Lesson 35

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1 – 2 Corinthians

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Lesson #02

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RETURN TO THE SYLLABUS

2CORINTHIANS 12
Lesson #35
FROM THE HEIGHTS OF GLORY TO THE DEPTHS OF DESPAIR

• Memory Verse: 2Cor 12:10
• Background:
• The Bible speaks of the existence of three heavens.
• =1= The first heaven is the immediate atmosphere of this earth that surrounds this planet.
• =2= The second heaven is space where the stars and planets are located.
• =3= The third heaven is the location of God’s throne.
• Read Joh 3:13
• According to this verse, no human had ever been to the third heaven, except Jesus Christ who came down to this earth from the third heaven.
• What happened with Enoch and Elijah in the Old Testament when God took them off the earth? What happened to all the Old Testament saints that died in faith? What happened to Old Testament non-believers that died without faith?
• From the time of Adam to the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ, all believers not physically present on earth wait for the day of resurrection. Where do they wait?
• In Old Testament times all humans waited in a place called Hades or Sheol which is located in the center of the earth.
• Non-believers that died went to a part of Sheol or Hades that was called Torment. It is a place where non-believers wait for the final resurrection and the final judgment. Today these people are still there waiting. The final resurrection for them will be after the thousand year millennial kingdom of Christ on earth. Then they will be resurrected to stand in judgment at the Great White Throne. (Rev 20:11-14)
• Believers that died or were taken out of this world, like Enoch and Elijah, waited for the resurrection in a part of Sheol or Hades that was called Abraham’s Bosom. (Luk 16:19-31)
• Therefore, until the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, according to Joh 3:13, no human had been to the third heaven.
• After the crucifixion, Jesus Christ moved Abraham’s Bosom with all dead believers to the third heaven and called the new location Paradise.
• There are two people in the New Testament who have been to the third heaven and returned to this earth to tell about it.
• =1= John, the beloved disciple and apostle tells us of his visit to the third heaven.
• Read Rev 4:1-3
• =2= Paul, the apostle.

• Read 2Cor 12:1-5
• Paul finished telling us about all the things he had suffered for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.
• Remember, he told us about this because of the Judaizers that said he was not a true apostle.
• Now Paul tells us about the glorious revelations, visions, and spiritual experiences in his life for the same reason, to verify his position as an apostle.

• “I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago…”

(2)

• In humility Paul refers to himself as “a man”.
• He did not have this experience of entering the third heaven because he was so special. He was simply an ordinary man that God decided to give him this experience as a means of enriching his ministry. Why Paul?
• Much of the New Testament, inspired by God, was written by Paul.
• Much of the establishment of Christianity in the Roman world was due to Paul’s many missionary trips to preach the gospel.
• Therefore, because the task that God laid on Paul was so great, God gave him a great revelation of Himself.

• A Kingdom Principle

: The greater the task that God wants to accomplish, the greater the revelation of truth that God will give to the believer dedicated to serve God.

• Fourteen years ago:
• Paul gives us the date when this marvelous experience occurred in his life. It was 14 years before he wrote the book of 2Corinthians.
• That date places the experience some time in his first missionary journey.
• Read Act 14:19-20
• The Judaizers persuaded the people to stone Paul. He was left for dead.
• Paul is not sure whether he was actually dead and God resurrected him or whether he was near death and God healed him.
• It was probably during this incident that God took him to the third heaven.
• “(whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.”

(2)

• Notice that from this statement in parenthesis that Paul was not sure whether he was dead or alive.
• “How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.”

(4)

• Paul gives us few details about his experience in the third heaven.
• We do learn that this place is called, paradise.
• At the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the place called Abraham’s Bosom and the believers in it waiting for the resurrection, were moved to the third heaven. How do we know this?
• Jesus said to the thief on the cross next to him, “…Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” (Luk 23:43)
• Therefore, after the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, all believers go immediately to paradise when they die. They are there waiting for the resurrection that will occur at the rapture of the church.
• The place of Torment where all non-believers wait for the resurrection has not been moved.
• God spoke to Paul in Paradise.
• Paul says these are unspeakable things. What does that mean?
• Sometimes God reveals to man marvelous truths but they are given for personal benefit and are not to be repeated. God may have told Paul not to reveal these truths.
• Daniel received revelations from God that he did not reveal. (Dan 8:26 Dan 12:4)
• Sometimes God reveals revelations to man that there is no language sufficient to express in words.
• Paul tells us for sure that he was this man caught up into the third heaven in verse 5.
• He will not glorify himself because of this marvelous experience. He will not say how special he is or that he is more important than the Judaizers.
• Instead, he will talk more about his sufferings than this experience.

• Read 2Cor 12:6-10
• Paul did not want to dwell on his marvelous experience in the third heaven because it would be foolish. It would appear that he was boasting and people would get too high an opinion of him. (6)
• Instead, God permitted a “thorn in the flesh” to keep Paul humble.
• What do we learn about Paul’s thorn in the flesh?
• There are many suppositions and suggestions for exactly what this thorn was. Unfortunately Paul does not specifically name this thorn that kept him humble. From the scriptures we do not learn exactly what it was.
• Some popular suppositions:
• A physical illness = Because Paul travelled in an area on the mainland of Turkey where mosquitoes were abundant, many people believe that Paul had malaria. (Act 13:13-15)
• An eye disease = Because Paul wrote with large letters, many believe he suffered from an eye disease which was common at that time in that part of the world. (Gal 6:11)
• The Judaizers = Because the context of Paul’s discussion about the thorn in the flesh is in response to the Judaizers in Corinth, many people believe that they were the thorn in the flesh. It is obvious from 2Corinthians that they were a constant disruption to his ministry. We know from the book of Acts that they followed him everywhere to dismantle what he had accomplished for the gospel. (Act 14:2, 19)
• Even though we do not learn what it was, we do learn from where it came and why God permitted it.

• “…messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.”

(7)

• Paul calls this thorn a messenger of Satan. A messenger has a message.
• In this aspect, the Judaizers fit this description. Their message was not from God but from Satan. They preached “another gospel”. (2Cor 11:4, 14
• This thorn kept Paul humble. How?
• Whether the thorn was some illness or the Judaizers, Paul had to be dependent on God every step of the way.
• Paul was a very intelligent man besides the special revelations that God gave him. He could easily have become egotistical to receive a lot of glory for himself. He could have done a lot of things in the flesh nature simply by his intelligence and dynamic personality.
• This thorn in the flesh kept him dependent on the Holy Spirit. It was a constant reminder that Jesus Christ must receive the glory for the kingdom of God.
• How did Paul deal with this thorn in the flesh?

• “For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.”

(8)

• Three times he asked God to remove this thorn, and three times God said no. However, God gave him encouragement to bear this thorn in the flesh.

• “…My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness…”

(9)

• This verse gives us encouragement as it did for Paul. No matter what weakness we have, no matter what thorn we have in our flesh, God’s grace is sufficient. He gives us the strength we need to do what He has called us to do.
• Paul used God’s grace and God’s strength.
• God takes our weaknesses and makes them perfectly strong in Jesus Christ.
• “…Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

(9)

• In these verses we see Paul’s marvelous attitude toward this thorn that had the ability to drive him to despair.
• God considered Paul worthy to bear this thorn in the flesh. Therefore, God would get more glory from it if Paul endured it than if God removed it. With that assurance of victory for Christ, Paul stopped asking God to remove the thorn.
• “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities…”

(10)

• Paul would gladly bear the thorn in the flesh, but not because he had no choice, and not grudgingly.
• Paul took pleasure in his weaknesses and sufferings because it glorified Christ more.

• Read 2Cor 12:11-21
• Paul apologizes again for this foolishness of having to defend himself. (11)
• He says that the Christians in Corinth should be the ones to defend him to the Judaizers.
• The signs of an apostle: (12)
• The people in Corinth should have known that Paul was a true apostle because there were certain signs that were proof of an apostle. What were these signs?
• Read Rom 15:18-20
• These signs are the gifts of the Holy Spirit that Paul told them about in 1Cor 12 and 14.
• Paul’s parental love:
• The church in Corinth was the weakest and most troublesome church of all those that Paul had founded.
• Because Paul loved this church like a parent, he did not want to be a burden to them. For that reason he did not accept any money from them for his personal use. (13)
• Paul will visit them again with the same attitude.
• He will not accept money from them for himself.
• He will accept the offering they promised for the Jerusalem church.
• Paul gives the general principle for his reasoning of not to accept money for himself :
• Parents provide for their children. Children do not provide for parents.
• While this is a general principle of life, it does not take into consideration the time in old age when children should take care of parents that need care.
• Like a parent, Paul will gladly spend his life serving them and loving them without any expectation of return. (15)
• This is the nature of agape love that is unconditional.

• “being crafty, I caught you with guile.”

(16)

• Paul quotes the Judaizers that said Paul was crafty and caught the Christians with guile.
• In reality, Paul was using love to win them to Christ. But it was not for any other benefit or motive except for their good.
• The Judaizers were deceitful and crafty. They did not have a parental love for the Christians in Corinth.
• Paul sent other people to minister to the Christians in Corinth, people like Titus.
• Those people did not take advantage of the Christians in Corinth.
• They did not collect money for Paul’s ministry.
• They visited Corinth with the same love and in the same spirit as Paul did.
• Expectations and worries:
• The people in Corinth had high expectations of Paul.
• They expected him to come to visit them more often.
• Paul had high expectations of them.
• He was worried that when he visited them, he would find the same church divisions with arguments and strife. (20)
• Paul makes a list of things that characterize an ungodly church. (20)
• He was worried that when he visited them, he would find the same types of immoral sins. (21)

HOMEWORK
2CORINTHIANS 13
This is a self-study. Please do not send homework answers to the teacher forcorrection.

• Application of 2Cor 12
• Do you have something in your life that would qualify as your thorn in the flesh? What is it?
• How does your attitude compare with Paul’s in the way you look at life with this thorn always present?
• What changes do you need to make in your attitude?

• Preparation of 2Cor 13
• Read 2Cor 13:1-14
• What warning does Paul give to the church in Corinth? (2)
• What challenge does Paul make for them? (5)
• What prayer does Paul express for them? (7)
• What principles of strength and weakness do you find in this chapter?

Memory Verse: 2Cor 13:5