The Rights of an Apostle
Continuing the argument from 8:1, Paul shares personal...
Continuing the argument from 8:1, Paul shares personal examples of giving up his rights to help others (see study note on 1 Corinthians 8:1–11:1).
These four rhetorical questions expect a positive answer....
These four rhetorical questions expect a positive answer. The first question, following his discussion in 8:1–13, asserts Paul's freedom from Jewish ritual obligations. However, he later emphasizes (see 9:19–23) that he willingly follows Jewish practices to win them to Christ. The other three questions assert Paul's apostolic authority, which some in Corinth questioned.
For you are the seal: For skeptics, Paul's apostolic calling was confirmed by his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus (see 15:8; Acts 9:3–6, 17). Also, the Corinthians, who came to faith through Paul's evangelism (see Acts 18:1–11), were proof of his status as an apostle.
These four rhetorical questions expect a positive answer. The first question, following his discussion in 8:1–13, asserts Paul's freedom from Jewish ritual obligations. However, he later emphasizes (see 9:19–23) that he willingly follows Jewish practices to win them to Christ. The other three questions assert Paul's apostolic authority, which some in Corinth questioned.
For you are the seal: For skeptics, Paul's apostolic calling was confirmed by his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus (see 15:8; Acts 9:3–6, 17). Also, the Corinthians, who came to faith through Paul's evangelism (see Acts 18:1–11), were proof of his status as an apostle.
1Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you yourselves not my workmanship in the Lord? 2Even if I am not an apostle to others, surely I am to you. For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.
3This is my defense to those who scrutinize me: 4Have we no right to food and to drink? 5Have we no right to take along a believing wife,† as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas?† 6Or are Barnabas and I the only apostles who must work for a living?†
These examples support Paul's point that he and...
These examples support Paul's point that he and other Christian workers had the right to receive support from those they served.
7Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Who tends a flock and does not drink of its milk?
8Do I say this from a human perspective? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing? 9For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.”† Is it about oxen that God is concerned? 10Isn’t He actually speaking on our behalf? Indeed, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they should also expect to share in the harvest.
11If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much for us to reap a material harvest from you? 12If others have this right to your support, shouldn’t we have it all the more? But we did not exercise this right. Instead, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.
13Do you not know that those who work in the temple eat of its food, and those who serve at the altar partake of its offerings? 14In the same way, the Lord has prescribed that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. 15But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this to suggest that something be done for me. Indeed, I would rather die than let anyone nullify my boast.
16Yet when I preach the gospel, I have no reason to boast, because I am obligated to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17If my preaching is voluntary, I have a reward. But if it is not voluntary, I am still entrusted with a responsibility. 18What then is my reward? That in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not use up my rights in preaching it.
Paul the Servant to All
Paul puts himself in the humble position of...
Paul puts himself in the humble position of a servant in the household. He shows how much he was willing to change his lifestyle and behavior to match the people he preached to, in order to bring them to Christ.
19Though I am free of obligation to anyone, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), to win those under the law. 21To those without the law I became like one without the law (though I am not outside the law of God but am under the law of Christ), to win those without the law. 22To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.
23I do all this for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.
Run Your Race to Win
To show how seriously the Corinthians must take...
To show how seriously the Corinthians must take their salvation, Paul refers to the Isthmian games, a well-known athletic event held in Corinth every two years.
Everyone who competes in the games trains with strict discipline: Athletes must have strict self-discipline to compete for a prize. In Paul's time, athletes trained rigorously for months before competing. Similarly, strict self-discipline (see Galatians 5:22–23) is needed to achieve the eternal prize of salvation. Christians must follow the daily discipline of obeying Christ.
for a crown that is perishable: Athletic prizes were often wreaths made of laurel leaves (see 2 Timothy 4:8; James 1:12; 1 Peter 5:4; Revelation 2:10).
To show how seriously the Corinthians must take their salvation, Paul refers to the Isthmian games, a well-known athletic event held in Corinth every two years.
Everyone who competes in the games trains with strict discipline: Athletes must have strict self-discipline to compete for a prize. In Paul's time, athletes trained rigorously for months before competing. Similarly, strict self-discipline (see Galatians 5:22–23) is needed to achieve the eternal prize of salvation. Christians must follow the daily discipline of obeying Christ.
for a crown that is perishable: Athletic prizes were often wreaths made of laurel leaves (see 2 Timothy 4:8; James 1:12; 1 Peter 5:4; Revelation 2:10).
24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way as to take the prize. 25Everyone who competes in the games trains with strict discipline. They do it for a crown that is perishable, but we do it for a crown that is imperishable. 26Therefore I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight like I am beating the air. 27No, I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.