2 Corinthians 12:9
And he said to me, My grace suffices thee; for [my] power is perfected in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather boast in my weaknesses, that the power of the Christ may dwell upon me.
View all translations →Following his catching up to the third heaven (2 Cor. 12:1-4), Paul was given "a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me," and pleaded three times for its removal. The Lord's answer — "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness" — became the keynote of New Testament Christian experience, turning the apostle from begging for relief to glorying in the very weakness that made room for Christ's power.
Paul had received a revelation so glorious it threatened to lift him up. The thorn was the divine safeguard, and behind it stood Christ Himself using even Satan to preserve His servant.
James BoydSatan was glad to be allowed to cripple Paul, and Paul was distressed on account of it, but neither Paul nor Satan had known that the power of Christ was perfected in the weakness of the servant... It was a great revelation to him that his ability for service lay in his weakness... "My grace is sufficient for thee" caused him to lift himself up in the power of another and to feel that in his fancied strength he was weaker than water; but in his weakness he was invincible, for the power of Christ rested upon him.
G. V. WigramChrist uses Satan to guard them from sin; he is one of the powers by which He works. Satan gave Paul the thorn in the flesh. Christ's purpose is to perfect His strength in his servant's weakness... Christ has prepared the things as they are that I may not be able to get along a single day without Himself.
The Lord did not remove the thorn, but gave something greater — Himself.
MagazinesTake away this thorn, take away this thorn, take away this thorn... There was no answer save, "No; my grace is sufficient for thee." Who sent the thorn? The Lord Himself. Who limited too what Satan was to do with the thorn? The Lord Himself... I can't take away something of yours, but I will give thee something of mine. I am never tired of caring for you... grace filling all your circumstances, whatever they are. I am left to you; I am sufficient for you; my strength shall be made perfect in weakness.
The first phrase, "He said unto me," is decisive — this is not theory but communication directly from the throne.
Magazines (E. P. C.)The first sentence of this verse is sometimes overlooked — "He said unto me." Paul got it from Christ. You may tell me that Christ is sufficient, but I must get it myself personally from Christ in heaven, and that will assure my heart... The voice of Christ alters everything. There is no third party here; it is not He and us, but He and me... "That the power of Christ may overshadow me, tabernacle over me." For the saint of God who walks in conscious weakness and powerlessness there is an invisible power overshadowing him all the pathway through... It must be perpetual weakness, but perpetual power.
The principle is that God never deposits intrinsic strength in us; He keeps us conscious of our nothingness so that Christ may be everything.
J. N. DarbyThe Lord never gives us intrinsic strength, He makes us feel our dependence. I am made to feel my weakness when I see how my flesh would even pervert the blessings that are mine in Christ. Therefore will I rather glory in infirmities (not sin, but infirmities — for example, distresses, persecutions, etc.).
MagazinesThe thorn is not power in itself, but preparation for power. Suppose Paul despicable in his ministry: well, there never was such a work done before. Then there must be something besides Paul here; Christ must be here... He cannot make it perfect in our strength!... Where a person is nothing, "my grace is sufficient." Where is His strength made perfect? In a person who has no strength at all: then it must be Christ.
The result is no longer endurance but joy — Paul actually welcomes what cripples him because it makes more room for Christ.
George CuttingWhen Paul had learned the lesson, he could even glory in his infirmities, and do it "gladly," because he knew that his weakness only made the more room for Christ's power, as he says, "That the power of Christ may rest upon me," 2 Cor. 12:9. He does not make me conscious of having power; but in the consciousness of my weakness, I avail myself of His power.
- Purposeful thorn. The suffering was not random; Christ Himself sent and limited it as the safeguard that kept Paul humble after the heavenly revelation.
- Unanswered prayer answered better. The Lord refused to remove the thorn but gave the greater gift — His own sufficient grace and abiding strength.
- Personal communication. "He said unto me" — sufficiency must be heard from Christ directly, not received second-hand.
- Power through weakness. God never lodges intrinsic strength in the believer; conscious weakness is the only condition under which the power of Christ can rest, "tabernacle," over us.
- Glad glorying. The right response is not merely to endure infirmities but to take pleasure in them, since "when I am weak, then am I strong."