PAUL'S "THORN IN THE FLESH"?

Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh




WHAT was Paul’s “THORN IN THE FLESH”?

WHY was Paul given a thorn in the flesh?

And was Paul ever delivered from this thorn in the flesh?

These are the three questions we will be looking at in this study of God’s word.

2 Corinthians 12:7-9

“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 (this messenger of Satan) I besought the Lord thrice, (three times) that it might DEPART from me.
And he said unto me, My GRACE is sufficient for you; 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 sake, for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

First I would like to say that there are several opinions and speculations that have been given for what Paul's thorn in the flesh could be, but all the ones I have heard were with little if any support whatsoever from the scriptures. Some have speculated that Paul’s thorn was a gross sickness that was given to Paul by God to keep him humble. They go on to say that Paul asked God three times for this thorn to be taken from him, but God denied him three times and refused to heal him. I have heard many refer to this verse of scripture using it as an excuse, saying, “It must not be God’s will to heal them or so and so, because God did not heal Paul of his thorn in the flesh”.

First I want you to notice that the word says,

“there was given to me a thorn in THE flesh.”

There is a difference between “THE flesh” and “MY flesh”. There are two different words in the Greek that are translated as FLESH in the New Testament. One Greek word is “kreas”, which ALWAYS carries the meaning of FLESH as pertaining to meat, the actual tissue of the body, the skin, the muscles, and so forth. And the other Greek word is “sarx”, which portrays the meaning of what is external as the mean of kindred, that is to say the nature with its frailties and passions.

More precisely this word means FLESH in NATURE. In other words CARNAL or being carnally minded or fleshly in nature. Now this word can also mean flesh as being the body, but refers more to the meat of an animal. This word “sarx” is used 142 times in the New Testament and is found to almost always have the meaning of human nature with its frailties and passions. This word “sarx” is the word that is used in the verse of scripture that we are studying and is translated as “FLESH”, or in other words, “thorn in the FLESH”as in Paul's fleshly nature.

Now if the writer wanted the phrase, “a thorn in the FLESH” to mean a sickness or disease in the body, then one would think that he would have chosen to use the Geek word “kreas”, which ALWAYS refers to the flesh as being the BODY. However the writer did not chose to use this word, but rather chose to use the word “sarx”, which I have already shown to be fleshly nature as in carnally minded.

Now with these definitions in mind let's pursue this study in the direction of the thorn in Paul's flesh as his fleshly nature and see what we find. So what was this THORN in the fleshly nature of Paul? Let’s take a look at the word that is translated as “thorn” here in this verse. The word is “skolops”, which means point or prickle, figuratively a bodily ANNOYANCE, a disabling. The American Standard Dictionary defines thorn as a prickle, anything that causes trouble or annoyance, to beset with difficulties. I believe the last phase of the definition of the word thorn best fits the way this word is used in the Bible, to be best with difficulties.

Take a look at Ezekiel 28:24,25 which says,


"And there shall be no more a PRICKING BRIER unto the house of Israel, nor any GRIEVING THORN of all that are round about them, that despised them, and they shall know that I am the Lord God.
Thus says the Lord God, When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the PEOPLE among whom they are scattered. When I have executed judgment upon all those that despise them round about them, and they shall know that I am the Lord God.”


The pricking brier (thorn bush) and the grieving thorn in this scripture are referring to the PEOPLE all around the house of Israel.


Then in Numbers 33:55 we read,


“But if you will not drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, then it shall come to pass, that THOSE which you let REMAIN of THEM shall be PRICKS in your eyes and THORNS in your sides, and shall VEX you in the land wherein you dwell.”

Here again we see that the pricks in their eyes and thorns in their sides were PEOPLE that vexed them. The word “vex” means to irritate or to annoy. Vex also means to toss around, to stir up, and to bring up continually. Notice that such terms for the body were used such as the eyes and the sides, but in actuality were not literally the FLESH. The people that were vexing Israel, God's people were not literally pricks and thorns in literal eyes and sides of the people of Israel, but were annoyances to them. In much the same way this messenger of Satan was an annoyance to Paul, a thorn in his side, so to speak.


Now look at Joshua 23:13.

“Know for a certainty that the Lord your God will no more drive out any of those NATIONS from before you, but THEY (the nations) shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your side and THORNS in your eyes.”

Once again the thorns are referring to people and NOT sickness and disease.

Let us look at yet another scripture found in Judges 2:3 which says,


“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.”

Then in Ezekiel 2:6 we read,

“And you son of man, be not afraid of THEM neither be afraid of THEIR WORDS though briers and thorns be with you and you do dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words nor be dismayed at their look though they be a rebellious house.”

In every instance throughout the word of God the thorn or thorns were people and not sickness and disease, so it would be a stretch to say that Paul’s thorn in the flesh is a sickness or disease. Just as a side note it is interesting that the word used for scorpions means skeptics. Jesus said I give you power to tread on scorpions or skeptics.

Even in the New Testament where the word thorns is found do not even hint of sickness or disease. Mark 4:7,18,19 refer to thorns as being cares of this world, deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other things, but nothing about sickness or disease.

So what do we know thus far? We know for a fact, based soundly on God’s word that thorns and briers always refers to people that were grievous. They were people that were an annoyance. They were people who vexed God’s people. They were irritating and they caused trouble. Thorns refer to people that bring grief.

With this in mind let us look at an experience in Paul’s life found in Acts 16:16-

“And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The same FOLLOWED Paul and us, and cried saying. These men are servants of the most high God, which show us the way to salvation. And this she did MANY DAYS. But Paul, being GRIEVED, turned aside and said to the spirit; I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.”

This verse tells us that Paul was GRIEVED by this damsel who continually ANNOYED him many days. If this damsel grieved Paul many days, then why did Paul not command in the name of Jesus for the spirit to come out of her the very first day? Why wait MANY days?
Perhaps Paul sought the Lord for this annoyance, this thorn in the side, this MESSENGER of Satan that was buffeting or annoying Paul to depart from him. It may be that Paul sought the Lord three times before he was able to be in a position to hear God tell him to use the GRACE that was already given to him. The Lord said,

“My GRACE is SUFFICIENT for you.”

The word sufficient means MORE than enough. I have learned that GRACE is not only God's unmerited favor but is also is God’s POWER. Now this is a study in and of itself. If you would like to know more on this subject of GRACE being God's POWER please refer to my study on "WHAT IS THE TRUE MEANING OF GRACE?". But for now let us continue this study in God's word concerning this damsel who was possessed with the spirit of divination or the MESSENGER of Satan to see it this was Paul's THORN in his flesh. It may be that this damsel may or may not have been Paul’s thorn in the flesh, but to me it certainly fits better in scriptural sense than some gross eye disease or some kind of sickness that God refused to heal, which goes cross grain against the WHOLE word of God.

Let us observe the FACTS. This damsel was a person that followed Paul and Silas around annoying them for many days, which brought grief to Paul. This fits perfectly with the meaning of the word thorn throughout the word of God, so why change the meaning now to be a sickness or disease when talking of Paul’s thorn in the flesh, when everywhere else the word of Almighty God the word “thorn” ALWAYS refers to people that annoyed or grieved God’s people?

Again this damsel may or may not have been the thorn in the flesh to which Paul was referring, BUT the word of God CLEARLY lets us know that the thorn in the flesh was a MESSENGER of SATAN to buffet Paul.

A messenger is simply a person, an angel, or a being that is sent to bring a message. One of the meanings of messenger is FOR RUNNER, or HARBINGER, which means to signal the approach of, a presage. This word "presage" means to foretell or perceive in advance or utter a prediction. Does not this sound familiar? Is this not exactly what the spirit of this damsel was doing? This damsel, who had a spirit of divination, was signaling or foretelling the approach of the Paul and Silas that they were men of the most high God, before they ever did any mighty works of God. Certainly a familiar spirit is a MESSENGER of Satan.
Now the word “buffet” means blow after blow. This damsel followed them around many days dealing, if you will, blow after blow to Paul and Silas. This word “buffet” also means to contend of fight against, to bring hardships. If we look at verse 10 of this passage of scripture that we are studying you will see some of these HARDSHIPS that Paul was BUFFETED with; we see infirmities (weaknesses), reproaches, necessities, persecutions, and distresses. And all these things that buffeted Paul were for Christ’s sake to show Paul that when he was weak, then he was strong. Not that he was strong in himself or in his own strength, but was strong in the Lord or in the anointing that rested upon him. This is what CHRIST means. It is for the sake of the ANOINTING to show that when I am weak in my own strength, then I am strong in the Lord, or the anointing of God is strong upon me.


Look at the previous verse, verse 9,

“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for you: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I GLORY in my infirmities (weakness), that the POWER of Christ (the anointing) may REST upon me.”

Then Paul goes on to write in verse 10 and the first part of verse 11 “THEREFORE”. Now whenever you see the word “therefore” find out what it is there for.

“THEREFORE I take PLEASURE in infirmities (weaknesses), in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s (the anointing) sake: (why?) for when I am weak, then I am strong. I am become a fool in GLORYING;…”


The word “glory” here is the Greek word “kauchaomai” and means to boast or to rejoice in, and comes from the Greek word “katakauchaumai”, which mean to boast about, to boast against, to triumph over, to rejoice against or to glory.

Paul figured out the secret of overcoming or triumphing over the enemy. When God told Paul that his GRACE was SUFFICIENT for him, he knew that God was saying to him to stand in your authority that I have already given you. So Paul turned to the damsel and said, “I command you in the NAME of JESUS to come out of her.”
And in the same hour we are told that the spirit left her. There is another whole study about "MUST CHRISTIANS SUFFER" you might also like to read which teaches us that we can and should have JOY in the MIDST of our SUFFERING. Paul says, “I am BECOME a fool in GLORYING (rejoicing against the enemy so that the power of the anointing may rest upon me to bring me the victory). COUNT it all JOY my brothers and sisters in the Lord KNOWING that the TRYING of your FAITH works patience in you.

Paul says in Philippians 4:4

“REJOICE in the Lord always: and again I say REJOICE.”


I have said all of this to say EVEN IF Paul’s thorn in the flesh is proven without a doubt by the word of God and NOT just mere speculations to be some kind of sickness or disease, this still does not mean that God refused to heal Paul. God did not refuse Paul three times or tell him that he would not heal him three times. We only know for sure what the word of God tells us, which is,

“And he (God) said unto me, My grace is sufficient for you, my strength is made perfect in weakness,…”

And we only know for sure that Paul SOUGHT the Lord three times, but we do not know for sure if the Lord spoke to him each time or just after the third time. Personally I would say God spoke to him all three times, but Paul heard God ONLY after the third time Paul sought him concerning this messenger of Satan that buffeted him. God is ALWAYS quick to answer our prayers , but we may not always be in tune to hear his voice.
However according to Paul’s reaction and response to God’s word, my grace is sufficient for you, my strength is made perfect in weakness it is obvious that God’s answer to Paul’s prayer was not a NO, but just the opposite. God was telling Paul, “use My grace”. So Paul, recognizing immediately what God was saying to him, did just that. He stood in his authority in the name of Jesus and soon became a fool in glorying or rejoicing.

Now the word “strength” in this verse is quite amazing. It means force, MIRACULOUS POWER, ability, abundance, might, mightily, mighty, deed, works of miracles, power, and mighty wonderful work. What a wonderful word. And to be made perfect means completed, accomplished, fulfilled, or PERFORMED. So this verse could read, “My grace is sufficient for you, it is more than enough, for my MIRACULOUS POWER is PERFORMED in weakness, in those who are humble and do not boast of their own strength, but who are without pride in their strength.”

The word infirmity in today’s vernacular is often used to mean a type of sickness. This is probably why many Christians feel that Paul's thorn in the flesh is some kind of sickness or disease. However in the word of God, that is to say in the original Greek language the word used for infirmity not only means weakness in body as in sickness but also means weakness in morals or the flesh as in the carnal nature of mankind. I have a study called “THE BIBLE MEANING OF INFIRMITY", if you want to know more in depth on this topic. I am not ruling out the possibility of Paul's thorn in the flesh being a sickness or disease, but from what I have studied this deduction is rather low on the list of being scriptural and sound doctrine. Again it is only my opinion that Paul's Thorn in the flesh might be this damsel with the spirit of divination. No one can know for absolute certainty, because the word of God simply does not clearly come out and tell us what Paul's thorn in the flesh actually is.

Some other possibilities of Paul’s thorn in the flesh MAY be the difficulty Paul faced warring against sin. Read at Romans 7:14-20. Paul starts by saying, “I am carnal.” He goes on to tell how what he wants to do he cannot seem to do and that he does not want to do he finds himself doing. Perhaps he sought the Lord three times concerning this weakness, that is to say, infirmity in the flesh. Another possibility of Paul’s thorn in the flesh MAY have been the care of the churches that came upon him daily. Read II Corinthians 11:28. No matter what Paul’s thorn in the flesh may have been Paul says in


II Timothy 3:11

“…but out of them ALL the Lord DELIVERED me.”

So no matter what the thorn was that Paul had, God delivered Paul from it.
In closing I have to say that I am persuaded to believe that Paul’s thorn in the flesh was indeed a messenger of Satan to buffet him just as the word of God says. And for me personally, I believe that this MESSENGER of Satan was this SPIRIT of DIVINATION that possessed this damsel that was ANNOYING Paul and Silas these many days where Paul perhaps sought the Lord to deliver him from this ANNOYING fortune teller and God told Paul USE my GRACE, that is what I gave it to you for in the first place.
Now it may or may not be as I believe and it may be some dreaded disease, but in NO WAY did God ever refuse to heal or deliver him. Paul sought the Lord three times and the Lord ANSWERED Paul by telling him to use the GRACE that you have been given, because it is sufficient, that is to say God's GRACE is MORE than enough to get the job done.
I leave it to you to decide for yourself.
If your would like to know more about the true meaning of GRACE the please refer to the study entitled "WHAT IS THE TRUE MEANING OF GRACE?"

Yours in Christ Jesus,

Always and Forever,

Mark.