Length: 9 minutes

I’m sure you’ve heard about “Paul’s thorn in the flesh” that is mentioned in 2 Corinthians 12. Even unbelievers will use the phrase “a thorn in my flesh” or “a thorn in my side” for things that are annoying or irritating. But this passage of scripture has been so terribly misinterpreted, and God has been accused of some atrocities that He never committed because of it.

So let’s first read the passage for ourselves to get some first-hand knowledge.

2 Corinthians 12:7-9 (NKJV) 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 [to beat on me], lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 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.

The interpretation of this passage is quite a mess in the church today, so let’s clean it up a little bit. Let’s take it step-by-step.

So, verse 7 says that Paul was growing abundantly in revelation of Jesus. And to hinder him from being “exalted above measure,” there is some situation that arises. Whatever the situation is, Paul doesn’t like it. He asks God to take it away three times. 

Here’s the typical interpretation of that. Some falsely claim that Paul was growing in revelation, so God gave him this, “thorn in the flesh.” This is interpreted as being some eye disease, or infirmity, or at least some adversity that God gave him, so that Paul wouldn’t get too prideful over the revelations he was receiving of the Lord. And despite Paul asking God to take it away three times, God simply didn’t take it away because God’s graciousness should be enough for him. 

None of this is correct. Not even close. 

Exalted Above Measure

First, when it says that Paul is being “exalted above measure,” this is not talking about pride. The knowledge of Jesus does not make people prideful under any circumstance. All the contrary, when we renew our mind, we are transformed into the image of Jesus. When we get to know Jesus, it produces every kind of virtuous fruit (Romans 12:2, 2 Corinthians 3:18, and 2 Peter 1:5-8). Pride is not something that has, or ever will be, a fruit of the knowledge of Jesus.

When it says that Paul was being “exalted” because of the abundance of the revelation of Jesus, this is clearly referring to him increasing in fruitfulness, and in the power of God, through the abundance of revelations he was receiving. In fact, shortly after Paul’s conversion, the Bible accounts for how Paul continued increasing in the power of God.

Acts 9:22 (NKJV) But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ.

A Messenger Of Satan

The next point is that this does not say that God gave him that thorn in the flesh at all. It’s amazing that we get this wrong when Paul specifically mentioned the culprit here by name. He says it was a “messenger of Satan.” Whatever this “thorn in the flesh” was, it was not given by God, but by Satan.

2 Corinthians 12:7 …a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me [to beat on me]…

We will define exactly what this “thorn in the flesh” was, but for starters, let’s not blame God for something that the Bible specifically says was done by the devil.

I’m pretty sure you already must have a wrong view of God, to read this passage and think that the thorn in the flesh was given by God. Rather than seeing God as someone who gave up His beloved Son, to suffer in our stead, so that we wouldn’t have to suffer, many see God as someone who is the one who controls all the suffering in this world. If you have that view of God, I suppose it’s easy to project that meaning into this passage, even though it blames the situation on Satan entirely. Paul states the culprit by name, yet we still find it in our heart to blame God. Quite confusing. 

The Thorn In The Flesh

So, what is this thorn in the flesh that was given to Paul by the devil? It wasn’t sickness and it wasn’t some kind of bodily infirmity in any way, shape, or form. How do I know? Because the passage literally says what the thorn in the flesh was. It was a messenger! It was a person that came across Paul’s path! A messenger of Satan in particular! It’s amazing that we will call the thorn in the flesh some kind of sickness or bodily infirmity when Paul says exactly what it was. It was a Messenger.

2 Corinthians 12:7 …a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan…

And just so you know, this term “thorn in the side” or even “thorns in the eyes” is not a new term Paul is using. This term is used in other places in the Bible as well, for people that would be a hindrance to Israel. When God was bringing Israel into the promised land, which was already inhabited by ungodly people, He told them to drive them out of the land entirely, otherwise the people (and I repeat, the people) would be thorns to them.

Numbers 33:55 (KJV) But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell.

Judges 2:3 (KJV) Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.

Also see Joshua 23:13.

Even in the context of the verses we just read, what were the thorns? Were they sicknesses? Were they some kind of eye disease that the people had? Of course not! The thorns were people that God knew would try to entice Israel to worship their gods and hinder Israel in their endeavors.

So, with this biblical evidence that we have, along with the fact that Paul says explicitly that this thorn was “a messenger of Satan”, we see clearly that someone was sent by Satan to Paul to try to hinder him in his revelations of Jesus. This is not my opinion; this is what the Bible says. Somebody was speaking to Paul and trying to hinder and discourage him from the abundance of revelations he was receiving. That’s why he is called “a messenger.” He was speaking something to Paul to hinder him from increasing in the power of God because of the abundance of the revelations he was receiving.

The devil has no power or authority to hurt you, or even touch you directly (1 John 5:18). But the devil certainly can influence those that belong to him to speak to you, and try to discourage you from your revelation of Jesus, which would thus hinder you from increasing in the power of God. 

The power of God increases through us by revelation of Jesus; by the message of the cross. So what better thing for the devil to try to do, than to try to send Paul a message, contrary to the revelation he was receiving. 

My Grace Is Sufficient For You

And so, as this person continued provoking Paul, and attempting to hinder him in his revelation, Paul asks God to remove this messenger three times. And God replied, “My grace is sufficient for you.”

People interpret this as God brushing Paul off, saying, “Just deal with the situation.” They may not say that, but that’s how it’s interpreted. The funny thing is, God is absolutely answering Paul’s request by saying, “My grace is sufficient for you.”

For many situations in our lives, we may look to God and ask Him to do something else for us. We may ask Him to take something away from us. The truth is, if you really understand the finished work of Jesus, you understand that God already did everything that He needs to do for the very problem you’re going through. God wasn’t brushing Paul off by saying, “My grace is sufficient for you.” God was reminding Paul that He had provided everything that Paul needed already. God’s grace was sufficient for that situation already. When Jesus said, “It is finished” He wasn’t kidding. Paul’s situation was included in that phrase, “It is finished.”

Paul needed to be reminded that God already did everything for us. God already provided all the grace we’ll ever need through Jesus’ work. Paul just needed to understand and believe what God had already done, not to ask God to do something else! God’s grace that was provided through Jesus is already exactly what we need for every situation. Paul simply needed to be reminded of what God had already done, so he could get to learning, believing, and experiencing what was already finished.

To summarize this entire passage, Paul was increasing in the power of God because of the abundance of revelation of Jesus he was receiving. The devil didn’t like that, so the devil sent a messenger to Paul to try to hinder him from this increase. Paul asked God to remove this messenger three times, but God reminded Paul that everything Jesus had already provided was sufficient for that situation. That way, Paul could start believing what Jesus had already done, and receive it, rather than asking God to do something else. 

We hope we have exemplified the goodness and grace of God in this article. We hope you seen your Father in His correct light. And we hope you see Jesus as someone who preferred to suffer for you, than to see you go on suffering for another minute. Praise God for how much He loved us!

If you have more questions about the rest of 2 Corinthians 12, we recommend our persecution teaching for more. 

If this blessed you, share this with someone else. More people need to understand this awesome truth.