1 Corinthians 15:8-11

1Co 15:8 But last of all, as though to a person born at the wrong time, he was seen by me too.
1Co 15:9 Because I am the least of the missionaries, not worthy to be called a missionary, because I persecuted the church of God.
1Co 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been misspent, but I worked even more than all of them, and not I, but the grace of God with me.
1Co 15:11 Therefore whether it was me or those others, this is the way we proclaimed him, and this is the way you believed him.

last on the list

Paul had listed the witnesses to the resurrection:

• First, the scriptures which predicted it,
• Then, the eyewitnesses who proclaimed it,
• Last on the list was Paul himself, who witnessed the resurrected Christ on the road to Damascus.

Paul deliberately places himself at the end of the list of resurrection witnesses, not because his experience was less real, but because he considered himself the least likely candidate for such grace. He had not walked with Jesus during His earthly ministry. He had not been part of the Twelve. He had not stood among the five hundred. He had not been one of the early missionaries sent out from Jerusalem. In fact, his history placed him in the opposite category—he had persecuted the church and tried to destroy the very movement he now proclaimed.

Because of that past, Paul felt compelled to work harder than any of the others. He had to verify the gospel he preached with extraordinary diligence. He examined the Scriptures, consulted with the apostles, and tested every detail of the message he carried. His ministry was not built on personal credibility but on the sheer mercy of God. Whatever fruit came from his preaching came not from his background or reputation but from the power of the Holy Spirit working through him.

That is why Paul emphasizes grace when he speaks of his labor. He worked tirelessly, but even that work was the result of God’s enabling. His ministry was not proof of his worthiness; it was proof of God’s generosity. The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead was the Spirit who authenticated Paul’s message in the hearts of those who heard it.

And the same dynamic holds true for believers today. No one can prove the gospel by personal authority or intellectual force. No one can argue another person into resurrection faith. The message we proclaim is beyond our power to validate. Only God can confirm it. Only the Spirit can open hearts, convict consciences, and awaken faith.

Our task, like Paul’s, is faithfulness. Faithful proclamation. Faithful living. Faithful reliance on the God who brings life out of death. The power that persuaded the Corinthians did not come from Paul’s résumé. It came from the risen Christ working through a humbled messenger. That same Christ continues to work through ordinary, unlikely people, proving the truth of the gospel in ways no human effort ever could.

LORD, we offer no excuses. We just commit to proclaiming your gospel, and trusting you to convince those we share it with.