The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1909-11-18
The
Sunday School
INTERNATIONAL LESSON CON-
MENTS FOR NOVEMBER Fl.


25-Commentary on the Lesson.
TIME.--A. d. 81.
PLACE.-Ephesus.
EXPOSITION. - 7. What Paul
Suffered For Christ, 22-28. How
small the hardships we suffer COM
pared with these. Yet Paul earlier
in this same epistle speaks of them as
our light afIiiction" (cf. 4:17; Rom.
S;1S). The stoning is recorded In
Acts 1919. The three shipwrecks
mentioned were prior to the one de-
scribed in Acts 27, "a night and a
day" was spent in the deep, swimming
or clinging to spar, or In an open
boat. The journeyings often" were
not with the comforts of modern trav-
ing. but with very great hardships
and peril. The perlls of rivers"
were the perils of swollen streams
where many lost their lives, and even
to this present day many hose their
lives this way in the countries
through which Paul Travelled. Paul
labored with toll and pain ". ~.
not only with brain and heart and
lips, but with his hands also (Acts
1873, A.. He spent whole nights in
vigils of prayer and watching against
perils of one kind or another. He
knew often what it meant to 90 with
out food or drink (cf. Phil. 4:12). to
have insufficient clothing and to suf-
fer from cold; and all this time he
was a man suffering from physical in
flrmity (ch. 12:7-10; Gal. 4:13, 14).
IL. l take pleasure IN inhrmities,
in reproaches, in necessities, in perse-
cutions, in distresses for Christ's sake,
1-10. 1t might not seem expedient
for Paul to glory, but his heart was
so full he just must" There is a
difference between a vision" and
revelation" A vision" is some
thing seen, a revelation is an un-
yelling of truth lit might be through
something seen or something heard
or in some other way; cf. / Sam. 8;
Is, r. v, and margln). In visions
their meaning might or might not be
explained at the time. In revelations
there was always an unyeiling or dis
closing of the truth. The man to
whom Paul refers in verse . was him
self. This is evident from verse 7.
In verse he distinguishes between
this man and himself, for there was
a wide difference between Paul as he
was himself in his weakness and the
rapt and glorified individual he be-
came in this wondrous experience.
He was not exalted by it as many of
us would be, but humbled by il. The
experience occurred fourteen years
before, perhaps at the time he was
stoned at Lystra and supposed to he
dead (Acts 14:19). At that time his
spirit may actually have left the body
and been taken up into paradise. 1t
may have been at the time of his sec
ond visit to Jerusalem tcf. Acts 22:
10. Paul himself did not know
whether he was in the body or out OF
the body at the time Tvs. 2, 81. Paul
evidently believed in the possibility
of conscious existence of the spirit
"out of the body" and apart from
the body" ". 3, II. W. At that time
he was caught up even to the third
heaven" Unto paradise" The day Of
Chr!st's cruciiXion He went into par
lin the heart of the earth" Matt
12:40), but at His ascension Christ
emptied the subterranean paradise
and took it up into heaven with Him
self (Eph. 4:S-10). Paradise, the
abode of the blessed dead, is now with
Christ in heaven (cf. Phil. 1928; 2
Cor. SIS, r. W. Into this paradise
Paul was caught up either in the body
(cf. Acts $500 or apart from the
body" He heard there words which
1t was not lawful to utter to Others
They were intended for his own edifi-
cation and comfort alone. God shows
us some things that He would have
US tell others; some things that He
would have us keep to ourselves. Paul
apparently did not mention this Won
derful experience to any one else for
fourteen years, and even now tries to
put himself out of sight as the sub
ject of this remarkable experience
". 81. And he forbore TO glory lest
some man might account of him
above that which he saw him TO be or
heard from him. What the thorn in
the flesh" was we are not told The
words translated "weakness" and "in-
trinity" are the usual words for sick
ness. The thorn in the flesh is also
spoken of as "a messenger of Satan. A"
This would be an appropriate descrip-
ton of physical infirmity (Luke 49,:
16; Job 2:7; Acts 1898; Heb q:
IA; Gal. ALB, 14. Though this
thorn in the flesh was Satan's messen-
ger, 1t was "given" by God. God per-
mits Satan to buffet His servants and
brings to them blessing out OF this
buffeting. Even Satan's hate and buf.
feting brings blessing to the child OF
God. Three times Paul prayed about
1t and the first two times God gave
him no answer Seemingly the thorn
was not removed. but Christ's power
was continually ministered TO Paul
and gave him strength in his own nat
ural weakness. This teaches num-
ber OF important lessons about pray
er: (1) To pray TO Christ; (2) to ask
/ again and again for the same thing
until we obtain II or the Lord reveals
I to us that it is not His will to give It.;
go to go to Christ with our physical
infirmities, but knowing that there
are times when Christ will not re-
move our physical infrmities. but
will give us strength In Himself; (4)
that the probability Is He will remove
them, and we ought to ask Him to do
so until He clearly makes. known to
us that II Is not His will to do so.
]