2 Corinthians 12:2

I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. Oida (G1492) - 'I know;' not "I knew." A MAN - meaning himself. He distinguishes between the rapt and glorified person of 2 Corinthians 12:2; 2 Corinthians 12:4, and himself, the infirmity-laden victim of the "thorn in the flesh" (2 Corinthians 12:7). Not the glory, but the weakness, belonged to him. He did not even know whether he was in or out of the body when the glory was upon him. His spiritual self was h...

2._I knew a man in Christ _As he was desirous to restrain himself within bounds, he merely singles out _one _instance, and that, too, he handles in such a way as to show, that it is not from inclination that he brings it forward; for why does he speak in the person of another rather than in his own? It is as though he had said, “I should have preferred to be silent, I should have preferred to keep the whole matter suppressed within my own mind, but those persons (880) will not allow me. I shall mention it, therefore, as it were in a stammering way, that it may be seen that I speak through constraint.” Some think that the clause _in Christ _is introduced for the purpose of confirming what he says. I view it rather as referring to the disposition, so as to intimate that Paul has not here an eye to himself, but looks to Christ exclusively. When he confesses, that he does not know whether he...

1-6 There can be no doubt the apostle speaks of himself. Whether heavenly things were brought down to him, while his body was in a trance, as in the case of ancient prophets; or whether his soul was dislodged from the body for a time, and taken up into heaven, or whether he was taken up, body and soul together, he knew not. We are not capable, nor is it fit we should yet know, the particulars of that glorious place and state. He did not attempt to publish to the world what he had heard there, but he set forth the doctrine of Christ. On that foundation the church is built, and on that we must build our faith and hope. And while this teaches us to enlarge our expectations of the glory that shall be revealed, it should render us contented with the usual methods of learning the truth and will of God....

Verse 2 Corinthians 12:2. _I KNEW A MAN IN CHRIST_] I knew a Christian, or a Christian man; for to such alone God now revealed himself, for vision and prophecy had been shut up from the Jews. _FOURTEEN YEARS AGO_] On what occasion or in what place this transaction took place we cannot tell; there are many conjectures among learned men concerning it, but of what utility can they be when every thing is so palpably uncertain? Allowing this epistle to have been written _some time_ in the year 57, _fourteen_ years counted backward will lead this transaction to the year 42 or 43, which was _about_ the time that Barnabas brought Paul from Tarsus to Antioch, Acts 11:25, and when he and Paul were sent by the Church of Antioch with alms to the poor Christ

I KNEW A MAN IN CHRIST - I was acquainted with a Christian; the phrase “in Christ” meaning nothing more than that he was united to Christ or was a Christian; see Romans 16:7. The reason why Paul did not speak of this directly as a vision which he had himself seen was probably that he was accused of boasting, and he had admitted that it did not become him to glory. But though it did not become him to boast directly, yet he could tell them of a man concerning whom there would be no impropriety evidently in boasting. It is not uncommon, moreover, for a man to speak of himself in the third person. Thus, Caesar in his Commentaries uniformly speaks of himself. And so John in his Gospel speaks of himself, John 13:23;...

EXPOSITION The revelations vouchsafed to him (2 Corinthians 12:1). The counteracting "thorn in the flesh" (2 Corinthians 12:7). One more apology for glorying (2 Corinthians 12:11, 2 Corinthians 12:12). His disinterestedness (2 Corinthians 12:13). Indignant refutation of the charge that he had made gain of them through the agency of subordinates (2 Corinthians 12:16)

I KNEW A MAN IN CHRIST ABOUT FOURTEEN YEARS AGO,.... Which is to be understood of himself, as appears from 2 Corinthians 12:7, where he speaks in the first person; and the reason why he here speaks in the third, is to show his modesty and humility, and how much he declined vain glory and popular applause; and whilst he is speaking of himself, studies as it were to conceal himself from being the person designed, and to draw off the mind of the reader from him to another person; though another cannot be intended, for it would not have been to his purpose, yea, quite beside it, when he proposes to come to visions and revelations he had of the Lord, to have instanced in the rapture of another. Moreover, the full and certain knowledge he had of this man, of the place he was caught up to, and of the things he there heard, best agrees with him; as also his attesting, in such a solemn way

THIRD HEAVEN FIRST HEAVEN, of clouds; SECOND HEAVEN, of stars; THIRD HEAVEN, God's abode....

3. REVELATION IN WHICH HE MIGHT GLORY. HIS APOSTLESHIP. CHAPTER 12 _ 1. Caught up to the Third Heaven. (2 Corinthians 12:1)_ 2. The Thorn in the Flesh. (2 Corinthians 12:7) 3. The Marks of His Apostleship. (2 Corinthians 12:11) 4. His Continued Deep Concern. (2 Corinthians 12:16 .) In the previous chapter the apostle gloried in that which in the eyes of man has no glory at all. From the ignominious experience of being let down in a basket he turns to another experience in which he was caught into the third heaven. “I will come to visions

A SPECIAL REVELATION AND ITS SEQUEL. By an account of a great spiritual experience which he had enjoyed, Paul explains the reason why he has been called on to suffer, and the Divine interpretation of the suffering, in the light of which he can ever rejoice in this weakness and in all similar experiences. An expression of his proud confidence is wrung from him, however he may doubt its expediency. He recalls memorable experiences of visions and revelations of the Lord, and one in particular, fourteen years before, when, under conditions that he could not explain; he found himself in the third heaven, in Paradise. Here he employs language drawn from late Jewish speculation, imagining a series of heavens one above another, and means the highest heaven. A man who has had such experiences has a right to a proud self-confidence, and may express it without incurring a charge of folly. But still...