1 Corinthians 15:9-11 records Paul's self-reflection on how God's grace saved him. He did not deserve to be called to be an apostle of God. He had persecuted the church, intending to kill all believers in Jesus. Jesus appeared to him and He reversed the course of his life. Paul believed in Jesus, an enemy of Christ no longer. It was God's favor and compassion on Paul that saved him. So Paul works as hard as he can, or rather, God's grace works through Paul, so that he can serve God and do the works God has called him to; namely, to preach the gospel.
In 1 Corinthians 15:9-11, Paul calls himself the least of the apostles because he persecuted the church, credits the grace ofGod for everything he has become and done, and affirms that all the apostlespreach the same gospel.
In the previous section, Paul listed Peter (Cephas) and the other apostles as having seen the resurrected Christ. That visible sighting was followed by His appearance to five hundred witnesses, many of whom were still living at the time the letter of 1 Corinthians was written. Paul’s own name, the last name on the witness list, draws a confession from him:
For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God (v 9).
Paul explains the label "one untimely born" in the preceding verse (1 Corinthians 15:8) with a plain confession: I persecuted the church of God (v 9). Before Jesus’s appearance to Paul en route to Damascus, he was ravaging the church, entering house after house and dragging off men and women to prison (Acts 8:3). He was breathing threats and murder (Acts 9:1-2) and casting his vote against believers as they were put to death (Acts 26:10).
By that history, he judges himself the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle (v 9). The assessment is sober and objective witness. The man who wrote it kept the memory of what God's grace had to overcome. And that is what Paul now exclaims, the gospel is a message of God's gracetoward sinners. Paul cites himself as a prime example of God's grace--if Jesus's sacrifice can absolve Paul, then there is no limit to His grace.
Paul asserts this and attributes all that is good about him to Christ, saying: 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 (v 10).
Grace accounts for the entire distance between the persecutor and the apostle: but by the grace of God I am what I am (v 10). From an enemy to an ally, a murderer to a martyr, someone who hated the name of Jesus to one who longed to be with Him in eternity (Philippians 1:21). Paul will clearly define who he is in the next recorded letter to Corinth--he is a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). The phrase "in Christ" occurs twelve times in 1 Corinthians and eight times in 2 Corinthians.
Verse 10 has both the grace of being forgiven and made a new creation as well as the purpose new creations have in Christ, which is to do good works for their creator. This is a similar pairing to Ephesians 2:8-9 where Paul asserts that believers are saved from the penalty of sin through Christ alone, apart from works, then follows it with an assertion of purpose. The next verse asserts that Christ creates us in Him to do good works which He prepared beforehand.
Paul notes the same pairing here. After recognizing and affirming that his entire being is due to God's grace, Paul adds his new purpose in Christ--to work diligently to serve Him. In saying I labored more than all of them (v 10), Paul could be seen as saying "I started far behind and have been working double time ever since trying to catch up."
Paul then guards the statement in both directions. On one side, His grace toward me did not prove vain: God's lovingkindness for Paul produced visible fruit, for he labored even more than all of them, a claim his catalog of beatings, shipwrecks, imprisonments, and sleepless nights substantiates (2 Corinthians 11:23-27).
Grace (Greek "charis") means "favor" and context determines who is favored, by whom, and for what reason. We can see this in Luke 2:52 which speaks of Jesus's childhood, saying that He increased in "wisdom and stature, and in favor ['charis'] with God and men." In this context, men favored Jesus because of His character, and God favored Jesus because of His service to Him.
We also see "charis" used in 1 Peter 5:5 where Peter says "God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace ['charis'] to the humble." In this instance, the point is that God favors and rewards His people who are humble while resisting and withholding reward from those who are not. As Paul asserted back in Chapter 3, and will assert again in 2 Corinthians, believers will have their deeds judged and receive rewards based on their faithfulness (1 Corinthians 3:11-15,2 Corinthians 5:10). God never rejects His people (Romans 8:33). But He does judge His people, rewarding those who are faithful with greater levels of stewardship, which scripture refers to as "joy" (Matthew 25:21,Hebrews 12:2).
Paul worked double time, self-proclaiming that he labored even more than all of the apostles. But his only source of power to do labor that is useful is through Christ. It is the resurrection power of Jesus working through him that does the work. The very resurrection upon which the gospel rests, and the very resurrection Paul will defend in this chapter as being central to Christian hope.
Yes Paul is working diligently, yet not I, but the grace of God with me (v 10) discloses the source of his capacity for good deeds. The output itself traces back to the same gift, so the boasting is excluded even from the labor. Paul does not take credit; the credit is due to God's compassion in saving him and making him a new creation. The pattern Paul describes, divine grace working through wholehearted human effort, reappears in Philippians 2:12-13, where believers work out what God gives us.
In this application of "charis"--the grace of God with me (v 10)--Paul points to a different application of God's favor. This first reference to grace in verse 10 speaks to Paul’s very being--by the grace of God I am what I am (v 10). Paul is who he is, a new creation in Christ, solely because of the work of Christ. That is God's favor freely gifted, apart from deeds.
This second application of grace--not I, but the grace of God with me (v 10)--demonstrates that living in obedience to God is a joint effort. The grace or favor of God working with Paul is God's Spirit working through him to do His work. This explains Paul’s emphasis in exhorting believers to choose to walk in the Spirit, setting aside the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16-17).
God does not need anyone or anything to do His work. He can simply speak all He desires into existence, as He did in creating all things in the beginning. The fact that God chooses to do His work through those of His people who are willing vessels is a blessing of immense proportion--beyond our capacity to comprehend. God created humans in His image for the very purpose of placing them over His creation, even though humans were inferior beings to the angels (Psalm 8:5-8,Hebrews 2:5-8).
When we fell, Satan took the reins (John 12:31). It was God's pleasure through Christ to restore humanity's privilege to be "sons"--being placed in places of authority in His kingdom (Hebrews 2:9-10). That will be the ultimate reward for a faithful believer, to enter into the "joy" of our Master, and get to share in His reign (Revelation 3:21,Matthew 25:21).
Thus, it is God's immense favor, the grace of God, that appointed Paul to this ministry and that empowers Paul to accomplish the task to which He was appointed. Paul sees his job as being a willing vessel. His job is to say "yes" to the Spirit's leading. In 2 Corinthians, he will assert that all the trouble he has endured for the sake of the gospel is nothing when compared to the "eternal weight of glory" that will reward those who serve Jesus faithfully (2 Corinthians 4:17).
The verse returns the argument to its footing: whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed (v 11). Whatever the biographical, geographical, or chronological differences among the witnesses, fisherman or Pharisee, brother or persecutor, whether a disciple from Day One or years after Jesus's ascension, the content of the proclamation was one: Christ died for sins, was buried, was raised, and appeared to many witnesses.
The Corinthians came to faith through that single shared message, and the case Paul is about to build rests on a hope that centers around Christ's resurrection and our hope of following Him in the newness of life with a resurrected state. Paul will assert that in the age to come, believers will have a newly raised, spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15:44).
1 Corinthians 15:9-11
9 For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
10 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.
11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
Set to dark mode
1 Corinthians 15:9-11 meaning
In 1 Corinthians 15:9-11, Paul calls himself the least of the apostles because he persecuted the church, credits the grace of God for everything he has become and done, and affirms that all the apostles preach the same gospel.
In the previous section, Paul listed Peter (Cephas) and the other apostles as having seen the resurrected Christ. That visible sighting was followed by His appearance to five hundred witnesses, many of whom were still living at the time the letter of 1 Corinthians was written. Paul’s own name, the last name on the witness list, draws a confession from him:
For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God (v 9).
Paul explains the label "one untimely born" in the preceding verse (1 Corinthians 15:8) with a plain confession: I persecuted the church of God (v 9). Before Jesus’s appearance to Paul en route to Damascus, he was ravaging the church, entering house after house and dragging off men and women to prison (Acts 8:3). He was breathing threats and murder (Acts 9:1-2) and casting his vote against believers as they were put to death (Acts 26:10).
By that history, he judges himself the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle (v 9). The assessment is sober and objective witness. The man who wrote it kept the memory of what God's grace had to overcome. And that is what Paul now exclaims, the gospel is a message of God's grace toward sinners. Paul cites himself as a prime example of God's grace--if Jesus's sacrifice can absolve Paul, then there is no limit to His grace.
Paul asserts this and attributes all that is good about him to Christ, saying: 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 (v 10).
Grace accounts for the entire distance between the persecutor and the apostle: but by the grace of God I am what I am (v 10). From an enemy to an ally, a murderer to a martyr, someone who hated the name of Jesus to one who longed to be with Him in eternity (Philippians 1:21). Paul will clearly define who he is in the next recorded letter to Corinth--he is a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). The phrase "in Christ" occurs twelve times in 1 Corinthians and eight times in 2 Corinthians.
Verse 10 has both the grace of being forgiven and made a new creation as well as the purpose new creations have in Christ, which is to do good works for their creator. This is a similar pairing to Ephesians 2:8-9 where Paul asserts that believers are saved from the penalty of sin through Christ alone, apart from works, then follows it with an assertion of purpose. The next verse asserts that Christ creates us in Him to do good works which He prepared beforehand.
Paul notes the same pairing here. After recognizing and affirming that his entire being is due to God's grace, Paul adds his new purpose in Christ--to work diligently to serve Him. In saying I labored more than all of them (v 10), Paul could be seen as saying "I started far behind and have been working double time ever since trying to catch up."
Paul then guards the statement in both directions. On one side, His grace toward me did not prove vain: God's lovingkindness for Paul produced visible fruit, for he labored even more than all of them, a claim his catalog of beatings, shipwrecks, imprisonments, and sleepless nights substantiates (2 Corinthians 11:23-27).
Grace (Greek "charis") means "favor" and context determines who is favored, by whom, and for what reason. We can see this in Luke 2:52 which speaks of Jesus's childhood, saying that He increased in "wisdom and stature, and in favor ['charis'] with God and men." In this context, men favored Jesus because of His character, and God favored Jesus because of His service to Him.
We also see "charis" used in 1 Peter 5:5 where Peter says "God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace ['charis'] to the humble." In this instance, the point is that God favors and rewards His people who are humble while resisting and withholding reward from those who are not. As Paul asserted back in Chapter 3, and will assert again in 2 Corinthians, believers will have their deeds judged and receive rewards based on their faithfulness (1 Corinthians 3:11-15, 2 Corinthians 5:10). God never rejects His people (Romans 8:33). But He does judge His people, rewarding those who are faithful with greater levels of stewardship, which scripture refers to as "joy" (Matthew 25:21, Hebrews 12:2).
Paul worked double time, self-proclaiming that he labored even more than all of the apostles. But his only source of power to do labor that is useful is through Christ. It is the resurrection power of Jesus working through him that does the work. The very resurrection upon which the gospel rests, and the very resurrection Paul will defend in this chapter as being central to Christian hope.
Yes Paul is working diligently, yet not I, but the grace of God with me (v 10) discloses the source of his capacity for good deeds. The output itself traces back to the same gift, so the boasting is excluded even from the labor. Paul does not take credit; the credit is due to God's compassion in saving him and making him a new creation. The pattern Paul describes, divine grace working through wholehearted human effort, reappears in Philippians 2:12-13, where believers work out what God gives us.
In this application of "charis"--the grace of God with me (v 10)--Paul points to a different application of God's favor. This first reference to grace in verse 10 speaks to Paul’s very being--by the grace of God I am what I am (v 10). Paul is who he is, a new creation in Christ, solely because of the work of Christ. That is God's favor freely gifted, apart from deeds.
This second application of grace--not I, but the grace of God with me (v 10)--demonstrates that living in obedience to God is a joint effort. The grace or favor of God working with Paul is God's Spirit working through him to do His work. This explains Paul’s emphasis in exhorting believers to choose to walk in the Spirit, setting aside the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16-17).
God does not need anyone or anything to do His work. He can simply speak all He desires into existence, as He did in creating all things in the beginning. The fact that God chooses to do His work through those of His people who are willing vessels is a blessing of immense proportion--beyond our capacity to comprehend. God created humans in His image for the very purpose of placing them over His creation, even though humans were inferior beings to the angels (Psalm 8:5-8, Hebrews 2:5-8).
When we fell, Satan took the reins (John 12:31). It was God's pleasure through Christ to restore humanity's privilege to be "sons"--being placed in places of authority in His kingdom (Hebrews 2:9-10). That will be the ultimate reward for a faithful believer, to enter into the "joy" of our Master, and get to share in His reign (Revelation 3:21, Matthew 25:21).
Thus, it is God's immense favor, the grace of God, that appointed Paul to this ministry and that empowers Paul to accomplish the task to which He was appointed. Paul sees his job as being a willing vessel. His job is to say "yes" to the Spirit's leading. In 2 Corinthians, he will assert that all the trouble he has endured for the sake of the gospel is nothing when compared to the "eternal weight of glory" that will reward those who serve Jesus faithfully (2 Corinthians 4:17).
The verse returns the argument to its footing: whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed (v 11). Whatever the biographical, geographical, or chronological differences among the witnesses, fisherman or Pharisee, brother or persecutor, whether a disciple from Day One or years after Jesus's ascension, the content of the proclamation was one: Christ died for sins, was buried, was raised, and appeared to many witnesses.
The Corinthians came to faith through that single shared message, and the case Paul is about to build rests on a hope that centers around Christ's resurrection and our hope of following Him in the newness of life with a resurrected state. Paul will assert that in the age to come, believers will have a newly raised, spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15:44).