Who are 'us the apostles' that God set forth last in 1 Corinthians 4:9?
In 1 Corinthians 4:9, 'us the apostles' refers to the Twelve in Jerusalem, Paul himself, and probably Barnabas. God set them forth last as appointed to death. They are contrasted with the carnal Corinthians, who were rich, full, and reigned as kings without them.
Les explains that in verse 9 Paul includes the Twelve back in Jerusalem and himself, probably along with Barnabas. They are the apostles God set forth last, as it were appointed to death. Earlier Paul addressed the Corinthians as carnal Christians who were rich, full, and reigned as kings without the apostles. The apostle wanted them to experience a greater joy of their salvation and wanted to be part of that, since he was responsible for bringing them out of their paganistic lifestyle.
For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.