2 Corinthians 12 Study Notes

12:1 This verse is a continuation of Paul’s boasting as a fool, revealing how great he was in comparison to the false apostles. Paul’s conversion came in response to a vision (see Ac 26:19). As an apostle, he received direct revelations from Christ (Gl 1:12; Eph 3:3). The visions mentioned here are reported nowhere else.

12:2-3 A man in Christ is Paul’s euphemism for himself, expressed in the third person for humility’s sake. Third heaven is the place of God’s dwelling. The first heaven is the atmospheric sky, and the second heaven is the planetary sky. The time period, fourteen years ago, would have been about AD 42, assuming 2 Corinthians was written in 56. This vision therefore preceded Paul’s missionary travels, and he had evidently never spoken of it until now. He was not sure whether his body (in the body or out of the body) was taken to heaven or not during the vision.

12:4 The only other place where Paul used this verb (caught up), other than in v. 2, was to refer to the bodily catching up of living believers to meet the Lord in the air at his return, sometimes called the rapture (1Th 4:17). The word paradise expresses the same idea as the third heaven of v. 2. It occurs in two other NT passages, where it also means “heaven” (Lk 23:43; Rv 2:7).

12:5-6 If Paul had wanted to, he could have told more. He declined, however, so the Corinthians could evaluate him on the basis of what they had seen in or heard from him.

12:7 Paul did not say what his thorn in the flesh was, although the Corinthians probably knew. Uncertainty about the specific identity of the “thorn” has allowed believers down through the ages to apply the concept to their own circumstances. Suggestions about the “thorn” have included physical ailments (poor eyesight or ill health); psychological or spiritual ailments (depression, demonic oppression, or an ongoing temptation from a bodily desire); and opposition to his ministry (enemies both inside and outside the churches).

12:8 Paul prayed fervently and repeatedly until he received the Lord’s answer. No is an answer to prayer as surely as yes is.

12:9 The sufficiency of divine grace may be easier to grasp intellectually than through experience, especially for those who are naturally inclined to self-reliance. God ensured that Paul never got away from grace (see note at 1:2). God’s glorious power is more evident when it is displayed in weak vessels (see note at 4:7).

12:10 All of Paul’s sufferings—which he recapped here in five short phrases—became occasions for him to be pleased or delighted (Php 4:13).

12:11 On fool, see note at 11:16. On super-apostles, see note at 11:5.

12:12 The apostles whom Jesus commissioned as his official spokesmen received power from him to do the same mighty signs and wonders and miracles he had done. This authenticated their authority and status (Mk 6:7; 1Th 1:5). Hebrews 2:4 implies that “signs and wonders” were the special prerogative of eyewitnesses of Jesus. Apparently the “super-apostles” lacked these credentials.

12:13 Paul did not burden the Corinthian believers because he did not ask for payment for his ministry (see note at 11:7-8). Forgive me for this wrong is a satirical comment.

12:14 Paul’s first visit to the Corinthians was the long church-planting visit, around AD 50-51 (Ac 18:11). His second visit was the brief painful experience (2Co 2:1). Earlier in the letter he had promised a third visit (see note at 9:5). This was fulfilled, as Rm 15:26 shows. Paul would not burden the Corinthians by asking for money for his personal use. He did, of course, expect them to support the offering for the Jerusalem saints (2Co 8-9). He wanted their hearts and affection, not their money.

12:15 The fatherly love Paul felt for the Corinthians resulted in a great sacrifice of time and money (see notes at 6:12-13; 11:2-3). He yearned for this love to be returned, even though he didn’t expect the Corinthians to love him as much as he loved them.

12:16-17 By the phrase I took you in by deceit, Paul is either using irony (in which case he meant the opposite) or else he is repeating the slanderous claims made by the false apostles. Their argument may have been along these lines: “Granted, Paul never personally took money from you for his own use, but now he’s come up with this elaborate scheme for Jerusalem. He’s scamming you and plans to use the money for himself.”

12:18 Paul was sending Titus and an unnamed brother (see 8:6,18,22) along with this letter to oversee the collection for Jerusalem. Paul knew that Titus’s behavior in financial matters had been, and would continue to be, above reproach.

12:19 Paul’s integrity in the sight of God was more important than his reputation with any human group.

12:20 The phrase I will not find you to be what I want is another appeal to the unrepentant minority of Corinthian Christians (see note at 10:1). The eight vices listed in this verse were the “works” of the false apostles, which would result in eternal condemnation (11:15). Paul’s other vice lists (1Co 6:9-10; Gl 5:19-21; Eph 5:3-5) also noted that those who practiced such sins were not part of God’s family.

12:21 Paul’s second visit to Corinth had been devastating because the Corinthians had rejected him (2:1,5). The vices in v. 20 were not sexual, as these were. First Co 5 shows that sexual sins had been longstanding challenges in the Corinthian congregation. The false apostles may have added insult to injury by approving of sexual license.