in this chapter. We will continue the dialogue tomorrow.

  1. John MacArthur, The MacArthur Bible Commentary (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2005), p. 1649.

  2. MacArthur, p. 1649.

  3. MacArthur, p. 1649.

  4. MacArthur, p. 1649.

  5. Earl Radmacher, Ronald B. Allen, and H. Wayne House, eds., Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999), p. 1511.

Questions

  1. What kind of boasting was Paul talking about in 2 Corinthians 12:1 (2 Corinthians 11:30; Galatians 1:12)? Why did he say boasting was profitable?
  2. Of whom could Paul have been speaking about that had the revelation in 2 Corinthians 12:2? (Acts 14:19–20) What do you think he meant by the “third heaven” (Genesis 28:12; Revelation 4:2; 5:13)? Something to meditate on and ponder: since, according to Scripture, there is a third heaven, what are the first and second heavens? (Genesis 1:1; Deuteronomy 10:14; Psalm 148:4)
  3. According to 2 Corinthians 12, why was Paul given a “thorn in the flesh”? Do you have anything in your life that you would consider a “thorn” in your flesh/life? If so, does it humble you or make you angry?
  4. In 2 Corinthians 12:20–21, Paul listed some sins he feared he would find the Corinthians caught up in when he arrives there. Do any of these things sound accurate for the Christian church today? What can help us overcome these things? (Ephesians 4:2–3; Philippians 2:3; 1 Peter 5:5)
  5. What did the Holy Spirit highlight to you in 2 Corinthians 12 through the reading or the teaching?

Next: the Daily Word →

Daily Word

Laura Martin 2 Corinthians 12:9–10

“But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, catastrophes, persecutions, and in pressures, because of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Paul discussed the thorn in his flesh, the thing the Lord allowed so Paul would remain weak and not exalt himself. He asked the Lord to take it away three times, and yet it remained. It may have been a physical ailment, a temptation, a constant need, or even persecution. It was through Paul’s weakness that he discovered and understood that strength comes from the Lord, and God’s grace is sufficient.

The world says, “You have to be strong and have it all together.” But the Lord says, “When you are weak, then I am strong.” Stop trying to have it all together. Resist the temptation to be self-sufficient, strong, and independent. You don’t need to hide your weaknesses. When you are weak, Christ is able to be strong within you. In your weakness, you allow His presence, power, and grace into your life. In your weakness, His power is perfected because there is actually room to work. Others will see Christ’s power in your life, instead of your own strength. Therefore, you boast in the Lord and not in yourself. The Gospel is all about Jesus and His grace working through you. Relax in your weaknesses. Just take a deep breath and inhale a little of God’s grace for your life. Then expect the Lord’s strength to shine through you.

“But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, catastrophes, persecutions, and in pressures, because of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

— 2 Corinthians 12:9–10

FURTHER SCRIPTURE

  • Romans 11:6— “Now if by grace, then it is not by works; otherwise grace ceases to be grace.”
  • 2 Corinthians 4:7— “Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us.”