Thorn and Sanctification

I have learned to understand the true nature of the Christian life which is unpredictable and expanding called "sanctification". God does not desire to destroy my will, but to sanctify “my will into His will”. The primary work of Christ in redemption is to justify and sanctify believers. Christians fail by formalizing faith in measure (works) because true Christian life means sanctifying effects of cross carrying and practical obedience. During the sanctification process, Christians need spiritual training which is forming spiritual fruits that we need to arm themselves spiritually to wrestle against the world, the devil and the flesh. This lack of spiritual training is caused by preoccupation with our temporal lives more than our spiritual lives. One of the biggest problems in the Christian life in their sanctification process is lack of motivation to enjoy real intimate communion with a holy God in an eternal sense rather than temporal sense. God never gets into a position where He must answer prayer against His will.

In an example of Paul's thorn, this is a tough problem for us believers; but if we do not know what it means we may at least know what it does not mean. It does not mean that in refusing to remove the thorn in answer to prayer God became guilty of a breach of promise. Christian spiritual training is this: "Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me,'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me". (Second Corinthians 12:8-9). Paul wanted the thorn removed but God wanted to teach Paul that "the sufficiency of His grace" in the worst of human circumstances is that when a person is weak in a temporal sense while the person is strong spiritually by God's Grace in eternal sense.

"Is there sufficient grace to help us in every issue of life?"

"Is there sufficient grace to help us in every issue of life?" My life is always filled with difficulty but still happy. Bad things happen to everybody because we are living in a sinful world. Things will go wrong, they will go wrong all the time and that God has given us the grace to survive. God has given us the grace to sanctify us. The sources of "thorns" can be weaknesses, insults, distresses, persecutions and difficulties. We don't know the source of Paul's thorn but when Paul wrote later, he listed all the thorns and he didn't say which one he was experiencing. In my personal view, reading Corinthians and history of Corinthians, Paul defines this thorn in his flesh, a messenger of Satan (that's another word for a demon, Satan's angel). A demon had moved in to some false teachers, brought the false teachers into the Corinthian church. The false teachers were trying to destroy his reputation because of his past (murderer). I believed that Paul saw this as a thorn in his flesh. It was tearing him because of his great love for the church and the people in Corinthians. Instead of fighting with false teachers, God gave Paul grace to endure and allow God to handle the situation. Paul just needed to focus on God rather than the problem. God uses suffering to perfect His power as verse 9 said "Power is perfected in weakness". God is saying "You should not have self-confidence and trust in yourself in the sense you believe you're capable of anything eternal that only I can provide grace and power." Only God can help us overcome situation as long as you trust in His GRACE.

The question here is, when did God has given you the grace to handle the sufferings of life? And when or how did you accept God’s grace? That's the issue. Paul’s thorn was not his main focus but rather something far more deeper. The thorns are not necessarily evil, but rather the works of self-righteousness. God answer to our prayers because He knows that our trouble that He is not here to get our circumstances straightened out so that we will become happy. Grace of heart is a gift from God and this has nothing to do with the thorns because God change our circumstances by changing us internally, by allowing Him to lift us above our present thorn and He will lead us into His will. It is a choice God gives us within the parameters of His omnipotence. Grace is having all sufficiency in everything we may have an abundance for every good deed. The right perspective is to understand that in the trouble of life this is part of it trying to discern what God is doing in the trouble of it. James says count it all joy when you fall into various trials cause trials have a perfecting work. Peter says after you've suffered a while the Lord will make you perfect. God uses suffering to reveal our spiritual condition. In the midst of our sufferings, what kind of spiritual gifts have God given you? God do not answer our prayers to remove our pain, because pain was to be productive in our lives according to His will. In this life it is inevitable and it is useful because it produces the evidence of your true spiritual condition, humility and intimacy with God and allows God to put Himself on display in His grace.

"Therefore as, we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially those who belong to the family of believers" (Galatians 6:10). Christ was the perfect example of the healthy normal person but at the same time, He did not live a normal life. He sacrificed many pure enjoyments to the holy work for our souls. That example taught me that the needs of the world and my ability to minister to those needs. God is not primarily an emotion, but an act of the will that true Christian love is the love of willing, not the love of feeling. It's the devil who would like to make our life superficial prosperous, superficial successful, superficial happiness and superficial peace because then we pride ourselves with pride so others can see how much faith we have. God's power is GRACE and that is where my faith is. The Scriptures teach every believer to be committed to a local church where he or she is loved and cared for, instructed in the things Christ commanded, encouraged to grow spiritually, and serving Christ effectively. The primary reason to become a participating member is not to gain a personal advantage, but to identify with the characteristics of biblical maturity and commitment to the mission and future of a local church. We have to realize that a local church's accomplishments will depend upon members' spiritual condition. If the people are submitting to the Holy Spirit, who will give them fruit. Quality is measured by the Christ-like living of local church members. Let the Holy Spirit do what He will through you and see what He does with you. Just allow the Holy Spirit plant the desires to serve the spiritual gift or gifts and watch fellow members affirm your spiritual gifts. 1 Corinthians 14:12 "So it is with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church." The idea of the spiritual gifts is simply that the Lord uses that gift in a unity, in a unifying way. God will use our spiritual gifts by His Spirit as He wills. Providential of God leads us to what we call "coincidences" in their lives which perhaps God will make sure that His wills will be done at His right time and place. God blesses us with LOVE and the blessings of love flows through us to others. Without Christ, we are nothing. Along with love and under the control of the Holy Spirit, the power of love and Holy Spirit flows through us. The only way the spiritual gifts are going to operate is love. Love is the key. God is love. He gave us two commandments. We are to love God and others. With the Holy Spirit and love, I will walk in the Spirit, Christ produces the fruit.