“2 Corinthians 12”

Wednesday, April 12, 2017

“This section is the climax of Paul’s defense of his apostleship and his love for the believers at Corinth. He was reticent to write about these personal experiences, but there was no other way to solve the problem. In fact, to avoid exalting himself, Paul described his experience in the third person rather than the first person” (Wiersbe, page 132).

The apostle refers to one who was taken up into the third heaven (the realm of God) and had seen “the abundance of the revelations” from God. He had seen and heard things which it was “not lawful for a man to utter.” He wanted them to judge his faithfulness based on the truth God had revealed to Paul and that he had delivered to them.

He makes a brief reference to his “thorn in the flesh” from Satan that God used to keep him humble. He had pleaded with the Lord to remove it, but God would not, choosing rather to help Paul work through his challenges than to take them away. (That is a hard lesson for all of us to learn, isn’t it?)

Paul tells the Corinthians that he just wants them to recognize him for what he was, an apostle of Jesus Christ . He did not take from them the financial help he had a right to because he did not want them to misjudge his motive for preaching.

Reminding them of his upcoming visit to Corinth, he says that he still will not accept any money from them. Even though Paul was “in nothing,” any less than “the most eminent apostles,” he was not boasting in order that he might receive personal gain or benefit from them. He even asks their forgiveness in this area.

He makes the clear statement, in verse 15, that he had done this to care for their feelings on the matter and, as a parent who loves his children, was willing to spend and be spent for their salvation.

He concludes the chapter by insisting that they needed to repent of all ungodliness so that the trip would not cause him even greater sorrow.

--Roger Hillis

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