Daily Death and Resurrection

As we’re studying Paul’s epistles to the Corinthians, I’ve noticed how frequently Paul uses death and resurrection as a metaphor for the challenges of life as a disciple of Jesus Christ and the continual assurance of being restored when we fall.

A case in point is Paul’s statement, “I die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31), in the middle of a discussion of the resurrection. From the context, he appears to be referring to the many times his life has been in danger. In the prior verse, he speaks about standing “in jeopardy every hour.” In the following verse, he speaks of fighting “with beasts at Ephesus.” For this reason, some Bible translations soften Paul’s words to, “I face death every day.” (See 1 Corinthians 15:31 on biblehub.com.) But the King James translators were true to the original Greek: “I die daily.”

Fast forward to his next epistle, which he opens by expressing gratitude that God comforts him in all of his tribulations. (See 2 Corinthians 1:4.) Then, as he mentions a particularly terrifying experience in the Roman province of Asia, he says, “We had the sentence of death in ourselves.” In other words, they thought they were going to die. They thought death was inevitable. But he adds that this terror led him to stop trusting himself, and to put his trust “in God which raiseth the dead” (2 Corinthians 1:9).

And later in the letter, he refers to death and resurrection as an essential part of his life as a disciple of Jesus Christ:

Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

2 Corinthians 4:10-11

Followers of Jesus Christ believe that He made possible our literal resurrection. This is a one-time event. We will all only die once (thank goodness!), and we will all be resurrected once, never to die again. But Paul is expressing a more localized and tactical implication of this knowledge. If I believe that God will raise me from death, then can’t I also believe that He will help me recover from the disappointments, the wounds, and the failures that I will experience today, no matter how irreparable they may seem?

The Book of Mormon prophet Jacob also encouraged us to internalize the suffering of Jesus:

Wherefore, we would to God that we could persuade all men…to…believe in Christ, and view his death, and suffer his cross and bear the shame of the world.

Jacob 1:8

Today, I will put my trust “in God which raiseth the dead.” I will remember that because He will raise me from the dead, He can also help me recover from the challenges I will face today.