Twin City church of Christ Blog
“May 15, 2024 - By the Grace of God I Am What I Am”
Categories: 2024 Reading DevotionalsBy the Grace of God I Am What I Am
Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Paul shifts gears here to address a teaching problem in Corinth regarding the resurrection. He retreats to their common understanding of the basic facts of the gospel (v. 1-2). “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised the third day in accordance with the Scriptures”(1 Cor 15:3-4). There are certain facts and historical events at the core of the Christian faith: Jesus’ atoning death (prophesied in Scripture), his burial (proving that he actually died), and his resurrection on the third day (also prophesied). Denying the resurrection of Jesus means that Christians serve, follow, and hope in a dead man.
Paul then recounts several witnesses who testify that they saw Jesus resurrected. He appears to Peter and the other apostles (v. 5) as several gospel writers mention. “Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep”(1 Cor 15:6). Paul’s words imply that these people were still living witnesses bearing their testimony, a direct link to the heart of our faith. Jesus appears to James and the other apostles (v. 7). And there is one more: “Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain”(1 Cor 15:8-910). Paul is given the special gift of witnessing the resurrected Jesus. He is deeply thankful and humbled. He knows the tremendous honor of being in this prestigious list—and how disqualified he should be. It is “by the grace of God.”
These verses drip with Paul’s gratitude for an undeserved gift. Sometimes we mistakenly conclude that because God gives grace, there is nothing for us to do but receive it. Yet Paul says “I worked harder than any of them”(1 Cor 15:10). And as soon as we start to think that this is about his work, he adds, “though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me”(1 Cor 15:10). God grants us rich gifts. He changes how we think, work, and love. We act in response to him, yet “by the grace of God I am what I am.”
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One Thing to Think About: Do I attribute my spiritual successes to God or myself?
One Thing to Pray For: The humility to see God’s work in me for what it is
