"I believed, and I spoke." Paul begins this passage with a reference to the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament. It is from Psalm 116:10 in which the psalmist thanks God for saving him even in, and especially in, the midst of his conflicts and struggles: "I kept my faith, even when I said: 'I am greatly afflicted.' "

Paul knows the feeling! He has had many struggles in his journey to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the church at Corinth is one of the main sources of those struggles. He uses these struggles as an entry point into one of the chief points of his proclamation. In the midst of these struggles, which reflect "carrying the death of Jesus in the body," Paul also counts on the resurrection of Jesus Christ to give him hope. After all, it was the resurrec…