2 Corinthians 12:7 (LSB)

Passage

Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself!

Nearby Context

2 Corinthians 12:5 On behalf of such a man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except in weaknesses.

2 Corinthians 12:6 For if I do wish to boast I will not be foolish, for I will be speaking the truth; but I refrain from this, so that no one will consider me beyond what he sees in me or hears from me.

2 Corinthians 12:7 Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself!

2 Corinthians 12:8 Concerning this I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might leave me.

2 Corinthians 12:9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "surpassing", "greatness", "revelations", "reason", "keep", "exalting", "myself", and "given". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "surpassing" and "greatness", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 6's "For if I do wish to boast..." into verse 8's "Concerning this I pleaded with the Lord...", so "surpassing" and "greatness" belong inside that flow. In 2 Corinthians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "surpassing" and "greatness" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.