“And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?”
The full verse · 1 Corinthians 15:30 · KJV
in ?
Asked by
Paul: the apostle writing to the church at Corinth, who says of his own life, "I die daily" (1 Corinthians 15:31)
Asked to
Corinthians: the church at Corinth, where "some among you" said "there is no resurrection of the dead" (1 Corinthians 15:12)
The Scene
Right after asking about those "baptized for the dead" (1 Corinthians 15:29), Paul turns to his own life and the lives of those who preach with him.
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionPaul moves from what others do to what he and his fellow workers live through every day. Their lives were constantly at risk for the gospel. If the dead do not rise, why would anyone live like that? Barnes puts the question this way: "Why do we constantly risk our lives," and answers that "such efforts would be vain, useless, foolish, unless there was to be a glorious resurrection." Gill widens the "we" to include ministers and ordinary believers alike, and asks, "Who in his senses would act such a part" if there is no resurrection?
The Response
What Scripture recordsPaul answers with a solemn statement about himself: "I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily" (1 Corinthians 15:31). He gives an example from Ephesus (1 Corinthians 15:32). Then he names the only other option if the dead do not rise: "let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die" (1 Corinthians 15:32).
Historical Context
The world behind the wordsPaul's dangers were real and frequent. Barnes says, "So numerous were their dangers, that they might be said to occur every hour." Paul describes the apostles elsewhere in this letter as "appointed to death" and "a spectacle unto the world" (1 Corinthians 4:9). In his next letter he tells the Corinthians of trouble in Asia so great "that we despaired even of life" (2 Corinthians 1:8). Gill describes believers as those who "are for Christ's sake killed all the day long," echoing Romans 8:36.
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyPaul's own life is part of his argument. A man does not walk into danger every hour for something he does not believe. His risk shows how real the resurrection was to him.
Paul tells where that courage came from. After nearly dying in Asia, he wrote that it taught him not to "trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead" (2 Corinthians 1:9). The God who raised Jesus is the God who makes it worth risking everything for Him.
Look Closer
Why does Paul mention his daily danger here?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Lord, Paul faced danger every hour because he trusted You to raise the dead; what would it look like for me to trust You that way?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- What risks do you avoid that you might take if you were fully convinced of the resurrection?
- Tell about a believer you know or have read about who gave up safety or comfort for the sake of Christ.
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
Faith in the resurrection makes a person brave. Paul faced danger every day because he knew death was not the end.
Your risks may look different: speaking up, serving where it costs you, staying faithful when it is unpopular. The resurrection says these are not wasted.
This doesn't mean you should seek out danger. Paul's point is not that hardship is good in itself, but that it is worth enduring for Christ, because God raises the dead (2 Corinthians 1:9).
Built from the biblical text and checked against trusted commentaries and lexicons. References & Sources
Keep questioning
“Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead?”
“If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not?”
“How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?”
“If Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?”