What was Paul's thorn in the flesh? Actually that is a very interesting question. Just do a search on the internet for this topic and you will find many different ideas and each of them believing they have it all figured out. I have read many works of many people thinking that they had surmised what the thorn in the flesh was for Paul. I have even heard people say that if it were important then the Bible would tell us plainly. Well the Bible does tell us plainly what the thorn in Paul's flesh was but unfortunately we choose to ignore what the Bible says, because it does not line up with what we think the Bible says. Confused yet? Well just hang on, it will get worse before it gets better.
What are some of the options for what the thorn was? A common one is that Paul suffered from some sort of vision problems possibly because of him going blind after seeing Jesus on the road to Damascus. In Galatians 4:13-15 Paul mentions a bodily illness and tells us that others were willing to pluck their own eyes out and give them to him. Also in Galatians 6:11 Paul tells us that he is writing with his own hand in large letters. Many determine that these verses are recorded because of his poor eyesight. We will look at these verses a little closer in just a minute. Other people say that he had some sort of physical ailment like a speech impediment, migraines, malaria, epilepsy and still others say that it was the persecution that he endured. I am not saying any of these are wrong. God may have used all of these things in Paul's life. However, I believe the Bible is clear as to what the thorn was in this particular incident and it is a lesson that all of us can learn from.
First lets look at the possibility that Paul's thorn was his eyesight since this is most commonly taught as a possibility because of the verses listed above. Paul had gone blind on the road to Damascus so his eyesight should obviously be a topic of consideration. This story is recorded in Acts 9:8 "And Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open he could see nothing;" Verse 9 tells us that he was three days without his eyesight. In verses 17-18 we are told that Ananias came to see him because the Lord Jesus had sent him "so that you may regain your sight, and be filled with the Holy Spirit. And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight and he arose and was baptized:" This was a healing from God and associated with his salvation experience. To suggest that the healing was not complete, total or was merely temporary does not line up with other healing experiences recorded in the scriptures. An incomplete healing would make God look poorly in the eyes of those around Paul. Also Jesus on several occasions had referred to the Pharisees as leaders who were "the blind leading the blind" Matthew 15:4 and Luke 6:39 are two examples. Saul was a pharisee and for him to suffer with a permanent aliment such as blindness would make him appear to be the very one that the Lord had warned against. In my opinion this would create a situation where it would be more difficult for the Jews to accept the message that Paul was sent to give.
So lets look at the two verses that I listed that appear to be good indicators that the thorn in Paul's flesh was his eyesight. Galatians 4:13-15 "But you know that it was because of a bodily illness that I preached the gospel to you the first time; and that which was a trial to you in bodily condition you did not despise or loathe, but you received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus Himself. Where then is that the sense of blessing you had? For I bear you witness, that if possible, you would have plucked your eyes and given them to me." So when was the "first time" that Paul preached to the Galatians? We find that answer in Acts 14. In Chapter 13 Paul had preached to the Jews and they rejected his message but some Gentiles heard and accepted it. So Paul decided to go to the Gentiles. In chapter 14 in verses 7-8 he traveled to the region of Galatia and visited the cities and surrounding areas of Lycaonia, Lystre, and Derbe. In verse 19 we have some Jews who came and won over the Gentiles and stoned Paul and drug him to the dump and supposed him to be dead. But in verse 20 it says he got up and walked with Barnabus from Lystra to Derbe. There he preached and in verse 22 we are told one of the main themes of his preaching. It was "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God." His body was obviously covered with bruises, cuts and his face was probably swollen to the point that it was hard for him to see. This explains the "bodily illness" or better translated "weakness of the flesh" and the reason that Paul mentions that the listeners should have "despised or loathed" his appearance. It also explains why those listening would be willing to "pluck out their eyes and give them to Paul." He must have been a pitiful sight and those looking at him felt sorry for him. I am sure he struggled to be able to see past his swollen, puffy eyes and they would have helped him if they could have. But they overlooked his appearance and actually received him as "an angel of light." I believe the problem that plagued him was merely temporary because he speaks of it in the past tense when he stated "that it was because of a bodily illness that I preached the gospel to you the first time."
The second verse often used to teach that the thorn in Paul's flesh was his eyesight is Galatians 6:11 "See what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand." This is an interesting verse. Many translations say something a little different. Something similar to "See what a large letter I have written to you with my own hand." Kind of changes the meaning of the verse. One refers to the size of the individual letters and the other to size of the entire letter. So which is right? This is strictly my personal opinion but if Paul had been referring to the appearance of his handwriting he would have addressed that at the first of his letter not the end. If he is referring to the length of the letter then he would do that at the end of the letter, not the beginning. In this particular case he was wrapping up his letter and then makes the comment about the size or length of the letter. The word that is used in the Greek for "letter or letters" is Gramma which can mean; that which is written, a letter of the alphabet or a book or letter. So either translation could be correct when looking at this word. I don' t think scripture is clear enough to know for sure which way is correct and that is why it is often translated both ways. So at the very least this verse is suspect in using it for confirmation of what Paul's thorn in the flesh was.
As for the thorn in the flesh being some other type of physical aliment, I believe there is nothing in scripture that would support this possibility. There are a few things that may be hinted at here and there but certainly nothing that could be considered concrete. One example for this is that the thorn in the flesh was some sort of a speech impediment which is hinted at in II Corinthians 10:10 and 11:6. To accept this as the "thorn" in Paul's flesh, a person would have to draw a lot of conclusions. Clearly Paul was accustomed to making speeches before the Pharisees and seemed very comfortable in front of the Sanhedrin of which he may have been a member. Paul often preached for extended periods of time and on at least one occasion spoke all night. He spoke in front of both Jews and Gentiles and to leaders of both groups. He was very articulate, knowledgeable and capable of speaking to anyone. He communicated wonderfully through his writings and there is nothing to suggest that his perceived "unskilled speech" was anything that would have been a thorn in the flesh.
Some have argued that the term "thorn in the flesh" would have to be those that persecuted Paul. In the old testament, "thorns in the flesh" for the Israelites were those people groups that led them away from God. I believe this is close but not quite right. There was something that was pulling Paul away from God but it was not people. Also, if Paul's persecutions and trials were his thorn in the flesh then we have a problem. Paul clearly had many persecutions and here is a list from Paul himself in II Corinthians 11:23-30 "I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure upon me of concern for all the churches." Clearly he had his share of persecutions. The problem is this. If Paul prayed on three different occasions for God to remove his tribulations then it makes Paul out to be some what of a hypocrite. On several occasions Paul preached that tribulations or persecutions were not only necessary, expected, profitable but also an example that God loves us. As did other writers in the New Testament. Some examples are:
Acts 14:22 "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God."
II Corinthians 1:5"For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ."
Philippians 1:29 "For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake."
II Thessalonians 1:5 "This is plain indication of God's righteous judgement so that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering."
Hebrews 12:6 For those whom the Lord loves he disciplines and He scourges every son whom He receives.
Plus these scriptures from others:
II Timothy 3:12 "And indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."
I Peter 3:14 "But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed..."
I Peter 5:10 "And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you."
And there are many others.
So the question still remains, what was the thorn in Paul's flesh. To get a full understanding of this let's look at the place in the Bible where this is recorded. Let's look at the verses before and after it as well. It is recorded in II Corinthians 12:7 And because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me - to keep me from exalting myself!
Did you catch what that said? There was given me a thorn in the flesh, a "messenger of Satan to buffet me". The word messenger here means; a created spiritual angel whether good or evil. Clearly this was an evil one since it was of Satan. When we look at the word "buffet" it means to attack or torment repeatedly. The thorn in the flesh was not in any way physical it was obviously spiritual and it occurred over and over. I am sure right about now you are surprised at what the scripture says and you may be thinking about verses that you have heard that appear to teach that a person who has the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of them can not be demon possessed. And you are correct. There is a huge difference in demon possession and demonization. For someone to be demon possessed the demon will indwell the person and control that person. But demonization is a totally different issue. Demonization means to have the influence or persuasion of demons in one or more areas of a persons life. And surprisingly it is even possible in some cases for this demonization to become so severe that the demon can possess a certain control over the person who is saved. This subject matter of demonization is the topic for a whole different study and I would suggest reading "The Handbook for Spiritual Warfare" by Dr. Ed Murphy for more on this subject. To help me wrap my mind around the concept of demonization, I look at the word westernization. Westernization is the influence of the West or the US on other cultures. When you look at Japan or Korea for instance their cultures have changed a lot due to the western influence in their country over the last few years. You can see some of the US in the way they dress, advertise, the music they listen to, and even what they watch on television. Demonization is the influence of demons on peoples lives. Demons can certainly try to pull us away from God and fellowship with Him. Demons also can use all sorts of physical and mental attacks on a Christian including persecutions, trials and tribulations as we will see when we look at the story of Job.
A Christian would be a fool to think that demons can not influence them. Paul says in Ephesians 6:11 -12 Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of the darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Paul obviously thought that demons could influence a Christian. He also tells us of the struggle inside of him between doing good and evil and how it is a constant battle to stay away from the flesh. Romans 7:14-21 For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.
It is in our flesh where Satan loves to attack. In the Garden of Eden we see evidence of this. Genesis 3:6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. Satan made his argument to appeal to the flesh, "it was good for food"and "it made one wise". How could God not want that for her, she thought, and Adam agreed with her and both of them reacted in the flesh and sinned against God. We also see evidence of Satan attacking the flesh in the temptations of Jesus Christ in Luke 4 where Satan tempted Jesus with bread to feed his hunger, with the world so He would not have to die on the cross and with the opportunity to prove that He was who He said He was so as to keep from having to deal with humiliation. Satan has not changed his tactics and he still attacks us in our flesh, Christian or not.
In the story of Job we not only see that God allowed attacks by Satan but He brought Job to Satan's attention and sat back and allowed Satan to buffet Job on many fronts. Job 1:8 The LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil." and again in Job 2:3 The LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still holds fast his integrity, although you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause." Satan was allowed to take everything away from Job. So why should we be surprised when God allows spiritual attacks against Paul even though Paul asked God to remove them on three different occasions? II Corinthians 12:8 - 9 Concerning this I entreated the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness."
In both of the cases of Job and of Paul, God used the attacks brought on them by Satan to make them aware of pride in their lives. Pride is the one area in all of our lives that Satan can find a foot hold. Pride has destroyed more men than any other sin and pride is rampant in the US. If we even begin to think that we don't have a problem with pride then obviously we do. We have pride in the fact that we don't have pride. We like to think more highly of ourselves than we should. Paul warns against this in Romans 12:3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.
I think we can learn a lot from looking a little closer at Paul and Job and their similarities when it comes to the sin of pride. First lets look at Job. Was Job a Godly man? Of course he was. We see on several occasions that God said he was. We have already quoted Job 1:8 and 2:3 but also look in Job 1:1, 1:20, 1:22, and Job 2:10 all of these verses make it clear that Job was a man who was God fearing, was blameless and served God. But as we read the book of Job we learn more about him and the pride that God is going to deal with. In Job 7:20 he begins to take pride in the fact that he is not aware of any sin in his life. In Job 12:4 he starts to think about what others will say of him. Job challenges his friends to find any sin in his life in 13:23. Job boasts of how he would reason with God as the "upright" in 23:7 and then in 27:6 Job declares that "I will hold fast my righteousness." In chapter 30 Job talks about his humiliation in his present state. In chapter 31 he declares his integrity. Then in Chapter 32:1 we are told "then these three men ceased answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes." Elihu a younger friend has been quiet up to this point as Job argued with his three other friends but Elihu has heard enough and blasts Job for "justifying himself before God" and for the three friends who "found no answer yet had condemned Job." In verses 8-12 in Chapter 32 Elihu quotes some of the prideful things that Job has said and then in verse 13 tells Job that God does not answer to him. In verse 17 Elihu directly talks about Job's "pride". Then in chapter 34 he vindicates God's justice and then in chapter 35 he sharply reproves Job. He asks Job in verse 2 if he knows better than God how things should be done. He tells him in verse 8 that his "righteousness is for the son of man". He tells Job in verse 12 that God does not answer "because of the pride of evil men." He then tells him in verse 14 that he must wait on God. He gives Job quite the sermon and sums it all up in Job 37:24 Therefore men fear Him; He does not regard any who are wise of heart.
Now God speaks up. He picks up where Elihu left off. God asks Job in Chapter 38:4 where were you when I created the world and all that is in it. And in verse 18 do you understand how all of these things work? God takes the next two chapters to question Job and his understanding of how God works. In Chapter 40 God tells Job if he knows better than God in how to deal with things then speak up and tell Him. But Job has nothing to say so in verse 6 God starts up again and in verse 7 God says he wants Job to instruct him on how to deal with all that God has to deal with. Then in verse 8 God asks Job, "Will you condemn Me that you may be justified? In verses 11-14 God tells Job to take his anger and tell Him how to deal with all the self righteousness which is pride in the world and then God will confess to Job how his own righteousness can save him. "Pour out the overflowings of your anger; and look on everyone who is proud and make him low. Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him; And tread down the wicked where they stand. Hide them in the dust together; bind them in the hidden place. Then I will also confess to you that your own right hand can save you." Then God finishes His talk with Job in Chapter 41 by talking about how the entire world shows God's power. Then in verse 34 He says of Himself, "He looks on everything that is high; He is king over all the sons of pride."
The book of Job ends in Chapter 42. It starts with Job humbling himself and praising God and then in verse 6 he says, "Therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes." It was not until after Job's repentance of his self-righteousness, anger against his friends and his pride did God restore his fortunes in verse 10 " And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed..." So we see that Job was a righteous man but he drifted into an area of pride. God knew this and allowed Satan to attack Job in many ways all for the purpose of drawing Job closer to God. We will see this same sort of thing when we look at the pride in Paul's life.
Now lets look at Paul and how he struggled with the same problem of pride as Job. Since the writings of Paul are so vast we will only be looking at the verses close to our key verse II Corinthians 12:7. If we look closely we see a theme running through Paul's letter. In II Corinthians 7 we see Paul starting to "boast" about the Corinthians both in verses 4 and 14. In chapters 8 and 9 he does the same thing in verses 8:24, 9:2 and 9:3. Then in chapters 10 and 11 Paul starts talking about himself and we see the word "boast" starts to escalate in the number of appearances. We see it in 10:8, 10:13, 10:15, 10:16, twice in 10:17 and also in verses 11:10, 11:12, 11:16, 11:17, 11:18, 11:20, and twice in 11:30. Obviously this is a topic that Paul is bringing into focus. In chapter 12 Paul starts off in verse one by saying, "Boasting is necessary, though it is not profitable; but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord." His focus has been on boasting the last few chapters and now he says that boasting is necessary sometimes but not always profitable so now he will talk about the visions and revelations that God has given to him. But we will soon see that he quickly goes back into talking about boasting. In verse two Paul starts to talk about about himself in the third person. We don't really know it is him that he is talking about until verse seven. II Corinthians 12:2-6 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a man was caught up to the third heaven. And I know how such a man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows—was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak. On behalf of such a man I will boast; but on my own behalf I will not boast, except in regard to my weaknesses. For if I do wish to boast I will not be foolish, for I will be speaking the truth; but I refrain from this, so that no one will credit me with more than he sees in me or hears from me.
Only God knows if this was an out of body experience or not because even Paul does not know. But he does know that anyone who had an experience like that would certainly be worth boasting about because to do so would be simply telling the truth. But he is not going to boast about the revelations he is only going to boast about his own weaknesses so no one will give him credit for anything that is not seen in his life or heard in his messages. So now comes the verse that is of concern to us which is clearly understood when reading the New Living Translation. 12:6b -7 But I won't do it, because I don't want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message, even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Paul tells us that it is he who received these wonderful revelations and then explains the thorn in his flesh. This thorn in Paul's flesh is clearly a demonic spirit sent to keep Paul from becoming proud. So how is a demonic spirit used to keep him from becoming proud? It would appear to most of us that a demonic spirit would be used to make him have the sin of pride not take it away. Knowing this, Paul continues and explains how God uses the pride problem. God gives Paul the grace to deal with the problem. As a result Paul realizes he has this problem and humbles himself. Each time pride rears its ugly head Paul realizes it, humbles himself, confesses the sin and becomes weak. When he is weak, just like us, that is when God can use him and he becomes strong. II Corinthians 12:8-10 "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."
Paul finishes up this letter to the Corinthians with this summation in 13:4 For indeed He was crucified because of weakness, yet He lives because of the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, yet we shall live with Him because of the power of God directed toward you. Was Christ crucified because he was weak? Absolutely not! He was crucified because of our weaknesses to sin. The weakness in our flesh is why sin is in the world today and it is because of that weakness that Christ had to die on the cross for us. It is because of the power of God that Satan is defeated and no longer does death have a hold on us. Paul tells us this in I Corinthians 15:55-57 "O Death, where is your victory? O Death, where is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
The author of Hebrews also tells us that many men of old had their weaknesses turned to strength by God because of their faith. Hebrews 11:32-34 How much more do I need to say? It would take too long to recount the stories of the faith of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and all the prophets. By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight.
We all have sins our lives that haunt us. And I believe all of us, if truth be known have some sort of pride issues. May we learn from Job, Paul and the many others. May we become aware of our pride and our other sins, humble ourselves and confess them to God who then will forgive us of those sins and draw us closer to him which will only make us stronger. May we become weak so that we may be strong.
