John F Avanzini - Pauls thorn : Satans messenger not sickness

Satans Messenger Not Sickness

Contents

Paul's Thorn In The Flesh

The misunderstanding of Paul's thorn in the flesh has created a thorn in the flesh to the entire church for many years. The use of this text out of its context has caused great weakness to come upon the church and much unnecessary sickness to believers.

Satan has had a field day. He has had poor, mistaken children of God rejoicing in their sicknesses. They mistakenly claim that they have received their sicknesses from God so that they will not be exalted out of measure, or that they can bear their sickness graciously, thus bringing glory to God.

This reasoning is totally without scriptural basis. Such thoughts find their roots in the so-called 'wisdom of man', which God aptly calls foolishness. This erroneous teaching so permeates the minds of mistaken Christians today that you can immediately predetermine their conversations when they start down this pathway of error.

They usually begin with words like, "I think that my sickness glorifies God."

You don't have to hear much more to know where the conversation is headed. One of the next things they will mention is Paul's thorn in the flesh. They'll say, "I believe God gave Paul a terrible eye disease that caused pus to run out of his eyes and it made him very grotesque looking." They erroneously contend that God gave him

this , or some other terrible sickness, so that he would not be exalted above measure.

Let's not settle for such perversions of God's Word, but let's go to the scripture, where the truth will be established.

Please turn with me to 2 Corinthians 12:4-10.

(4) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

(5) Of such a one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities.

(6) For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me.

(7) And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan, to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.

(8) For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.

(9) And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

(10) Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then I am strong."

What we have here is a true account of Paul's statement to the Corinthians, but the traditional interpretation of it is a fairy tale. You will be amazed when you see the reckless manner in which these verses are misinterpreted by the opponents of the Full Gospel teaching. I remember when I first realized the true interpretation of these verses. I could not believe what I was reading. As the truth came forth from the page, it was so powerful that it brought me to my feet with a shout of victory.

Chapter 1

WeaknessNot Sickness

When the Scripture talks about infirmities, it is not necessarily talking about sicknesses. Many people have in mind that because sick people go to the infirmary, then they must have an infirmity. This is why they get the mistaken idea that this word 'infirmity' means sickness. But upon closer investigation we find that it does not necessarily mean sickness at all. We will find that infirmity is better translated weakness than sickness.

GODS POWER-NOT OURS

The understanding that we are becoming the manifested sons of God and that we have the ability to do all the things that Jesus did and even more, can cause us to lose touch with reality. We may forget that the power to do these mighty works does not lie in ourselves. We are weak, but in Christ Jesus we are strong. When we are in Him, we are very strong-even to the pulling down of strongholds (II Cor.: 10:4-6). We actually become a terror to the spirit world if we recognize that we, in ourselves, have no personal strength, but in Christ we have the power of God operating in and through us to the point that we can do all things.

The confusing of our strength with Christ's strength is the reason that we do not see more people manifesting the power of God. We find that, many times when people begin to learn how to operate in faith, they forget who their faith must be in. They think they are operating in their own maturity in Christ rather than in the power of the name of Jesus. Without Christ we are weak but with Him we are invincible.

THE HIDDEN MEANING OF THE WORD INFIRMITY

Something interesting comes to view when we begin to study these Scriptures. We come to find that the same Greek word is interpreted several different ways in this particular section of Scripture.

Look at the fifth verse (2 Cor. 12). "Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities . "

The same Greek word translated 'infirmities' is used in the ninth verse, but there it is translated 'weaknesses'. When we read 'infirmities' in one place and then read 'weakness' in another place, it causes us to think that the writer is conveying two different thoughts. The English meaning for the word 'infirmities' has some connotations that the word 'weakness' does not have. The Greek word translated 'infirmities' and the Greek word translated 'weakness' are the same word and is more correctly translated 'weakness' than 'infirmity'.

If you have a Strong's Concordance [an accepted standard), you will find that whenever it deals with a questionable rendering of a word from the King James translation, there will be an asterisk before the word number. Interestingly, every place that the word 'infirmities' is used in the King James Version of the Bible , the Strong's Concordance places an asterisk by its word number to warn us that the word is being interpreted with a questionable interpretation.

Let's see this word used further in our text. In II Cor. 12:5, we find the word 'infirmities'; in the ninth verse the word 'weakness'; in the second half of the ninth verse the word 'infirmities'; and then in the first sentence of the tenth verse, the word 'infirmities' is used again. Paul says, "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake, for when I am weak ..." the word 'weak' is once again the identical root word that is translated 'infirmities' and 'weakness' in verses 5, 9, 10 in this particular text. If you replace those words 'infirmities' (or infirmity) with the word 'weakness' (or weak) you will begin to see the light.

Paul makes a statement. He says, " when I am weak, then am I strong." What Paul is saying is, "When I recognize my personal weakness, then the power of God can move through me."

Chapter 2

ThornNot Sickness

Now, hold in your mind the ray of light that you received in Chapter One, as we move further into the unraveling of the errors of man from this discourse.

The word 'thorn' is used in several other places in the Scripture, but in not one instance in Scripture does it ever refer to sickness. Quite to the contrary, each time the word 'thorn' is used it has to do with some individual or group of individuals that are creating a problem for God's children.