Keeping Humble

The apostle Paul had confidence in the Gospel he preached because it was given to him directly “through a revelation of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:12). He gave more detail in his letter to the church at Corinth (2 Corinthians 12:1‑6). Caught up into Paradise through a vision, he heard “inexpressible words.” Because of the “surpassing greatness of the revelations,” he concluded: 

…to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh… to keep me from exalting myself! (v. 7 – note the repetition of the phrase).

This is a very important lesson about trusting God which every Christian needs to learn! Time and again, the main question Dr. Bierle gets in his Bible classes is, “What was Paul’s thorn in the flesh?” The Bible itself reveals several things about that.

1. It was a “bodily weakness” and not spiritual or mental (His “bodily presence is weak” 2 Corinthians 10:10; “weakness in the flesh” [Greek: sarx] Galatians 4:13-14)
2. The weakness was likely his eyes (“if possible, you [brothers and sisters of the Galatian church]would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me [upon seeing my condition when I brought you the Gospel]” Galatians 4:15)
3. This is the best explanation for Paul’s comments in his letters (“see with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand” Galatians 6:11; see also 2 Thessalonians 3:17; although Paul was highly literate, he used a scribe to pen his letters – Romans 16:22)
4. This also explains some of Paul’s other statements (he referred only to what he heard when receiving the vision he had in Paradise – 2 Corinthians 12:4; his repeated reference to “weakness” as a physical problem, a stake (Greek: skolops – “thorn”) in the flesh – v. 7)

While we cannot claim certainty about this physical identification, the spiritual lesson is clear for all of us: “[God’s] grace is sufficient for you; [His] power is made perfect in your weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9, Witherington translation).

Source: Witherington, Ben. “Finding Paul’s Weakness,” Biblical Archaeology Review 50.2 (2024): 62–63.