Big Healing Book - Paul First Preached at Galatia Due to a Physical Infirmity

Objection: Paul First Preached at Galatia Due to a Physical Infirmity

Paul was stoned and left for dead at Lystra, Galatia. (According to a map in the back of one of my Bibles, Lystra was part of Galatia, along with Derbe and Iconium.) If you had just been stoned and left for dead at Lystra, you might have an “infirmity of the flesh” too! Paul continued to preach immediately despite what had happened. It was only “at the first.” Obviously, God healed Paul and he went on to other places. Much later, on his second missionary journey, Paul returned to Galatia. We can assume that Paul no longer considered this “at the first” and that he was healed by then. After all, he talked about “the trial that was in my flesh” when he wrote to the Galatians, not “the trial that I have been carrying around in my flesh ever since we first met, which God calls my thorn in the flesh!” Paul’s thorn in the flesh did continue, but whatever problem he had at Galatia did NOT continue, so it could not have been Paul’s “thorn in the flesh.” Therefore, any reference to Paul’s eyes has NO bearing on his thorn in the flesh.

In fairness, we should look at this entire passage, because critics often cite it in relation to Paul’s thorn in the flesh:

Galatians 4:13-15:
Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel to you at the first.
And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.
Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? for I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me.

This has been used for years to “prove” that Paul had an eye disease (some people even specify “opthalmia” with zero biblical proof of that), but these verses do not prove that. First, the expression, “would have plucked out your own eyes” is possibly a statement of affection that is not to be taken literally. Second, it is possible that some of the rocks just thrown at him in Lystra did injure Paul’s eyes (that would be my preferred take), but that is quite different from Paul picking up a disease somewhere. And even if we stretch a bit and suppose (without any biblical support) that Paul’s injured eyes had gotten infected, this trial did not continue, so Paul obviously got healed even if he was having eye trouble. Obviously, God healed Paul of whatever infirmity he had “at the first” because he never mentioned preaching anywhere else at any time “through infirmity of the flesh.”

Paul never mentions sickness or disease of any kind in his list of trials in 2 Corinthians 11:23-27, and practically every other kind of trial imaginable is listed there. Therefore, we must conclude that Paul was not having a problem with some terrible disease.

Another hint at the nature of Paul’s infirmity is found in Galatians 6:17 – Paul bore in his body the marks of the Lord Jesus. These marks were from his ill treatment, not from chicken pox or some other disease.

Galatians 6:17:
From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.

Therefore, this passage in Galatians counts as a healing Scripture, not as a “stay-sick Scripture” the way some would use it. Because God healed Paul of his infirmity, you know that He desires to do the same for your infirmities.

See the Paul’s Thorn objection reply for a long elaboration on this answer, including a discussion of what is usually a follow-up objection, namely that Paul wrote with big letters because his eyes were supposedly so messed up.