Paul’s Thorn In The Flesh

The grace solution to Paul’s thorn in the flesh suffering [252-269]

2Cor.12:7 and for this reason, that I should not begin to become arrogant, because of the extraordinary quality of revelations given to me for my benefit. I was given a thorn in the flesh, an angel from Satan that he might torment me—so that I should not begin to become arrogant. 12:8 Concerning this [suffering], three times I implored the Lord to make it go away. 12:9 Then He assured me for my benefit, "My grace has been and is still sufficient for you, for My power functions in the status of weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power [of the prototype spiritual life] of Christ may pitch a tent over me. 2Cor.12:10 Therefore, [as an ambassador] on behalf of Christ, I am content with my weaknesses; in [being the object of] vilifications [through the use of arrogance skills], with adversities, with [unjust] persecutions, with trouble [from troublemakers]; for when I am weak, then I am strong [through grace orientation in action].

The reason for Paul's thorn in the flesh:

Continually cycling the arrogant skills without rebound trashes the soul and eventually leads to dipsuchos, the fragmented soul.

Rom.12:2 Stop being conformed to this world [through the arrogance skills], but be transformed by the renovation of your thinking, so that you may prove what the will of God is—the absolute good [from the function of the SS] and well-pleasing1 to God and completed.2 12:3 For I say through the [3 categories of] grace which has been given to me to everyone who is among you, stop thinking of yourself in terms of arrogance beyond what you ought to think;3 but think in terms of sanity [for the purpose of being rational without illusion], as God has assigned to each believer a standard of thinking from doctrine.

1 execution of the PPG

2 [telei,oj - teleios] the attainment of the objective-- spiritual maturity

3 3 Arrogance skills

Describing the believer functioning under the AS:

1Tim.6:4 he is arrogant and understands nothing,1 but has a unhealthy interest in controversies and verbal disputes. This gives rise to envy, dissension, slanders, evil suspicions; 6:5 consequently, constant bickering by mentally corrupt and doctrinally deprived people, who assume [in arrogance] that the spiritual life is a means of [superficial] profit. 6:6 But the spiritual life combined with [plus H] contentment brings great profit.

1 Arrogance complex: Js.4:6

Just as problems solving devices deployed on the FLOT of the soul are the means of application of Bible doctrine to your experience, so the 10 PSD’s on the FLOT are the only way for effective prayer.

· Rebound

· Filling of the Holy Spirit:

Jude 20 …praying by means of the Holy Spirit,

Eph.6:18 But by prayer and petition, pray at all times by means of the Spirit;

Necessary PSD’s for effective prayer [cont.]:

· Faith Rest Drill:

Matt.21:22 And whatever you ask in prayer, believing [faith rest], you will receive.”

Mark. 11:24 For this reason I tell you for your benefit, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive them, and they will be given to you.

· Grace orientation:

Heb.4:16 Therefore let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy [grace in action] and find grace whenever we need help.

· Doctrinal orientation:

3:22 furthermore, whatever we have asked in prayer we receive from Him, because we continue to execute His mandates [asking according to His will]…

15:7 If you abide in Me and My doctrine survives in you, ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you.

The wrong solution to Paul's thorn in the flesh:

2Cor.12:8 Concerning this [suffering], three times I implored the Lord to make it go away.

Principles:

1. There is greater power in the PSD's than in the intensity of certain categories of prayer.

2. What God does not remove He intends for us to bear.

3. The PSD's are designed for every category of suffering in life; therefore, suffering is designed for blessing.

4. Remove the suffering and you remove the blessing.

5. Take suffering out of life and you have taken blessing out of life.

6. Suffering is often a field training exercise for the crisis in life.

7. The removal of suffering is not a solution. The solution is in using the PSD's.

8. In suffering the solution is not prayer but the function of the PSD's stationed on the FLOT of the soul.

9. Prayer has many wonderful and fantastic uses but it is not a PSD.

10. Prayer is a vehicle for the function of basic PSD's.

11. Believers who pray for miracles don't understand the power and grace of God.

2Cor.12:9 Then He assured me for my benefit, "My grace has been and is still sufficient for you,1 for My power2 functions in the status of weakness."3 Most gladly, therefore, I will rather4 boast about my weaknesses, that the power [of the prototype spiritual life] of Christ may reside in me.

1 An idiomatic expression meaning literally, "You need nothing more than My grace."

2 Phil. 4:13 I have the power to attain all things [PPG] through Him who keeps on pouring the power [options] into me.

3 [astheneia] helplessness, powerless—grace orien, which excludes all human power and depends on who and what God is.

4 elative- grammatical nomenclature for an adjective or adverbial form denoting intensity or the use of the superlative and the comparitive showing inclusion [divine solutions] and exclusion [human solutions].

Principles:

1. When designed by God for your blessing, suffering is not your enemy; rather, it is your friend.

2. The DIG includes the principle of suffering for blessing.

3. The DIG includes spiritual momentum through suffering.

4. When the believer is functioning through the SS, suffering is designed for his blessing.

5. When suffering is designed for blessing, suffering is your friend not your enemy.

6. The SS + suffering for blessing = momentum in the Christian life, which results in the execution of the PPG for the church.

7. Execution of the PPG for the church results in glorification of God, invisible impact for Christ, conveyance of your escrow blessings for time and eternity.

Suffering principles:

1. Paul's thorn in the flesh is a grace gift from God designed for the function of the PSD's.

2. Thorn in the flesh suffering is the case of God working all things together for good; therefore, the deployment of Grace orientation and PL for God the Father on the FLOT are the two PSD's that go together in this concept.

3. God's plan calls for suffering for blessing in order to execute the PP for the church.

4. It is the combination of thorn suffering and the deployment of the PSD's on the FLOT which executes the PPG.

5. Execution of the PPG not only glorifies God but it creates the invisible hero, the unique product of God's grace.

6. If had God answered Paul's prayer and removed the suffering it would have destroyed the only offensive action that Paul had—taking the high ground of spiritual maturity by using the SS.

7. Momentum from the SS glorifies God through the execution of His will, plan and purpose.

8. There is far greater power in PSD's deployed for action against suffering than the power of suffering to destroy the spiritual skills with the arrogance skills.

9. All wrong solutions intensify suffering.

Elative principles:

1. The power of the elative is dramatically portrayed in the fact that Paul says, in this case, that boasting [in weakness] is better than prayer.

2. Better to boast about weaknesses than to pray for the removal of suffering for blessing.

3. Paul cannot boast in the divine solution because the DIG is designed for weakness.

4. The elative provides a shock emphasis [ie, boasting is better than prayer, in this case, because the thorn suffering is suffering for blessing].

5. Boasting about weakness emphasizes the doctrine of power and precedence [SS].

6. Paul is boasting in the helplessness brought on by the thorn in the flesh suffering.

7. GO says in effect that the divine solution is based on the function of divine power and precedence.

Principles:

1. The function of grace orientation on the FLOT of the soul is the divine solution that glorifies God.

2. The divine initiative of grace is designed to glorify God, never mankind.

3. In the prepositional phrase, the dative plural of reference is like the accusative, for it extends the action of the verb boasting to human weakness. Boasting, therefore, which excludes human power, human works, human ability, and human gimmicks related to manipulation and leverage. God has a monopoly on solutions that work.

4. The prayer for the removal of the thorn is the blasphemy of Paul ordering God to follow his desire and judgment rather than God's sovereign wisdom and judgment in the matter.

Principles:

1. Weakness in suffering demands the application of grace orientation to the situation.

2. Suffering does not transmit its meaning in itself.

3. The issue in adversity is not suffering, but the divine grace solution [PSD's].

4. Remove the suffering and you remove the solution.

5. Remove the suffering and you remove the blessing.

6. Blessing is in the solution, not in the suffering.

Principles:

1. The elative conclusion emphasizes the fact that divine solutions are grace solutions, which exclude human solutions, including the misuse of prayer.

2. Grace solutions exclude all human solutions.

3. The elative conclusion emphasizes the fact that the deployment of PSD's on the FLOT provides the believer with divine solutions, momentum, blessing, glorification of God, and the dynamics of invisible heroship.

4. The elative conclusions emphasizes inclusion: what is a part of the divine solution vs what is not.

Applications:

1. People are no better in marriage than they are as people.

2. The elative emphasis is the way of explaining what is the answer and what isn't the answer.

3. The emphasis of the elative is that divine solutions are the only solutions. Divine solutions are activated through the consistent function of the 3 spiritual skills [doctrine of power and precedence].

4. Divine blessings originate from divine solutions [including grace orientation on the FLOT—"My grace has been and still is sufficient for you, for My power functions in the status of weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses,].

5. God's grace initiative permits thorn suffering and permits the perfect grace solution.

Principles:

1. The doctrine of power and precedence is related to the power of the Lord Jesus Christ's humanity in the dispensation of the hypostatic union.

2. The doctrine is related to the 2 power options of the Christian way of life plus precedence established by the humanity of Jesus Christ in the hypostatic union.

3. The first power option is a grace gift from Jesus Christ, the first person to ever have the FHS.

4. The first power option is tantamount to the first spiritual skill [PSD2].

5. The second power option is metabolized doctrine circulating in the stream of consciousness.

6. The second power option is tantamount to the second spiritual skill.

7. The Lord Jesus Christ's function in humanity during the dispensation of the hypostatic union set the precedence for our Christian way of life, for He used 8 PSD's on the FLOT of His soul.

8. Precedence is tantamount to the 3rd spiritual skill, the 10 PSD's deployed on the FLOT of the soul.

9. Power and precedence [divine solutions] or pride and prejudice [human solutions] are the options.

Prayer [although not a PSD] is a legitimate and powerful function when used correctly:

1Jn.3:22 furthermore, whatever we have asked in prayer we receive from Him, because we continue to execute His mandates [to reside and function in the love complex] and we keep on doing what is pleasing in His sight [the utilization of the doctrine of power and precedence].

1Jn.5:14 And this is the confidence that we have face to face with Him [in prayer]: that whenever we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 5:15 And if we know that He hears us in regard to whatever we ask, then we know that we have the requests that we have asked from Him.

Rom.12:12 Rejoice in the [third] hope; endure in suffering; persist in prayer.

Prayer is ineffective without the PSD’s on the FLOT of the soul. When prayer is ineffective, it becomes a system of manipulation, distortion, and arrogance. It is then, an instrument of legalism instead of an instrument of power and service to the Lord.

The grace solution:

2Cor.12:9 Then He assured me for my benefit, "My grace has been and is still sufficient for you, for My power functions in the state of weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses,1 that the power [of the prototype spiritual life] of Christ may reside in me.

1 The elative emphasizes divine solutions, which are the functions of power and precedence [SS].

Principles:

1. Without the 10 PSD’s deployed on the FLOT of the soul, Paul has nothing left but the “exclusion” [human solutions—the attempted manipulation of God through the misuse of prayer].

2. The elative conclusion emphasizes the solution to suffering rather than reaction to it.

3. Wrong solutions intensify suffering, converting adversity into stress.

4. The divine solution is infinitely superior to both human problems and the human attempts to solve those problems apart from the absolutes of Bible doctrine—the 3 spiritual skills.

5. Divine solutions are grace solutions, which depend entirely on the grace policy of God. The divine initiative of grace demands believer response of grace orientation; therefore, the necessity for the 4th battalion on the FLOT of the soul.

6. Human strength is incompatible with divine power, but human weakness is compatible with the power of God when PSD’s are on reconasance.

7. Weakness searches for strength.

Rom.8:26 In the same way, the Spirit also helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes as a substitute for us with groanings to deep for words. 8:27 And He [GF, the recipient of the intercessions] who searches the right lobes knows what is the thinking of the Spirit, because the Spirit makes intercession as a substitute for the saints on the basis of the will of God. 8:28 In fact, we know that to those [mature believers] who love God, He causes all things to work together for the purpose of the divine good, for those who are elected to privilege according to a predetermined plan.

If you are positive toward BD and its application, you cannot blame past experience for any present failure.

The 4 thorn in the flesh categories:

2Cor.12:10 Therefore, [as an ambassador] on behalf of Christ, I am content1 with my weaknesses; in [being the object of] vilifications [through the use of arrogance skills2], with adversities,3 with [unjust] persecutions, with trouble [from troublemakers]; for when I am weak, then I am strong [through grace orientation in action].

1 Sharing the happiness of God, PSD 9

2 The rejection of human authority [via the arrogance skills] under the laws of divine establishment and the use of defense mechanisms in adulthood are causes of “arrested human development” and results in inmature adults. Consequently, these inmature persons reject doctrine in lag-time [just as they rejected human authority in childhood] and become part of the “Christian beaurocracy” who use the arrogance skills in legalism to administer the first category of thorn suffering.

Principles:

1. Strength in weakness comes in divine solutions to suffering, delegated to us through the PSD’s.

2. Blessing in suffering comes from the solution not from the suffering.

3. The elative conclusion: the divine solution is the only solution

4. The divine solution is grace delegated through the 3 spiritual skills which emphasize the deployment of the 10 PSD’s on the FLOT of the soul.

5. Anything outside the divine solution intensifies the suffering and complicates the life with more stress.

6. Stress in the soul perpetuates sin nature control in the life and puts the spiritual life out of action.

7. Strength in weakness is the monopoly of the divine initiative of grace, which begins in eternity past with your very own PIA and extends into time with consistent function of the spiritual skills, resulting in the invisible hero. All invisible heroes have strenth in weakness.