1 Corinthians 15:10

But by the grace of God. am what. am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not found vain; but. labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

'But by the grace of God. am what. am' -despite his past, God had graciously called him. (Acts 9:13) The same could be said for any of us. (Romans 5:8) None of us have earned our standing in Christ.

'Since they have not given him his authority, they can neither take it from him nor deny it to him.' (Fee p. 735)

'was not found vain' -'not without results' (Tay); 'was not bestowed for nothing.' (Wms) 'Empty, without result, without profit, without effect.' (Willis p. 535)

Point to Note:

This statement infers that our lives can abuse or neglect the grace of God which has been bestowed upon us. (Hebrews 10:29 'and has insulted the Spirit of grace?')

'but. labored more abundantly then they all' -'although God's gracious gift of apostleship was the result of divine initiative..nonetheless it required Paul's response.' (Fee p. 735) 'Nevertheless, latecomer as he was..he strove to make up for lost time...even if we go no farther back than the six or seven years immediately preceding the writing of this letter: he had evangelized the provinces of Galatia, Macedonia and Achaia, and was now actively engaged in evangelizing proconsular Asia, and two or three years later he would be able to treat his task in the Aegean lands as finished. (Romans 15:19; Romans 15:23)' (F.F. Bruce p. 143)

'labored' -'refers to labor that requires strenuous exertion that tires.' (Lenski p. 642) 'This is sober fact as shown by the Acts and Paul's Epistles. He had tremendous energy and used it.' (Robertson p. 189)

'yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me' -Lest someone think that Paul is taking credit for those he converted. Without God and the power of His word, all this labor would be in vain. (1 Corinthians 3:6 'but God was causing the growth.')

Point to Note:

It is interesting to note that First Century Christians believed they couldn't earn salvation. And yet, they didn't use "grace" as an excuse for spiritual sloth. Instead, they were motivated to serve God all the more, seeing that He had graciously forgiven them. Zeal and enthusiasm is the proper response to God's grace. (Titus 2:11)