Answering questions about the Bible is one of my greatest pleasures as a pastor. Another pleasure is hearing from the body that someone is reading scripture. It brings joy to my heart knowing that people of faith are renewing their faith by reading in their Word. And I it find a pleasure to answer questions that arise from that reading. With this in mind, let’s take a look at a passage that was brought to my attention from a member of the church.
When reading the Bible, it is most important to keep what you’re reading in context with the rest of scripture. For best context you may need to look at several verses immediately before and after the verse you are looking at. For better clarification, look at a couple of chapters before and after, especially if the verse or passage you are questioning is in the middle of a book. If we pull a verse or passage without context it can lead to confusion and even heresy. So, when we get to a passage like 2 Corinthians 12: 1-10, we need to buckle in for a ride. Chapter 12 of 2 Corinthians can be a little confusing and has been interpreted and twisted to mean several things. Some of the interpretation is found to heretical, or against the truth of scripture. This is why when reading the Bible, we need to allow scripture to interpret scripture. Verse one for example,
2 Corinthians 12:1 “Boasting is necessary. It is not profitable, but I will move on to visions and revelations of the Lord.” HCSB
We know that boasting is sinful (James 4:16). However, there is a difference between boasting in the Lord (2 Corinthians 10:17) and boasting in arrogance (Psalm 94:4). Boasting in arrogance is a selfish act and brings no glory to God the Father (Matthew 6:1). Now if we are to boast we must boast in our weakness (2 Corinthians 11:30) and in the Lord (1 Corinthians 1:31). Paul is very clear about this and it follows the theology of Christ, James, Jeremiah and David just to name a few.
As you can see there is a lot of scripture dealing with boasting in both letters to the Corinthians. This was a sore spot in the church of Corinth. Paul had to deal with it for years in the body of believers in this small region of Greece. In fact, Paul called out those who were boasting by boasting in the Lord about his trials and persecution in 2 Corinthians 11:16-30. And it is in context that Paul is speaking just before verse 1 of chapter 12. He is showing that if you are to boast, boast in the Lord.
The rest of this passage is talking about Paul’s near death experience when he was stoned to death just outside of Lystra, which is in Turkey (Acts 14:19) and what he saw and how the Lord humbles him for ministry. This deals with the “thorn in the flesh” which has been used by Christians throughout the centuries to describe their own difficulties. Some believe that the “thorn in the flesh” was a person of contention against Paul. Others believe that it may have been a secret sin issue. Looking at history and using scripture to interpret scripture, I believe and agree with most biblical scholars that it was an actual problem with his physical body, an actual thorn in the flesh. Most believe it may have been his eyesight, as his first experience with Christ was a blinding revelation (Acts 9:8-9) and that Paul had to write in big letters so he could read his own writing (Galatians 6:11) , which is why he used Luke as his personal scribe because parchment was not cheap (Colossians 4:14).
**For a more detailed explanation of allowing scripture to interpret scripture, please look up our “How to Bible” on our YouTube Channel, TFM Church Without Walls at:
Pastor Bill
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