There Is No Doubt Paul suffered from some physical malady, but just what it was must remain a matter for discussion. Nevertheless, it is a subject which can be considered with profit.
Spirit gifts not used on self
The first thing which comes to mind is that, although healing was one of the gifts of the spirit, it was never used either by Paul or by any of the other apostles for their own benefit. It might have been thought that, since Paul was doing the Lord’s work, he would have been justified in using the gift to remove his disability, but such was not the case.
Three times Paul asked the Lord to remove the impediment, but those prayers were not answered in the way he wished. There are lessons to be drawn from this, but before attempting to do so, let us examine the verses which are relevant to Paul’s illness.
II Corinthians 12:7-10
“And 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.”
“thorn” — a pale, a sharp stake. Often used as a means of torture, impaling, etc. and of a splinter entering the flesh. Used figuratively of a sharp pain.
“Satan” — an adversary, a person, or thing opposing another. Used of illnesses as in Lk. 13:16.
“Lord” — kurios, lord, master. In this case used of Jesus. Note “my grace…my strength…the power of Christ”
“weakness” – astheneia, Want of strength, weakness, infirmity.
Same word translated “infirmity” in vs. 9,10.
“weak” – astheneo, weak, feeble, sick.
It is very clear from the above quotation that Paul suffered from some severe infirmity of the flesh, especially when the repeated use of the original word for infirmity is noted as shown above.
A prayer to Jesus
Before passing on to the remaining verses to see if we can add to the information regarding Paul’s illness, there is an interesting digression which might be profitably considered — the prayer of Paul for the removal of his `thorn in the flesh.’
It would appear from the context that Paul addressed his prayer to the Lord Jesus. The term “Lord” is not in itself conclusive, since it can be used of God, Jesus or even of men. This means that the context should be considered so that its use can be ascertained.
The answer to Paul’s prayer is: “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness (infirmity).” Paul’s response is, “I will glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” Then he continues to speak of himself in relationship with Jesus. It is evident that Paul is interpreting “my grace…my strength” as being the power of Christ. Since it was Jesus who answered the prayer, it is most likely that the prayer was addressed to him.
Further examples
This is not the only case in the New Testament of a prayer being offered to Jesus. Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59). From I Corinthians 1:2 we read: “…with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord…” From many similar references in the New Testament, we gather the impression that it was by no means an uncommon practice. Perhaps it was because of their personal association with Jesus throughout his ministry and his special promises made to them which are recorded in John 14 to 16. In Paul’s case, Jesus’ special revelation to him and the special instruction which he received would have created a very close relationship. Whatever the reason, we can be sure that they thought of Jesus in his correct relationship with his Father and not in a trinitarian sense.
How do these examples affect our attitude to prayer?
There are certain important fundamentals to be observed, but we must be careful not to be thrown off balance by the church’s abuses. It is so easy to be driven to an unscriptural extreme in an endeavor to expose error.
John records Jesus’ teaching, “And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you” (John 16:23). This is a clear statement that the time would come when Jesus’ disciples would cease to ask things of him and would instead ask the Father in his name.
This at once reveals the correct relationship of the Father and His son. The law teaches that it was only because God had appointed to the children of Israel “the blood upon the altar” for their atonement that it was effective for the forgiveness of sins. Apart from His appointment, no amount of animal sacrifices could avail anything. Similarly, it is God who is our Savior. It is He who gave His son to be our redeemer; had it not been so, nothing that Jesus could have done would have affected our salvation. Because of the Divine appointment, however, Jesus is the means by which our salvation is achieved.
Thus it is that our prayers are to be addressed to God, who is the originator of our salvation, in the name of Jesus, who is the means of our salvation. In this way we express our reliance upon the sacrifice of Jesus and his acceptability to his Father.
This does not mean that thanks or praise should be withheld from Jesus. That would be to ignore Bible teaching which counsels the angels to worship him, which describes the saints as praising Jesus in the kingdom, and Jesus’ own words: “That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which bath sent him” (Heb. 1:6; Rev. 5:8-12; John 5:23).
When Jesus is honoured, it is because he is “the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person;” he is “the word made flesh” and therefore, “God with us.” Accordingly, they who honour the son honour the Father! It is also to thank him for yielding to his Father’s will as in the song cited above from the Revelation. In our own case in our own hymns, it is in this context that we sing to Jesus. We do so knowing that we honour the Father. Whilst in our community today it is customary to pray only to God through Jesus, we do have some hymns which are sung in line with the conclusions reached above.
I Corinthians 2:3-4 Paul’s weakness
“And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
“weakness” – asthevia, feebleness, infirmity, as seen in II Cor. 12:7-10 above.
“fear” – phobos, fear, dread, terror.
“trembling” — trembling quaking with fear.
This chapter opens with Paul’s statement that his preaching to the Corinthians had not been with excellency of speech or of wisdom but had been a simple declaration of the testimony of God. It could be that these verses are a simple confession of Paul’s human weakness as God’s messenger and have nothing at all to do with his illness, but in view of their similarity to the words used in description of his malady, this seems unlikely.
The words, “in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling,” seem much too extravagant a description for ordinary human weakness nor are they characteristic of Paul the preacher as we know him. They are more descriptive of a man who was grappling with serious physical difficulties. The references to his speech not being with enticing words might very well refer to the problems of speech which are spoken of in a later reference. At the very least, this verse corroborates what has already been seen.
II Corinthians 4:10-12 Bearing the dying of Jesus
Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus ‘sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us, but life in you.
These verses are often taken to refer solely to the persecution of Paul and his colleagues. While it is true that Paul in particular did bear in his body very real evidence of his suffering for Jesus’ sake, and that suffering was in order that life might be brought to the Corinthians, the verses seem to have a more general application. There is a connection between these dying, diseased bodies in which we suffer our probation, with sin which was, and is, the cause of our mortality. There is also a connection between that sin and the death of Jesus. Therefore, we each bear in our bodies the dying of the Lord Jesus that the life of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.
The many diseases which permeate these mortal bodies and ensure their ultimate dissolution should be a constant reminder to us of the reason why Jesus died. This was how Paul viewed his infirmity, his thorn in the flesh: “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” (II Cor. 12:10). His suffering was intensified by the thorn in the flesh, “which was given unto him.” In addition, he had to bear the results of dreadful persecution.
To relate suffering in this way to the dying of the Lord Jesus is to add meaning to it. Our sorrows are just a shadow of his, but our sins are the cause of his suffering and we carry evidence of this in our mortal bodies!
Galatians 4:13-15 Infirmity in Paul’s flesh
Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first. And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? For I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me.
This last reference concerning Paul’s infirmity consolidates the information which we have gleaned from the other references. We are still not able to define the malady but we can review the symptoms. It was a recurring illness with sharp, stabbing pains. It was disabling, reducing Paul to a state of weakness, fear and trembling. It would appear that it also affected his eyesight and possibly his speech. His condition drew derision from the Corinthians but not from the Galatian brethren and sisters. They were so appreciative of Paul’s services that, had it been possible, they would have given their own eyes to him.
The illness was felt by Paul to be an impediment to his work, therefore he prayed Jesus to remove it from him. The answer was clear — Jesus’ grace was to be sufficient for Paul, and Jesus would be made strong in Paul’s weakness. Paul regarded the illness as having been given to him lest he should be exalted above measure by the special revelations he had received. The quality of his service was thus much improved by his experience.
Ramsey suggests the illness was a form of malaria and he cites instances of important men suffering malaria showing the same symptoms as those experienced by Paul. It has also been suggested that Paul went up into Galatia to convalesce among the hills and while there he preached to the people. Others have said that while in Galatia, his stay was lengthened by his illness and that was how they received the gospel. We do not know the precise details, but we do know that the gospel was preached to the Galatians as a result of Paul’s infirmity and that the weakness was unrelieved by Jesus through whose grace Paul was made strong.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One