are validated by the fact of the resurrection.59 By rejecting the resurrection, then, the Corinthians were rejecting not only the very redemptive work of Christ which they professed to believe but also the compelling testimony to the resurrection which Paul had lived out before them through his own willingness to suffer on their behalf just as Christ, before him, had done. This explains Paul’s peculiar use of the oath formula in v. 31. It is highly unusual not only because it is so rare but also