2 Corinthians 12:7–10

Context

Chapters 10–13 of 2 Corinthians, which Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, form a section in which Paul defends himself against those who were disparaging his apostleship (the "very chiefest apostles" of 2 Corinthians 11:5). Describing it as "foolish" boasting, Paul recounts his own record. In 12:1–6 he describes, in the third person, an experience of being caught up to "the third heaven." This passage is the confession that immediately follows. To keep him from becoming proud because of the abundance of revelations, "a thorn in the flesh" was given to him. Paul prayed three times, yet the thorn did not depart. Instead he received the answer, "My grace is sufficient for thee." On this basis Paul boasts not in the kind of power his opponents claimed but in his own weakness.

Interpretation

The text does not specify what the "thorn" (Greek skolops, a pointed stake or shaft) was. As a result, a variety of conjectures have been proposed throughout church history.

• As illness: This reading takes the thorn to be a chronic physical ailment, such as an eye disease or epilepsy. Its proponents point to Galatians 4:13–15, where Paul says he preached the gospel "through infirmity of the flesh."
• As adversaries: This reading notes the Old Testament image of enemies as "pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides" (Numbers 33:55) and the personal language of "the messenger of Satan." It therefore takes the thorn to be the opponents or persecution that afflicted Paul. The church father John Chrysostom is known to have read the passage this way.
• As temptation: Following the rendering of the Latin Bible, an interpretation of the thorn as carnal temptation spread in the medieval Western church. The Reformers are generally understood to have rejected this narrow reading.

Many modern commentators hold that the identity of the thorn cannot be determined with certainty. In their reading, the weight of the passage rests not on what the thorn was but on the answer to Paul's prayer and on the paradox "when I am weak, then am I strong."

Controversies

Interpretations of this passage diverge over questions of suffering and healing. Some within the Pentecostal and charismatic movements, which emphasize divine healing, read the thorn as persecution. They argue that the passage should not be used as grounds for believers to accept illness as the will of God. Those who read the thorn as illness see the passage as showing that even an apostle's petitions may not be answered as he desires. For this reason the passage is often cited in critiques of prosperity theology, which holds that faith will invariably bring healing and prosperity.

In the Korean Church

"My grace is sufficient for thee" and "when I am weak, then am I strong" are widely quoted in sermons on suffering, illness, and failure. The passage is also frequently read as a word of comfort during pastoral visits.

Related Passages

• Galatians 4:13–14
• 2 Corinthians 4:7
• 1 Corinthians 1:22–25
• Philippians 4:11–13
• 1 Corinthians 15:10