Paul Knew a Mystery

The Apostle Paul knew a mystery.  Actually, he knew plenty of them.  In 2 Corinthians 12:2-10, he lets us know that he did and displayed how these revelations cut him to the core.  He knew inexpressible things no one is permitted to tell. 

“I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know– God knows.  And I know that this man– whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows–was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell.”

He was so shaken and humbled by it that he says, “I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth.”

Then he tells us the consequences of having seen amazing, hidden things—these many mysteries.  The consequence was an equally mysterious “thorn” in his flesh.  No one really knows these days what the thorn was, but its purpose was crystal clear: it was to keep him humble about what he had seen because it was so powerful.

“But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.”

Paul continues his description about something so painful, saying that he pleaded with God to take it away.

“Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

But one thing we can say is that Paul understood the Gospel in a deep and thoughtful way on account of it.  There was one mystery he was permitted to tell: that Jews and Gentiles are heirs together in Christ.

We will begin a short study on that mystery, but for now, questions for further thought:

How would knowing something really cool that you aren’t allowed to tell result in a constant temptation?

Can a person in their own strength (with a sin nature still present on this side of heaven) resist the temptation to prove themselves, provide evidence when challenged, or flaunt that to display their own power and importance?

When Paul says that “Christ’s power may rest on me” does this display the source of his ability to withstand constant, unrelenting temptations?

Why do you think Paul was allowed to tell the world, recorded in Scripture (Ephesians 3:6-11), that one mystery is that Jews and Gentiles are heirs together by faith in Christ?

Father God, thank You for the shed blood of Jesus our Lord, for the sins of Jew and Gentile alike. Thank You that Your Kingdom is not a democracy in which any human being, race, sex, or creed can determine the fate of others in eternal terms by simple majority. Only You can determine that…and we praise You that only You can define the narrow road of salvation in Christ. As the days of man on the earth become fewer in number since surely the return of Jesus is every day sooner, we ask, Lord, that Your harvesters sent into the harvest field will clearly articulate this mystery You have made known in the Gospel. Give us words, grant us opportunities, place within our hearts a desire to see salvation come to many irrespective of demographics because Your Word tells us that Your Kingdom will be from every tribe and language and people and nation. Here am I. Send me, Lord. Send me. For Your glory, Amen.