Transcript

Dan McConchie, vice president of government affairs at Americans United for Life, was riding his motorcycle through a suburban intersection when a car came into his lane and pushed him into on-coming traffic.

When he woke two weeks later in a Level 1 trauma center, he was a mess.  Six broken ribs, deflated left lung, broken clavicle, broken shoulder blade, and five broken vertebrae.

Worst of all, amidst all the broken bones, he had a spinal-cord injury that left him a paraplegic. The neurosurgeon told his wife that it would be a “miracle” if he’d ever walk again. Eight years later Dan is still in a wheelchair.

“What I learned,” Dan said, “is that this life isn’t for our comfort. Instead, the purpose of this life is that we become conformed to the image of Christ. Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen when everything is happy all the time.

“It instead happens when life is tough, when we are forced to rely upon God through prayer just to make it through the day. That is when He is most at work in our lives molding us into who he designed us to be.”

“My prayers are different today than they were eight years ago. Back then, I looked at God different. I asked Him to send nice things my way.

“Now, I have one prayer that I pray more than any other: ‘Lord, may I be able to say at the end of today that I was faithful.’”

Dan McConchie is a man who has learned that God’s grace is sufficient and that the power of Christ is made perfect in weakness.

2 Corinthians 12:1-6: “It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.

“And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

“Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities. For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me.”

Paul is defending his apostleship in this context. And in doing so, he recognized that while boasting was necessary to defend his apostleship, he stressed that it was not expedient and profitable.

He found it distasteful to do so, but he had no choice and was forced to do it to defend his apostleship. Thus, he told them that “I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.”

He found it distasteful to do so, but he had no choice and was forced to do it to defend his apostleship. Thus, he told them that “I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.”

He found it distasteful to do so, but he had no choice and was forced to do it to defend his apostleship. Thus, he told them that “I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.”

He found it distasteful to do so, but he had no choice and was forced to do it to defend his apostleship. Thus, he told them that “I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.”

He found it distasteful to do so, but he had no choice and was forced to do it to defend his apostleship. Thus, he told them that “I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.”

He found it distasteful to do so, but he had no choice and was forced to do it to defend his apostleship. Thus, he told them that “I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.”

The revelation of the mystery was not made known to Paul all at once, but gradually through a series of revelations. It was one message that was gradually unfolded to him.

The revelation of the mystery was not made known to Paul all at once, but gradually through a series of revelations. It was one message that was gradually unfolded to him.

And speaking of visions and revelations of the Lord in defending his apostleship, Paul elaborated on the most spectacular one of them all in verses 2-4.

He wrote, “I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.”

Paul wrote of this vision, but switched to the third person to describe it. Paul spoke of it indirectly because he was reluctant to boast about himself and his ministry. He did everything he could in relating the experience to take the focus off himself.

He did it in this way so that, unlike the false apostles in and around Corinth at that time, he would not draw attention to or glorify himself.

And Paul wanted to minimize the effect of boasting, which personal claims of such a spectacular experience might have produced.

Paul wrote, “I knew a man in Christ.” The man of whom Paul spoke was himself. He added his blessed, eternal, spiritual address: “in Christ.”

This vision occurred 14 years before he wrote 2 Corinthians. Thus, it was around AD 41. This means it took place between Paul’s conversion and his first apostolic journey.

And more specifically, this occurred during Paul’s years of ministry in and around his hometown of Tarsus after his conversion. Thus, Paul went from his home on earth to his home in heaven for a time.

Paul had stayed quiet about this experience for fourteen years, and now he humbly and reluctantly mentioned it to firmly defend his apostolic credentials.

Paul wrote of this experience, “whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth.”

Paul did not know whether the Lord had transported him physically in his body, or if his experience had been out of the body, that it was a spiritual experience in a vision. Paul said that only God knew whether or not his vision was in his physical body.

Whether in the body or out of the body, Paul said, “such an one [was] caught up to the third heaven.”

The words “caught up” are used in the description of the Rapture, where Paul wrote, “Then we which are alive and remain shall be CAUGHT UP together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air…” (1 Thessalonians 4:17).  At the Rapture, the members of the Church will be caught up bodily to be with the Lord in heaven forever.

That Paul was caught UP to the “third heaven,” tells us that he was taken to the abode of God Himself. The third heaven is where God’s throne room resides and where Christ is. It is where the Lord ascended to and is where He is exalted at the right hand of God. It is the place where believers under grace are present and at home with the Lord.

The Scriptures refer to three “heavens”: The first heaven is the atmosphere where the birds fly and the clouds are. The second heaven is the place of the sun, moon, and stars, or interplanetary and interstellar space. The third heaven is where God dwells.

And Paul had the privilege to be caught up into the third heaven for a short time.

He reiterated in verse 3 that “And I knew such a man” and said for a second time, “whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth.”

Paul was so overwhelmed by his heavenly vision that he did not know or understand the precise details or how it took place exactly.

But what Paul did know for sure was that, as he said in verse 4, “How that he was caught up into paradise.” The third heaven and paradise are the same place and synonymous here. Paradise in the third heaven above, however, is not the location of paradise that the Lord and the believing thief on the cross went to when they died.

When Christ told that thief, “Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with Me in paradise,” this referred to Abraham’s bosom in the center of the earth. The Lord spent 3 days and 3 nights in the heart of the earth before He rose again.

Paul was “caught up,” carried, and taken to the third heaven. Paul did nothing to make that vision happen. It was all of God and something He chose to grant and do.

And while there, Paul spoke of what he heard, not what he saw. And concerning what he heard, he gave a very vague description, stating that he “heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.”

One thing we do know is that Paul heard the language of the third heaven, and he understood what was spoken. So when we arrive in heaven someday, we know we will immediately understand what is being said there.

The term, “unspeakable,” means inexpressible or unspeakable on account of its sacredness. The words Paul heard were too sacred to be uttered or repeated. They were ineffable or too great to be expressed or described in words.

And what Paul heard was not for publication. He was not permitted to repeat what he heard from his time in or vision of the third heaven.

In verse 5, Paul wrote, “Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities.” Paul again, in deference and humility, said that “Of such” or on behalf of “such an one” and his experience, he would glory or boast.

While it was, in fact, himself, Paul spoke of the experience impersonally, as having occurred to some man he knew. And Paul spoke for that man and boasted that he did have something to boast about, that God gave him that great privilege.

The direction of his boast was not toward himself but in regard to the experience the Lord graciously afforded him.

“Yet of myself,” or when Paul did speak of himself, he would not boast of himself or glory in his accomplishments, but rather he would boast in his infirmities that he suffered for Christ. He chose to boast about his weaknesses, not his strengths.

Paul added, “For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth.” Paul had things to glory in and boast of from his ministry.

If Paul wished to boast in these things, he could have, and he would not have been a fool because they were not empty claims. He would have been speaking the truth, because they all really happened.

Instead, Paul chose to “forbear.” He refrained from boasting about all his exceptional experiences and accomplishments in ministry, “lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me.”

Paul did not want others to lift him up because of the past things he could have boasted about. He wanted others to judge him and his apostleship strictly on their personal observations of his life, in what they saw him to be, and what they heard him teach.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10: “And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.

“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

“Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

Paul was not immune to the danger of pride. And he could have been “exalted above measure” due to the many appearances and revelations given to him by the Lord.

And he could have easily been lifted up with pride due to the dramatic revelation of the third heaven that he described and experienced in verses 2-4. Paul could have been tempted to exalt himself highly or to lead others to exalt him because of his revelations.

But Paul was in no danger of becoming too impressed with himself due to “a thorn in his flesh” that was given to him, which reminded him of his limitations and kept him humble.

The word “thorn” means a sharp stake, a pointed piece of wood, or a splinter. A sharp thorn “in the flesh” is something painful, a painful affliction.

What was Paul’s thorn in the flesh? Its identity has been much debated.

A common response to this question is that Paul’s thorn in the flesh was an eye infirmity. Based on what he wrote to the Galatians, it seems clear that Paul did have trouble with his eyesight.

In that letter, he wrote how he preached the gospel to them “through infirmity of the flesh” (Gal. 4:13), and then he commended the church for being willing “if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me” (4:15 cf. 6:11).

An eye infirmity is a possibility. Another possible alternative is that Paul’s thorn in the flesh may have been a person.

In the previous chapter, Paul had written about false apostles, deceitful workers, and Satan ministers being “transformed as ministers of righteousness” (2 Cor. 11:13-15).

Paul here described the thorn in the flesh as being “the messenger of Satan.” It’s possible that Paul’s thorn in the flesh was one of Satan’s ministers of righteousness who was opposing Paul and his ministry (2 Tim. 4:14).

We cannot dogmatically say what the thorn in the flesh was for Paul. All we can say for sure is that it was a painful issue that God permitted to come into his life.

The precise nature of it has been concealed, perhaps so that all afflicted believers throughout this age and in all places, who themselves have their own thorn in the flesh, may be encouraged and helped by Paul’s unnamed yet painful experience.

Thus, it is a good thing that we do not know, because no matter what our sufferings may be, we can apply the lessons Paul learned from his thorn and find encouragement.

Paul regarded his thorn in the flesh as “a messenger” that came from “Satan” that was designed to “buffet” him. The word, “buffet” means to strike with the fist.

Paul’s thorn was painful and caused suffering; it was a tool of Satan to discourage and frustrate Paul, and it left the apostle battered and beaten down by it all.

This chapter has a stark contrast between two of Paul’s experiences. Paul went from paradise to pain. He experienced the blessing of God in the third heaven and then felt the buffeting of Satan on earth.

For the second time in this verse, Paul referenced being “exalted above measure.”

This thorn of the flesh had as its purpose to keep Paul from becoming proud, due to his personal and regular revelations from the Lord.

Satan used the thorn of the flesh to hinder Paul in the work of the Lord, but the Lord used it to further that work by keeping Paul humble and relying on Him and His grace.

Because of the pain and discouragement of his thorn in the flesh, in verse 8, Paul said, “For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.”

Like our Lord prayed three times in the Garden of Gethsemane that the cup might be removed from Him, Paul prayed to the Lord three times to relieve him of his thorn.

The word, “besought,” means to beg and implore. Paul drew near to the Lord in the intensity of his pain and suffering. And he passionately prayed and begged the Lord to remove his thorn in the flesh completely.

Paul’s prayer was to escape the suffering this thorn in the flesh brought him.

Showing that God’s will and promises changed concerned prayer with His change of dispensations, what happened next was not, “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive” (Matt. 21:22).

To Paul’s first prayer, no answer came. To his second prayer, no answer came.

To his third prayer, the Lord “said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

The Lord answered Paul’s prayer in a way that he did not expect. He answered his prayer, but He denied his request.

The Lord had a higher purpose for Paul’s thorn, his affliction, to teach the apostle dependence on Himself and the sufficiency of His grace.

The thorn had driven Paul to a place of realizing his insufficiency and weakness. And in that state, the Lord promised Paul that His grace was sufficient for his insufficiency and His strength was made perfect in his weakness.

Instead of removing the thorn from Paul’s life, the Lord would give and keep giving His grace in it. And the grace that He gave Paul was sufficient to meet his needs.

It’s been put well that “Paul was desperate in his desire to find relief from this burden, but there are two ways of relief. It can come by removing the load or by strengthening the shoulder that bears the load.”

The Lord told Paul that He was not removing the load as Paul had prayed and pleaded for, but that He would continually give him the grace to bear it.

The Lord said, “MY GRACE is sufficient for thee.” This is the grace OF GOD, a grace that comes in infinite and endless supply. It is a grace that is more than able to meet our needs. God’s grace is a dynamic force. It is God’s love, kindness, and mercy in action. It the power of God available to us. It is the provision of God for our every need.

“My grace IS sufficient for thee,” the Lord said. It is right now. Always in the present, God’s grace IS sufficient and available to provide and strengthen us in our need.

It is not that His grace was sufficient. It is not that His grace will be sufficient one day down the road. It is right now, at this moment, at all times, in the present, His grace IS sufficient. It is always sufficient. It is always available. It is always enough.

The Lord said, “My grace is SUFFICIENT for thee.” God’s grace was more than adequate and it is fully sufficient to meet Paul’s needs.

Alan Redpath said this: “Do you see the humor of the situation? God’s grace: me. His grace sufficient for little me! How absurd to think that it could ever be any different! As if a little fish could swim in the ocean and fear lest it might drink it dry! The grace of our crucified, risen, exalted, triumphant Savior, the Lord of all glory, is surely sufficient for me!”

In our afflictions and in dealing with our own thorn in the flesh, God grace is sufficient to hold us up, to strengthen us, to comfort and encourage us, to enable us to triumph over it, to bring us out of it, to bring us through any and every type of trial and difficulty.

And God does this for us by grace, in His kindness, and we do not deserve it.

The Lord said, “My grace is sufficient FOR THEE.” It was sufficient “for thee,” Paul, yes. It was sufficient “for thee,” Paul, who had a thorn of affliction.

This promise of Christ to a member of His Church, the Body of Christ, is true for EVERY member of the Body of Christ. And this promise made to one who had a thorn in the flesh, is true for everyone who has any type of thorn of affliction.

The thee in “for thee,” means YOU. Put your name there. Make that “thee” personal. God’s grace is sufficient for you!

In your pain, in your suffering, in your anxiousness, and with your personal thorn, Christ is saying the same thing to you personally today, “My grace is sufficient for thee.”

The Lord wants us to trust Him and depend on Him. And when, like Paul, believers find ourselves without strength or we abandon our self-reliance, and we look to the Lord in faith for His aid, He faithfully provides strength by His grace.

The Lord told Paul, “for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”  The strength which the Lord imparts is manifested through those who understand their weakness or have come to a place of weakness and helplessness and who turn to the Lord in faith.

It is not imparted to those who feel that they are strong and who do not realize their need of the Lord or His aid.

The Lord wanted to display His grace and also His power in Paul’s life and ministry. He wanted to make Paul truly strong through His almighty strength.

But pride and self-confidence needed to be worked out of his life so that the Lord’s strength could be received and worked in and through him. This took place through Paul’s thorn in the flesh.

The Lord’s working and allowing that thorn brought Paul to a humble place of weakness and dependence on Him. And this allowed the Lord’s strength to then be worked through Paul and made perfect in his weakness.

Sorrow, physical pain and suffering, disappointments, failure all can bring believers to that place of weakness and turning to the Lord. But when we do, believers become a channel through which God’s power can flow freely and be perfected in us.

Spiritual maturity comes through an acknowledgment of our weakness, our need of the Lord, and dependence on Him, living by His grace and strength through faith.

The greater the degree that we sense and understand our weakness, the more this provides the opportunity for God’s grace and divine power to work through us.

As a result of all this that happened in his life, Paul got a new perspective. He saw and experienced the blessing of the Lord’s answer. He rejoiced that God had brought him to a place in his life to rely on the Lord’s grace and strength and to see it at work in his life.

Thus, with conviction, Paul said, “Most gladly therefor will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

So thoroughly had Paul learned his lesson that he even boasted in his infirmities and weaknesses. And he had come to “take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake.”

He did so because he knew that when he was naturally weak, by His grace, the Lord would provide the power that he lacked and needed and this would make him truly strong.