Thorn in the Flesh: Message from the Devil or Sickness from God?
Any time I minister on physical healing, someone brings up Paul’s thorn in the flesh.
They say, “God gave Paul a thorn in the flesh. He made him sick. Paul tried to believe the Lord for healing, but wasn’t healed. Since Paul was such a great man of God—and the Lord didn’t heal him—who are we to think that God will heal us?” This misconception is based on a misinterpretation of Scripture.
The Bible does not say that Paul’s thorn in the flesh was sickness. You can listen to people who argue that, but it’s not what the Word really says.
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. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. 2 Corinthians 12:7–10
In verse 7, Paul made it very clear that this thorn in the flesh was a messenger from Satan, not from God. The Greek word translated “messenger” here is also rendered “angel” elsewhere in the New Testament. 1 (Luke 1:13; 2 Corinthians 11:14; Galatians 4:14, for instance.) Therefore, this was a demonic messenger, a dark angel, sent from the devil to buffet Paul.
From the Devil
Some people erroneously suppose that God gave this thorn in the flesh to Paul because this kept him from being exalted above measure. They just automatically think that this is saying the thorn in the flesh was sent from God to keep him humble. Not true.
Humility is important, but there’s also a godly type of exaltation that is mentioned many times in both the Old and New Testament scriptures. One example is 1 Peter 5:6, which says:
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.
Being exalted, being lifted up, is good when God does it. However, some people assume that Paul was speaking about pride in 2 Corinthians 12:7. They argue, “Paul had a real problem with pride and arrogance, so God gave him this thorn in the flesh to break him and keep him humble.” That’s not a godly principle. We just saw that the Bible says to humble yourself. If God humbles you, that’s not humility, it’s humiliation. Humility is not something you can force on a person. It has to come from the inside out.
Second Corinthians 12:7 is talking about Paul being glorified everywhere he went. He saw people raised from the dead (Acts 20:9–12), demons cast out (Acts 16:16–18), and many other miracles (Acts 19:11–12). The people in one city he ministered at exclaimed, “Those that have turned the world upside down have come here also!” (Acts 17:6.) There was so much power and anointing flowing through Paul’s life and ministry that it was drawing many people to the Lord. They were saying, “I want to be like Paul. I want to have the ability to overcome adversity. If I’m thrown in jail for preaching the Gospel, I want an earthquake to come and set me free too!” (Acts 16:25–33.)
Every time something bad happened, Paul saw it turn around for his good. People noticed this, and were saying, “I want that kind of power in my life too!” Satan recognized that Paul was drawing many people to the Lord because he was walking in such absolute victory and being exalted by God. The devil wanted to debase him and do something to keep him from being exalted. That’s what 2 Corinthians 12:7 is talking about. Lest Paul be exalted above measure, Satan gave him a thorn in the flesh. It was from the devil, not God.
I’ve had people who were sick tell me, “I’m like the apostle Paul. God has given me a thorn in the flesh, and I’m just supposed to bear it.” Remember, it was because of the abundance of the revelations that this thorn came. With those revelations, Paul wrote half of the New Testament. Therefore, anybody who hasn’t had an abundance of revelations like Paul did shouldn’t be hiding behind his thorn in the flesh today. Besides, this thorn was from Satan, not God.
When I’ve tried to start talking to drug addicts, prostitutes, and adulterers about receiving deliverance from God, many of them have told me, “Well, like the apostle Paul, I’ve just got a thorn in the flesh.” They didn’t even have a relationship with God, yet they’re claiming Paul’s thorn in the flesh. If you have been using this thorn-in-the-flesh thing as an excuse, too, you need to quit hiding behind it unless you have so much revelation that you could write half of the New Testament.
Paul’s thorn in the flesh was not sickness. It was a demonic messenger sent from Satan to buffet him.
A Weakness or Inadequacy
Another reason some people think Paul's thorn was sickness is that the word “infirmities” is used twice in this passage. Verses 9 and 10 say:
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9,10
This word infirmity is used nearly universally nowadays to refer to some type of a sickness. People say, “This person has an infirmity.” We even call the place where we send sick people “the infirmary.” Although it has an almost exclusive connotation with sickness in its popular use today, the meaning of this word infirmity wasn’t limited to sickness at the time that the King James Bible was written. Take, for example, Romans 8:
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Romans 8:26
Notice the colon (:) after the word “infirmities” and again after the word “ought.” This verse is saying that it is an infirmity to not know what we should pray for as we ought. If you were to look up the word infirmity in the dictionary, you’d find that it not only means a sickness, but it could also be any weakness or inadequacy. This is how it was used in Romans 8:26. Not knowing how to pray for something is a weakness, an inadequacy, an infirmity—not a sickness or a disease.
Not Sickness
Some people suppose that Paul was talking about sickness here in 2 Corinthians 12:9 when he said, “I…glory in my infirmities.” As we look at the context, however, we’ll see that it wasn’t sickness. We must remember that men put in the chapter and verse divisions later for the purpose of reference. There’s nothing wrong with that, but we need to remember that the book we call 2 Corinthians was all one letter. It wasn’t broken up by chapter and verse divisions. In what we call 2 Corinthians 11, Paul talked about his infirmities too. He said:
If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities. 2 Corinthians 11:30
Starting in verse 23, Paul defined, explained, and listed what he was calling “infirmities.”
Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant. 2 Corinthians 11:23
As this list continues, keep in mind that these are all the things that just a few verses later Paul summarized by saying, “I’m going to glory in these infirmities.” (v. 30; 12:9.) He called “labours more abundant” (hard work), an infirmity. It caused weakness, stress, and problems in his life.
In stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. 2 Corinthians 11:23,24
Five times Paul was whipped with thirty-nine stripes.
Thrice was I beaten with rods. 2 Corinthians 11:25
Three times he was cruelly beaten with an instrument similar to a metal rod. This was often done on the feet, resulting in broken bones.
Once was I stoned. 2 Corinthians 11:25
This happened in Acts 14:19. I personally believe he died in that instance.
Thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not? If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities. 2 Corinthians 11:25–30
Persecutions and Hardships
All of these things listed were talking about persecution hardships that Paul endured for the cause of Christ. Then, just a few verses later, he declared:
Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities. 2 Corinthians 12:9
In context, “infirmities” here is talking about all of the hardships that he suffered for the Gospel. It’s a wrong assumption to just take the word infirmity and assume that it refers to sickness when, in context, Paul never indicates this is the case. Remember, Romans 8:26 used the same word—“infirmities”—to refer to a lack of knowledge or understanding about how to pray.
So we’ve seen that Paul’s thorn in the flesh was a messenger from Satan (2 Corinthians 12:7), and many people jump to the conclusion of sickness because of this word infirmity. Yet, in context it was used in a different way here, to describe the persecutions and hardships Paul suffered because of the Gospel. Verse 10 goes on to make this point very clear, saying:
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. 2 Corinthians 12:10
Although some people assume the word “infirmities” here means physical sickness, the other four things listed in this verse, and the context of 2 Corinthians 11:23–33, reveal otherwise. The other four things listed in 2 Corinthians 12:10 are reproaches, necessities, persecutions, and distresses. Every one of these makes it very clear that this is not talking about some kind of physical sickness. Rather, it was speaking of a hardship or persecution that Paul had to deal with.
“Reproaches” are insults, injuries, harms, and hurts. “Necessities” refers to doing without certain things for the Gospel’s sake. “Persecutions” and “distresses” are easily understood. All of these are consistent with the context of this passage. If Paul was using this word infirmity to mean physical sickness, it would be inconsistent with the other things he listed here. His use of the word “infirmities” is referring to the hardships he suffered for the cause of the Lord.
Old Testament Imagery
Furthermore, the people with a Jewish background in the church that Paul was writing to would recognize this phrase “thorn in the flesh” from the early books of the Old Testament.
If ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell. Numbers 33:55
Moses told the Israelites that if they did not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before them, then these heathen would persecute and corrupt them. They would be stained and tainted through these pagan people if they let them live.
Know for a certainty that the LORD your God will no more drive out any of these nations from before you; but they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which the LORD your God hath given you. Joshua 23:13
The Israelites hadn’t obeyed God, so the Lord said, “Alright, the prophecy that Moses gave in Numbers 33:55 is going to come to pass.” Once again scripture refers to people as being scourges or thorns in their eyes.
Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you. Judges 2:3
When Paul used this terminology “thorn in the flesh,” the original readers’ minds immediately went back to the imagery in the Old Testament scriptures of Numbers 33:55, Joshua 23:13, and Judges 2:3. In each case, it referred to people who were antagonistic toward God’s people. This is further biblical evidence that Paul’s thorn in the flesh was a demonic personality, a dark angel, a messenger from Satan that stirred up persecutions everywhere Paul went. He made reference to this in his letter to the Corinthians, saying, in essence, “We apostles suffer more than anybody else. The people we minister to are esteemed and blessed, but we are despised and considered the scourges of the earth…”
For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised. Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace; And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: Being defamed, we entreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day. 1 Corinthians 4:9–13
In other words, Paul was talking about the hardships and persecution that he endured. It’s apparent in the Word that this demonic messenger worked hard to influence people wherever Paul went, to persecute him. Paul walked in victory, but he also endured more persecution, shipwrecks, beatings, imprisonment, rejection, and criticism than anyone else. Satan used this opposition against him. Even though there was the power of God in manifestation in Paul’s life, it was not without a price. This made other people think twice. The devil was doing this to turn people away from Paul’s message. They may have even reasoned in their heart, What he’s saying is true, but I’m not sure I’d like to suffer the way he has in order to be able to walk in it.
“My Grace Is Sufficient”
So Paul sought the Lord three times to remove this thorn in the flesh, this demonic angel that stirred up persecution through people. As we saw in the Old Testament, that’s what a thorn in the flesh is: persecution through people. Paul asked Jesus three times to remove it, and the Lord answered:
My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9
Through Christ’s atonement, we have been redeemed from sickness, but not from persecution. Paul himself acknowledged this truth later in his life while writing to Timothy.
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 2 Timothy 3:12
Perhaps Paul didn’t understand this yet at the time in his life when he asked God to take this thorn in the flesh away. He was pressing in as hard as he could to receive all that the Lord had for him. (Philippians 3:14.) He was even trying to get free from and stop the persecution. Finally, the Lord told him, “Paul, you aren’t redeemed from persecution. But I’ll give you My grace to deal with it.”
Just think, if God had redeemed us from persecution, and He stopped all of our persecutors, there never would have been an Apostle Paul. He himself had been a persecutor. Paul was there participating in the stoning death of Stephen. (Acts 7.) If God would have just wiped out all of the persecutors, there never would have been an Apostle Paul. God doesn’t stop all of our persecutors. Rather, He reveals Himself to people through us as we continue to love them, forgive them, turn the other cheek, and follow Jesus. It’s a powerful testimony when we continue to love God despite their threats, and God uses it. We aren’t redeemed from persecution, but we are redeemed from sickness.
