2 Corinthians 12 (1)

Pray Psalm 110.1, 2
The LORD said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”
The LORD shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion.
Rule in the midst of Your enemies!”

Sing Psalm 110.1, 2.
(Aurelia: The Church’s One Foundation)
“Sit by Me at My right hand,” the LORD says to my Lord,
“until I make Your foot stand on all who hate Your Word.”
The LORD sends strength from Zion: “Rule all Your enemies.”
While those who Him rely on go forth their LORD to please.

Read and meditate on 2 Corinthians 12.1-6.

Preparation
1. What was Paul describing?

2. What was heard there?

Meditation
Paul continued here in his “foolish boasting” mode while being careful to guard humility and keep the focus on the Lord.

It is quite likely Paul described his own experience in these verses, although he did not say so. We do not know the circumstances in which Paul experienced this vision. He was taken up to “the third heaven”. The first heaven is the atmosphere we breathe. The second heaven is where the stars and planets exist. The third heaven is where God dwells. Paul was granted a glimpse of that spiritual place, which he described as “Paradise”, a place of infinite beauty and wonder. There he heard things that he was unable to express, spiritual things, such as the Spirit of God alone might utter (cf. Rom. 8.26).

Paul did not “boast” about this experience. He merely reported it. He did not want his apostleship to depend on spiritual visions but on the Word of God and the evidence God brought forth in him. But he mentioned this here because it was important to him, and he considered it might be important as a mark of his apostleship for the Corinthians.

We do not expect to have such visions. They are not normative; however, they are real, and many people have reported similar visions throughout the course of Church history. We must nurture a vision of the Lord Jesus, sitting at the right hand of God (Col. 3.1-3; Eph. 1.15-21). This will be strictly by faith and based on all that God has revealed in His Word concerning the reign of King Jesus. The clearer and more compelling our vision of Christ, exalted in glory, the more likely it is that we will go forth in our Personal Mission Field to spread the Good News (Ps. 110.3).

Treasures Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Many superheroes have capes—Superman comes to mind—but if there were a cape for SuperChristian, Paul most certainly could have donned it.

This man had a mind like a steel trap. His skills in writing and logic were unsurpassed. His one-track life, lived only for the glory of God and the edification of his fellowman, was exemplary. And here he spoke about his trip to Paradise: yet not to boast, but to say that even considering this extraordinary happening, he wanted only to be judged by what others saw and heard from him (2 Cor.12.6).

His boasting remained, still in his infirmities, not his gifts and successes.

This humility goes back to his first letter to this church on the topic of tongues: “I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all; yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue” (1 Cor. 14.18, 19).

These gifts of tongues and travels were gifts, and he knew that.

Salvation being the greatest gift—unearned and undeserved—yet freely given by our generous and forgiving God and Savior. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5.8).

What others saw and heard from Paul was how he lived out his thanks for this unsurpassed gift.
He knew the benefits of salvation and the requirements for joining the Kingdom team:
“But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him,
and His righteousness to children’s children, to such as keep His covenant, and
to those who remember His commandments to do them” (Ps. 103.17, 18).

Although we have probably not yet been to Paradise, nor spoken in tongues, we have most assuredly been given the gift of salvation, to which we say thank you; and join up on this same Kingdom team to glorify God and to benefit others. There is no other point to our lives than this.

Speak of His love in your own tongue.
Stay in His Word daily.
Pray continuously.
Obey His commandments.
Work your Personal Mission Field.
Boast in your infirmities.
Glimpse Paradise.

For reflection
1. What is your approach to setting your mind on Jesus (Col. 3.1-3)?

2. Review the list just above. In which of those areas do you need to improve?

3. Whom will you encourage today in their walk with and work for the Lord?

Whether heavenly things were brought down to him, while his body was in a trance, as in the case of ancient prophets; or whether his soul was dislodged from the body for a time, and taken up into heaven, or whether he was taken up, body and soul together, he knew not. We are not capable, nor is it fit we should yet know, the particulars of that glorious place and state. He did not attempt to publish to the world what he had heard there, but he set forth the doctrine of Christ. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on 2 Corinthians 12.1-6

Pray Psalm 110.3-7.
Pray for yourself and your church, that your witness for Christ may refresh many in your community.

Sing Psalm 110.3-7.
(Aurelia: The Church’s One Foundation)
Your people in Your power, arrayed in holiness,
like dew of morning’s hour shall serve like youth refreshed.
The LORD has sworn and never will He His promise check:
“You are a priest forever after Melchizedek.”

The Lord is at Your right hand to execute His wrath,
and judge all kings and all lands—doomed sinners in His path.
Then, all His foes defeated, He takes His hard-won rest,
in glorious triumph seated with us, redeemed and blessed.

T. M. and Susie Moore

The Church in Corinth was in need of revival. But there was much to be done before that would happen. The Church today needs revival, and the same is true for us. Our book, Revived!, can help us to discern our need for revival and lead us in getting there. Order your copy by clicking here.

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter, available by clicking here.