By the grace of God I am what I am

By the grace of God I am what I am

BY Argie Simonis  

But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed on me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. (1Corinthians 15:10) 

All our talents, abilities, and callings are a direct result of God’s grace. However, God’s grace alone doesn’t guarantee success.
By God's grace salvation has been offered to all people (Titus 2:11) but not all people are saved. This doesn't mean that His grace is not enough or it is not in His will for them to be saved (2 Peter 3:9). It’s because not all people put faith in God’s grace. God’s grace must be mixed with faith to release its power (Hebrews 4:2). We need to keep on renewing our minds through God's Word and convince ourselves of the fact that God loves us. We don’t have to go to church to obtain God’s grace, but because we have God’s grace, we need to go to church to keep our hearts from being hardened (Hebrews 3:13 and 10:25).
Here (1 Corinthians 15:10) Paul is acknowledging the fact that "by the grace of God I am what I am" but he goes on saying that he allowed God’s grace to have its full effect in his life through seeking God more than the other apostles did. We have to labor against the flesh to rest in God’s grace (Hebrews 4:11) and enjoy its fruit.