Commentary - 2 Corinthians 12:1-6

Bird's-eye view

In this section of his letter, the apostle Paul is backed into a corner by his Corinthian adversaries. These "super-apostles" were evidently parading their spiritual resumes, full of ecstatic experiences and high-flying rhetoric, and the Corinthians were being taken in by it. So Paul, with a heavy dose of irony and reluctance, engages in a bit of "foolish" boasting himself. But as is always the case with Paul, he is about to turn their entire worldly value system on its head. He will boast, yes, but not in the way they expect. He begins by recounting a truly sublime spiritual experience, a trip to the third heaven, but he does it in such a way as to deflect the glory from himself. His ultimate point, which he builds toward throughout this chapter, is that true spiritual power is not found in mountaintop visions, but in the valley of weakness, where the grace and power of Christ are made perfect.

This passage is a masterful display of pastoral wisdom. Paul must defend his apostolic authority for the sake of the gospel and the health of the Corinthian church, but he must do so without adopting the arrogant methods of his opponents. He walks this tightrope by describing an unparalleled revelation in the third person, creating distance, and then immediately pivoting to his weaknesses. He is showing the Corinthians that the man who was granted access to Paradise is the same man who suffers from a "thorn in the flesh." The true glory is not in the vision, but in the God who sustains his servants through their infirmities. This is the central paradox of the Christian life: when I am weak, then I am strong.

Outline

The Reluctant Boaster

Paul's boasting in chapters 11 and 12 is a piece of inspired pastoral strategy. The Corinthians were enamored with the slick, self-promoting "super-apostles." These men operated according to the world's rules of honor and shame, where you puff out your chest and display your credentials. To counter this, Paul adopts their language ironically. He says, in effect, "You want a boasting contest? Fine. Let's have one. But we are going to play by God's rules." His list of "credentials" in chapter 11 was a litany of sufferings: beatings, shipwrecks, hunger, and peril. Now in chapter 12, he brings out the "trump card", a vision of heaven itself. But he does it in a way that subverts the entire enterprise. He speaks of it reluctantly, in the third person, and uses it as a setup for his main point: his glory is not in his visions, but in his weaknesses. He is demonstrating that the gospel creates a completely different economy of glory.

Clause-by-Clause Commentary

v. 1 It is necessary to boast, though it is not profitable, but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.

Paul opens with a sigh. "It is necessary," he says. The immaturity of the Corinthians and the arrogance of his opponents have forced his hand. For the sake of the truth, he must lay his own credentials on the table. But he immediately qualifies this by saying it is "not profitable." In the economy of God, self-promotion is a net loss. It profits nothing for a man's soul. Nevertheless, for their sake, he will proceed. He is not going to boast in his rhetorical skill or his fundraising prowess, as his opponents likely did. Instead, he will move to "visions and revelations of the Lord." This is a direct challenge to the "spiritual experiences" his rivals were likely claiming for themselves. Paul is about to show them what a true revelation from the Lord looks like, and why it doesn't lead to arrogance.

v. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago, whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows, such a man was caught up to the third heaven.

Here is Paul's masterful deflection. He doesn't say, "I once had this amazing vision." He puts it in the third person: "I know a man in Christ." Of course, we know from the context that he is speaking of himself, but this device creates a crucial distance. He is treating the experience as something objective, something that happened to this "man," rather than something he achieved. The focus is on Christ, the man is "in Christ." The timing, "fourteen years ago," shows that this is not some recent invention to win an argument. This is a foundational experience he has held in reserve, not parading it about for public consumption. His agnosticism about the mode of travel, "whether in the body... or out of the body", is a mark of honesty and humility. The mechanics of it are beyond him; what matters is that God did it. And the destination was the "third heaven," a Jewish expression for the very dwelling place of God.

v. 3 And I know how such a man, whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows,

Paul repeats the formula, emphasizing his point. He is doubling down on the fact that the "how" of this experience is a mystery to him. This is not a technique he has mastered or a spiritual state he can access at will. It was a sovereign act of God, and Paul remains a bewildered spectator to his own experience. This stands in stark contrast to the charlatans who map out the spiritual realms as though they were tour guides. Paul's posture is one of reverent ignorance before the sheer power and mystery of God. God knows, and that is sufficient.

v. 4 was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak.

He equates the "third heaven" with "Paradise," the place of blessedness. This man was not just given a vision of Paradise; he was "caught up into" it. The verb here implies a divine seizure, a sovereign act of being taken. And what did he experience there? He "heard inexpressible words." The Greek here is potent. These are words that cannot, and must not, be spoken. This is the opposite of the false apostles, who no doubt had plenty to say about their "revelations." Paul's ultimate spiritual experience rendered him silent. The things he heard were so holy, so transcendent, that they were not fit for human ears or human language. True communion with God often results in a holy silence, not in a torrent of babbling. God told him things that were not for public broadcast.

v. 5 On behalf of such a man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except in weaknesses.

Here is the pivot. Paul drives a wedge between the "man in Christ" who had the vision and his present self, the apostle to the Corinthians. He is willing to boast about what God did for that man. He will glory in the sheer grace and power of God displayed in that event. "But on my own behalf," he says, "I will not boast." He refuses to claim that experience as a personal merit badge. The only thing he will claim as his own, the only ground for boasting that he will personally stand on, is his "weaknesses." This is the great reversal. The world boasts in strength; the Christian boasts in weakness. The world glories in its resume; the Christian glories in his infirmities. Why? Because it is in that weakness that the power of Christ is most clearly displayed.

v. 6 For if I do wish to boast I will not be foolish, for I will be speaking the truth; but I refrain from this, so that no one will consider me beyond what he sees in me or hears from me.

Paul wants to be clear. If he were to boast about this vision as his own, he wouldn't be lying. It really happened. It would be the truth, and therefore not entirely "foolish" in the sense of being false. But he refrains. He pulls back. And the reason is profoundly pastoral. He doesn't want anyone to build their estimation of him on a second-hand report of a mystical experience. He wants their faith to rest on the solid ground of his actual life and ministry among them, "what he sees in me or hears from me." He wants them to judge him by his character, his conduct, his preaching of the gospel, his suffering for the sake of Christ. He is directing them away from the spectacular and toward the mundane faithfulness of a life lived in dependance upon God. This is the true measure of a man, not the heights of his visions, but the integrity of his walk.