2 Corinthians 12: Thorns! Gee Thanks, God

The "Las Vegas" of first century Rome has been on a long journey. The Apostle Paul is encouraging them to forgive one another, know who they are in Christ, keep their lives holy, and stay unified.

Overall Theme: Strength in Weakness The God of All Comfort

Strength in weakness. This is the central message of 2 Corinthians. Throughout the letter Paul turns upside down our natural expectations of the way life works. Contrary to the way the world and our own human hearts naturally function, God takes what is low, despised, and weak to accomplish his purposes.

Key Verse God of all Comfort

(2 Corinthians 1:3-4)God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. 4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Bible Breakdown Podcast

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:02

Hey everyone and welcome to the Bible Breakdown podcast. In this podcast, we will be breaking down the Bible one chapter a day. Whether you are a new believer or have been following Christ for a while, we believe that you will learn something new and fresh every single day. So thank you for joining us and let's get into breaking down the Bible together.

Speaker 2: 0:23

Hello everybody, welcome back to the Bible Breakdown Podcast with your host, pastor Brandon, today, 2 Corinthians, chapter 12. And if I were to give this one a title, it would be Thorns. Gee, thanks God, thorns. You ever had a gift from somebody and they say you'll appreciate this with time. Right, like I remember when I was a kid, once upon a time, someone gave me a gift of a collector's item and it was a knife, a collector's item knife given to a kid, and I remember looking at that and, of course, I was super excited. My parents not so much. And so my dad took it from me and he was like in time, you'll appreciate this for what it is. I was like, what do you mean? Because I wanted to go cut something, cut the bedpost or something like that. No, no, no, it is more valuable than that. You'll understand with time. Well, many years later, I'm starting to understand how important that is. Well, there's something that God does in our life that we do not appreciate most of the time, myself included, but is an amazing gift if we can see it for what it is, and we're going to talk about that in just a moment. But, as always, if you like what we're doing here. Make sure you like, share and subscribe to the podcast. We're getting so close on our road to a thousand. Thank you so much for making it happen. Also, on the podcast, I love you so much. Make sure you're leaving us a five-star review. And then, where we all gather together at the Facebook discussion group and man, that thing is growing like crazy. Thank you so much for going there and subscribing to it. And some people are telling me that it's not showing up in their feed. So make sure when you go to it, go back to the Facebook group discussion group Bible breakdown discussion and make sure you are making the settings so that they're not turned off. If you turn them off, then you have to actually go to the discussion and it doesn't show up in your feed. So make sure you look at that or otherwise you're going to miss them because they come out every single day. That team is doing a phenomenal job and this is a good one.

Speaker 2: 2:13

So if you have your Bible and you want to open them up with me to 2 Corinthians, chapter 12, this is one of those chapters that has been debated on for a long time and the honest truth is we don't know. I'm gonna go ahead and tell you that if you ever have someone who tells you definitively what is going to happen, we're going to get it to in a minute. Listen, I'm not telling you they're lying to you, I'm saying they don't know. People have tried to find out forever and they don't know. I'll give you some suggestions. We're going to dive into this and there is a powerful lesson in this that if we can grab onto this and I say we, because I'm not there either on this one, but if we can there is amazing, amazing joy. So let's jump into this and we're going to see what God's word will say to us.

Speaker 2: 2:55

Okay, 2 Corinthians, chapter 12, verse 1, says this this boasting will do no good, but I must go on. I will reluctantly tell about visions and revelations from the Lord. I was caught up to the third heaven 14 years ago. Whether I was in the body or out of the body, I don't know. Only God knows, yes, only God knows, whether I was in my body or outside my body, but I do know that I was caught up to paradise and heard amazing things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words. Now, pause Now. If you're reading this in a different translation it will say I knew a man once who was caught up to the third heaven. The reason why more recent translations say I was caught up to the third heaven is because it is a well-documented historical fact.

Speaker 2: 3:44

Paul is talking about himself, but he said it in the third person because, as you can tell, he was trying to be modest about the things that he had done, and what he's saying is that he had a chance to go to heaven. Now, the reason why is because most scholars think Joker done got stoned to death I mean, he is dead and they had to pray him back to life. Well, while he was dead, apparently he gets to go to heaven. Well, he got to go to heaven. He got to see things that are so astonishing that can't be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell. That's kind of awesome, but he didn't have to possibly die to get to do that. So you know, as the wonderful theologian I think it was Guns and Roses said, every rose has its thorns. So there you go Now. Bible Breakdown Podcast, quoting from Guns and Roses. Here we go, verse five.

Speaker 2: 4:34

That experience is so worth boasting about. But I'm not going to do it. I will only boast about my weaknesses. If I wanted to boast, I will only boast about my weaknesses. If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing this because I would be telling the truth. But I don't do it because I don't want anyone to give me credit beyond what they see in my life or hear in my message, even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from being proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan, to torment me and to keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said my grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness. So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ can work through me. That's why I take pleasure in my weaknesses and in the insults, hardships, persecutions and troubles that I suffer for Christ, for when I am weak, then I am strong.

Speaker 2: 5:38

Now, before we continue to finish up what he's talking about, that was the controversy. To finish up what he's talking about, that was the controversy. People have tried to figure out long time what his thorn in the flesh was. Now I think it's in the providence of God that he doesn't say, because then that thorn in the flesh can be whatever it needs to be, like we don't know. You can imagine it to be whatever, but here are some guesses that people have had. Now, first of all, let's understand he's talking about a metaphor. He's not talking about a literal thorn right. And when he says that it was a messenger from Satan to torment me, some people have taken that a little far stretched that thing until it almost breaks. But one of the things that he is basically saying is it was a demonic thing. It wasn't just happenstance or bad, but it was like just evil thing that happened in his life and it really stopped him from being proud. Well, the reason why it stopped him from being proud was because, if you think about it, no one in the early church got as many revelations from God as Paul did. So it would have been very easy for Paul to have gotten proud, and so he said God knew I needed to be humbled, so he sent this to me. Now here's the thing Some people say that he had an eye condition that, for whatever reason, he couldn't see very well.

Speaker 2: 6:50

He's basically blind, and that is because of two things. One is because it says and I believe, philippians, that you love me so much that you would have given me your own two eyes if I asked you. The other is because it says that many times at the end of his letters he would say somebody else wrote them and I wrote I'm writing this part in my own hand. That's why a lot of people think he couldn't see. Well, here's debunking those two. First of all, if you read the, you would have given me your own eyes. In the context he's basically just saying that's how much you love me. You would have given me everything. And the second thing is the reason why he would write. That is because he was saying that a lot of times they would have an amanuensis, like someone who he would dictate. He would say and they'd write it down, but then his authentication was writing his name. So I want to debunk that one.

Speaker 2: 7:36

I personally do not believe he had an eye condition, because when he fell on the road to Damascus, when Jesus appeared to him and he fell off of his horse, that kind of thing, or his donkey, it said that there were scales on his eyes. And then, when he healed him, those scales came off of his eyes. So that means God healed his eyes. It doesn't make sense to me that God would heal his eyes and then strike them again. I just I don't know, but in my mind I don't think so. There's all kinds of other ones.

Speaker 2: 8:00

Some people say that if you think about it, before Paul became a Christian, he would arrest Christians. And you imagine, now he goes into these areas and he's trying to preach the gospel. How about people who he had put their family to death would meet him and go? Why would I ever believe in you? Or why would I ever believe in Jesus? Why would I ever follow you? You're the reason why my husband's dead. You're the reason why my son or daughter is dead. That would be a horrible thing to carry around and it's possible.

Speaker 2: 8:30

Here's what I think. If you look at the context, the chapter before, he is talking about all of these hardships that he had to endure and then, right after he talks about it, he says therefore, I'll take pleasure in my weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecution and trouble that I suffer. I think what he meant by a thorn in the flesh is that the life of an apostle seemed to be the hardest on him. When Jesus is talking to Ananias, the guy who's going to go pray for Paul. He says I want you to go and pray for Paul. I'm going to show him he must have to suffer for the gospel. So what I think it is? I think that what Paul is saying is that I am constantly under attack, I am constantly being beaten, I'm being hurt, and it seems like I am being hurt more than anybody else. I have asked God three times to take away the difficulty of spreading the gospel and every time God tells him I'm sufficient for you, I'm going to keep you strong. That's what I think he is saying. But hey, it's really up to anybody. But it's amazing for him to say I'm going to boast in my weaknesses, because when I am weak, god takes over. Many times we don't understand the strength of God until we get to the end of our strength. It's only then we can see the miracle of God's strength. All right, let's continue. We're going to wrap this up, verse 11.

Speaker 2: 9:49

You have made me act like a fool. You ought to be writing commendations for me, for I am not at all inferior to these super apostles, even though I am nothing at all. When I was with you, I certainly gave you proof that I am an apostle, for I patiently did many signs and wonders and miracles among you. The only thing I failed to do which I do in other churches is to become a financial burden to you. Please forgive me for this wrong is to become a financial burden to you. Please forgive me for this wrong. Now I am coming to you for a third time and I will not be a burden to you. I don't want what you have. I want you. After all, children don't provide for their parents. Rather, parents provide for their children. I will gladly spend myself and all that I have for you, even though it seems that the more I love you, the less you love me. You really hear his heart just hurting out of this.

Speaker 2: 10:43

Some of you admit that I was not a burden to you, but others still think I was sneaky and took advantage of you by trickery. But how Did any of the men I sent to you take advantage of you when I urged Titus to visit you and sent our other brothers with him? Did Titus take advantage of you? No, for we have the same spirit and walk in each other's steps, doing the same things the same way. Perhaps you think we're saying these things just to defend ourselves. No, we tell you this as Christ's servants and with God as our witness. Everything we do, dear friends, is to strengthen you, for I am afraid that when I come, I won't like what I find and you won't like my response. I'm afraid that I will find quarreling, jealousy, anger, selfishness, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorderly behavior. Yes, I am afraid that when I come again, god will humble me in your presence and I will be grieved, because many of you have not given up your old sins you have not repented of.

Speaker 2: 11:43

So then Paul turns on a dime and he's saying All these things I've done, I have done so that I could stay in the ministry and I could bless you. And he's saying even at other places, I allow them to take care of my needs, I allow them to do all the different things. I didn't do it with you guys, because I knew that that was such a stumbling block to you. And he's saying what I'm so upset about is when I get there, I want to see that you've turned toward the Lord. And that's important to realize too is because we have people who say that when we give our lives to Christ, we can go, do whatever we want to do, we're saved now. Actually, paul is saying I want to see you grow, and in growing that means you stop looking like the world and you start looking like Jesus. You start looking holy in your life, because all those things come from broken places Impurity, sexual immorality, eagerness for lustful pleasure, quarreling, jealousy, anger, selfishness, slander, gossip, arrogance, disorderly behavior All those are medications for brokenness. And he's saying I don't want to see you broken, I want to see you doing well. Therefore, I'm telling you now, walk away from those broken places. And can I tell you, god is the God of all comfort, and so what he wants to do is he wants to comfort us, and the comfort that he has for us is not always the same kind of comfort that we're looking for. So, as we get ready to end this chapter, what does this chapter tell us? And that is this number one God does not always stop bad things from happening to us, because sometimes the greatest miracle he can show us is that he can walk with us through anything.

Speaker 2: 13:23

That reminds me of a story of a gentleman who I had heard that earlier in his life, before I knew him, he had lost a son, and I have been told that there's nothing worse than to lose a child, like it's just, it's not even natural it's. You know, parents are supposed to be buried by their children, not bury children, right. And so I've just been told over and over again that. And so when I, when I heard about that, I just didn't feel right to even talk about it. And so, after we got to know each other, in a moment where I felt like I could do that, I asked him the question and I asked him. I told him, I said man, I'm so sorry to hear about your son. And it had been like 20 years since his son had passed away. He looked at me and he still can only talk about without crying.

Speaker 2: 14:04

And he said you know, I wish every day that that had not happened. He said but you know, if I hadn't have gone through that, I would have never seen how good God is. And I was like you got to explain that to me. You know what is that? And he said because I was one of those people that was always very strong, very strong in my faith, very strong just as a person and self-willed and all that.

Speaker 2: 14:29

And he said the one thing I couldn't handle was my son dying. And he said when my son died, he said I broke, so I lost it. I lost it. And son died, he said I broke, so I lost it. I lost it. And he said I finally came to the end of my strength. And he said it was at the end of my strength that I began to see what the power of God looked like, because every day I got up I felt a peace I couldn't understand. I felt a joy on the inside of knowing where my son was and knowing I'd go be with him one day.

Speaker 2: 14:57

He said God opened doors of conversations and miracles and things. And he said I would have never seen the power of God and the strength of God until I got to the end of mine. And he said so I would never want that to happen again. And he said but I always now know that God is able to take the worst tragedy and do something beautiful with it. And I think that God wants to be the God of all comfort for us in that when we go through the worst times, sometimes God doesn't take it away from us because he has something even more powerful and that is to show his strength through our weak seasons.

Speaker 2: 15:34

And then the second thing is, the God of all comfort says stop medicating your pain with broken things. Stop medicating your brokenness with painful things. Stop looking at the things of the world to numb the pain and instead that bitterness, that unforgiveness, that victimhood that makes you want to feel like that you're always living according to what someone else did to you. You're better than that. Let me help you grow, because that's what God wants us to do. He wants to save us and then he wants to heal us, so that then we can be a healing to others. Let's pray together.

Speaker 2: 16:18

God, thank you so much for today. Thank you for your goodness, your kindness, your mercy. You're always with us and for us. I pray, god, that the God of all comfort that's you, god, will comfort us and help us know you more. Today, in Jesus' name, we pray amen and amen. Well, god's word says in 2 Corinthians 1,. God is the source of all comfort and he comforts us in all of our troubles so that we can comfort others. What does God want to comfort you in today, and how can you bring comfort to somebody else the rest of this day? I love you. I'll see you tomorrow for 1 Corinthians, excuse me, 2 Corinthians, chapter 13.