THORN IN THE FLESH

[0netruthseeker]

Just WHAT is this "thorn" in Paul's flesh? Why are there so many different viewpoints on it, with so little clarity?

[audrey]

Personally, I don't think it was a physical disability or illness. I think it was more to do with the fact that he was continually buffeted in that he was a fool for Christ. He was despised by Satan.

2nd Corinthians 11:25: "Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep..."

Beatings, vexings, persecutions - I think these were the thorns in His flesh.

2nd 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".

I think it would've been very easy for Paul to have become proud, especially as he was chosen reveal the mystery that was hid before the foundation of the world. Think about it.

[eternalmatters]

I believe you are probably correct.

[ambassador]

Audrey, you're right, I also believe it was a physical disability. Some people say that in light of Galatians 4:15 and Galatians 6:11 (eg. Galatians was personally written with Paul's hand, in large print) that Paul had an eye problem--like pinkeye. Like you said, he could have been crippled from his sufferings/beatings. His back and torso were so torn up and scarred from the whippings. The devil meant it for harm, but God used it to humble Paul... proving that God even uses our sufferings to strengthen us/benefit us.

Others have some pretty weird ideas; I'm not going to put them here.

[0netruthseeker]

2 Cor. 12:7-10 -- "And because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given unto me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, in order to keep me from exalting myself. Concerning this I entreated the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He has said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.' Most gladly, then, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Thus, I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong."

God's solution to the problem was to allow Paul to experience a persistent form of affliction that would be so debilitating, and perhaps even outwardly obvious to others, that Paul would have great difficulty elevating himself above others. This affliction would be a very humbling, perhaps in some ways even humiliating, experience. Paul referred to it as a "thorn in the flesh" and a "messenger of Satan" (2 Cor. 12:7). There has been considerable debate down through the centuries about each of these descriptive phrases. Just what exactly is this "thorn" of which Paul speaks? Is "the flesh" just a figure of speech, or is he speaking of his physical body? Is the phrase "messenger of Satan" figurative, or does it perhaps refer to an actual being? Is this being human or angelic or demonic? The questions are endless. So is the confusion as to the correct interpretation.

Most scholars feel the phrase "messenger of Satan" refers to the source of Paul's affliction, whereas the phrase "thorn in the flesh" refers to the nature of his affliction. With regard to the former, however, it must not be overlooked that even though this affliction was perceived to be a messenger of Satan, nevertheless Paul speaks of it as something that was "given to me" (vs. 7), which most feel implies the permissive will of God in the matter. In other words, as with Satan's affliction of Job, this was allowed, but with divine restrictions. There was purpose to his pain, as we shall see later.

First, however, we need to examine some of the many theories that have been suggested over the centuries as to the identity of this "thorn in the flesh." The Greek word here translated "thorn" is skolops, which in classical Greek had reference to a pointed stake used for impaling. In the papyri and in the more common Greek of the people (which one finds in the NT writings), it had reference to a thorn or sharply pointed sliver. Figuratively, and metaphorically, it conveyed the concept of an intense, vexing, stabbing pain. The biblical interpreter, therefore, is left with several decisions to make. Is the phrase literal or figurative? If it is the latter, what type of affliction (physical, mental, spiritual) is suggested by the "thorn" in the "flesh" of Paul?
There have been endless conjectures as to the exact nature of this painful and most humbling physical affliction. In that very statement one finds a conjecture -- that the affliction was physical. Not all agree with that. Paul's reference to a thorn in his flesh has stirred an enormous amount of discussion. The efforts that have been made to identify Paul's 'thorn' are legion. The major theories promoted over the years are:

1. It was an actual, literal thorn that somehow lodged itself in Paul's flesh and was festering there; perhaps even poisoning his body. Those who have ever fallen into a cactus, and had some of the spiny tips lodge in the skin, know the agony of this affliction. If it can't be removed from the flesh, it becomes a persistent source of misery. Hardly anybody seriously suggests this view, but it has been promoted by a few extreme textual literalists, and so I list it here.

2. Many scholars are quite convinced Paul's affliction was epilepsy. Dr. Arthur C. Custance, in his study of the place of handicaps in human achievement, points out: "When the people of Palestine found themselves in the presence of epilepsy they customarily protected themselves (from the demons they believed to be responsible for this affliction) by spitting. It is sometimes pointed out by those who favor this diagnosis that Paul expresses his gratefulness to the Galatians in that they did not 'reject' him, a word which in the Greek actually means 'to spit out' -- Gal. 4:14" (Man in Adam and in Christ, part 5, chapter 3). David Lipscomb, in his commentary on the text, also makes this connection -- "The term for 'rejected' is very strong, literally 'spat out.' It supplied a severe test of the candor and generosity of the Galatians who had witnessed Paul's abject condition under its infliction." According to F. W. Farrar, there is a curious Celtic tradition that associates epilepsy with the affliction of the apostle Paul by referring to this condition as "galar Poil" (The Life and Work of St. Paul, vol. 1, p. 658). Some feel Acts 22:17 may be interpreted as an "epileptic fit" -- "And it came about when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I fell into a trance."

3. Among the more bizarre, and even despicable, theories is the one by John Shelby Spong, who proposed that Paul's thorn in the flesh was the fact that he was "a repressed homosexual." Similarly (i.e., in the sense of being a completely "wacky" theory) is the view that his affliction was a wife who did not share his convictions, and thus proved to be a constant source of agitation and irritation to him. "A bold imaginationist has had the temerity to suggest a termagant wife" (Pulpit Commentary, vol. 19). Some see the righteous Job as being similarly "afflicted," suggesting Satan's greatest "torment" of this man came from the tongue of his wife. Few reputable students of the Word embrace such views regarding the nature of Paul's "thorn," however.

4. A good number of bodily ailments have been suggested by biblical scholars over the centuries. Tertullian (160-220 A.D.) believed Paul's malady was most likely a persistent earache or headache. Chrysostom (347-407 A.D.) also believed it was a headache. Some suggest a speech impediment -- "And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech" (1 Cor. 2:1, KJV ... see also: 2 Cor. 10:10). Sciatica and rheumatism have also been suggested. "Ramsay adds malaria to the leading options" (Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, vol. 5, p. 736). Some scholars feel it may simply have been Paul's less than impressive physical appearance. An ancient document -- Acts of Paul and Thecla (chap. 1, v. 7) -- which dates back to about 160 A.D., describes Paul as "bald-headed, bow-legged, strongly built: a man small in stature with meeting eyebrows, with a rather large nose." Paul's critics said, "His personal presence is unimpressive, and his speech contemptible" (2 Cor. 10:10, NASB). Still others feel his problem may have been more emotional than physical in nature -- melancholia, hysteria or depression, for example.

5. It is also suggested by some that Paul's "thorn in the flesh" was a personal struggle with an explosive temper. In other words, Paul had anger management issues. "The defect which falls in best with what we know of St. Paul is an infirmity of temper. ... The supposition falls in with what we know of the apostle before his conversion (Acts 7:58; 9:1). It is confirmed by his stern language to Elymas the sorcerer (Acts 13:10). The quarrel between Paul and Barnabas (Acts 15:39) makes the supposition infinitely more probable" [Pulpit Commentary, vol. 19].

6. If indeed Paul's reference to the "flesh" is interpreted to refer to a physical affliction, and scholars are split over this (many believing "flesh" is used figuratively), the most likely explanation for the "thorn," in the minds of most, is bad eyesight. Indeed, many suggest the problem was far more severe than just poor vision, and entailed a very painful disease of the eyes that could have been both incapacitating and disfiguring. "It was acute and disfiguring ophthalmia, originating in the blinding glare of the light which flashed round him on the road to Damascus, and accompanied, as that most humiliating disease usually is, by occasional cerebral excitement" (Pulpit Commentary, vol. 19). This was a disease quite common in the Middle East and was referred to as Egyptian Opthalmia. We know it better today as trachoma. We know that Paul had been in the Arabian desert for three years (Gal. 1:17), a region notorious for the prevalence of this particular affliction (which was quite contagious). Some feel this may explain why Luke (a physician) is often found in the company of Paul. Three times Paul sought relief from God, and also (coincidentally?) we read of three times where Luke joined Paul. It is speculated Luke may have appeared during three particularly painful outbreaks of this affliction.

* Paul speaks frequently of problems with his eyes. In fact, he usually dictated his letters to others, only signing his name at the end, or writing a very brief greeting in rather large letters (1 Cor. 16:21; Gal. 6:11; Col. 4:18; 2 Thess. 3:17). It is also interesting that Paul mentions his "bodily illness" (Gal. 4:13) and "bodily condition" (Gal. 4:14), and then immediately says to the Galatian brethren, "I bear you witness, that if possible, you would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me" (Gal. 4:15). It is my own personal conviction that this affliction of the eyes was most likely Paul's "thorn in the flesh," although one must hasten to confess, given the lack of any actual specifics in Scripture, that we will likely never know for sure.

7. Not all scholars take Paul's reference to "flesh" as literal, however. Some feel his "thorn" was a besetting affliction of the "fleshly nature." Struggling with a bad temper has already been suggested. A good many medieval theologians felt Paul struggled with "lusts of the flesh" --- specifically: sexual lusts. "Influenced by a bad translation in the Vulgate -- 'stimulus carnis' -- many Catholic interpreters detected an allusion to sexual lusts" (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. 4, p. 843). R. C. H. Lenski, however, assigns such a view to "the pathological filthy monkish imagination" of the Roman Catholic theologians (Interpretation of Second Corinthians, p. 1302). Dr. Charles Ellicott, on the other hand, feels it is very common indeed for "sensual temptation to assail men who are aiming at a high ascetic standard of holiness. ... If there was any danger of being exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, nothing could more easily bring a man down from that ideal height than the consciousness that this (ungodly sexual longings) was his great besetting temptation" (Ellicott's Commentary on the Whole Bible, vol. 7, p. 410). "The man who is so exalted is in danger of sensual passions. The ecstatic is on the borderland of the orgiastic" (ibid, p. 411). Such a view, however, seems to contradict Paul's own statement in 1 Cor. 7:7-9 in which he appears to suggest he was not inflamed by such sexual passions.

8. Another popular interpretation is that Paul's "thorn in the flesh" was a figurative reference to his many caustic critics and devoted detractors. This view has the advantage of being consistent with OT imagery. The enemies of God and Israel were frequently characterized by this figure of speech. "If you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, then it shall come about that those whom you let remain of them will become as pricks in your eyes and as thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land in which you live" (Numbers 33:55; see also: Joshua 23:13; Ezekiel 28:24). Some scholars feel Paul's focus on his many enemies in 2 Cor. 11 is the basis for his "thorn in the flesh" remark in the very next chapter. This certainly seems the most likely interpretation if one takes the view that Paul's statement should be regarded as figurative rather than literal (in which case some chronic eye affliction seems more likely). Adam Clarke refers to such godless opposition from one's enemies as being just as "painful and grievous to him as a thorn in the flesh" (Clarke's Commentary, vol. 6, p. 368). If you have ever been the victim of one who sought to destroy you and your ministry, you know the pain involved in such an affliction.

There are a great many more interpretations, but we shall allow the above to suffice. Needless to say, they illustrate only too well that we simply don't know the exact nature of Paul's "thorn in the flesh." We don't even know if it was literal or figurative. Thus, any speculation is just that --- speculation. "Some interpreters have refused to guess, and so should we all. The word 'thorn' is a general term in Scripture for sorrow and suffering, and nothing in it can indicate whether the suffering was physical or spiritual. Many of the suggested interpretations are clearly possible, but none can be proved or disproved" (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. 4, p. 843).

As one might expect, Paul sought relief from his affliction by appealing to the Great Physician Himself. "Concerning this I entreated the Lord three times that it might depart from me" (2 Cor. 12:8). "Affliction should drive us to, not from, God. And we should come to pray, not to complain" (Pulpit Commentary, vol. 19). Many blame God for their afflictions and trials; in anger and frustration they turn away from the Lord, assuming, incorrectly, that He has turned away from them. This was not the response of Paul. It was also not the response of Job when he was afflicted by Satan. "Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God" (Job 1:22). When his wife urged him to "curse God and die," Job rebuked her, saying, "You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?" (Job 2:10). Paul, like Job, understood that in life one experiences both good times and bad times. To thank God for one, and curse Him for the other, is merely to demonstrate lack of integrity and spiritual maturity. "The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away; blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21). Solomon wisely observed, "In the day of prosperity be happy, but in the day of adversity consider -- God has made the one as well as the other" (Eccl. 7:14).

* "The 'thorn' proved so tormenting to Paul that on three separate occasions he 'pleaded with the Lord (Greek: ton kyrion) to take it away' from him. In the writings of Paul ho kyrios refers to Jesus and kyrios to Yahweh (Jehovah).

It is very interesting to observe the similarities between the apostle Paul's plea to the Lord for relief, and the Lord's own plea to God for deliverance from the affliction He was about to endure. "As Christ in Gethsemane prayed 'the third time,' so thrice did this Christ-like apostle knock at heaven's gate" (Pulpit Commentary, vol. 19). Both responses were the same -- "You must bear this affliction, but I will strengthen you for what lies ahead!" The Lord does not always answer our prayers in the manner that we might expect. What was the Lord's answer? "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness" (2 Cor. 12:9). By the way, in the KJV these words appear in red, signifying they were spoken by Jesus (indicating that these translators also understood that Paul was praying to Jesus). The answer of the Lord was a simple one --- rely on Me, not upon yourself. When we trust in our own strength, we too frequently forget to trust in His.

There was a divine purpose behind this affliction experienced by Paul. This mere man had been blessed with a good number of revelations and visions [Acts 9:3-6; 16:9-10; 18:9-10; 22:17-21; 23:11; 27:22-25]. And this doesn't even include being caught up into the third heaven [2 Cor. 12:1-6]. It would have been easy for Paul, or for any man, to allow such privilege to "go to his head." Thus, the Lord chose something that would tend to keep Paul "grounded." Notice the following translations (each of which does an excellent job of bringing out this purpose):

* "I was given a physical condition which has been a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to hurt and bother me, and prick my pride" --- Living Bible

* "One of Satan's angels was sent to make me suffer terribly, so that I would not feel too proud" --- Contemporary English Version

* "A painful problem was given to me. That problem is an angel from Satan. It is sent to beat me and keep me from being too proud" --- Easy-to-Read Version

"God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:5-7). "The higher Paul's work was, the more he needed humility. The more divine his work was, the more necessary for him was the constant realization of utter dependence on the Lord" (R.C.H. Lenski, Interpretation of Second Corinthians, p. 1301).

"Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor. 12:9-10). "The great practical question for us, in our endeavor to live the godly life, is not -- What have we to bear?, but -- What strength have we for the bearing?" (Pulpit Commentary, vol. 19). God's marvelous grace and matchless strength is sufficient for every circumstance in our lives. Trusting in ourselves only deprives us of the true source of our strength to overcome! Paul's perspective was the proper one! If I must boast, then let me boast in Him, and the good He has accomplished through me, who, at best, is just a mere tool in His mighty hands. Thus, Paul rejoiced that he was counted worthy to be expended in service to God and His Kingdom. So should we.

Paul was accomplishing great things for the Lord, and the Lord had blessed him richly. There was a danger to Paul in this. His pride could get the best of him. Thus, to keep him humble, and also to help him realize the true source of his strength, God allowed him to be afflicted in some manner by Satan (just as Job had been). Satan, however, did not have such a noble purpose in view. Satan's purpose was to use this affliction to destroy Paul, just as he had sought to do with Job. Paul understood this "thorn in the flesh" was the handiwork of Satan, but he also perceived a divine purpose to it, and saw the sovereignty of God behind it all. Yes, he pleaded with the Lord to remove it, but when the Lord responded in the negative, he accepted that decision with the proper spirit. We can learn from Paul in this.

It is not easy being the target of affliction, whether that "thorn in the flesh" be literal or figurative, physical or spiritual. It is especially hard to endure the malicious manipulations of Satan and his godless servants. However, such attacks simply show we have come to the attention of the enemy and are considered sufficient threat to warrant such mistreatment. God will not allow Satan to inflict more upon us than we are able to bear, however (1 Cor. 10:13), and will always provide the strength to endure and overcome. Paul's thorn was used by Satan to annoy, pain, depress, and harass Paul, and with the hope that it would hinder his great work. Satanic malice rejoiced in the anticipation that it might prove the last straw upon the camel's back. Paul interfered much with the devil; it is no wonder that the devil sought to interfere with him. Satan can afford to leave some people alone; but if we faithfully attack his kingdom and his rule we may expect reprisals.

* Are you daring to stand boldly for Truth, proclaiming His Word and Will regardless of the personal cost? If so, you have Satan's attention, and God's support. Rely upon the latter and you will emerge victorious from the afflictions of the former! Whatever or whoever your "thorn in the flesh" may be, take comfort in the truth: "My grace is sufficient for you!"