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Pauls thorn in the flesh


WarriorforHim

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Guest bonnieschamberger

You know I remember hearing this message/sermon for the first time at a very key point in my life and thinking"Gahhh I dont want to hear this!" lol My living situation being what it is and so very uncomfortable and quite overwhelming at times..at the beginning of it I remember asking God to change it ..to move me...something ..several times and then came this sermon.I realized at that time and still now that my situation drives me to get in my car and drive around and cry and talk to God because I dont have alot of privacy at home and I really wont come to Him or worship  really unless Im in my car away from home..so for that Im thankful because it breaks me down and gets me alone with Him.

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i believe that God uses our gifts to help others, but our weaknesses to reach us.

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The "Thorn in the Flesh" is the passage that gives deliverance ministers nightmares. A case where the LORD will not remove the tormentor, because Paul become proud is worse than having an affliction from a messenger of Satan. 

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On 9/2/2016 at 10:46 PM, WarriorforHim said:

2 Corinthians 12:7..  Paul speaks of a.. thorn in the flesh.. He calls it “a messenger of satan that had a purpose of torment.  Many explanations have been put forward, but whether Paul is referring to a physical, spiritual, or emotional affliction.. or something else entirely.. Since he was not talking of a literal thorn, he must have been speaking metaphorically.

Paul clues us in concerning the thorn’s purpose: To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations.” So, God’s goal in allowing the thorn in the flesh was to keep Paul humble. Anyone who had encountered Jesus and was commissioned personally by Him (Acts 9:2-8) would, in his natural state, become..puffed up. Add to that the fact that Paul was moved by the Holy Spirit to write much of the New Testament, and it is easy to see how Paul could become haughty.

Paul also says that the affliction came from or by a “messenger of Satan.” Just as God allowed Satan to torment Job ( Job 1:1-12) God allowed Satan to torment Paul for God’s own good purpose.

No one likes to live in pain. Paul sought the Lord three times to remove this source of pain from him (2 Cor. 12:8). He probably had many good reasons why he should be pain free.. he could have a more effective ministry; he could reach more people with the gospel; he could glorify God even more.. But the Lord was more concerned with building Paul’s character and preventing pride. Instead of removing the problem, whatever it was, God gave Paul more overwhelming grace and more compensating strength. Paul learned that God’s "power is made perfect in weakness” (verse 9).

 

I really don't understand why Christians choke in this question.  You named the thorn.  It was a messenger of Satan sent to buffet him.   Who is Satan...Yeah. That's a dumb question. We all know who Satan is.  So, if Satan sends a messenger to you, what would that messenger be?   Right. It would be one of his minions, a demon.  Well Satan sent a messenger to Paul to harass him and give him a bad time.   All you need to do is follow the kiss principle.  (KISS = Keep It Simple, Silly).  There is not rocket science involved, no mental gymnastics required, and certainly no intellectual effort needed.   Simply read the Word and believe it as its written.

Satan sent a demon to buffet and harass Paul.

Then here's the cool thing.....Paul sought the Lord about it.  And God told him right off how to deal with it, how to get rid of it.  Paul missed it, and asked God again, and missed the answer...Again Paul asked God about it, and again God told Paul how to get rid of this demon!   Talk about patience!  What a good God we have!     Paul caught on, and he used Gods awesome authority and Gods PRESENCE backed up Paul to send that demon packing.

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Guest shiloh357
On 9/2/2016 at 11:46 PM, WarriorforHim said:

2 Corinthians 12:7..  Paul speaks of a.. thorn in the flesh.. He calls it “a messenger of satan that had a purpose of torment.  Many explanations have been put forward, but whether Paul is referring to a physical, spiritual, or emotional affliction.. or something else entirely.. Since he was not talking of a literal thorn, he must have been speaking metaphorically.

Paul clues us in concerning the thorn’s purpose: To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations.” So, God’s goal in allowing the thorn in the flesh was to keep Paul humble. Anyone who had encountered Jesus and was commissioned personally by Him (Acts 9:2-8) would, in his natural state, become..puffed up. Add to that the fact that Paul was moved by the Holy Spirit to write much of the New Testament, and it is easy to see how Paul could become haughty.

Paul also says that the affliction came from or by a “messenger of Satan.” Just as God allowed Satan to torment Job ( Job 1:1-12) God allowed Satan to torment Paul for God’s own good purpose.

No one likes to live in pain. Paul sought the Lord three times to remove this source of pain from him (2 Cor. 12:8). He probably had many good reasons why he should be pain free.. he could have a more effective ministry; he could reach more people with the gospel; he could glorify God even more.. But the Lord was more concerned with building Paul’s character and preventing pride. Instead of removing the problem, whatever it was, God gave Paul more overwhelming grace and more compensating strength. Paul learned that God’s "power is made perfect in weakness” (verse 9).

 

Paul's thorn in the flesh was given to him by God as direct result of him being taken up to the 3rd heaven.  It was a means keeping Paul from being conceited on account of what He had seen.

It was given to Paul at the beginning of his ministry, as we know the date the letter of II Corinthians was written and Paul said the vision was given 12 years prior to his writing that letter.

Paul was given an amazing vision of Heaven because God knew what Paul would suffer for the sake of the Gospel. Paul would suffer more than any of the other apostles and God gave him that opportunity to see what was waiting ahead in heaven and this was a mercy given to Paul.  The thorn was not a demon sent by Satan, but it was some kind of disability that kept Paul from being arrogant.   It, evidently, was debilitating and Paul, an old man asked that it be removed.  In his old age, the thorn was taking a greater toll on him than it did in his earlier years.  

But the Lord's response to Paul's request to remove it was that His grace was sufficient to sustain him and that God's power was made more evident in Pauls' life as a result of Paul's weakness.  He kept Paul weak so that He would get all of the glory through Paul's life and ministry. 

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1 minute ago, shiloh357 said:

Paul's thorn in the flesh was given to him by God as direct result of him being taken up to the 3rd heaven.  It was a means keeping Paul from being conceited on account of what He had seen.

It was given to Paul at the beginning of his ministry, as we know the date the letter of II Corinthians was written and Paul said the vision was given 12 years prior to his writing that letter.

Paul was given an amazing vision of Heaven because God knew what Paul would suffer for the sake of the Gospel. Paul would suffer more than any of the other apostles and God gave him that opportunity to see what was waiting ahead in heaven and this was a mercy given to Paul.  The thorn was not a demon sent by Satan, but it was some kind of disability that kept Paul from being arrogant.   It, evidently, was debilitating and Paul, an old man asked that it be removed.  In his old age, the thorn was taking a greater toll on him than it did in his earlier years.  

But the Lord's response to Paul's request to remove it was that His grace was sufficient to sustain him and that God's power was made more evident in Pauls' life as a result of Paul's weakness.  He kept Paul weak so that He would get all of the glory through Paul's life and ministry. 

Why are you blaming God for a demon attacking Paul?  The bible does not say that.

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Guest shiloh357
3 minutes ago, Denadii said:

Why are you blaming God for a demon attacking Paul?  The bible does not say that.

Why would Satan send a demon to keep Paul from being conceited?   If any would have wanted Paul to be arrogant and prideful it would have been Satan. God uses Satan or demons for His purposes.  The thorn was not sent by Satan.

 

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3 minutes ago, shiloh357 said:

Why would Satan send a demon to keep Paul from being conceited?   If any would have wanted Paul to be arrogant and prideful it would have been Satan. God uses Satan or demons for His purposes.  The thorn was not sent by Satan.

 

My bible says "To keep me from being exalted..."   Not 'to keep me from being conceited'

Do you honestly think that God is not capable of dealing with Paul directly and has to use someone who hates both God and Paul to make Paul more upright?  

You're using logic instead of Word to get your conclusions.  Ask the Holy Spirit what He says about it

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Guest shiloh357
Just now, Denadii said:

My bible says "To keep me from being exalted..."   Not 'to keep me from being conceited'

The Greek word refers to being conceited, puffed up, filled with pride.

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Do you honestly think that God is not capable of dealing with Paul directly and has to use someone who hates both God and Paul to make Paul more upright?  

It's not a question of what is capable of doing.   God used something debilitating to keep Paul from being conceited.  Paul called his thorn a messager of Satan.   He may have meant that in a euphemistic way, or Paul may have suffered spiritual attacks.  Either way, that is how God chose to hanldle it.

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You're using logic instead of Word to get your conclusions.  Ask the Holy Spirit what He says about it

God uses everything for His purposes.  That's not logic.   That is how He reveals Himself in Scripture.

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