2 Corinthians 12:1

For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool... And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given unto me a thorn in my flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me... For this thing I besought the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness... Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, and reproaches, and necessities, and persecutions, and distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

Paul's "thorn in the flesh" opens a window into one of the hardest questions of faith: why does a good God allow His people to suffer?

Paul Continues His Reluctant Defense

"I must go on boasting," says Paul, although there is nothing to be gained by it. Despite finding it distasteful, Paul continues to boast—not out of arrogance or conceit, but because he is defending his apostleship to the church at Corinth.

Remember that after Paul spent two years in Corinth and watched God plant a marvelous church there, he left, and enemies of the cross of Christ came in. These men disrupted the fellowship, brought in seducing doctrines, seditious heresies, and divisive words, and turned people away from the simplicity that is in Christ. They did so by belittling and maligning the character of Paul, knowing that the work God had done through him would not easily be undone unless they first brought Paul down a level or two in the minds of the people. Then they could slip a different gospel in through the back door.

So Paul defends his authority. We have already seen him defend his refusal to take wages from the Corinthians, and his Hebrew heritage. Now in chapter 12 he defends the revelations he received from God, the miraculous signs God worked through him (verse 12), and himself against the charge that he and his co-laborers took advantage of the Corinthians by trickery.

The Hard Question of Suffering

While each defense is impactful, chapter 12 is known above all for what Paul says about suffering in verses 6 through 10. Suffering is one of the most difficult topics to address, because every human being is buffeted by it to some extent. One of the most often asked questions is this: if there is a God who is all-powerful, all-loving, and all-good, then why is there suffering in the world?

In our day we feel this more acutely than ever, because the moment something happens on the other side of the world, we hold the news in our hands. Not long ago we heard of an earthquake off the shore of Japan, and within minutes we watched live, high-definition footage of tsunami waves washing across the land, thousands killed in an instant. Whether it is a natural disaster or famine and pestilence in places like Africa, we are confronted with the realities of suffering. People ask: if God is good and all-powerful, why does He allow such things?

There is an entire segment of theology that addresses this, called theodicy, with volumes written seeking to reconcile suffering with the goodness of God. And the follow-up question always comes: why do bad things happen to good people?

The Problem with "Divine Karma"

The most often-used answer is simple: there is suffering and pain and evil because of sin. And that is true to some extent—Scripture supports it. Ezekiel says, "The soul that sins shall die." Paul writes, "The wages of sin is death," and "through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and death spread to all men, because all sinned."

But the problem with that simple answer is that it wrongly infers a kind of divine karma in Christianity—that we suffer tit for tat. People wrongly conclude that if something bad happens to you, it must be because you have been a bad person. This is illustrated in the book of Job, considered the oldest book of the Bible. For some thirty-four chapters, after Job's devastating losses, his friends contend with him: the reason you are suffering is hidden sin; just repent of it. If you were a good person, surely these things would not happen.

Do you remember when Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005? Even within the Christian community some said, "Of course it happened there—look at the debauchery, the witchcraft, the wickedness." But then go a little east to Mississippi and ask, why did it happen there? The Bible does not support that view. God is not in heaven watching everything bad we do, waiting to push the smite button—even though, if we were in His place, we might be tempted toward retribution.

Jesus and Paul Overturn the Assumption

In John chapter 9, Jesus is confronted by a man born blind, and His disciples ask, "Master, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" There you see their worldview. Jesus gives an amazingly important answer: "Neither has this man sinned, nor his parents, but that the works of God should be made manifest in him." There was purpose behind the suffering.

In Acts 28, Paul is shipwrecked on Malta, and as he gathers sticks for a fire a viper fastens onto his hand. The islanders said among themselves, "No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, vengeance does not allow to live." But when Paul did not die, they changed their minds and said he must be a god. Again we peek into their philosophy: bad deeds bring disaster, good deeds bring blessing. That is not what the Scriptures reveal.

There are no easy answers to suffering. We would like to tell a hurting person, "The reason is this," but easy answers never suffice. If someone has just lost a child and asks why, a theological answer will not relieve the pain—and if you tell them, "It's because of sin," you might walk out with a black eye. Notice that Job's friends did the right thing at first: they sat with him seven days and said nothing. They did great when they just shut up—the ministry of presence, weeping with him who weeps. It was when they finally spoke that everything they said was false.

Paul's Critics Used His Suffering Against Him

As we saw last week in 2 Corinthians 11, Paul suffered greatly: whipped 195 times by Jewish leaders, beaten with rods three times by Roman magistrates, stoned, shipwrecked three times, in danger from robbers, Jews, Gentiles, and false brethren, experiencing weariness, hunger, thirst, cold, and nakedness. On top of that, he carried the daily anxieties of the ministry; when others were weak, he felt that weakness; when others were offended, he burned over it.

You can be certain his critics pointed to all this as proof: "See? This man does not have good character. You're following someone imprisoned by the Romans and beaten by the Jews. Clearly Paul is suffering the just judgment of a holy God." But of course that was not the case—he suffered those things for the cause of Christ.

Now, there are examples of people suffering because of sinful choices. How many of us can look back and see times we simply suffered the consequences of foolish, sinful decisions? Death follows sin not merely because God is judging it, but because sin is deadly. Yet all human suffering is not divine retribution. There is no karma in Christianity. Every one of us is wicked and sold to sin; any good we receive is by grace. So the question, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" should really be rephrased: why do good things happen to a bunch of bad, evil sinners?

The Thorn in the Flesh

The answer Paul gives by revelation here is, in reality, hard for us to swallow. Paul was suffering something far greater in magnitude than beatings, shipwrecks, and poverty—those things common to all people. He refers to it as "a thorn in my flesh."

When we hear "thorn in the flesh," most of us think of a rose thorn pricking our thumb. But the reality was far greater. Can you really picture the Apostle Paul, over a mere rose thorn, coming before God on three separate occasions begging Him to take it away? It doesn't fit. The word translated "thorn" can also mean a pale, post, or stake—an impaling object. The best illustration comes from Braveheart: William Wallace's men waiting until the last moment, then raising those long, sharpened tree trunks on which the charging horses impale themselves. Paul says, "I am being impaled in my flesh by this great thorn," and three times he begged God to remove it.

What the Thorn Was Not—and Was

Commentators have offered endless speculation about the thorn's nature, almost always assuming some physical disorder: headaches, carnal lusts, an eye problem, epilepsy, malaria, Malta fever, baldness, hysteria, hypochondria, gallstones, gout, rheumatism, sciatica, gastritis, leprosy, lice in the hair. Pick up fifty commentaries and you'll get fifty answers. But there is little in Scripture to support any of these.

The text itself gives us the answer. Throughout 2 Corinthians Paul has alluded to what devastated him. In 2 Corinthians 2 he writes of "much affliction and anguish of heart" and "many tears." When a great door was opened to him in Troas, he says, "I had no rest in my spirit," and left for Macedonia. In chapter 7 he continues: "When we came to Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears." Something was impaling Paul's heart—and there is a much deeper pain than anything physical.

And Paul defines it. In verse 7 he calls his thorn "the messenger of Satan to buffet me"—literally an angel of the devil, not a mere physical infirmity but an individual or group. Who were they? Look back to 2 Corinthians 11:13: "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light." Paul's thorn was the work of these false apostles who brought him so low he was almost hindered from his calling.

Four Things the Text Tells Us About This Suffering

First, the origin. Paul says, "There was given to me a thorn in the flesh." Who gave it? The only one who could take it away. "For this thing I besought the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And he said, My grace is sufficient." God essentially said no. The origin of this suffering was God Himself.

Second, the source. Verse 7 identifies it as "a messenger of Satan." God was the origin, but Satan was the source. God allowed a satanic means to fully accomplish His purpose in Paul's life. We see this elsewhere. In Job 1 and 2, Satan appears before God, indicts Job's faithfulness, and God permits him to strip Job of children, wealth, servants, and health—yet not his life—and through it all Job did not curse God. In Luke 22, Jesus tells Peter, "Satan has desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat." If I were Peter, I'd have hoped Jesus said no. But Jesus says, "I have prayed for you, that your faith fail not; and when you are converted, strengthen your brethren." He did not remove Peter from the trial.

Third, the means. Paul says it was "a thorn in the flesh to buffet me." The word buffet means to strike with the fist. Though it came from the throne room of God through the spiritual enemy, it took on a very physical reality—like being repeatedly punched in the gut.

Fourth, the purpose—humility. "Lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given unto me a thorn in the flesh." Why would Paul be tempted to conceit? Because of his revelations. In the first five verses he speaks of a man—himself—caught up to the third heaven, into paradise, who heard things he could not utter. The third heaven was the ancient way of speaking of the dwelling place of God. Paul received a vision on the level of Isaiah's in Isaiah 6, and he was brought to faith by seeing the risen Lord on the Damascus road.

Why God Humbled Paul

Imagine the pride such revelations could produce. Picture traveling with a conceited Paul: you ask how he came to faith, share your own testimony, and he answers, "Did I tell you how I came to Christ? Jesus Himself came down from heaven and revealed Himself to me." Picture deciding where to go next, and Paul ending every debate with, "Do you realize the revelations I've had, caught up to the third heaven?" Who would you listen to then?

Yet across his thirteen letters and the book of Acts, Paul barely speaks of these revelations. He was humbled so he would not be exalted, so that Christ would increase as Paul decreased. That is why he wrote in 1 Corinthians that he came not with excellence of speech, so their faith would rest in the power of God and not in man. God made him small so He Himself could be exalted.

Suffering's Sanctifying Work

Suffering has a sanctifying work in our lives. Hebrews says even Jesus "learned obedience by the things which he suffered." James says, "Count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations," because the testing of your faith produces patience, and patience its perfect work. In Romans 5 Paul says, "We glory in tribulations"—not because we are sadistic, but because tribulation works patience, patience experience, and experience hope.

If anyone says Christians never suffer, then Paul was no Christian, and neither was Jesus. Any "gospel" that removes Jesus from the equation should not be received. Everyone suffers because of the fall and the curse. But only the Christian, in the midst of the trial, has God's sustaining grace—"My grace is sufficient for you." Only the Christian has peace now in the storm and enduring peace in eternity. Jesus said it in John 16: "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but in me ye might have peace"—peace in the storm, not removal from it.

Our Hope: No More Tears

Where does this hope point? Turn to Revelation 21. John writes, "I saw a new heaven and a new earth... And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them... And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."

We glory in tribulation because it produces hope—and that hope does not disappoint, because "the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit." The one who trusts Christ has peace now in the midst of trials and the assurance of eternity in God's presence. The one who rejects God's grace will face the same trials common to all, but without His peace and without an everlasting future. The gospel is good news.

Knowing Him in Suffering

God allowed suffering in Paul's life to refine him, to humble him, to make him recognize his insufficiency and total dependence on God, to draw him near, to let him know the full extent of God's grace, and ultimately so that Paul would reflect His glory. Suffering refines us, stirs us to rely on God, and equips us to reflect Him.

Our problem is that our culture builds walls to ensure we never suffer, and the moment any trial comes we assume it cannot be God—it must be Satan destroying us—so we pray against it. But at times God does allow us to suffer, because we gain a greater understanding of Him through it. Paul wrote in Philippians 3, "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death." It is in suffering that we come to know God as the God of all comfort and the Father of mercies, and experience His all-sufficient grace.

Whatever we face in this life, God is in the midst of the trial with us. He does not always remove us from it, nor remove it from us, but in the midst of it He gives sustaining strength, enduring peace, and great mercy and grace.

Closing Prayer

Father, help us to recognize, as we go through difficult things, that You are working in us to will and to do Your good pleasure—that we may pass through times of trial, but in the midst of them You are refining us, stirring us to rely upon You, and making us to reflect Your glory in this world. So God, work in our lives that we would recognize Your hand in the midst of it, and that You are working all things together for good and for Your glory. Stir in us an everlasting hope, an absolute assurance that we will one day be with You in Your presence, where there is fullness of joy, no more tears, and no more pain. God, work this in us, we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen.