All right, for those on the CD
tape and Internet, 2 Corinthians 12, 1 through 13, as we read. It is not expedient for me, doubtless,
to glory. I will come to visions and revelations
of the Lord. I knew a man in Christ above
14 years ago. Whether in the body I cannot
tell, or whether out of the body, I cannot tell God knoweth such
a one caught up to the third heaven. And I knew such a man,
whether in the body or out of the body, I cannot tell God knoweth
how that he was caught up into paradise and heard unspeakable
words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. Of such a
one will I glory, yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine
infirmities. For though I would desire to
glory, I shall not be a fool, for I will say the truth. But
now I forbear, that is, to glory, lest any man should think of
me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he hears of
me." Verse 7. and lest I should be exalted
above measure through the abundance of the revelations that were
given to me, that was given to me, a thorn in the flesh, the
messenger of Satan, to buffet me, lest I should be exalted
above measure. For this thing I besought the
Lord thrice. that it might depart from me. 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. Therefore, I take pleasure in
infirmity, in reproaches, in persecution, necessity, in distresses,
for Christ's sake, for when I am weak, then am I strong. I have become a fool in glorying,
but you have compelled me, for I ought to have been commended
of you, for in nothing Am I behind the very chiefest apostle, though
I be nothing? Truly the signs of an apostle
were wrought among you in all patience, in signs and wonders
and mighty deeds, and Paul means in himself and his ministry.
For what is it wherein you were inferior to other churches, except
it be that I myself was not burdensome unto you, forgive me this wrong."
Now, here is one of the most amazing experiences in the life
of any character that we meet with in the Holy Scripture. But
it also happened to the most important man in the New Testament
and in Christianity, and that would be the Apostle Paul himself. The foremost believer and servant
of Christ. Proclaimer and defender and believer
of the gospel of Christ our Lord. So before we speak of his catching
up into the third heaven that he has described here, and why
he speaks of it, Let's rehearse a part of God's dealing with
this chosen vessel of the Lord as he is called in Acts 9 and
verse 16. And that he was even separated
from his mother's womb under this purpose of God in his life. Galatians 1, 15 and 16. that
he was separated unto the gospel of God, Romans chapter 1 and
verse 1. However, before Paul was a Christian,
before Paul was converted, before Acts chapter 9, this man was
not a friend and he was not a fan of Christ or of Christianity. Not only was he not a believer,
He was not even tolerant of the Christian way and of Christian
people. He was a fierce and violent persecutor
of all things Christian and all things concerning Christ. And
here are some verses, Acts chapter 7, 58, 8, 1, 9, 1 and 2. And over in Galatians 1.13, I
persecuted the church of God and I wasted it. And again under
Timothy, 1 Timothy 1.13, I'm not worthy of this because I
persecuted the church of God. Now, Paul, before his conversion,
Saul, he was known, lived a strict, pharisaical life, he tells us
in Acts 26 and verse 5. He stood on the principles of
the law as a justifying way of righteousness before God. He
had been a disciple of Gamaliel, one of the foremost teachers
in his day, And in his time, Acts 22 and verse 3, he had learned
these things at the feet of Gamaliel. And he was exceedingly jealous
or zealous for the tradition of the father and for the law
of Moses and for the tradition of men. And he thought that He
ought to do many things that were contrary and opposed to
the Lord Jesus Christ, Acts chapter 26 and verse 9. And he did that in Acts 26, verse
10 and 11. The saints of God, he put them
in prison. Some of them were martyred. Some of them he put to death,
some he forced to blaspheme, and so many such things he did
unto them in that day. But then came the power of God. As Saul journeyed one day, the
power of God, the power of Christ overcame him and the foremost
enemy of Christianity was transformed by that power into the most zealous
advocate of Christ and of the gospel and of the Christian church
that the world has ever seen. His conversion is recorded in
Acts chapter 9 and he would call it in Acts 26 and verse 19 The
heavenly vision. For on that road that day Saul
had a heavenly vision. There was a divine communication
that was made between heaven and this man Saul the Jew. And
it put it beyond any dispute whatsoever, for it was an extraordinary
way that Christ appeared to him and apprehended him on Gammaeus
Road, on that Damascus Road. And he lay hold of him, and like
Peter, He was not able to resist the power of Christ that was
put forth toward him and in his life. Who was he that he could
withstand God? He had persecuted the Christian,
he had cast them in prison, but he could not withstand the revelation
and the appearance of Christ. Who was he that he could? And
if you wanted to turn to Acts chapter 26, where Paul is answering
the charges that are brought against him by the Jew, and he
is before Agrippa and in the court of Agrippa. And Agrippa
gives Paul leave to state his case fully, speak on, say all
that you would, defend yourself, and such like. His defense was
this before Agrippa and against the charges of the Jew. His defense was, as F.F. Bruce pointed out, in complete
harmony with the divine revelation communicated through Moses and
the prophet." Paul had lived in that shadow. He lived as a
Jew. He lived as a Pharisee, the strictest
of their way of life. He believed in the promise of
God to Israel, he believed in the resurrection of the dead,
and he found nothing unreasonable about God raising up the dead
as he had raised up the Lord Jesus Christ. And based upon
his adherence unto Judaism, he said in verse 9 of Acts chapter
26, He thought that he ought to do many things contrary to
the name of Jesus, for he saw him as changing the law and such
like. And he did many things contrary
unto our Lord. And then in verse 13 through
verse 20 of Acts 26, he tells Agrippa of his great encounter
with Christ that he had had in Acts chapter 9. He gave that
and made it a part of his testimony and of his defense. He gave some
detail. He said, there was a great light
at midday, out shining the midday sun. He said, all that were with
him in his party, hearing the voice. and seeing no man fell
down to the ground as if they had been dead. He said there
was a voice speaking directly out of heaven unto them that
was heard and his commission was given unto him. Now I want
to emphasize again that Paul called this in verse 19 the heavenly
vision. It was heavenly as to its origin
in that it was from heaven, it was from God, it was from Christ. Or as we might say, it was from
God as the source of this great manifestation in the person and
appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ. Now Christ
identified himself to Paul in Acts chapter 9 and verse 5. Who are you, Lord? And the answer,
I am Jesus, whom you persecute. It is hard for you to kick against
the prick. We have the same words in Acts
chapter 26 and 15. Now consider another aspect of
this. That this appearing to him is
the very same Jesus that had been crucified, that had been
put to death in Jerusalem, that had been crucified by Rome, buried
in a grave, sealed up in a tomb, but now, Revelation 1 and verse
18, I am he that lives Was dead and behold I am alive forevermore
literally alive unto the ages amen and I have the keys of hell
and of death Unquote of Haiti. I was dead. I'm alive. I have
the key of Hades forever and forever Now this is that one
who died, was buried, and was raised without seeing corruption. While he lay under the power
of death those three days, we read in the second chapter of
the book of Acts and Psalm 16 that he saw no corruption. Death was not able to corrupt
his body, and he was resurrected, and he ascended, and he sat down
on the right hand of God. And yet, this Christ takes a
personal hand in the conversion of this apostle unto the Gentile. He sends not the Spirit alone. He sends not the preaching of
the Word alone or the Gospel. But Christ comes in person and
in glory to convert and turn Saul of Tarshish unto a Christian
and to Paul the Apostle. So the glorified and ascended
Christ came unto Saul the only such conversion that we read
about in the New Testament, though there were other great ones in
the Old Testament. Early on after his resurrection,
the Lord had literally appeared unto others. Between the resurrection
and the ascension, we read of several appearances of our Lord. There's one in John chapter 20
and verse 19. 29 in the upper room where the
disciples were gathered and you remember the attitude of Thomas
there's that one in 1st Corinthians chapter 15 verse 5 through 8
there's that one in Acts chapter 1 verse 3 through 9, where he
showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs,
being seen of them 40 days, and speaking of the things pertaining
to the kingdom of God in Acts chapter 1. even seeing a 500
brethren at once after his resurrection. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and
verse 5. On one occasion, 500 brethren
saw resurrected Lord some of them said Paul still alive under
this hour and then in 1st Corinthians 5 15 and verse 8 last of all
he was seen of me Paul said as one born out of due time now
let's slow it down and look at that let's look at that This
is an interesting and important thing. He was seen of me also
last of all. And those words, born out of
due time. Now, I wonder if we can deduce
from this 1st Corinthians 15 and verse 8 that the Lord Jesus
Christ made his last post resurrection appearance unto Paul his words
are last of all he was seen of me also whereby he could say
in 1st Corinthians chapter 9 verse And verse 1, am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not
seen Jesus Christ our Lord? And this qualified him as an
apostle. And yet here, in verse 8 of 1
Corinthians chapter 15, and hear this, in speaking of the appearance
of Christ to him, he likens it to him being Born out of due
season. Those words. Like as one born
out of due time. And like Moses, who stood at
the burning bush. in Exodus chapter 3. I think we ought to turn aside
here for a moment and see and hear more of this, what this
means and such like. What interesting words are these? What is Paul saying about this
encounter? To liken himself to one born
out of due time or out of due season. You may notice that the
King James has as an alternate in the margin as an abortive. Last of all, seen of me as an
abortive. Last of all, as an abortive. Now, here is the verse as I found
it in Marshall's Interlinear Greek-English New Testament.
Lastly of all, even if to an abortion, he was seen by me also. Some translate this, an untimely
birth. He was seen in me also, by or
as, in an untimely birth. Now, consider the first. Christ's
appearance to Paul differs. from other appearances of his
disciples. It differs from that one in Acts
chapter 20. It differs from that one to Mary
in John 20 and 14, of Cephas in 1 Corinthians 15 and 5, and
even the 500 brethren at once. These were, quote, confirming
appearances unquote, unto the people, the children, the apostles,
and disciples of our Lord. And it had the intent to assure
them and to establish them and to convince them by many infallible
proofs of our Lord being raised again from the dead. And there's
a consequence of his death. But his appears to Paul by Saul,
he likens to an untimely birth, even as an abortive birth, a
forced out birth, if you will, as we look at it. Now, using
the analogy on himself of an untimely birth, This too differed
from the other apostles and the other disciple, in that the Lord
had personally and gently, if I may use that word, called them
and converted them. He had come to them in quietness
and gently, and had called them and converted them. He had also
accompanied with them for three years, teaching them the things
of God, and He trained them. He worked all manner of wonders
and signs and miracles in their presence. He foretold and prepared
them for His death. He gave them exceeding great
and precious promises and manifesting evidence of the grace of God
in him and them. Such was not the case with Paul,
however. When Christ seized him, it was
not quietly and it was not gently. And it was indeed a seizure. He was not a believer. He was
a dedicated enemy of Christ, of the church, and of Christianity,
and used the analogy of an untimely birth or an abortion to describe
what happened in his particular situation, and it happened there
on Damascus Road. Now, abortion differs from the
ordinary travail of birth. We understand that. do we not,
which can and does last for hours. The travail of labor may go on
for hours or even for a day or a day and a night, but in abortion,
the fetus is quickly and violently pushed out, and the dictionary
calls that induced termination, quote unquote. I quote Calvin
from 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and verse 8, that Paul uses the
analogy and likens himself to a premature child. One pushed quickly and early
out of the womb saying, Calvin said, in my opinion, that is
a reference to his sudden conversion, unquote. He is describing his
conversion. And he went on to write, Paul
is pushed out of the womb before the living spirit had conceived
in him. When Christ confronted Saul,
the proud, arrogant Jew was then and there completely void of
spiritual life. It was the the quickest conversion
on record, and quickly consummated in Saul." Now think about those
things in connection with an untimely birth or an abortive
birth. Immediately, there was the effect
of the work of God in Paul, a full and complete renewing of his
mind, a forced birth, if I may say, and use that term, Then
I read John Gill that Paul's analogy of a birth before his
time may respect the manner of his conversion, which was done
immediately, and Gill described it, by a sudden light from heaven,
when Saul little thought about it or expected it. It was the
last thing he ever expected to experience in all of his life. It was the fatherest thing from
his mind that he would ever become a Christian and a servant of
Christ. But the work was both powerful,
sudden, and irresistible. It was a work of sovereign grace. And all of a sudden, he was made
a new creature in Christ Jesus the Lord. And he became what
he was by and through the grace of God. And Christ was formed
in him in all of a sudden there in that experience on the Damascus
Road. Now to show the quickness of
the work, look at Acts chapter 9, 5 and 6. Saul cried out, Who
art thou, Lord? As he saw the light and he heard
the voice, I am Jesus. And he trembling, Paul, trembling
and astonished said, Lord, what would you have me to do? Who are you? I'm Jesus. Lord,
what would you have me to do? And the work is done. The birth
is performed. An abortion, an early birth,
a forced birth, a quick birth is brought to pass in the life
of the apostle. Now to repeat a point, not only
was his conversion quick, but it was quickly complete as Saul
made a full espousal of Christianity and that which was foreshadowed
as that which was foreshadowed in the types and such like of
the Old Testament economy. and that it was meant to give
way unto the Christian economy at the appearance of Messiah
and of Christ. Now, there's one more experience.
I want to shorten it because we are rather familiar with it,
but I want to consider Paul's claim as stated in Galatians
1, verse 11 and 12, that he received the gospel that he preached. by direct divine revelation,
by or from Jesus Christ. Christ was the revelator of the
gospel unto him. And if you'll read Galatians
1, 11, and 12, you'll see what he said. I did not get it from
another man, I did not learn it from man, but from a revelation
of Jesus Christ. We drop back there in chapter
1, he had just rebuked those who were forsaking and were perverting
the gospel. Now this is not to deny that
the truth of the gospel was also revealed to the earlier or other
apostles as well, Else, how could they believe it and approve the
gospel that Paul was preaching? And they did in Galatians chapter
2. Now the gospel can only be known
by revelation, by God opening our understanding. Paul claims
an exclusive and a personal revelation was made to him of the gospel
by Jesus Christ of the substance and I want you to note something
he even refers to it as quote a My gospel, unquote. None of the others do. My gospel. You'll see that in Romans 2 16,
Romans 16 25, and 2 Corinthians 2 and 18. My gospel. Now close this section with this
statement. Paul had supreme apostolic authority
and and the impeccably pure gospel which he preached, and it was
his life's work assigned to him by Christ. Now, with that having
been said, let's come to 2 Corinthians chapter 12 and the catching up
of Paul into the third heaven. perhaps the crowning jewel of
his high spiritual, spiritual and experiences with the Lord
Jesus Christ. In 2 Corinthians 12, the question,
why does Paul tell this if he can't tell it? Why does Paul
mention it if he can't mention it? And why after 14 years, after
it had occurred. So the question raising, does
Paul do this that he might boast? Does this give him an edge on
the other apostle? Is it to exalt himself? Is it
that he might be praised of men? That he might be thought of more
highly by the people and by the churches? No, Paul felt that
he had been forced to boast of his apostleship in order that
he also might defend the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. You have that, verse 11 through
13, in our chapter. Twice, he says, he is in no way
inferior to or behind the chiefest of the apostles. 2 Corinthians
11 5 and 12 11. I'm not behind them in the least. He has spoken to them, that is
the church, the Corinthians, of the external manifestations
of his apostleship, such as in verse 12. signs, wonders, mighty
deeds, which he calls the signs of an apostle. And you can see
also Romans 15 and verse 19, Hebrews 2 and verse 4. These were the apostolic credentials,
if I might call them that, that they could work signs and miracles
and wonder, evidences that they were apostles of our Lord. Remember in Acts 2, 22 and 23,
even as the Lord Jesus Christ was a man approved of God among
them by signs and miracles and wonders which he did in their
midst. He was sent from God. Moses was
a divinely sent deliverer unto Israel as proved by the signs,
the wonders, and the miracles that Moses was able to work among
them. Paul raised the dead, Acts 20,
9-12. Handkerchiefs and aprons that
had been on Paul's body. were taken from that body, and
they healed as eased, and they cast out devils in Psalm, Acts
chapter 19 and verse 12. And in Romans 15, 8 and 9, these
things which Christ wrought by me to make the Gentiles obedient
by word and by deed. Now the almighty signs and wonders
by the power of the Spirit of God were done by Paul. And here
Acts 19 and verse 11. And God wrought special miracles
by the hands of Paul. Unquote. In every place. In every
church. Among everyone where he ministered
but then in 2nd Corinthians chapter 12 as further confirmation of
Christ to him and of his apostleship he speaks here of a remarkable
experience which God granted him in 2nd Corinthians chapter
12 and verse 1 is being caught up in the heaven and where there
he saw and he heard things that he could not tell or show. Look at verse 4. Unspeakable
words, which it is not lawful for a man to tell. It's not possible. It's not possible that men on
earth should hear these things. And it's not permissible for
Paul. Often the Lord said, tell no
man what has happened to you or what you've seen. Unlawful
to tell. We'll say more about that later.
But for now, let's work our way into this passage and see first
there his words in verse one. That as much as it pained him
to glory and to boast, As much as he tried to avoid heaping
any glory upon himself, it seemed forced upon him. Verse 11, you
have compelled me. You should have commended me.
So he said, I will come to vision and revelations of the Lord,
from the Lord, given out by the Lord, but given unto whom? To
the prophets and the prophets in general, Or to the Apostle
Paul, yes. Paul speaks of a particular individual. I knew a man, I know a man in
Christ who was called up into the third heaven in verse 2.
in the paradise, in verse four, and heard and saw unspeakable,
intransmissible thing. Now, me thinks that they're right
who say that Paul is speaking of himself, and he's speaking
of himself clearly, in the third person as well as we can see. This is clear from verse 6 to
verse 9 where Paul uses the words I and me, especially where in
verse 7 he speaks of the abundance of the excess, the suppressing
greatness of the revelations given not to others, but unto
him. But God put a check on his glorying
about it. Why should Paul speak of himself
in the third person? I do not know. Why did John speak
of himself as he whom Jesus loved, rather than calling himself by
name? Says Paul, I will come to visions
and revelations, plural, that is, in which he was granted,
which the Lord did favor him, and there were several." Now,
not just this one, but there were several. John Gill listed
Paul's conversion as one of those revelations. Another time, in
Acts 16, 8 through 9, At the city of Troas, a night
vision appeared unto Paul. A man of Macedonia prayed him,
saying, Come over and help us. At Corinth, in Acts 18, 9 and
10, the Lord came to Paul in a vision in the night to assure
him of his success in preaching the gospel and making converts
in Corinth. In Acts 23, 11, also at his trial,
in Acts 27, 23 and 24, in the storm in the ship, the Lord appeared
to him and said, there shall not be any loss of life. However, in 2 Corinthians chapter
12, as Linsky wrote, Paul speaks of the most astonishing example
of his visions and revelation from the Lord of all. And though
Paul doesn't make a point of it, set him apart both from the
other vision and from the other apostle and their example. The other visions of Paul occurred
on the earth, maybe while he was asleep. the night. Remember Peter was on the rooftop
when he had his vision from the Lord in Acts chapter 10. While
this one he was caught up into the third heaven or paradise,
means a garden, this puts Paul in very exclusive company. with Moses, for example, who
went up into the mount and spent days there in the presence of
the Lord. Now Paul says something interesting
about this experience of this person that he knew, and he says
it twice. He says it in verse 2 and 3,
that he did not know, that he could not tell whether this man
was still in the body or was out of the body when this occurred. Did he stay in the body? Did
he leave the body? Did he have an out-of-body experience? Did he go up in body as did Elijah
into the presence of the Lord? Now, his question is not about
the catching up or about the vision. The question is whether
or not he stayed in body or was temporarily out of the body. He's sure of the catching up
and the contents to leave the answer hidden in the great omniscience
of God. God knows, only God knows, for
secret, inscrutable things belong only to God, but the things which
He has made known belong to the children of men. He knows all
things, as Psalm 100 39. And then Paul applies it, and
let's look at verse 5, how Paul handles this. What use could
he make of it? Was it something that he could
boast about, or glory, or use to solidify his standing as being
equal and beyond the other apostles? One said here in verse 5, Paul
separates himself from himself in this verse of the scripture.
He could, glory, for such a man was indeed caught up and saw
such a thing, verse 5 and verse 6, it would not be a foolish
thing if he did it, for it's the truth. It actually happened.
It was an actual event. but he would forego any glorying
about it, so as not to have the undeserved praises of men, and
instead he would glory in his infirmities. even as he served
the Lord in spite of them, his weaknesses. There is nothing
more spiritually dangerous, I think, than preacher worship and blind
allegiance, to follow the preacher blindly and without question. On the other hand, Is there anything
more dangerous than to neglect the ministry of Christ and the
gospel and a true minister? And Paul would have all of the
glory unto the Lord Jesus Christ. After all, and this is important
from here to the end, Paul was totally passive in these visions. It's not something he prayed
for. It is not something that he sought after. It is not something
that he asked after. He was totally passive. These
things were sovereignly, quickly bestowed upon the apostle. And though they certified him
as an apostle of the Lamb, even so, Any truth that we have been
taught has been taught unto us by the Spirit of God. Let us
not be high-minded and proud because we've learned some of
the good things of God. Now in verse 7 through 9, Paul
tells of something God used to temper any excessive pride in
him that might arise from the abundance of the revelation that
had been made unto the apostle. He writes, lest I should be overly
lifted up, that it was given me an affliction, lest I should
be exceedingly uplifted. He emphasizes it. He does not
specify the nature of what he calls a thorn. one calling it
a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me. It seems useless to speculate
what this was that God gave unto Paul, though many have. The purpose
is made clear, and that's where the focus is, to check pride,
because pride is like a poison in the soul. Many things feed
the pride that is in us. In some it's looks, or their
appearance, their job. their education, their home,
their car, their children, their career, even their spirituality. Now a preacher who is a gifted
preacher might fall into pride, or one who has a flourishing
church, or a large church, or a talented singer. Any of these
may cause pride to swell up in an individual. And this thorn
in the flesh seemed to be a permanent thing with Paul, and it was painful. It was like a continual sticking
thorn in his flesh. He prayed for its removal. In
fact, he prayed three times. He asked the Lord, if it be possible,
if it be your will, may it be passed away, let it pass. The
Lord's answer is wonderful. Instead, God promised him sufficient
grace. My grace is sufficient for thee. And part of the Lord's answer
to Paul, look at it in verse 9. My strength is made perfect
in weakness. Now, those are God's words to
Paul. My strength, and here's why. Here's why. I'll give you
grace because my strength is made perfect in weakness." Now,
it's not God's weakness, but Paul. God's power is seen in
using such an afflicted vessel as Paul to do such great things
for the Lord. Let me press the point. Some
would say of Paul, He is the most dedicated in his faith that
I've ever read about. He is the most dedicated and
consecrated Christian that I know anything about. Paul was strong
in his faith and in his Christianity. Yes, he was. But the cause of
it was the power of the grace of God in the Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ. We see it in Christ, 2 Corinthians
13 and 4, crucified in weakness, yet finished his great work in
power. Now, our admiration is misplaced
if we put it upon the individual. are upon Paul, the apostle. It
is not just that one is not weak in the faith, but that God's
grace is the strength of their faith, and that God strengthens
the faith of his people and increases in them. So my power, my strength
is made manifest in weakness. I don't know about Paul what
I've read. Some say he was a little scrawny
fellow. I don't know. He said, I'm not a great orator.
I'm not a great speaker. I don't know about that. But
I do know that in all of his weakness, in all of his affliction,
in all of his trial, in all of his trouble, in all of his persecution,
the grace of God maintained him strong in the gospel of our Lord. And so he says, In Galatians
1 and verse 24, they glorified God in me. That is, in him. Didn't glorify him. They glorified
God in him. And Paul tells us nothing which
he heard or saw as he was lifted up, but that it was a divine
secret sealed up in his soul and mind, but a wonderful experience
for him in his life service. How could Paul ever doubt Christ,
the resurrection, his glory, and the gospel in such light
with what God did and worked in him. Thank God for that.