Suffering. 2 Corinthians 11:15–12:10
Suffering raises some pretty big questions. When you’re a Christian and you suffer, you can start to wonder: what is God doing? Doesn’t he have the power to stop this? Doesn’t he love us? If God is good, and if God loves his people, why does he allow suffering to happen?
You’ve probably seen suffering in your life. You've been through some mental health stuff. Or you’ve seen people you love get sick, get hurt, maybe even die. Or you’ve had to watch your parents fighting. Or you’ve had times where everything just felt really heavy. Suffering sucks.
It can be pretty confusing. We believe Jesus has already suffered for us. As 1 Peter 3:18 says, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” But if Jesus has suffered for us, why do Christians still suffer now? What’s the deal with that? How do Christians make sense of suffering?
In 2 Corinthians 11:16–12:10, Paul helps us wrestle with that question. Paul is someone who gets suffering more than just about anyone else. He also gets the spiritual highs to compare suffering with. He doesn’t tell us everything there is to know about suffering. But he does tell us some really helpful things.
Here’s what he shows us: Christians make sense of suffering by knowing it’s normal, it exists with highs, and it shows Christ’s power.
1. Suffering is Normal
In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul is dealing with people who are trying to undermine him. They’re sometimes called the “super-apostles”. Basically, they’re these impressive-looking teachers who are trying to make Paul look weak and pathetic. They’re saying, “Why would you listen to Paul? Look at him. He suffers. He gets beaten up. He gets rejected. He’s not that impressive.”
So Paul wants to contrast his ministry with theirs. And Paul does something a bit odd. He boasts. But he doesn’t boast about how successful he is, or how strong he is, or how impressive his ministry looks. He boasts about his suffering.
He gives this massive list of ways he's suffered. Paul says he has worked hard, been in prison, been flogged, and been exposed to death again and again (v. 23). Five times he received the forty lashes minus one from the Jews (v. 24). Three times he was beaten with rods, once he was pelted with stones, three times he was shipwrecked, and he spent a night and a day in the open sea (v. 25). He was constantly on the move, in danger from rivers, bandits, fellow Jews, Gentiles, the city, the country, the sea, and false believers (v. 26). He laboured and toiled, often went without sleep, knew hunger and thirst, often went without food, and was cold and naked (v. 27). And on top of all that, he faced the daily pressure of his concern for all the churches (v. 28). It’s a crazy list.
The point is not that every Christian will suffer as much as Paul did. Most of us probably won’t. Hopefully we won't. But it shows us something important: suffering is still a normal part of the Christian life. If anyone understood that Jesus had died for his sins, it was Paul. If anyone understood the grace of God, it was Paul. And yet suffering was still part of his normal.
So we shouldn’t be surprised when suffering is part of ours. Following Jesus doesn’t mean escaping all suffering now. Suffering sucks, but it’s a normal part of the Christian life this side of Jesus’ return.
2. Suffering Exists with Highs
Then in chapter 12, Paul starts by showing us something completely different. He says, “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven” (12:2). He’s almost certainly talking about himself here.
Then he says, “And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows—was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell” (12:3–4). In other words, Paul heard stuff that he can’t even put into words because it was so intense.
The Bible only explicitly mentions the “third heaven” here in 2 Corinthians 12. Paul doesn’t directly define what the first and second heavens are. Christians have sometimes wondered if the first heaven is the sky, the second is the realm of the stars, and the third is God’s dwelling place, because the Bible uses “heaven” or “heavens” in those different ways. But we don’t know for sure.
What we can say for sure, though, is that Paul is describing being caught up into God’s presence. He also calls it “paradise” (12:4). That word shows up in a few other places in the Bible. When Jesus is dying on the cross, he says to the criminal next to him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). And in Revelation, Jesus promises, “To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God” (Revelation 2:7).
So the “third heaven” and “paradise” are ways of talking about being with God in a really, really good place. Paul is saying he had this incredible experience of being caught up into the presence of God and hearing stuff that was too intense (in a good way) to put into words.
That's about as much of a spiritual high as you're going to get. And yet, at the very same time, his life was marked by suffering.
That’s worth pausing over for a second. Sometimes we can think suffering means nothing good is happening. That’s not necessarily true. Paul is suffering deeply, and yet God is still giving him incredible experiences of his goodness.
And that can be true for us too. You can be going through a really hard time and still have moments where God encourages or blesses you. You can be suffering and still learn heaps about Jesus. You can be weak and still have moments of deep joy. It’s worth recognising that, lest we become perpetually sad Eeyores.
But it also works the other way around. Someone might look like they’re going really well spiritually. They might seem really joyful. They might be growing heaps. They might be serving, praying, reading the Bible, encouraging others, and looking strong. But behind all that, there might be real suffering going on.
That’s worth remembering. Spiritual highs don’t mean there’s no suffering. And suffering doesn’t mean there are no spiritual highs. For Paul, they exist together.
And then, in the middle of all this, Paul says this: “Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me” (12:7). We don't know whether it was a literal thorn, nor do we know if it was a literal errand boy sent by Satan. Whatever this thorn was, though, it was bad. Really bad. It tormented Paul.
Paul says, “Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me” (12:8). So even after being caught up into paradise, even after hearing things too intense to put into words, Paul is still suffering. He still has this thorn. He still pleads with Jesus to remove it. When we're suffering, we have to remember to pray! If anyone can help us, it's Jesus.
But Jesus doesn’t remove it. God doesn't always answer our prayers in the way we want. But, in this case, he gives Paul something much better.
3. Suffering Shows Christ’s Power
Jesus gives Paul these words: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (12:9). Jesus doesn’t say, “Paul, don’t worry, you’re actually really strong.” He says, “My grace is enough. My power is made perfect in weakness.” Here, Paul’s weakness becomes the place where Christ’s power is seen most clearly.
That’s why Paul says, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me” (12:9). And then he says, “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties” (12:10).
That’s not because Paul enjoys suffering. He's not a sicko. It’s because he has learned that his weakness is where Christ’s power rests on him. When Paul is weak, he sees that Jesus is strong.
That’s why Paul can say, “For when I am weak, then I am strong” (12:10). That is not normal human strength. It’s not the strength that comes from working out heaps. It’s not the strength that comes from being smart. It’s true strength. It comes from someone strong enough to overcome death. It doesn’t depend on Paul having enough in the tank. It depends on Christ having enough in his tank. Christ’s strength doesn’t run out when Paul’s does.
Paul can endure insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties because Christ is at work in him. Christ keeps him going. Christ shows his power through Paul’s weakness.
And Christ can keep us going when we suffer. His grace is enough for us. He sustains us, especially when we suffer.
Final Thoughts
So how should Christians make sense of suffering? Not by pretending it doesn’t hurt, or acting like we have all the answers, or saying, “It’s fine,” when it really isn’t. Paul doesn't tell us everything in this passage. But what he shows us is helpful. Paul helps us remember that suffering is normal, suffering exists with highs, and suffering shows Christ’s power.
Following Jesus doesn't mean an easy life now. Christians should not be shocked when suffering comes. But you can suffer deeply and still know real highs in Christ.
Most of all, your weakness isn't wasted. Christ’s grace is sufficient. His power is made perfect in weakness. So when you suffer, you don’t need to pretend to be strong. You can come to Jesus weak. And that’s exactly where you get a glimpse of his power.
Discussion Questions
Pray and Get Going
Q1. When Christians suffer, what are some things we might start to wonder about God?
Look at 2 Corinthians 11:16–12:10
Q2. What kinds of suffering does Paul list in 11:16–30?
Q3. What stands out to you about his suffering?
Q4. What amazing experience does Paul describe in 12:1–6? Why do you think he mentions this in the middle of a section about suffering and weakness?
Q5. According to 12:7–8, why was the thorn given to Paul?
Q6. What does God say to Paul in 12:9? What does that show us about suffering and weakness?
Q7. How should this passage shape the way we think about our own suffering?
Pray and Give Thanks
Father, thank you that you do not waste the sufferings of your people and that your grace is sufficient for us. Please help us not to be surprised by suffering, keep us trusting you in weakness, and teach us to rest in the power of Christ. Amen.
