2 Corinthians 12:2-10, “My grace is sufficient for you!” Today’s scripture comes from 2 Corinthians 12:2-10, which shows Christian maturity and what it means to be mature in the Christian faith. Before we get to the main points, we need to know the background of our text today. In the preceding chapters of today’s text, chapters 10 and 11, we note that Apostle Paul had opponents to his ministry in Corinth who challenged his apostleship and “commended themselves” (2 Corinthians10:12) and appealed to the Corinthians as far better apostles than Paul with their credentials and backgrounds; they boasted and claimed that they had spiritual knowledge, having visions and revelations about God; they were Gnostics who claimed as such. Apostle Paul named these self-promoting opponents sarcastically “super-apostles” in 11:5. In the face of the strong opposition of this party to his ministry and teachings of Jesus, Paul defended his apostleship and his legitimacy of doing the ministry of spreading the gospels of Jesus in Chapter 10 and 11. In his defense, Apostle Paul boasted about his sufferings for the sake of Jesus Christ, unlike those “super-apostles” who boasted about their “special and mystical knowledge,” looking down upon Apostle Paul as if he didn’t have special visions and revelations about God as they claimed to have. Our text should be understood in this context. It starts with Apostle Paul introducing a man “who was caught up to the third heaven and heard inexpressible things, things no one was permitted to tell” in verses 2-4. We know this man who experienced not just about God but God himself and heard “inexpressible things” from God Himself is none other than Apostle Paul himself. Many scholars and teachers of the Bible discuss the third heaven mentioned here in many different ways, but the general consensus among them is that the third heaven is where God dwells and reigns. In other words, the Apostle Paul experienced God in proximity and heard from God directly in His Holy presence. I believe the Apostle Paul had many visions and revelations from God besides this third-heaven experience. Do we know that the “rapture” we know is from Paul’s teaching? He taught many things about the end times and the antichrist in his epistles. Paul described this third-heaven experience in the third person instead of the first person (he didn’t say, “I myself had this experience”). That is why some people wonder if he is really speaking about himself here or if he is speaking of someone else. But if we look at vs. 1, it testifies that “I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord, and vs. 7, where he transitions into the first person from the third person, we can be assured that he really writes about himself.Then why does he use the third person at all? It leads to the first mark of Christian maturity. Apostle Paul was humble; he did not exalt himself in any way. In verse 6, “I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say.” The Apostle Paul, instead of glorying in his remarkable spiritual experience, unlike the “super-apostles” in Corinth who would glory in and exalt themselves above all their contemporary Christians, was silent for 14 years about his spiritual experience; when he had to mention such experience, he spoke as if it were someone else’ experience, using the third person. We see that Paul was conscientious not to bring glory to himself. It aligns with how he treated all his credentials and backgrounds as rubbish but boasted only crucified Christ. Galatians 6:14, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.The second mark of Christian maturity found in Paul is that he accepted God’s will for him without insisting on his wishes and desires. In verses 7 and 8, we see that the Apostle Paul had a thorn in his flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment him. A thorn in the flesh, in its original meaning, is a tent stake, not a thumbtack, and it is to beat with fists to the point of humiliation, as the Roman guards did to Jesus before his crucifixion. In other words, he was afflicted with unbearable pain, which frustrated him and caused trouble in his life. From this, we can assume that the “thorn in the flesh” Paul had might not be related to his eyes, unlike the old and popular interpretations we are familiar with. The earliest record, by Tertullian, a third-century church father, about Paul’s thorn in the flesh, was suspected of earache or headache. Although we do not know precisely the nature of his affliction, it was “a messenger of Satan to torment him” in his mind. So, he pleaded as in begging “three times” with the Lord; “three times” is the Hebrew usage of countless prayers. He begged God to remove a “thorn in his flesh.” But the answer was, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness!” When Paul heard God’s answer to his earnest prayers, he did not fight with God, although the answer was not according to his heartfelt wishes and desires. He just accepted it, realizing that a thorn in his flesh was given to keep him from becoming conceited because of all those surpassingly great visions and revelations. What can we learn from here? For one thing, not all our prayers are being answered. Even when they are answered, they might not be answered in the way we wanted. Then, what should be our attitude toward God? Do we remember that Jesus’ prayer in the garden of Gethsemane was not answered? We also see that Paul’s prayer was not answered how he wanted. Does that mean when our prayers are not answered, should we give up? NO! We must know that Christ knew why his prayers were not answered. Jesus came to do God’s will: to die for saving souls. In Jesus’ case, silence from God was a reminder of his mission. In the Apostle Paul’s case, God gave him why he would not remove his thorn in the flesh and allow it to constantly torment him: to keep him in check from being elevated (otherwise becoming satan) and manifest God’s power in his weaknesses. Those of you who pray earnestly with your heart’s desire should know that it is God’s will for you to be liberated from Satan’s shackles and be God’s children. You should never give up on pleading with God, seeking God’s favor and mercy if you pray for liberation from poverty, addictions, and shackles of satan.Lastly, what does it mean that God’s power is made perfect in our weaknesses in verse 9? The word for “perfect” is to reach full maturity in its original meaning. We mature as we recognize our weaknesses—our limits—and learn to rely ever more deeply on the indwelling power of Christ in us. In the simplest terms, when we know that we are nothing without God, emptying ourselves in and out, we can experience our clay jar filled with God’s power. Afflictions are the keys to humbling us, throwing us upon the mercy of God, making us pray fervently, and teaching us that, finally, by the grace of God, we are being sustained. Unfortunately, these are lessons we don’t want to learn. Indeed, we do everything we can to avoid suffering. But there are times when God allows Satan to visit us with a thorn in the flesh precisely so that we will discover the all-sufficiency of God’s grace in Christ. How many times have we found ourselves with Paul (and Jesus) begging God to “remove this cup from me,” to “take it away from me,” to change the situation because it is killing me or someone we love? But God has something better in mind: to help us realize God’s power in every breath we breathe and every step we take. It is all about God’s power by which we live. If we are self-sufficient, the power of God will not shine through us. Only when we are weak will God’s power be displayed in us. Therefore, instead of feverishly trying to pull out the thorn or frantically banging on God’s throne, Paul shows us that the path to peace and powerful ministry lies in accepting God’s sufficient grace in our weaknesses. This is the third mark of Christian maturity. Vs. 9, “Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” The word “rest” means “tent” in its core meaning. The power of Christ will pitch its tent on us. As we journey through the wilderness filled with suffering, the power of Jesus will be like a tent over us, not to shelter us from the storm but to empower us to do ministry through the storms if we embrace our weaknesses. Paul was content, even with all sorts of trials and suffering. He has made peace with the fact that such weakness in his life is precisely what is needed. It pulls Paul’s earthly self aside, leaving room for Christ’s strength to accomplish what God has called Paul to do. Do we have afflictions and trials in life? Do we know that they are reminders of our human reality, whose dependence on God is an absolute necessity? Do we know that they are the means for us to experience God’s sufficient grace in our Christian living?
2024-07-07