What Was Apostle Paul” thorn in the flesh”? Many people believe it is about sickness. Paul the apostle was sick and God was not able to heal him. Let us understand the truth from the scripture –
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
This verse is not about Paul’s sickness. There are four different reasons to understand that.
1. In the subsequent verse, God said to Paul…My grace is sufficient for me. How many times did Jesus tell sick people to go away for his grace is sufficient?
We don’t find it anywhere in the bible. So that is not God’s attitude towards sickness.
2. The expression of “thorn in the flesh” is used both in NT and OT as an illustration of a personality. Both Numbers 33:55, Joshua 23:13 the term thorn in the flesh is used as a personalities (Canaanite).
3. Paul states that it was messenger of satan- “the messenger of Satan to buffet me”. “To buffet” means to deal blow after blow. Harassing work of the angel of satan/devil fit into this description. It was not a sickness.
4. Infirmities / weakness/ weak : – the word infirmity or weakness used here was taken from same greek word and it is not a sickness.
5. In 2 Corinthians 12 chapters Paul was talking about hardships of his life. But he never mentions sickness there. If he would have been sick, he should have mentioned it there.
So in conclusion it is very clear it seems Paul was either suffering from devil’s harassment or persecution but it was not a sickness.
Too often in the discussion of the thorn of the flesh, some teachers give their idea, – Paul was sick and God couldn’t heal him. They try to comfort the sick people with this message. These believers do not believe in God’s divine healing power so they use this verse to justify their belief. The throne in the flesh is an idioms used here. It is not sickness.
2 thoughts on “What Was Apostle Paul” thorn in the flesh”?”
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