📖WEB · 2 Corinthians 12:9
What does 2 Corinthians 12:9 mean?
"He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Most gladly therefore I will rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest on me."
— 2 Corinthians 12:9 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
For if I would desire to boast, I will not be foolish; for I will speak the truth. But I refrain, so that no man may think more of me than that which he sees in me, or hears from me.
By reason of the exceeding greatness of the revelations, that I should not be exalted excessively, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, that I should not be exalted excessively.
Concerning this thing, I begged the Lord three times that it might depart from me.
He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Most gladly therefore I will rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest on me.
Therefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in injuries, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then am I strong.
I have become foolish in boasting. You compelled me, for I ought to have been commended by you, for in nothing was I inferior to the very best apostles, though I am nothing.
Truly the signs of an apostle were worked among you in all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty works.
Explanation
In this verse, Paul is recounting words spoken directly to him by the Lord in response to a request he had made. Paul had asked, three times, for a painful affliction—what he calls a "thorn in the flesh"—to be removed from him. Instead of removing it, God answers with a promise: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." In plain terms, God is telling Paul that he will not take away the hardship, but he will provide enough grace, enough sustaining strength, to carry Paul through it. And more than that, God explains why: divine power shows up most clearly not when a person is strong and self-sufficient, but precisely when a person is weak and depends entirely on God.
To understand this rightly, it helps to know the context of 2 Corinthians. Paul is defending his apostolic ministry against opponents in Corinth who questioned his legitimacy, partly because he seemed weak, unimpressive, and beset by suffering rather than displaying obvious signs of power or eloquence. In chapters 11–12, Paul reluctantly "boasts" about his sufferings and even a mysterious heavenly vision he once received, all to make a point: his authority as an apostle does not rest on personal strength or spiritual showmanship, but on God's power working through his weakness. The "thorn in the flesh" itself is never specifically identified—Paul does not name a physical illness, a personal struggle, or an opponent, and the text gives no basis for guessing further. What matters for Paul's argument is simply that it was a real, persistent, painful aff
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