1 Corinthians 15:9,10 - By the grace of God

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.

1 Samuel 31:1-4a - The Philistines fought against Israel

31:1

We now come to the final chapter of 1 Samuel, and the book will end with Saul’s death. David was anointed as king many chapters ago, and it will not be until 2 Samuel that he is actually king. This blog is called “Bible Musings”, so let me muse a little. We are anointed the day we believe, but like David when we spend an awful lot of this life dealing with evil, dealing with problems. Some of this evil and some of these problems are ones within ourselves, others are evil and problems belonging to other people. Whatever the case, we have to deal with it, and this is a hard battle, just as David has had a hard time within 1 Samuel. Here the Philistines are fought against Israel, and have inflicted many casualties.

31:2-4a

“Samuel’s” prophecy to Saul in chapter 28 is fulfilled. First of all Saul’s sons are killed, including Jonathan. It seems a little unfair that Jonathan dies, for he had helped David. Then Saul himself was mortally wounded. Knowing that his end was near, Saul instructed his armour bearer to kill him with his sword. Saul did not want to fall into the hands of the Philistines. He refers to them as “uncircumcised”, recognising that they were utterly godless. If he had only realised that he too was utterly godless, and repented of this then things might have been very different.

1 Corinthians 15:6-8 - He appeared to more than 500 people

15:6

Then the twelve. He then refers to a time when over five hundred show Christ at the same time. This knocks on the head the idea that the “resurrection” appearances were actually hallucinations. One or two people could arguably have had hallucinations, but not five hundred people at the same time. Paul then points out that most of these people were still alive, so the evidence could be tested. The resurrection is never presented as a “spiritual event”, but as a physical reality.

15:7,8

After that Jesus appeared to James, this is James the brother of Jesus, and the author of the letter bearing his name. During his earthly ministry James had been highly sceptical about Jesus, but after the resurrection he became a strong believer, and a leader in the church. Finally, Jesus appeared to Paul. This is the famous Damascus road conversion. The details of this are recounted twice more in Acts. Paul refers to himself as “one abnormally born”. This last appearance was different, and Paul was different in that far from being a disciple of Jesus, he had been an avid prosecutor of the church.

1 Samuel 30:23-30 - He has protected us

30:23-25

David saw things differently. It was the Lord who had given them the plunder. Yes, they had fought, but it was the Lord who enabled them to do so, and it was the Lord who gave them victory. David insisted that everyone gets the same share. David even made this a lasting “statute and ordinance” for Israel. The two hundred had not just been left behind to recover, but also to look after the supplies. David had been allocating duties in an efficient manner.

30:26-30

On reaching Ziklag, David “sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah who were his friends”. David still had contacts in Judah, and was looking ahead to his return there. We then get a list of the places that David sent plunder to.

1 Corinthians 15:4,5 - He was raised on the third day

15:4

Paul then turns to the fact of the bodily resurrection. The resurrection was not a metaphor. Christ died, He was buried, and He rose from death, never to die again. “According to the Scriptures”, Both His dying for our sins, and His rising from death, were “according to the Scriptures”. Our need for sin to be dealt with is made abundantly clear in the Old Testament. Isaiah 53:5 and 53:12 are the clearest prophecies about Christ dying for our sins. The resurrection is anticipated in passages like Psalm 16:9-11, Psalm 22, Isaiah 53:10,11.

15:5

Having stated that Christ rose from the dead, Paul now gives the evidence, and it is that many people saw the risen Christ. The gospels state that the very first witnesses were women, Paul does not mention any of these by name, referencing only the men by name. This was done because in those times it was only the witness of men that counted. He mentions Cephas (or Peter), interestingly John is not mentioned. 

1 Samuel 30:16-22 - David recovered everything

30:16-20

The Egyptian led David to where the Amalekites were. They were currently enjoying the fruits of their plundering, including getting drunk. David and his men attacked them and spent the day fighting them. None of the Amalekites managed to escape, except for four hundred young men who fled on camels. David and his men recovered all the women and children, with special mention being given to his two wives. They recovered all that had been lost, and also took all their livestock.

30:21,22

They arrived back at the place where the two hundred exhausted men were. David greeted them, but there were some “evil men and troublemakers” among David’s band. Every church has some people who are troublemakers! These men did not want to share any of the plunder with the two hundred, no doubt arguing that since they had not been involved in the fight, they should not share in the gains.

1 Corinthians 15:2,3 - By this gospel you are saved

15:2

“By this gospel you are saved.” The Corinthians needed to hold firmly to the word preached to them. If they did not then their faith would have been in vain. The gospel sets us free, but having gained that freedom we so easily get distracted by something else, or misuse the freedom we have. We need to hold firmly to the gospel.

15:3

Now see what Paul says, he begins by saying what he passed on to them was (and is) of “first importance”. “Christ died for our sin according to the Scriptures”. By nature we don’t like the fact that we are sinners, that we are guilty and can do nothing about it by our own strength. Yet that is the truth, and if we ever forget it we are trouble, it is of first importance, and continues to be so. It is not something we need at first, but can then discard once we have grown up a bit. Christ’s forgiveness, His atoning death, is crucial at all times.