II Corinthians Study II Corinthians 12:1-21 Paul’s Affirmation of His Apostleship

Having related to us the affliction he suffered for Christ (Chapter 11:23-33), Paul will now tell of his experience of being taken up into the third heaven (Chapter 12).  Having related to us about his external credentials, Paul deals with “visions and revelations of the Lord” (v. 1).

In discussing his experience in verses 2-4, Paul mentioned that he was caught up to the third heaven, the very abode of God.  Paradise is the dwelling place of Christ and His Saints (Luke 23:43; Revelation 2:7; I Thessalonians 4:17).   Paul was forbidden to communicate what he heard (vv. 2-4).  Paul did not boast of himself, but the focus was on Christ (vv. 5-6).

So that Paul would not forget this experience, God gave him a constant reminder of his weakness (vv. 7-9).  There have been numerous speculations about the nature of Paul’s thorn in the flesh.  One explanation was that the thorn in the flesh was some physical ailment.  After asking the Lord thrice to remove the thorn in his flesh, Paul learned from this experience the lesson that pervades this letter: Divine power is best displayed against the backdrop of human weaknesses so that God alone is praised.

Rather than removing the problem, God gave Paul grace in it.  God’s grace is adequate and will provide contentment!  In verse 10, God’s grace transformed Paul’s perspective.  In the hard experiences of his ministry, because of God’s grace, Paul could welcome them supernaturally because the evidence of Christ’s power in the midst of them brought glory to the Lord and not to Paul.  When Paul was weak, then Christ, by His strength, could make Paul spiritually strong.

Because of the innuendos of the false apostles against Paul, Paul was forced to defend his Apostleship.  It was foolish for Paul to talk much about his credentials because they were not his, but God’s (v. 11).  To authenticate that Paul was an apostle, sign gifts were wrought among the Corinthians.  All these evidences pointed to Paul as a true Apostle and to his opponents as “false apostles” (v. 12; II Corinthians 11:13).

In ministering among the Corinthians in verses 13-15, Paul took no remuneration from the Corinthians.  Paul refused to be a burden to them.  As a father, Paul wanted to care for his spiritual children without charge, and to reveal his love.  In verses 16-18, the false apostles were alleging that Paul’s unwillingness to accept support from the church was simply a cloak to hide his true love of money.  Paul defends his motive in ministry by vehemently raising the question: “What evidence could be given to lend credence to this allegiance?”  There was no misconduct in the behavior of Titus or the other brothers.

In verse 19-21, Paul had sought to rectify some of the disorders in the Corinthian church before punishment became necessary.  The eight sins listed were the result of the false apostles reviving their divisiveness.

May God Bless!