But by the grace of God I am what I am St Paul is willing to admit his personalinferiority to the other Apostles, but such willingness does not lead him to make a similar admission regarding his work. For that was God's doing, not his, or only his so far as God's grace or favour enabled him to perform it. See ch. 1Co 1:30, 1 Corinthians 3:6; 1 Corinthians 3:9, and cf. St Matthew 10:20; 2 Corinthians 3:5; Ephesians 3:7; Philippians 2:12-13.

I laboured more abundantly than they all St Paul does not hesitate to place his labours for the Gospel's sake on a par with, or even above, those of the twelve. The work of an Apostle of the Gentiles must necessarily have been more arduous than that of an Apostle of the Jews

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