CCCNZ Ambassador Mark Grace
In 1 Corinthians 15:8-11, God’s grace to Paul leads to grace-fuelled gratitude, and this gratitude leads to Paul getting over himself!
In verse 8, God’s grace comes to Paul in the person and presence of the risen Lord.
In verses 10 and 11 God’s grace leads Paul to a recognition of who he was, gratefulness for who he is, and this leads him to get over himself incredibly quickly.
Paul recognises who he was, but rests his identity in who Jesus is and what Christ has done in him, and for him. Paul's validation isn’t in roles, status, or work, but in the grace of God revealed in Jesus Christ.
Grace gets him over himself.
Grace gets us over ourselves.
So often, the times I need to get over myself—in life and leadership—are the times when I don’t have a proper grip on grace. The times where I seek my own validation through approval, agreement, and significance. The times where I forget God's great grace.
Paul mentions himself eight times in these three verses, but he does so in a way that shows God's grace in Jesus as the towering centre of who he is. Paul’s apostleship, Paul's past, and Paul's current work are in all the background...
God’s grace is in the foreground.
