Paul's Thorn in the Flesh

SYNOPSIS

Pastor Joe Granieri discusses the nature of Paul's Thorn in the Flesh, arguing against the common interpretation that it was a physical sickness. Instead, the Joe interprets the "thorn" as a messenger of Satan or a demonic spirit that brought persecution to Paul, a view supported by scripture such as 2 Corinthians 12. Joe then addresses the broader topic of whether born-again Christians can be oppressed by demonic spirits in their minds and bodies, concluding that they can be attacked, but not possessed in their spirit. Throughout the sermon, Joe emphasizes that the fullness of salvation includes forgiveness, healing, and deliverance, urging listeners to recognize their identity in Christ to overcome spiritual bondage and fear.Pastor Joe Granieri discusses the nature of Paul's Thorn in the Flesh, arguing against the common interpretation that it was a physical sickness. Instead, the Joe interprets the "thorn" as a messenger of Satan or a demonic spirit that brought persecution to Paul, a view supported by scripture such as 2 Corinthians 12. Joe then addresses the broader topic of whether born-again Christians can be oppressed by demonic spirits in their minds and bodies, concluding that they can be attacked, but not possessed in their spirit. Throughout the sermon, Joe emphasizes that the fullness of salvation includes forgiveness, healing, and deliverance, urging listeners to recognize their identity in Christ to overcome spiritual bondage and fear.

ATONEMENT, SALVATION, HEALING, AND DELIVERANCE

Joe interprets salvation, healing, and deliverance as intrinsically linked concepts that are all fully provided for in the atonement of Jesus Christ.

Interpretation in Relation to the Atonement

He emphasizes that healing, salvation, and forgiveness are all part of the atonement. This understanding is derived, in part, from 1 Peter 2:24, which states, "by whose stripes you were healed". The sources teach that once a person realizes this truth, they understand that they can be healed just as they were born again.

Salvation (Sozo)

The Greek word for salvation, sozo, is interpreted as encompassing more than just forgiveness; it includes healing and deliverance. The message of the kingdom of God is defined as forgiveness, healing, and deliverance.

Key aspects of salvation highlighted by this ministry include:

• Forgiveness and the Breaking of Sin’s Power: Through Jesus's death, he died to sin once and for all, breaking the power of sin. This death accounted for the penalty, the punishment, and the imputation of sin. God no longer imputes sin to believers, and he forgives their iniquities and remembers their sins no more.

• No Condemnation: Being in Christ Jesus results in no present-tense condemnation. Condemnation is identified as a spirit that attacks the mind and heart, and the gift of no condemnation is a freedom Christ gives.

• Freedom from the Fear of Death: Through his death, Jesus destroyed him who had the power of death (the devil) and released those who were subject to bondage through the fear of death. The ministry teaches that fear of death is bondage, which leaves a person who understands the fullness of their salvation.

Healing

Healing is considered an element of salvation. It is associated with the resurrection power of Christ, which resides in the spirit of the believer.

Joe teaches that:

• Spiritual Component: Healing sometimes has a spiritual or demonic component to it. A physical problem in a person may have a spiritual component attacking them.

• Pathway to Healing: When a person is delivered from spiritual oppression, they are on the pathway to healing.

Deliverance

Deliverance is presented as a vital part of the gospel of the kingdom and was a major facet of Jesus’s ministry, often preceding healing.

• Demonic Oppression: The ministry holds that born-again Christians can be oppressed by demonic spirits in their mind and body, although their spirit (where Jesus lives) is perfect and cannot be possessed.

• Torment and Weakness: Demonic spirits manifest as "torment". Paul's "thorn in the flesh" is interpreted as a "messenger of Satan"—a demon spirit sent to torment him by stirring up persecution, riots, arrests, and beatings. This is viewed as a form of attack against which Paul was helpless, requiring total reliance on Jesus.

• Deliverance from Oppression: Deliverance is necessary to overcome spiritual bondage caused by spirits of religion, fear, guilt, bitterness, condemnation, and infirmity. The crown of thorns Jesus wore during the atonement was specifically meant to deliver believers from all the oppression that would attack their minds.

• Jesus’s Methodology: In Jesus’s ministry, approximately 50% of the miracles involved deliverance from demonic spirits. For example, the woman crippled for 18 years was first set free from her infirmity (a spirit of infirmity), and then Jesus laid hands on her, and she straightened up.

Joe emphasizes that to receive freedom, one must know the truth, as "the truth shall set you free". If a person believes wrong things (such as believing God causes sickness or that demonic spirits cannot attack them), they may not be set free or healed.

PERFECT LOVE CASTS OUT FEAR

Fear is described as a master spirit and one of the most dominant things in the world. The ministry teaches that fear involves torment, which is how it operates.

Although Joe acknowledges, "Do I have perfect love? It's a quiz. No, I don't have perfect love", he clarifies that Jesus has perfect love. Therefore, the love of Christ that's in your spirit can free you from fear.

Joe also connects fear to other concepts:

• Bondage: Fear of death is explicitly identified as bondage.

• Torment: Fear brings torment with it.

• Faith's Opposition: Faith is described as the enemy of fear, noting that they cannot operate at the same time; a person is either in faith or in fear.

Joe advises that if a believer is living in the fear of death, they are subject to bondage, and they can pray that the love of Christ will release it out of their spirit so they can overcome it.