2Cor 12:2 | KingComments | STEP | This section is the climax in Paul’s defense. The experiences mentioned earlier made a big dent in the claims of the false apostles and now they disappear totally. None of the false apostles can excel Paul in his experiences he narrates here. These are experiences unique to Paul, the others are by far the lesser. And that is not because he is so great; he has stressed that all the time. This section deals with the special honor God gave him, namely, that he was caught up to the third heaven. This had to be the ultimate proof to the Corinthians that he was a real God-sent servant. From the way he describes this experience we can conclude that Paul is not saying this for his own glorification. He speaks of “a man in Christ” ( ). It sounds as if he is speaking of someone else. But he speaks of himself. This can be derived from where he speaks in the first person singular, namely, ‘I’ and ‘me’ while describing his special revelation. . As we begin this section first I would like to point out the big difference this has with the last verses of the previous section. There Paul was let down in a basket to escape from his enemies. Here he is caught up to the third heaven. In the previous section he talks about his weakness and therein he wants to boasts. Everything he experienced made him small but made Christ great. Now he writes about his special experience which no one else ever had. He writes about this experience not because it is beneficial for him but for the Corinthians and even for us. He had been silent about this experience for about fourteen years and this in itself is quite an achievement. Can you keep a beautiful and an extraordinary experience only to yourself? Perhaps you would like to share it with others. But Paul was not so. Now the time has come for him to speak about it, but without conceit. Further God had already given him a ‘medicine’ against it as seen in . We will come to that later. Paul could speak of “visions and revelations” given to him by the Lord. Some of the visions he got we see in Acts ( ). One of the revelations the Lord gave him, perhaps the most beautiful one you can read in Ephesians 3 ( ). These are the things that made him tower over the fraudsters. At the same time these were things that made him incredibly small in his own eyes, for they came from God. He was deeply impressed by them. . In addition to those visions and revelations from the Lord something special happened to him. He did not know how it happened and what state he was in. It may be that he was in the body – I imagine a kind of dream state – and then the heavens came to him or God caught him up along with his body. It could also be that the Lord led his spirit into the third heaven while his body remained on earth so that he was in this state right in heaven for a moment. He did not know but God knew it. That was enough for him. The third heaven is the highest place in creation. Heaven is the place where God lives and where His throne is. This gives the height to which Paul was lifted: above the clouds in the sky, which could be called the first heaven and even above the stars and the planets which could be called the second heaven. It is a place where also satan has access to as we read in the book of Job ( ). . But satan has no access to paradise. A different atmosphere prevails in paradise. It is the place where the spirit and the soul of the fallen asleep believers are and where they rejoice in the Lord Jesus undisturbed. Paul had a glimpse of it and even heard some things. What he heard there made a huge impression on him. The words he heard were “inexpressible” to be reproduced in human language. It was a heavenly language. This is not meant for human communication. Even if it were so he could not speak it because no one would understand it. God gave him this particular experience as an incentive to his service. That fits well with the service that God committed to him. His service was in connection with a Christ Who is now glorified in heaven. Wherever he went that was the main theme of his preaching. The experience he had in paradise, the third heaven, should have remained in his memory and motivated him continuously in his work for the Lord. Is this not so with you also? We must agree that these were experiences unique to Paul; but we must also admit that each one of us knows certain beautiful experiences with the Lord Jesus. They may not be great visions, but every day events which in themselves are not great but for us they are proof that the Lord is at work in our life. Such experiences with the Lord give you added incentive to serve Him. . What is Paul boasting about? He wants to boast only about a man in Christ, because it is all about Christ. Then the man Paul has disappeared from the scene. He is as it were absorbed by Christ and nothing more is seen. It is nice to remember that God sees you in Christ ( ). The more you are aware of this, the more it will define your life. You no longer think of yourself and you no longer live for yourself. The secret of such a life you read in Galatians 2 ( ). Read that verse well and pray that God lets this verse work in your heart and decide your life. Paul did not want to boast in himself but in regard to his weaknesses. His weaknesses prove that he was by no means an impressive person, but God decided to show His power in him. . Of course Paul could have used the circumstances he had been through, both in suffering and in paradise, to prove himself. If he had done so he had said the truth only. The natural temptation is to talk a lot about one’s own experiences and that again is to win the admiration and appreciation of people. To imitate Paul’s attitude is not easy. He deliberately chose the art of depiction that would ultimately ascribed all glory and honor due to God and Christ. He guarded others from yielding to the temptation to appreciate him more than what is consistent with bare facts. Are you sometimes doing your best to make people think a little bit better about you than what they see in you or hear from you? This is inside of each one of us. We are eager to appear a little better than we really are. Paul did not desire a hero worship for himself, not a glory to which he is not entitled. His main concern was to prevent people from giving him the honor and glory which belonged only to God and Christ. He had a lot of things to boast in especially his ‘visit’ to paradise. We are always surrounded by the lurking danger called self-glorification. Paul by nature was a sinner like any one of us. But the privilege of having the excellent revelations always put him the more in danger of falling in pride. God was not unaware of this. Therefore He gave Paul a bodyguard to protect him from this danger. Let us see Paul’s response in the next section. Now read 2 Corinthians 12:1-6 again. Reflection: Have you had special experiences with the Lord by which you are encouraged to live for Him?

‏ 2 Corinthians 12:2

Caught up to the Third Heaven

This section is the climax in Paul’s defense. The experiences mentioned earlier made a big dent in the claims of the false apostles and now they disappear totally. None of the false apostles can excel Paul in his experiences he narrates here. These are experiences unique to Paul, the others are by far the lesser. And that is not because he is so great; he has stressed that all the time.

This section deals with the special honor God gave him, namely, that he was caught up to the third heaven. This had to be the ultimate proof to the Corinthians that he was a real God-sent servant.

From the way he describes this experience we can conclude that Paul is not saying this for his own glorification. He speaks of “a man in Christ” (2Cor 12:2). It sounds as if he is speaking of someone else. But he speaks of himself. This can be derived from 2Cor 12:7 where he speaks in the first person singular, namely, ‘I’ and ‘me’ while describing his special revelation.

2Cor 12:1. As we begin this section first I would like to point out the big difference this has with the last verses of the previous section. There Paul was let down in a basket to escape from his enemies. Here he is caught up to the third heaven. In the previous section he talks about his weakness and therein he wants to boasts. Everything he experienced made him small but made Christ great. Now he writes about his special experience which no one else ever had.

He writes about this experience not because it is beneficial for him but for the Corinthians and even for us. He had been silent about this experience for about fourteen years and this in itself is quite an achievement. Can you keep a beautiful and an extraordinary experience only to yourself? Perhaps you would like to share it with others. But Paul was not so. Now the time has come for him to speak about it, but without conceit. Further God had already given him a ‘medicine’ against it as seen in 2Cor 12:7. We will come to that later.

Paul could speak of “visions and revelations” given to him by the Lord. Some of the visions he got we see in Acts (Acts 9:12 ; Acts 16:9 ; Acts 18:9). One of the revelations the Lord gave him, perhaps the most beautiful one you can read in Ephesians 3 (Eph 3:1-11). These are the things that made him tower over the fraudsters. At the same time these were things that made him incredibly small in his own eyes, for they came from God. He was deeply impressed by them.

2Cor 12:2. In addition to those visions and revelations from the Lord something special happened to him. He did not know how it happened and what state he was in. It may be that he was in the body – I imagine a kind of dream state – and then the heavens came to him or God caught him up along with his body. It could also be that the Lord led his spirit into the third heaven while his body remained on earth so that he was in this state right in heaven for a moment. He did not know but God knew it. That was enough for him.

The third heaven is the highest place in creation. Heaven is the place where God lives and where His throne is. This gives the height to which Paul was lifted: above the clouds in the sky, which could be called the first heaven and even above the stars and the planets which could be called the second heaven. It is a place where also satan has access to as we read in the book of Job (Job 1:6 ; Job 2:1).

2Cor 12:3-4. But satan has no access to paradise. A different atmosphere prevails in paradise. It is the place where the spirit and the soul of the fallen asleep believers are and where they rejoice in the Lord Jesus undisturbed. Paul had a glimpse of it and even heard some things. What he heard there made a huge impression on him. The words he heard were “inexpressible” to be reproduced in human language. It was a heavenly language. This is not meant for human communication. Even if it were so he could not speak it because no one would understand it.

God gave him this particular experience as an incentive to his service. That fits well with the service that God committed to him. His service was in connection with a Christ Who is now glorified in heaven. Wherever he went that was the main theme of his preaching. The experience he had in paradise, the third heaven, should have remained in his memory and motivated him continuously in his work for the Lord.

Is this not so with you also? We must agree that these were experiences unique to Paul; but we must also admit that each one of us knows certain beautiful experiences with the Lord Jesus. They may not be great visions, but every day events which in themselves are not great but for us they are proof that the Lord is at work in our life. Such experiences with the Lord give you added incentive to serve Him.

2Cor 12:5. What is Paul boasting about? He wants to boast only about a man in Christ, because it is all about Christ. Then the man Paul has disappeared from the scene. He is as it were absorbed by Christ and nothing more is seen. It is nice to remember that God sees you in Christ (2Cor 5:17). The more you are aware of this, the more it will define your life. You no longer think of yourself and you no longer live for yourself. The secret of such a life you read in Galatians 2 (Gal 2:20). Read that verse well and pray that God lets this verse work in your heart and decide your life.

Paul did not want to boast in himself but in regard to his weaknesses. His weaknesses prove that he was by no means an impressive person, but God decided to show His power in him.

2Cor 12:6. Of course Paul could have used the circumstances he had been through, both in suffering and in paradise, to prove himself. If he had done so he had said the truth only. The natural temptation is to talk a lot about one’s own experiences and that again is to win the admiration and appreciation of people.

To imitate Paul’s attitude is not easy. He deliberately chose the art of depiction that would ultimately ascribed all glory and honor due to God and Christ. He guarded others from yielding to the temptation to appreciate him more than what is consistent with bare facts. Are you sometimes doing your best to make people think a little bit better about you than what they see in you or hear from you? This is inside of each one of us. We are eager to appear a little better than we really are.

Paul did not desire a hero worship for himself, not a glory to which he is not entitled. His main concern was to prevent people from giving him the honor and glory which belonged only to God and Christ. He had a lot of things to boast in especially his ‘visit’ to paradise. We are always surrounded by the lurking danger called self-glorification. Paul by nature was a sinner like any one of us. But the privilege of having the excellent revelations always put him the more in danger of falling in pride. God was not unaware of this. Therefore He gave Paul a bodyguard to protect him from this danger. Let us see Paul’s response in the next section.

Now read 2 Corinthians 12:1-6 again.

Reflection: Have you had special experiences with the Lord by which you are encouraged to live for Him?