1 Corinthians 15:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.

NIV: But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

NASB: But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.

CSB: But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

NLT: But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me — and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace.

KJV: But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

NKJV: But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

In the previous verse, Paul described himself as unworthy of the title "apostle" of Jesus Christ. After all, he oversaw the imprisonment and death of Christians in his eager attempts to wipe out faith in Christ after Jesus' resurrection from the dead and return to heaven. Why would God ever choose Paul to represent Christ to the world?

Paul takes no credit for the turnaround. Christ confronted him on his way to persecute more Christians and converted Paul to faith in Christ, commissioning him to take the gospel to the world, especially to Gentiles (Acts 9:3–6; 22:6–11). Clearly, Christ did not do this because Paul had earned it or proven himself worthy. Paul had proven himself opposed to Christ and all who followed Him.

Paul declares now that it is only by God's grace that he became what he was: Christ's messenger. Grace is the gift of a good thing that is unearned. Paul did not reform himself and start over. He was transformed and sent out.

God's grace was not wasted on Paul, he adds. He is not bragging when he says that he responded to God's grace through faith in Christ by giving himself heart, soul, mind, and body to the mission he received. He insists that he worked harder than any of the other apostles who came to their position in a more natural way, quickly adding that he does not take credit even for his focus and work ethic. His ability to do that also came from God's grace.

First Corinthians 15:1–11 describes the gospel as it was delivered to Paul and as he delivered it to the Corinthians. It begins with the death of Christ on the cross for our sins, but it continues to His burial and, significantly, His resurrection. The alive-again Christ appeared to many people still alive at the time Paul wrote his letter. Paul establishes that the Corinthians believed the gospel, including faith in the physical resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Paul will connect that faith to belief in the resurrection of all believers from the dead.

Paul provides thorough teaching about the resurrection of Christians from the dead. This is a direct counter to some group of Corinthians who did not believe in such a resurrection. He shows that natural death is not the end of life for Christians; it is the last step before receiving a glorified, resurrected body like that of the risen Christ. That ''spiritual'' body will be as different from our current bodies as a star is from a fish. In that moment, for all who have believed in Christ, living and dead, death will be defeated for good.

In chapters 12, 13, and 14, Scripture focused on the concept of spiritual gifts and how best to use them. This follows several other ideas where Paul corrected errors in the Corinthians' thinking. Chapter 15 contains extensive teaching on one last issue about which some Corinthians were confused or misled. Apparently, they harbored some doubts about the physical resurrection of Christians from the dead. After clearing up these confusions, Paul will address various other items, of a less doctrinal nature, and close out his letter.

First Corinthians is one of the more practical books of the New Testament. Paul writes to a church immersed in a city associated with trade, but also with corruption and immorality. These believers are struggling to properly apply spiritual gifts and to resist the ungodly practices of the surrounding culture. Paul's letter gives instructions for real-life concerns such as marriage and spirituality. He also deals with the importance of unity and gives one of the Bible's more well-known descriptions of love in chapter 13.