1 Corinthians 15:31 - Dying daily!
1 Cor 15:31 (KJV) I protest by your rejoicing which I have in
Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
1 Cor 15:31 (EAV) [I assure you] by the pride which I have in
you in [your Fellowship and union with] Christ Jesus our Lord, that
I die daily [I face death every day and die to self].
I die daily: A form of speech for, I am continually exposed to
death. (Adam Clarke Commentary)
Paul was exposed to so many physical dangers and to such violent
attacks on himself and on his teachings that "daily" is hardly an
exaggeration. [Ryrie SB]
I endure so many sufferings and persecutions, that it may be
said to be a daily dying. I am constantly in danger of my life;
(Barnes' Notes)
The phrase "I die daily" may also bear a homiletic
interpretation. It contains the secret of Paul's victorious experience.
Throughout his life of faithful service for the Saviour he had met on the
Damascus road, Paul found that his old, unregenerate nature struggled for
recognition and had to be constantly repressed (see on Rom. 8:6-8, 13; Eph.
4:22). He well knew that the life of the Christian must be one of
self-denial at every step of the road (see on Gal. 2:20; cf. on Matt.
16:24-26). Christians who find that the old desires still clamor for
satisfaction, in spite of their good intentions to serve the Lord, may take
courage from the fact that Paul had a similar experience. The Christian
life is a continual struggle, well described as a battle and a march,
with no resting place until Jesus comes (see MH 453). But the thought
of the resurrection, and the glorious life to which it is an
introduction, nerves the believer for all trials. [SDA Commentary]
Sanctification is not the work of a moment, an hour, a day, but
of a lifetime. It is not gained by a happy flight of feeling, but
is the result of constantly dying to sin, and constantly living for
Christ. AA560
We must deny self all along the way, die to self daily, let
Jesus alone appear, and keep His glory continually in view. EW66,7
Luke 9:23 (KJV) And he said to them all, If any man will come
after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and
follow me.
2 Cor. 5:15 (KJV) And that he died for all, that they which live
should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for
them, and rose again.
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