1 CORINTHIANS 15
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy 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 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. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
– 1 Corinthians 15: 3-11
1 CORINTHIANS 15 NOT I BUT THE GRACE IN ME
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
When God chose me as his own child
My life was changed; it is no longer I
Jesus’ death gave me a new creation
The new one has begun and the old self is gone
It is not my own will that did the transformation
It is the grace from God that made the reformation
I cannot boast that I contributed to any of this
Not I, but the unmerited favor I received from Christ.
In this account, Paul emphasizes in his letter the witnesses that have seen the resurrection of Jesus Christ which Scripture had promised long before he was amongst them. Paul’s humility is clearly manifested in these verses when he mentioned that he was the least to be among those people to deserve to witness such glory and miracle. He declared that the only reason why he was given such privilege and honor is because of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. He didn’t deserve to be chosen because he used to persecute the Christians before Jesus called him to conversion. Yet, his old life didn’t exclude him from being showered with such grace from God. The following account also shows God’s plan of salvation happening in the midst of all these apostles and disciples. God’s promise came true right before their very eyes.
According to some sources, these 500 witnesses mentioned here aren’t detailed in the gospels but are suggested by Matthew 28:10,16-17. Guzik comments, “There really were five hundred followers of Jesus before His Ascension, though Acts 1:15 mentions only the 120 who were in the Jerusalem area. Jesus met with these 500 followers in the region of Galilee. They knew Jesus rose from the dead.” In history, there will be nothing that would surpass the witnesses mentioned in this account to give testament to the grace of God in fulfilling his salvation plan to man.
REFLECTION
- Why is it important that a Christian constantly acknowledge the gift of grace in them?








