1 Corinthians 15:31

I protest. This expression is a free translation of the Greek particle tie, used to convey a strong affirmation, or a swearing to the certainty of the thing stated. Paul could hardly have stated his conviction more strongly.

Your rejoicing. Rather, “your boasting.” Paul means “my boasting in you” (see 1 Cor. 9:2; cf. Rom. 15:17).

I die daily. The word order in Greek places this phrase at the beginning of the sentence. Paul is displaying his greatest pride, his glorying, in the fruits of his gospel ministry, to support his reasoning, to underline his “protest” about dying daily. He did not take personal credit for his work, but ascribed its fruitfulness to “Christ Jesus our Lord.” The life of the great Apostle to the Gentiles was so filled with trials, persecutions, dangers, and hardships that it might have appeared to be a living death (see Rom. 8:36; see on 2 Cor. 4:8-11). But if there is no resurrection from the dead, this daily dying would appear to be foolishness, so once again Paul’s own experience strengthens his presentation of the certainty of the resurrection.

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.