First, I want you to know it is good to have debate of God’s Word. But to argue God’s Word is wrong and angers him. That being said, this is one of the best questions that I myself and my wife have debated. And, of course, led to another night of a great study between us. My wife began with “partial blindness”, I began with “total blindness. After going through scriptures, I will share with you how we came to our conclusions.
We first started with Acts 9:3-20, and it reads.
Acts 9:3] And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
[4] And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
[5] And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
He said in other words “why kick against my plan”.
Acts 9:6] And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
[7] And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.
[8] And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.
Paul is now blind, and we have no debate.
Acts 9:9] And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.
[10] And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.
[11] And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,
[12] And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.
Paul had seen, or was given a vision, someone giving him sight. Paul is still blind.
Acts 9:13] Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:
[14] And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.
[15] But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
This was God’s plan, that his chosen vessel Paul, would have a threefold ministry.
Acts 9:16] For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.
This verse (16) will come back to help with decisions later.
Acts 9:17] And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
Receive sight and be filled with Holy Spirit are separated by a comma.
Acts 9:18] And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.
Here is the question, “as it had been scales”. Is this spiritual or of the physical. We know then he rose up and was baptized and received the Holy Spirit with the baptism.
Acts 9:19] And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus.
For the sake of our debate, is this meat spiritual or physical?
Acts 9:20] And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.
So, how do we think this through. I am ruling out partial blindness, because when the Lord heals, it is Complete and Perfect. Now with this in mind, let’s look at other scriptures, and find more clues.
Paul writing to his friend Philemon about a slave that escaped from him, that Paul has come to love and wants no harm to come to him, wrote in. Phi.1:19
Phi.1:19] I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it: albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides.
Paul tells his friend, remember all that you owe me, reminding his friend that he probably owes him a lot. But, catch that Paul is writing this letter.
Phi.1:20] Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my bowels in the Lord.
[21] Having confidence in thy obedience I wrote unto thee, knowing that thou wilt also do more than I say.
The point I want to make here is that Paul is the one writing this letter. He is writing to a friend that would recognize his hand writing. For the sake of the debate, Paul is an educated man, and should have no need of a scribe. So, then why did he have a scribe? Paul would have mainly Luke as his scribe, and has written most of the New Testament. Remember we are searching scripture to find “if Paul is blind or can see.” Now I want to go to Galatians and read 6:11.
Gal.6:11] Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand.
Another place where Paul has done his own writing, notice he explains how large his writing is. This is to say “see it’s me, you can tell it’s me by how large I have to write.” For my side of the debate this is where I point out he must write large because he is blind. And you might say it is because he is not educated and not use to writing. I would then point out he just wrote to his friend knowing that he would recognize his writing. The debate is still on.
So now we come to 2Cor.12:7-10 and it reads.
2Cor.12:7] And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
It is for this reason that I would point out that this “thorn” in his side is him being blind.
2Cor.12:8] For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
It’s ok to pray that something be taken away by the Lord, and do so three times.
2Cor.12:9] And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Is this not his spiritual eyes being opened. And did not Jesus just tell him, no I won’t take it away. We’ll come back to this word “infirmities” in a minute.
2Cor.12:10] Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
Again, I would say this shows he was blind. But, let’s read this more carefully. Infirmities; is G769 and can be both physical or spiritual, and this will lead you in your Strongs’ to G772, which is also both physical and spiritual. G772 then will lead you G1 that is a base to G4599. Here we finally find that it is spiritual.
But was Paul talking about infirmities as his “thorn in his side” being blind. Or the infirmities actually the fact that he was being persecuted and even stoned to death for teaching the word of God. Now you got me, and another scripture that might help your thoughts is Acts 20:13-14, and it reads.
Acts 20:13] And we went before to ship, and sailed unto Assos, there intending to take in Paul: for so had he appointed, minding himself to go afoot.
Paul had decided to walk alone, I believe to say goodbye to his friends and fellow laborers in the circuit of churches that he set up.
Acts 20:14] And when he met with us at Assos, we took him in, and came to Mitylene.
Proving that Paul was able to go it alone. Yes, this proves he didn’t need anyone to take him by the hand and lead him. Does this prove he had his sight? No, many blind people can get about on their own. But it does give you an upper hand in this debate.
Conclusion.
We can take off partially blinded because when God heals, it is perfect. That leaves us with blind or not. I can say I have strengthened my opinion by this very study. And the clue was G4599, this made it in fact spiritual. Speaking of the infirmities that Paul prayed would be taken away.
I, his wife thought Paul was “partially blind,” and now believe through studying that Paul was blind. The reason why I have had a change of thought on this matter is, when the Lord healed others, it was a complete healing, when he raised the dead, casted out devils, cleansed the lepers along with so many other healings. Paul was on a mission from the Lord so why would the Lord not guide and direct his path to fulfill his will. This is why I have chosen blind, and with that, it is written Paul “received his sight”. Was not given back his sight. This means he was given his spiritual eyes.
Now, for those who believe he received his physical eyes only. Today we found many places where your opinion can be strengthened. Now to conclude this study I want to go back to Acts. 9:16. But let’s remember I told you this would help with decisions later.
Acts 9:16] For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.
That he would suffer. And remember 2Cor.12:9.
2Cor.12:9] And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Here we go again, this word infirmities to begin with led us to G769. And that is both spiritual and physical. This is why we study. God will open eyes to those that study his word. Let’s remember 2Tim.2:15.
2Tim.2:15] Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
This is one question that I can’t prove one way or another. But I do know that now in the fifth trump only the Lord can open spiritual eyes to those that ask. A healthy debate is always good for the soul. And one need not offend another over something that cannot be answered simply Yes or No. I would like to hear from you on your opinion. Did this study change your mind, or did it strengthen your decision on this question. Do you believe Paul was blind or sighted. Let me know if you agree or disagree with my opinion. And why?
So where does this leave us? It led us to study Gods word in depth, just look at the scriptures we just studied. I know that the Father is looking down and enjoying his children studying his Word in depth. Though there is no definite answer to whether he was blind or not, we can agree that Paul was a chosen vessel of the Lord. And did an awesome job testifying for the Lord, a job that only he could have done for that time. Let’s go to his throne.
Father, we thank you for your word and ask that you bless all that love you in Jesus’s precious name, Amen.