2 Corinthians 12 explained: Strength Found in Weakness

A journey to heaven (vv. 1-6)

Paul speaks of "a man" but almost certainly means himself, taken up to the "third heaven" or paradise, an ancient way of describing God's own presence beyond the sky and the stars. He says he does not know how it happened and will not repeat what he heard, and he mentions it only because rivals in Corinth were boasting about their spiritual experiences.

The thorn in the flesh (vv. 7-8)

Paul says he was given a painful "thorn", which he calls a messenger of Satan, to keep him from becoming proud. No one knows what it was, though guesses include a long illness, poor eyesight, or constant opposition, and three times he begged the Lord to remove it.

Power in weakness (vv. 9-10)

The answer he received was no, but with a promise that God's kindness would be enough and that divine power shows most clearly through human weakness. So Paul says he is content with hardships and insults, because his weakest moments are where he finds strength that is not his own.

Why he boasted (vv. 11-13)

Paul says the Corinthians forced him into this foolish boasting by failing to stand up for him against impressive rival teachers, whom he sarcastically ranks as the greatest apostles of all. He reminds them of the miracles done among them, and with irony asks forgiveness for the one "wrong" he did them: refusing to take their money.

Money and motives (vv. 14-18)

Planning a third visit, Paul again refuses their support, comparing himself to a parent who provides for children rather than the other way round. Some apparently claimed he was cheating them indirectly through his helpers, possibly over a collection for poor believers in Jerusalem, so he points to Titus's honest conduct as proof.

Fears for his visit (vv. 19-21)

Paul insists all this is not self-defense but meant to build them up. He fears arriving to find quarreling, gossip and disorder, and people who have not turned away from sexual wrongdoing, which would grieve and humble him.

Key verse: 2 Corinthians 12:9

Where Christians differ

Christians differ over whether this chapter means God deliberately sends suffering for a person's good or only allows it and then works through it, and over whether it suggests believers should expect to live with affliction rather than be healed.

Something to think about

Can a weakness or limit ever become a real source of strength, or is that mostly a way people make peace with what they cannot change?