15:9
Paul describes himself as “the least of the apostles”. This way of referring to himself is in stark contrast to the Corinthians’ predilection for ranking the apostles in order, and of trying to make themselves look important. Paul says that he does not even deserve to be called an apostle, since he had persecuted the church.
15:10
“But by the grace of God ...” Our human nature tends to either make ourselves as utterly worthless and useless, or to big ourselves up, forgetting the weaknesses and failings. Paul was fully aware of both his sinfulness and his sins, and of the grace of God in his life. We need both self-awareness and grace awareness. “His grace was not without effect”. God’s grace is not just a feeling, but something that has a real effect in our lives. It enables us to do things, to achieve things. Nor does grace make us sit back and relax, rather it leads to us working all the harder. It is not a matter of us working hard in order to earn the right to be accepted, but a response to God’s acceptance. But it is more than that, for that can make it seem like it is just our gratitude for what God has done. This can end up as just working in our own strength. Rather it is the grace of God working in us. The grace of God does not stop at forgiveness and acceptance, it continues to work in us, and to good effect.
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