“And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

What was Paul’s “thorn in the flesh?” It matters not. It is sad that men have lost the focus of the passage before us. They major in the minor. The thrust of the passage is not the “thorn,” but the “grace” which empowered Paul to endure. We all must endure thorns if we wish to be with the Lord. If we are to endure, we must have God’s grace. But what does the Lord mean when He says, “My grace,” and how is it so powerful to be “sufficient for you?”

“Grace” is the Greek, charis. It is “good will, loving-kindness, favour” (Strong). God is the giver of such favor. We often refer to grace as “unmerited favor.” Such is the case. Who can say the breath that sustains them is of merit? It is God who “gives to all life, breath, and all things” (Acts 17:25). What of our bread? Have we not labored and toiled under the sun? Have we not earned our keep? Yet, the Lord instructed us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). It is bread we need daily, and it is bread that we receive from God daily. The list goes on. Truly, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17). But the favor that would sustain Paul to endure his “thorn in the flesh” was not anything physical.

The crux of God’s grace is the cross, and the crux of the cross is redemption. “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). The message of the cross is the gospel, and the gospel is God’s power to save (cf. Romans 1:16). The gospel core is at the cross. The “eternal purpose which [God] accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Ephesians 3:11) was at the cross. Jesus hung upon the cross and said, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). God’s scheme of redemption was executed with flawless grace as Jesus resolved to submit to the Father’s will.

But the cross is not to be reduced to a physical trinket. Physical crosses which hang around one’s neck, or decorate the walls of one’s home do not sanctify the person, nor their abode. Men claim to possess slivers of the very wood which Jesus hanged upon. How can they know, and what difference does it make? Even the structure which Jesus was nailed to will be obliterated in the consuming fire which comes with Him in His return. There will be no physical cross in heaven. It is a spiritual place. But the slain Lamb is there, and will be praised forever for what He accomplished for His creation at the cross – “You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; For You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth” (Revelation 5:9-10).

By metonymy, the cross is put for the whole of redemption in Christ. He bled and died on the cross, becoming the propitiation for the sins of mankind (cf. Romans 3:25). Thus, God is “just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:26). Jesus said, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:14-15). The Israelites looked upon the bronze serpent having been bitten by the fiery serpents sent by God, and they lived (cf. Numbers 21:4-9). This is no coincidence. It was a type, and Jesus the antitype. It was a shadow, and Jesus the figure. Those who believe in Jesus will be saved because of His vicarious sacrifice.

This is that grace which was sufficient for Paul to endure his “thorn in the flesh.” It was not a miraculous, mysterious, unexplainable power with which the Lord equipped Paul. It was the calm assurance that he had been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, and was begotten again to a living hope (1 Peter 1:3). The Lord reminded Paul of the efficacy of such. Paul had committed his life to his Lord and Savior, and was given the guarantee of eternal salvation. No greater motivating force can be found than in reflecting upon the Divine favor granted one in Christ Jesus; to know of the depths and riches of God’s love in sending His only begotten Son for our salvation (cf. Ephesians 3:14-21); to know the value Jesus saw in us to humble Himself to the obedience of death, “even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8); to know the seal set upon us with the Holy Spirit, and the guarantee of our inheritance as sons of God (cf. Ephesians 1:13-14). Paul could endure suffering knowing that, because of the cross and the victory in Jesus’ resurrection, “He is able to keep what [he had] committed to Him until that Day” (2 Timothy 1:12).

The strength derived from such grace is “made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). No greater occasion is there to recognize more fully one’s dependence upon the Lord than in time of turmoil. The creation in Christ Jesus “was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope” (Romans 8:20). Paul’s thorn, whatever it was, came from Satan – “a messenger of Satan to torment me” (2 Corinthians 12:7, NASB). But the Lord did not answer Paul with a “yes” to remove it, but with the assurance that His grace was sufficient. Paul was subjected to futility, but in hope!

So it is with us. There is no infirmity, reproach, need, persecution, or distress which we cannot endure. Regardless of the Lord’s answer to remove such, be it “yes” or “no,” He will empower us continually through the gospel to press on to the end.

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.” (2 Corinthians 13:14)