Paul is now going to describe how he has been raised up in order that the Corinthians might understand how great and how wonderful the things said to him were and that they might realize that he is not inferior in any way to the other apostles.

It is not so much the deeds themselves which are the cause of pride, as our telling them to others. Good deeds will not puff anybody up unless they are witnessed to and remarked upon by others.

Paul mentions both things because either is possible. It may seem to someone that it is nothing much to be caught up into the third heaven, since that is where the moon is, but that is not right. What this means is that he was caught up beyond all the stars of the universe into the heaven which is third in the hierarchy of spiritual heavens.

Paul specifies that it was fourteen years before in order to show that he would not normally have spoken about it at all had he not been provoked. And even then, notice that there are some things he is still ignorant about. He knows that he was in paradise, but whether he was in the body or not he cannot tell. Why did this happen to him? I think it was probably so that he would not feel inferior to the other apostles, who had all been with Christ while he was on earth.

You see how pressed Paul was to make his point, if he had to recall something which had happened as long as fourteen years before.

Had Paul been able to express the experiences gained from the third heaven and his progress, ascent or assumption to it, we should perhaps have known more about God—if this really was the secret meaning of his rapture. But since they were ineffable, let them have the tribute of our silence. Let us give this much attention to Paul when he says: We know in part and we prophesy in part.^[1] This and the like is the confession of one who is no mere layman in knowledge, of one who threatens to give proof of Christ speaking in him,^[2] of a great champion and teacher of truth.

Paul says that he was caught up twice—first into the third heaven and then into paradise, which is where the Lord said that the thief on the cross would be with him.^[1]

This means that they cannot be expressed in a human language.

He saw the beautiful appearance of paradise, the dances of the saints in it and the harmonious sound of its hymnody.

Some argue that here Paul is referring to things which he actually saw, like the beauty of paradise and the choirs of the saints which are to be found there.

So much for those who write false revelations!

All that is heard by the ears can be spoken. He did not hear audible sounds, nor did he see a vision composed of the corporeal images of sense perception, but it was by the intuitions of the understanding, being in rapture, while his will had no fellowship with the body.

But, even if the angels, whose nature is simple and spiritual, are said to have tongues with which they sing praises to their Lord and Creator and give him unceasing thanks, much more must the spiritualized bodies of men do so after the resurrection. For all the members of their glorified flesh will have tongues in their mouths, and they will give voice to their speaking tongues, and thus they will utter divine praises, the outpouring in words of their love and of the joys that fill even their senses. Doubtless the Lord will add this to the grace and glory of his saints in the time of his kingdom, that the more perfectly they attain to this blessed condition of body by a happy transformation, the more fully will they sing with tongue and voice. Being established in their spiritual bodies, they may speak, perchance, not with the tongues of men but with those of angels, such as the apostle heard in paradise.

Elijah was taken up to heaven only, but Paul into heaven and paradise (for it was but fitting that the disciples of Jesus should receive more manifold grace) and heard secret words that man may not repeat. But Paul came down again from heaven, not because he was unworthy to abide in the third heaven but after enjoying gifts beyond man’s lot.

It is obvious that Paul was talking about himself, but he says this in order to show that it does not matter to him in the slightest. He would prefer not to talk about it at all.

Paul says this because if someone proclaims his own worth in God’s sight he is not unwise, for what he says is true. So if anyone talks about the things which have been revealed to him, he is not foolish, though if he keeps quiet about them he is wise.

The right to tempt a man is granted to the devil . . . whether God or the devil initiates the plan or for the purpose of the judgment of a sinner, who is handed over to the devil as to an executioner. This was the case with Saul. The spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled and stifled him.^[1] Again, it may happen in order to humble a man, as St. Paul tells us that there was given to him a thorn, a messenger of Satan, to buffet him, and even this sort of thing is not permitted for the humiliation of holy men through torment of the flesh, unless it be done so that their power to resist may be perfected in weakness. The apostle himself handed Phigellus and Hermogenes over to Satan so that by being chastised they might not blaspheme. And so you see that, far from possessing power in his own right, the devil can more easily be granted it by the servants of God.

Paul is testifying that God makes provision for those who have done well, while at the same time he allows them to be cast down by various trials. This is both so that they shall not be deprived of the fruits of their labors and that they may be enriched by their trials so that they may have even greater eternal rewards.

There are some who have said that Paul is referring to a pain in the head caused by the devil, but God forbid! The body of Paul could never have been given over to the devil, especially when we remember that the devil submitted to Paul when he was bidden to. In Hebrew, any adversary can be called Satan. What Paul means is that God would not allow the preaching of the gospel to go forward, so that his proud thoughts might be checked. Instead, Paul was attacked by adversaries like Alexander the coppersmith, the party of Hymenaeus and Philetus and all the opponents of the Word.^[1] These were the messengers of Satan.

And so, they ask, is the devil good because he is useful? On the contrary, he is evil insofar as he is the devil, but God who is good and almighty draws many just and good things out of the devil’s malice. For the devil has to his credit only his will by which he tries to do evil, not the providence of God that draws good out of him.

Many people think this was some kind of headache, but in reality Paul is referring to the persecutions which he suffered, because they came from diabolical powers.

By messenger of Satan Paul means the insults, attacks and riots which he had to face.

Therefore, in these trials which can be both our blessing and our bane, we don’t know how we should pray, yet, because they are hard, because they are painful, because they go against the feeling of our human weakness, by a universal human will we pray that our troubles may depart from us. But this need of devotion we owe to the Lord our God, that, if he does not remove them, we are not to think that he has deserted us but rather, by lovingly bearing evil, we are to hope for greater good. This is how power is made perfect in infirmity. To some, indeed, who lack patience, the Lord God, in his wrath, grants them what they ask, just as, on the other hand, he in his mercy refused the apostle’s requests.^[1]

Paul begged that the flesh’s thorn be removed from him, but he was not heard by the Lord. The devil prayed that he might strike Job with the harshest of disasters, and we know that this was subsequently granted him. But Paul was denied the fulfillment of his prayer for his glory, whereas the devil was granted his for the devil’s pain. Thus it is often an advantage not to be heard even though postponement of our desires depresses us.

Thus also the apostle Paul, after shipwrecks, after scourgings, after many grievous tortures of the flesh and body, says that he was not harassed but was corrected by adversity, in order that while he was the more heavily afflicted he might the more truly be tried. There was given to me, he says, a thorn in my flesh, an angel of Satan, to buffet me lest I be exalted. Concerning this thorn I asked the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And he said to me: My grace is sufficient for you: for power is made perfect in weakness. When, therefore, some infirmity and weakness and desolation attacks us, then is our power made perfect, then our faith is crowned, if though tempted it has stood firm. . . . This finally is the difference between us and the others who do not know God, that they complain and murmur in adversity, while adversity does not turn us from the truth of virtue and faith but proves us in suffering.

Not everyone who spares is a friend, nor is everyone who strikes an enemy. . . . Love mingled with severity is better than deceit with indulgence. It is more profitable for bread to be taken away from the hungry, if he neglects right living because he is sure of his food, than for bread to be broken to the hungry, to lead him astray into compliance with wrongdoing. The one who confines the madman, as well as the one who rouses the lethargic, is troublesome to both but loves both. Who could love us more than God does? Yet he continually teaches us sweetly as well as frightens us for our good. Often adding the most stinging medicine of trouble to the gentle remedies with which he comforts us, he tries the patriarchs, even good and devout ones, by famine;^[1] he chastises a stubborn people with heavier punishments; he does not take away from the apostle the sting of the flesh, though asked three times, so as to perfect strength in weakness.

Although he asked three times, his request was not granted. It is not that he was disregarded but that he was making a plea which was against his own best interests.

Three times means repeatedly. Paul could not bear the plots which were going on behind his back, and he sought to be delivered from them.

Accordingly, whether we have our requests granted or not, let us persist in asking and render thanks not only when we gain what we ask but also when we fail to. Failure to gain, you see, when that is what God wants, is not worse than succeeding; we do not know what is to our advantage in this regard in the way he does understand. The result is, then, that succeeding or failing we ought to give thanks. Why are you surprised that we don’t know what is to our advantage? Paul, a man of such quality and stature, judged worthy of ineffable blessings, did not know what was advantageous in his requests: when he saw himself beset with trouble and diverse tribulations, he prayed to be rid of them, not once or twice but many times. Three times I asked the Lord, he says. . . . Three means he asked frequently without success. So let us see how he was affected by it: surely he didn’t take it badly? He didn’t turn fainthearted, did he? He didn’t become dispirited, did he? Not at all. On the contrary, what? God said, My grace is sufficient for you; my power has its full effect in weakness. Not only did he not free him of the troubles afflicting him, but he even allowed him to persevere in them. True enough; but how does it emerge that he did not take it badly? Listen to Paul’s own words when he learned what the Lord had decided: I will gladly boast of my weaknesses. Not only, he says, do I no longer seek to be rid of them, but I even boast of them with greater satisfaction. Do you see his grateful spirit? Do you see his love for God? . . . So we ought to yield to the Creator of our nature, and with joy and great relish accept those things that he has decided on and have an eye not to the appearance of events but to the decisions of the Lord. After all, he who knows better than we what is for our benefit also knows what steps must be taken for our salvation.

When some infirmity and weakness and desolation attacks us, then our power is made perfect, and our faith is crowned if it has stood firm through temptation.

Paul is clearly teaching that the time for boasting is when one is being humiliated by unjust injuries. Christ gives us the power to endure these so that what previously appeared to be painful and loathsome may be accepted with gladness.

We learn from this that even a wrong prayer will receive an answer, even if it does not get what it wants.

God told Paul that it was enough that he could raise the dead, cure the blind, cleanse lepers and do other miracles. He did not need exemption from danger and fear as well, or complete freedom to preach without any form of hindrance. Indeed, when these troubles come, God’s power of deliverance is shown, and the gospel triumphs in spite of persecution. The more the trials increased, the more grace increased as well.

God’s power is made perfect in persecutions and sufferings.

Paul wanted to make it clear that his affliction was not a natural property of the body but something which was intended by God for a higher purpose.

The more one easily conquers, the less one needs combat. But who would fight within himself if there were no opposition from self? And why is there opposition from self if nothing remains in us to be healed and cured? Therefore, the sole cause of our fighting is weakness in ourselves. Again, weakness cautions against pride. Truly, that strength and virtue by which one is not proud in this life where he could be proud is made perfect in weakness.

Still, we must realize that as you cannot have a persecution without evil on the part of the devil or a trial of faith without a persecution, the evil that seems required for the trial of faith is not the cause of persecution but only its instrument. The real cause of the persecution is the act of God’s will, choosing that there be a trial of faith; then there follows evil on the part of the devil as the chosen instrument of persecution which is the proximate cause of the trial of faith. For in other respects too, insofar as evil is the rival of justice, to that extent it provides material to give testimony of that of which it is a rival, and so justice may be said to be perfected in injustice, as strength is perfected in weakness. For the weak things of the world are chosen by God that the strong may be put to shame, and the foolish things of this world to put to shame its wisdom.^[1] Thus even evil may be used that justice may be glorified when evil is put to shame.

Humility like this does away with frailty.

Paul wanted to be delivered from these things, but when God told him otherwise he accepted it and was even glad about it. There is consolation in affliction and grace in consolation.

Paul does not say that he enjoyed these things but that he had learned to cope with them.

Not in the amount of money, not in the pride of power, not in the height of glory is victory gained, but the Lord freely gives his help to those who seek him through excessive affliction. Such was Paul, who made his afflictions his boast. Therefore he was able to say, When I am weak, then I am strong. . . . Do you see where affliction leads you? To hope that does not disappoint.^[1]

Paul is saying that he has been forced to disclose the truth of the matter. He is certainly not foolish, having spoken the truth about himself, but is abasing himself in this way in order to make it clear that he is not putting his own merits on display voluntarily.

Paul humbles himself only to rise to his true height. He talks about his patience because for a long time he put up with them as if they were sick people. His intention was to cure them of their errors by using the medicine of signs and wonders.

Notice that Paul says that all these things were done in great patience, for to bear all things nobly is the sign of an apostle.

Paul rightly puts patience before signs and wonders, because attitudes matter more than abilities.

Paul is telling the Corinthians that they were better off than other churches. Corinth was the only place where he preached the gospel without being paid for it.

Paul says that the Corinthians insult the apostles by regarding him as inferior to these false teachers. His irony merely makes his rebuke more severe.

But where shall I rank the great Gregory, and the words uttered by him? Should we not place among apostles and prophets a man who walked by the same Spirit as they [2 Cor 12:18]; who never through all his days diverged from the footprints of the saints; who maintained, as long as he lived, the exact principles of evangelical citizenship? I am sure that we shall do the truth a wrong if we refuse to number that soul with the people of God, shining as it did like a beacon in the Church of God; for by the working of the Spirit the power he had over demons was tremendous, and so gifted was he with the grace of the word “for obedience to the faith among . . . the nations” [Rom 1:5], that, although only seventeen Christians were handed over to him, he brought all the people in town and country to God. In Christ’s mighty name, he commanded rivers to change their course, and caused a lake, which was a ground of quarrel to some covetous brethren, to dry up. Moreover, his predictions of things to come did not fall short of those of the great prophets.