Author: Rev. Lek Aik Wee

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2 Corinthians 12:8-9 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.

The power of answered prayers is given by the sufficient grace of God as God’s people subsist in weakness. In humble dependence our Lord Jesus says to His disciples, Matthew 7:7-8 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. The power of Christ unleashed by a simple asking. What a marvellous way to live. This is God’s way. Indeed, “… this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us” (1 John 5:14).

Prayer is the believer’s power with God. There is always recourse with God. Man may be helpless, but not our God. The burdens of life can often be so overwhelming at times that they threaten to rob the believer of his confidence in God’s ability to help him through yet another impasse. But when we ask, our text tells us, our request shall be met. This is the promise. This is the joy of asking.

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2 Corinthians 12:8-9 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.

AW Pink observed in his studies of the truthfulness of Scriptures when he said, “One of the chief differences between the Holy Spirit’s description of Biblical characters and the delineations in human biographies is, that the former has faithfully presented their failures and falls, showing us that they were indeed men of like passions with us”; whereas the latter (with very rare exceptions) record little else than the fair and favourable side of their subjects, leaving the impression they were more angelic than human.”

He compares, “Biographies need to be read sparingly, especially modern ones, and then with due caution (remembering that there is much “between the lines” not related), lest a false estimate of the life of a Christian be formed, and the honest reader be driven to despair. But God painted the features of Biblical characters in the colours of reality and truth, and thus we find that “as in water face to face, so the heart of man to man… The practical importance (and it is that which should ever be our first and chief quest as we read and ponder the Scriptures) of what has just been pointed out should preserve both the preacher and hearer from a one-sided experience.”

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Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee

Psalm 42:1-2 To the chief Musician, Maschil, for the sons of Korah.As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?

This hymn comes from the height of the Middle Ages, a period of history often scornfully called “The Dark Ages.” The spiritual and moral darkness of the Church reached a new blackness. The institution founded by Christ some 1,000 years prior was for the most part degenerate and corrupt. The moral standards of many of its prominent leaders were characterized utter disgrace and shame.

The author of this hymn is attributed to Bernard of Clairvaux (1091-1153). Bernard was born to a noble family at Fontaine in Burgundy, France; his father was a knight and his mother a person of radiant goodness. At an early age young Bernard showed a bent for piety and scholarship. With his natural charms and talents Bernard had many opportunities open to him for a successful secular life. However, while still in his early twenties, he chose the life of a monk at the monastery of Citeaux.

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2 Corinthians 12:8-9 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.

The Christian life finds its fulfilment in our dependance upon Christ. And God’s way of activating that sense of dependence in our lives has been through our weaknesses. It is in our weakness that we realize our lack and need. And we are brought to realize the reality our inadequacy. It brings us to a sober state of vulnerability. In the Apostle Paul’s experience of life with God, it has always been in those moments of weakness and his heart made tender to incline upon his God that he experienced sufficiency.

His strength was made perfect in his weakness because God’s power met him in those times of weaknesses. In the Acts of the Apostles is recorded many instances when the Apostle Paul was at his wit’s end that Christ came to him to assure him that he is not alone in his mission for his Lord.

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2 Corinthians 12:8-9 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.

Our Lord Jesus says to the Apostle Paul, “I know you are suffering but you are going to make it.” His care upon His beloved servant, will see him through life and its afflictions. God’s sufficient grace is explained well by the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 26:3-4 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength. As such, the Apostle Paul testified in Romans 7:25 “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God…”

There were the high victories of heavenly visions given to him and there was also the pain of the cross that he had to bear. The yoke of pain was not lifted but relieve was granted just so that God’s servant was able to bear it. And so the Apostle Paul testified in 1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

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2 Corinthians 12:8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.

The thorn in the Apostle Paul’s flesh caused him much pain and discomfort. It disrupted him from physical restfulness having to endure such constant affliction. He prayed that the Lord might be merciful to remove this thorn. He sought the Lord thrice. The Lord deemed it fit that the thorn would remain with him. Whether it is a sickness, a physical anomaly that the Lord allows him to live with, he testifies that God’s grace is sufficient.

Our afflictions keep us vulnerable and thus dependent upon our God by which God’s glory rest. It seemed to be the Lord’s way of connecting and cultivating our souls to fulfill His eternal purpose for our lives. When the weight is lifted, like the sponge or the cushion, it bounces back to its original state of fallenness.

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2 Corinthians 12:7 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.

The Apostle Paul was given to experience the unutterable blessings of paradise, the abundance of the revelation of the third heaven in the presence of God. What privilege! And yet, he was to suffer such acute pain as having, as it were, a thorn in the flesh. Such a life of patient enduring he was to live day by day. As he perhaps cringed from pain, he remembered his unfinished mission for his Lord and the rest that was to follow in God’s paradise!

MacDonald observed well, “The apostle describes the thorn in the flesh as a messenger of Satan to buffet him. In one sense it represented an effort on Satan’s part to hinder Paul in the work of the Lord. But God is greater than Satan, and He used the thorn to further the work of the Lord by keeping Paul humble.”

The hymn “Day by Day” written by Lina Sandell Berg who accompanied his father who was the pastor of a parish church in Sweden on a ship when tragedy struck. The ship gave a sudden lurch and Lina’s father fell overboard and drowned before the eyes of his devoted daughter.

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2 Corinthians 12:5-6 Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities. 6 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.

The Apostle Paul has glorious spiritual experiences in the course of his ministry and spiritual life. He has experienced the presence of God with him in an intimate way that has been an encouragement to himself personally. But he will not be too forward to share these lest he is perceived to call attention to himself. He understood that it was God who had chosen to reveal to him rather than any merit of his own. As such, he would rather not build his spiritual credibility upon such experiences.

Hendriksen observed well on v6, “This sentence must be understood in the context of Paul’s opponents taunting him to boast about his credentials. If there should be anyone in the church who could glory in status, Paul would be the person. He had founded churches in Asia Minor, Macedonia, and Greece. He had worked much harder, had suffered more frequently, and had been exposed to more dangers than anyone else. And he had been given a celestial experience that placed him far above his co-workers and certainly above his detractors… But he does not wish to be a fool bragging irrationally, a behaviour that apparently characterized his adversaries. Speaking foolishly reveals the sin of lying and shading the truth. Paul, however, refuses to put himself on the level of his antagonists and to participate in their foolishness.” In fact, “He wants the Corinthians to think of him as a spiritual brother in the Lord. They must look at Paul as a man with many flaws (Romans 7:14-25), a person who had to cope with external weaknesses, hardships, and humiliations. Thus, he boasts not about himself, but about his weakness.”

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2 Corinthians 12:5 Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities.

It is interesting how the Apostle Paul avoided mentioning that he was the one who experienced the vision of paradise, the third heaven. He uses a third person so that it might not bring to himself any glory or attention. Recall what John the Baptiser said in John 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease. This JC Ryle called “a splendid pattern of true and godly humility. A man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven.” The Apostle Paul understood this. He was a blind man healed because he persecuted the church of God.

Again, he reminded the Corinthians of his sufferings. It was a mark of his identifying with the ministry of Christ – Luke 22:27 For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth.

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