What was Paul’s thorn in the flesh?

from the old testament

• Paul's thorn in the flesh is not found in the Old Testament.

from the new testament

• 2 Corinthians 12:7 reads, “to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.” Paul doesn’t explain what the thorn is. This is both because it’s likely the Corinthians already knew and because what it was is not the point—its point is that it was to humble Paul.
• Apparently, Paul received a special vision (or multiple visions). He doesn’t name himself as the one who received them, but contextually he implies it when he says, “I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven … and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. On behalf of this man I will boast …” (2 Corinthians 12:1–6). Paul was not actually boasting, but hinting that if he wanted to boast, he had something unique to boast about.
• However, the “thorn in the flesh” was given for that explicit reason: “to keep me from becoming conceited.” Thus, the reference to the thorn is not about the thorn so much as to explain why he had it. He used the passive verb for “given,” implying that it was given by God. That is supported by the fact that God refused to take it away when he prayed (2 Corinthians 12:8–9). Paul learned the lesson God was teaching him: “I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9b–10).
• The word translated as “thorn” appears only once in the New Testament and likely means “stake.” So, something long and penetrating, not like a “thorn” on a rose bush. Whatever the “thorn” was, it was a serious affliction.
• Paul refers to it as “a messenger of Satan to harass me.” Some have taken that to mean that Paul was often harassed, even by those in the church, including some in Corinth (e.g., 2 Corinthians 11:23–27). Others, however, believe that because Paul said, “in the flesh,” he wasn’t speaking metaphorically but had a physical ailment. For example, Galatians 4:13–15 implies that Paul has a medical issue, likely with his eyes.

implications for today

We simply don’t know what Paul's “thorn” was. But that’s okay because Paul’s point was what the thorn taught him: humility and that God’s power is magnified when we are weak.

We are not easily amazed by a muscle-bound man lifting weights because he’s obviously strong. We’re impressed because we can’t do it, but we’re not surprised that he can. But when someone looks weak and does something seemingly impossible, we are floored. Their apparent “weakness” magnifies the display of strength.

God similarly uses our weaknesses to magnify His strength. Throughout church history, some of the “strongest” Christian men and women have been some of the humblest. They have been believers who have had real struggles with sin and real physical weaknesses, but who have strived to apply Scripture to their lives. Built on a foundation of trust in God, they faced persecutors humbly, and God worked great things in the lives of those around them. When it comes to some of the greatest trials they faced, such as martyrdom, we marvel at how such ordinary people could do what they did. But the answer is that it was not they who did it, but God through them.

Like Paul, let us not make our goal to be super Christians, but humble and faithful ones. God’s strength will be demonstrated through us as we acknowledge that it is His grace, not our strength (our talents, our knowledge, etc.), that will get us through.