2 Corinthians 12:1-6

2 Corinthians 12:1-6

It is necessary to boast.  On one hand, while not being profitable, on the other hand I will come into dreams and revelations of the Lord.  I have known a man in Christ who fourteen years ago – whether in the body I have not known nor whether outside the body have I known, God knows – after this person was being snatched away into the third heaven.  And I have known this man – whether in the body or whether apart from the body I have not known, God knows – after being snatched away into paradise he also heard words that are inexpressible which a man is not permitted to speak.  I will boast on this man’s behalf, but I will not boast on my own behalf except in weakness.  For if I should desire to boast I will not be foolish for I will speak truth.  But I refrain, so someone should not consider into me above that which he sees in me or he hears out of me.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Paul continues to apologize for his boasting.  He reinforces the idea that it really does no good.  We cannot paint ourselves any better than the truth that God already knows exists within us.  If we talk about ourselves because we are trying to convince other people – or worse, God! – that we are better than we actually are then we are simply fooling ourselves.  God knows who we are.  As Paul continues to remind us, there is no profit in boasting.

Do you ever boast about yourself to make yourself feel good?  Why do we do this if it really doesn’t do any good?

Second Thought:

Paul does give us a really neat truth here, though.  If we never boast, we never will talk about the neat ways that God enters our life.  So Paul continues on here not to try and puff up his own public image but rather to testify to the power of God.  God enters each of our lives in unique and beautiful ways.  How God interacts with me is different than how God interacts with you.  We should be willing to talk about this with other people – especially other believers.  Therefore, we can boast.   But we do not boast so that our own name is praised.  Rather, we boast so that God is given glory for the ways that He reveals Himself to us.

When you think about this, is this really boasting?  How easy is it for you to talk about God and what God is doing in your life and keep it focused on God?  What makes this easy?  What can make this difficult?

Third Thought:

As an example, Paul talks about a man who was taken up into heaven.  Some have speculated that Paul is talking about himself here.  To be honest, it doesn’t matter.  The fact that Paul seems to take a fair amount of space speaking to the fact that it isn’t him – see verse 5 especially – leads me to think that Paul is not speaking about himself.  But in the end, it really doesn’t matter.  Here is a man who has an incredible experience.  He is given a glimpse of what heaven looks like.  He is given a glimpse of the unspeakable things that will happen in heaven.  What a wonderful gift to be used for the reassurance of God’s people!  The fact that this happened to this man does not make him better than any of the rest of us who rely upon God’s grace to be saved.  It is not to the man’s glory that this experience happened to him.  It is for the glory of God, who gave this man the experience, and it is for the encouragement of all God’s people so that we can be reminded that our time in heaven will be unspeakably better than our time here on earth!  What a wonderful message to proclaim!

Why is this a great example of the teaching that I give in point number 2?  How is Paul able to speak about the incredible experience but keep the focus on God and not on the recipient of God’s grace?  What does it say to you today that our time in heaven will be unspeakably better than even our greatest moments here on earth?

Passage for Tomorrow: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10