Paul had cited his freedom to minister without the Corinthians' financial support and his sufferings in ministry as grounds for boasting. He next mentioned the special visions and revelations that God had granted him. He referred to these here to bolster his readers' confidence in his apostolic calling and authority further.
12:1 The apostle again explained that he felt his boasting was necessary to convince the fleshly-minded Corinthian minority. It was not profitable for any other reason.
All visions of this type were revelations, but not all revelations came through visions. Furthermore visions are always seen, but revelations may be seen or perceived in other ways.
"If, as seems likely, his opponents are claiming paranormal experiences to validate their apostolate (cf. on 5:12-13), the very vagueness of Paul's reference may be his way of asserting the uniqueness of his apostolate."274
12:2-4 The "man"of whom Paul spoke in the third person was himself (cf. vv. 7-9). He referred to himself this way probably out of reluctance to speak of this matter. Moreover he wanted to minimize the effect of boasting, which citing such a spectacular experience would have produced.
Paul could not tell (did not know) whether God had transported him physically into the third heaven (cf. Acts 8:39; 1 Thess. 4:17) or whether his experience had been a vision (cf. Gen. 15:12-21; Ezek. 1:1). The third heaven probably represents the presence of God. It could be a technical description of God's abode above the cloudy heavens overhead and beyond the farthest reaches of space that man can perceive. "Paradise"(v. 4) is a good synonym for the third heaven (cf. Luke 23:43; Rev. 2:7).
What Paul heard, not what he saw there, is that to which the apostle referred. That message was personal; Paul never revealed in Scripture what God told him. However, it had the effect of strengthening his faith and hope that the Lord would abundantly reward his sufferings. This experience evidently took place when Paul was ministering in and around Tarsus. He did so about 42 A.D., 14 years before 56 A.D., the most probable date for the composition of 2 Corinthians.
"The man who experienced the ineffable ascent' even to the third heaven was the same man who had experienced the undistinguished descent' from a window in the Damascus wall [11:32-33]."275
12:5-6 Such a revelation could have made Paul quite a Christian celebrity had he publicized it. Nevertheless he preferred to proclaim his sufferings since then people could see more easily the supernatural working of God through him. Paul did not want his converts to form an opinion of him based on what they heard about him. He preferred that they do so because of what they saw and heard with their own eyes and ears. Besides, other people could not verify many of his experiences.
12:7 Others might live in awe of Paul because of the spectacular revelations they had heard he had received, but Paul himself was in no danger of becoming too impressed with himself. God had given him a "thorn"(Gr. skolops, better than "stake") in his flesh. This was a gracious gift from God, though it was unpleasant to Paul. It reminded him of his limitations and so kept him humble.
"In this passage there is a complete reversal of the religious pride and the religious triumphalism of the superlative' apostles. Genuinely apostolic ministry sustains weaknesses . . . on behalf of Christ,' replicating his sufferings yet finding power in ministry in dependence on him. There is no place for arrogance in ministry."276
Why did Paul change from the third person to the first person in describing this experience? He probably did so because there was no danger that others would think too highly of him because of the outcome of his vision.
Does "flesh"here mean his physical flesh or his sinful human nature? Was the "thorn"a physical affliction or some external problem? Many early church Fathers and Reformers understood the thorn as a spiritual temptation, perhaps a tendency toward pride or the opposition of Paul's enemies. Some modern Roman Catholic interpreters take it as temptation assailing moral purity. Many modern Protestant interpreters see it as a physical illness or infirmity such as bad eyesight, a speech impediment, malaria, or epilepsy (cf. Gal. 4:13-15). Since the scriptural data does not provide a definite answer, it seems best to suspend judgment on this decision. Various commentators have made good cases for every one of the positions described above.
Paul regarded his thorn in the flesh as a messenger that came from Satan to frustrate him (cf. Job 2:1-10). Nevertheless God had permitted it and would use it to bring good out of evil (Rom. 8:28).
12:8 Normally Paul meant Jesus Christ when he used the title "the Lord."There are other scriptural examples of believers addressing their prayers to the second person of the Trinity (Acts 1:24; 7:59). However normally they addressed the Father in the name of the Son with the Spirit's help (e.g., Eph. 2:18). Here "Lord"definitely means God, and probably it means Jesus with emphasis on His being Paul's master (cf. Acts 9:5). The fact that Paul repeated his petition three times shows how intensely he wanted God to remove his affliction, like Jesus in Gethsemane.
12:9-10 Here is an example of God denying a prayer request because He wanted to give something better (though not more comfortable). What we must learn from what Paul told us about this messenger of Satan is that God used it to teach the apostle dependence on Himself and the sufficiency of His grace. So thoroughly had Paul learned this lesson that he even boasted about his afflictions. He realized that when he was naturally weak the Lord would provide the power that he lacked and needed. He enabled Paul to do things he could not have done had he been naturally strong (cf. Rom. 8:35-37).
"This is the summit of the epistle, the lofty peak from which the whole is viewed in true proportion."277
This is one of the most important lessons every ambassador of Jesus Christ must learn. Both natural weakness and supernatural power are constantly at work in us, as they were in Paul and in Jesus. The Cross is the greatest example of divine power working through human weakness. The greater we sense our weakness, the more we will sense God's power (cf. Eph. 3:16; Phil. 4:13).
We may not have experienced as high spiritual highs or as low spiritual lows as Paul did, but we, too, are in constant need of being aware of God's supernatural power. Our success does not depend on our natural abilities but on God's power working in and through us. Human weakness can be a profound blessing if it results in our depending more on God and less on self.
"It was not, however, in the weaknesses themselves that Paul took delight but in the opportunity sufferings endured for Christ's sake' afforded him for Christ's power to reside and be effective in his life (v. 9b)."278
"Human weakness provides the opportunity for divine power."279
"In the Fool's Speech' proper [11:21b-12:10] Paul (1) exposes the triumphalism of the false apostles,' whose keyword is hyper(they have more' to offer than Paul, whom they are above,' or better' than), but also (2) boasts' of his weaknesses,' that is, of those sufferings incurred in the course of ministry in replication of the sufferings of Christ."280
