I feel a very strong leading of the Holy Spirit to tackle the issue of healing and God’s grace. There is something Paul said in scripture that either leads to destroyed faith or supercharged faith. We must make sure that we get the supercharged faith!
2 Corinthians 12 NKJV
7And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.
There is a teaching that’s been floating around for years, based on this scripture, claiming that God is telling Paul that He will not heal Him. Denominations, churches, and people have spread this misunderstanding and it’s caused people to miss out on what Jesus has provided for them. This teaching claims Paul’s thorn was a sickness such as malaria, cataracts, seizures, or other baseless wild claims. To support the idea that God was refusing to heal Paul, they say God’s grace was good enough to get him by. Let’s take a really good look at this scripture…
Paul defines his “thorn in the flesh” as a messenger (person) of Satan. The Bible is very clear, it takes scholars and men with fancy letters before and after their name to cause confusion. Let’s look at the Greek to farther understand this point. Thorn in Greek is skolops. Skolops means a pointed piece of wood, sharp stake, or a sharp splinter. Buffet in Greek is kolaphizē from the word kolaphizó, meaning to strike with the fist. HELPS Word Studies farther describes this word as striking with the fist, literally with “knuckles;” to hit hard with the knuckles, to make the blow sting and crush. The word kolaphizē is actually used, meaning continued or repeated strikes with the fist. Here are other scriptures that use the word kolaphizó.
Matthew 26:67
NKJV: Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck (kolaphizó) Him with the palms of their hands,
Greek: Then they spat in the face of Him and struck (kolaphizó). Others then slapped (rhapizó, struck with the palm) Him.
One more, 1 Peter 2:20 NKJV
For what credit is it if, when you are beaten (kolaphizó) for your faults, you take it patiently?
If we’re supposed to believe the “Paul couldn’t get healed doctrine,” then we’re also supposed to believe they punched Jesus to give him cataracts? Ok.. hahaha Even better, Peter tells us we get credit for taking a knuckle sandwich to contract malaria for the gospel. All jokes aside, never let anyone rob you of what Jesus bought and paid for, especially over a misinterpretation of English.
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED??
Paul was sharing his many revelations. Someone, a messenger, a person filled with the devil, beat the crap out of Paul with his fist(s). It obviously happened more than once, because of the verb tense used, which was why Paul asked God 3 times! He was likening the fist beatings unto an impaling stake, such as a dire situation. Either that or they literally had a wooden impaling stake, so they could display Paul’s head like a trophy. Lets read that scripture one more time…
2 Corinthians 12 NKJV
7And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a sharp stake in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to repeatedly beat me with his fist(s), lest I be exalted above measure.
Some people say God sent the messenger of Satan, so Paul would stay humble. If someone thinks The Great God Jehovah, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, has to or would send someone filled with the devil so He could communicate with Paul, they have bigger problems than just believing healing!
You still don’t believe me? Let’s look at “infirmity” in Greek, which Paul supposedly used in the following verse.
2 Corinthians 12:9
NKJV:And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness (astheneia).” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast (put my head up) in my infirmities (astheneia), that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Greek: He said to me, Suffices you the grace of Me; the for power in weakness (astheneia) is perfected. Most gladly therefore rather will I boast (put my head up) in the weaknesses (astheneia) of me, so that may rest upon me the power of Christ.
The Greek is a literal translation! The word weakness and infirmity is the same word both times, astheneia. The Greek word astheneia means weakness or frailty. There is no indication that this “weakness” is actually a sickness. There is no reason as to why KJV and NKJV would change the word from weakness to sickness mid verse. Unfortunately, this isn’t the only time King James changed definitions in a verse. No one has a right to assign a meaning that’s not there, especially to dismiss healing scriptures throughout the entire Bible.
Here are two examples of astheneia:
1 Corinthians 15:43: It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness (astheneia), it is raised in power.
1 Timothy 5:23: No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach’s sake and your frequent infirmities (astheneia).
Back to Paul, the Lord answers Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you…” When it comes to the “Paul couldn’t get healed” doctrine, grace indicates to them the meaning of barely getting along, God did enough for you, deal with it yourself, suffer for Christ. Really? Is that what we’re supposed to think of the SAVING GRACE of the Lord?
Ephesians 2:8 NKJV
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
Were we given a crappy gift called grace? Or is grace an amazing soul-saving all-sufficient for your needs supply? I’m going with all-sufficient supply, a very good gift! In Paul’s response, in verse 9 and 10, he gets the revelation knowledge that when he is weak, the power of Christ rests upon him, a full supply. Woohoo! That’s exciting! That’s available to us! He learned that when he’s weak, he can tap into the all-sufficient supply called grace! Instead of people teaching, when you’re weak, tap into the all-sufficient grace supply. They teach, boohoo Paul, you wore out My grace towards you and you’re complaining, suffer this sickness for Christ, and be happy too.
I shared in the strife post that when I was attacked by gossipers, those were the biggest leaps forward spiritually for me. Why? Because I learned to tap into grace. When I’m, like Paul, weak from an attack (physically, spiritually, or emotionally), it’s when I get the greatest amount of grace. I feel “the power of Christ resting upon me” on my physical body, spiritual body and even my soul. Did you know God gave us a natural version of this all-powerful grace Paul is speaking of in instances of weakness? Adrenaline! When you might be in a dangerous situation, your adrenalin glands go to work. You can see better, move faster, lift heavier, think better, an energy boost; you become your own superhero! The Lord has a much better spiritual version of this in your time of need. Now that we see Paul is saying, “Gladly I will rather put my head up high (boast) in my weakness, because I want the spiritual adrenaline power of Christ on me,” we too can expect a spiritual adrenaline power of Christ to come upon us.
In my experience, when I am weak, that spiritual adrenaline power of Christ comes on me in a great way during my prayer time! As soon as I fully strengthen myself, the rush of “Christ resting upon me” is gone. But then I think, “God, where’d ya go?” He didn’t go anywhere! That rush of grace I got in my weakness leaves, and it’s replaced with my own spiritual strength that I built up. Learn to tap into that grace in your weakness to get His strength. Once you do, you’ll be talking like Paul saying, “Bring on the roller coaster, because the spiritual adrenaline power of Christ on me is amazing!!” That’s exactly why we don’t have to fear. Grace will show up, the power of Christ resting upon you!
Grace doesn’t empower you with the ability to suffer, it empowers you with the ability to overcome.
Grace, grace in Jesus. Breaks up your mountain and sends it back from where it came. One touch from Jesus, and you’ll never be the same. Let the Words of the Lord sink into your heart. He loves us. He is for us, and never against us.
Christi
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