"Last of all he appeared to me as one abnormally born". The original apostles had to have been direct witnesses of the resurrection. This was true of Paul when Jesus appeared to him on the Damascus road, but this was different from all the others, for this was after His ascension. This is why Paul says "as to one abnormally born".
Paul knew his case was different, and that he in no way deserved to be an apostle. For he had actively persecuted the church. Yet he was saved by the grace of God, and by the grace of God took the gospel to the Gentiles. We see here the power of the resurrection. The resurrection is not something to give mere intellectual assent to, but something that turns our lives upside down. And why does it turn our lives upside down? Because Jesus is alive and becomes active in the lives of His followers. This was most dramatically demonstrated in the life of Paul, but it applies to all of us. In Matthew 28:19,20 Jesus says He is with us until the end of the age. We do not believe in a concept, but in the living Lord.
See also the place that Paul gives to grace. Too often we think of grace as a passive thing, God forgiving our sins. Now of course He does this, but grace produces action, and again Paul is a great example. God's grace caused him to work his hardest for the gospel. He then adds "yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me". We can so easily get worked up by "is it God or is it me". You know the best way to experience and know the grace of God? Do something for Him. When we do stuff for God, then we experience the grace of God working in our lives.
Paul has, as usual, got a little side tracked, but the main point of what he is saying in the introduction is that the apostolic message is our being saved by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
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