1 Corinthians 9
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CHAPTER 9
The Rights of an Apostle (9:1-18)
1 Some of the Corinthian Christians had begun to speak against Paul. In particular, they said that Paul was not a true apostle. Therefore, in this chapter Paul tells about his life and work, so that the Corinthian believers might see that he is indeed a true apostle.
Am I not free? Yes, Paul is free; but he never lets his freedom cause his brother to stumble (1 Corinthians 8:13).
Am I not an apostle? Yes, Paul is an apostle, because he had seen the risen Christ with his own eyes (see Acts 9:36,17; 22:6-9).
What was the proof that Paul was a true apostle? The proof was in the fruit, the results, of his ministry. One fruit was the Corinthian church! Paul had done a great work among the Corinthians, and because of it the Corinthians should have known that he was a true apostle (2 Corinthians 12:12). Paul’s work was always in the Lord, and therefore it always bore fruit.
2 The Corinthian Christians were themselves the seal or proof of Paul’s apostle-ship. Just as a tree’s fruit proves what kind of tree it is, so Paul’s accomplishments proved that he was an apostle. The Corinthians should consider Paul an apostle, because it was through his preaching that they first came to Christ.
3 The Corinthian Christians were very proud (1 Corinthians 4:18-19). They presumed to judge Paul, who was their spiritual father!
4 As an apostle, Paul had the right to expect the churches he visited to provide for his food and other living expenses (verse 14). The other apostles were provided for by the churches they visited. However, Paul never asked the Corinthians for anything; he never took advantage of this right. Instead, he earned his own living by making tents in his spare time.
5 If Paul had had a wife, he would have had the right to bring her to Corinth with him, and the Corinthian church would have been expected to provide for both of them.
The Lord’s brothers mentioned in this verse are Jesus’ younger brothers. Jesus was Mary’s oldest son; He was born not by a human father but by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18). After that, many Bible scholars believe that Mary had several other natural children by her own husband, Joseph. If this opinion is correct, then the Lord’s brothers mentioned here are the true brothers of Jesus, the sons of Mary. Among them was James, who became the chief leader of the Jerusalem church. Most Bible scholars believe it was this James who wrote the New Testament letter called “James.”
Cephas (Peter) was Jesus’ chief disciple. Peter and Jesus’ brothers usually took their wives with them when they traveled to other churches.
6 Among the apostles, only Paul and Barnabas earned their own living by working at a job. Paul made tents. They were not forced to work in this way; they did so voluntarily.
Barnabas was Paul’s first colleague in ministry, and he accompanied Paul on his first missionary journey (see Acts 4:36-37; 11:22,24-26; 13:2-3).
7 In all other kinds of work, the worker receives a reward for his labor—either money or food or part of the harvest. The worker has a right to receive payment. But Paul asked for no payment or reward from the Corinthians for his work as an apostle.
8-9 It is not only Paul who says that a worker should receive payment; the LAW of MOSES (the first five books of the Old Testament) also says it. According to the Law of Moses, even an ox must be given “payment”—that is, its food. Therefore, one must not muzzle the ox that is treading out the grain (Deuteronomy 25:4).
10 if God cares that much for an ox, surely He cares for Paul even more! if an ox is entitled to receive a reward for its labor, surely men are entitled to receive payment for their labor (1 Timothy 5:17-18).
Apostles and preachers are like plowmen and threshers. Some plow the ground and sow the seed, while others reap and thresh the harvest.
11 Paul had planted spiritual seed at Corinth; and from this seed, spiritual fruit had sprung up in the lives of the Corinthian believers—the fruit of faith and eternal life. If Paul had given such a great gift to the Corinthians, could he not hope to receive from them some material harvest, that is, some material payment? (see Romans 15:27).
12 Other apostles had received help from the Corinthians. Didn’t Paul, their spiritual father, have even more right to ask them for help? Nevertheless, he had asked them for nothing.
Why hadn’t he asked them for help? Because Paul didn’t want to hear the Corinthians complaining about having to help him. Perhaps they would have accused Paul of preaching only in order to get money or food from them. Such an accusation would surely have diminished the effectiveness of his preaching (see 2 Corinthians 6:3; 11:9).
13 According to the Jewish law, Jewish priests were given the sacrif ices of fered by the people (Numbers 18:8-9,12-14; Deuteronomy 18:1-5). Those serving in the Jewish temple were entitled to earn their living from the temple.
14 Again, according to Christ’s teaching, apostles and preachers were entitled to receive payment or food for their work of preaching and teaching (Matthew 10:910; Luke 10:7).
15 Paul is not writing in hopes of getting such things—that is, help or payment—from the Corinthians, even though he has every right to expect such things from them. Paul wants to be able to “boast” that he has received nothing from them for his work as an apostle (verse 18).
16 Paul does not boast in his preaching, because he has been appointed by Christ to preach the Gospel; he has no choice but to preach. He is compelled to preach. He is under obligation to preach; therefore, he has nothing to boast about. Men don’t boast about what they are compelled to do; they can only boast about things they do voluntarily.
Woe to me if I do not preach, Paul writes here. Not all Christians have been appointed to be preachers, but all Christians have been appointed to be witnesses of the Gospel as they have opportunity. Woe to the believer who refuses to witness for Christ!
One time, Paul proclaimed the Gospel to the Jews of a certain city, but they did not accept it. Therefore, Paul said to them: “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clear of my responsibility” (Acts 18:6). If Paul had not proclaimed the Gospel to them, he would have been responsible for their unbelief. Those who refuse to believe and repent will have to bear their own punishment; but those who should have witnessed to them but didn’t will also receive a punishment. The “blood” of those non-believers will be “on the heads” of those who should have witnessed to them (Ezekiel 33:7-9); that is, the believers will be partly guilty of the unbelief of those non-believers.
17 If we preach voluntarily, we will receive a reward. But those who are specially called to preach do not preach “voluntarily”; rather, they are compelled to preach because of their calling. They have received a trust, and they must carry out that trust. And they shouldn’t expect a reward for doing so—at least, not in this life.
18 In that case, what is Paul’s reward? Paul’s “reward” is the fact that he has preached the Gospel free of charge. Paul has received no personal benefit from his labor as an apostle. To be able to make such a statement is Paul’s reward.
Paul’s Efforts to Bring People to Christ (9:19-27)
19 Paul was free. In a spiritual sense, he was free from sin and from bondage to the world. In a financial sense he was free also; he owed no one anything. He earned his own living. He did not belong to any man.
But Paul voluntarily gave up his freedom and made himself a slave to everyone. He became a slave of others so that he might bring them to faith in Christ. First of all, Paul made himself a slave of Christ (1 Corinthians 7:22). Then, in the work of preaching, Paul made himself a slave of others, so that he might win as many as possible to Christ.
20 Paul tried as much as possible to adapt himself to those to whom he preached. Even though he was free from the customs and traditions of men, he voluntarily submitted to many of their customs and traditions in order not to give unnecessary of fense to those he was trying to win.26 For example, when Paul went into a Jewish synagogue, he followed the customs of the synagogue so as not to give any unnecessary of fense to the Jews.
Those mentioned here who are under the law are Jews, especially those who were originally Gentiles but who then converted to the Jewish religion. The law is the Jewish law—in particular, all the ceremonial rules and traditions regarding sacrif ices and cleanliness. Even though Paul was himself a Jew, he was no longer compelled to observe these rules and traditions. He was no longer under the control of the Jewish ceremonial law, because Christ had canceled the ceremonial law (see Ephesians 2:15; Colossians 2:14 and comments).
21 Those not having the law are the Gentiles, or non-Jews. When Paul was among them, he tried to behave according to their customs as much as possible. Paul preached the same Gospel both to Jews and to Gentiles, but his method and style of pro-claiming the Gospel was different for the two groups.
Although Paul was no longer under the control of the Jewish ceremonial law (the Jewish ceremonial rules and traditions), he remained under God’s law—that is, Christ’s law—which is equivalent to the “moral” part of the Jewish law. Christ’s law (the “moral” law) is summed up in the two greatest commandments: to love God and to love one’s neighbor27 (see Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:35-40; Mark 12:29-31 and comment).
22 The weak are those who are weak in faith and whose consciences are weak (Romans 14:2; 15:1; 1 Corinthians 8:913). If they are afraid to eat food sacrificed to idols, then Paul also will not eat such food when he is with them.
Paul did not want to of fend people, lest they be turned away from accepting Christ. However, Paul did not “speak out of both sides of his mouth”; that is, he did not speak falsely to some people in order to flatter them. He spoke only the truth. But he tried to fit in as much as possible with the different kinds of people he preached to, in order that he might more readily win them to Christ. Paul had become all things—Jew, Gentile, weak, strong. Let us, likewise, follow Paul’s example in this (see 1 Corinthians 10:33).
23 Paul became like other men so that he could proclaim the Gospel to them more effectively. And Paul shared in the joy and blessings of those who accepted the Gospel and received salvation.
24 The Christian life is like a race. And the “finish line” of the race is to become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13). Or, in other words, the “finish line” is to be conformed to the likeness of [God’s] Son (Romans 8:29). Our supreme goal in life is to be like Christ. All true Christians, through faith, will reach the finish line; that is, they will all reach heaven, where they shall be like Christ (see 1 John 3:2 and comment).
But here Paul says: Don’t walk to the finish line as if you were going for a stroll; rather, run as hard as you can! Let us not be lazy; let us strive with all our soul and strength to be like Christ in this life—not just in heaven! Let as run as fast as we can and try to get the prize for first place (see Hebrews 12:1).
25 Christians are like those who are training for athletic games. Athletes set aside everything else in order to train for the games. Likewise, we Christians should be ready to give up all pleasures and conveniences in order to concentrate fully on serving Christ. We must keep our bodies under control—that is, we must exercise self-control—just as those who compete in the games exercise self-control. Let us remember that if we endure the training and discipline necessary to run the race, we shall obtain a prize, that is, a crown. In Paul’s time, those who won the race received as their prize a “crown” made of a wreath of laurel leaves; they also, of course, received praise and honor from the spectators. The “prize” we Christians will receive is the praise of God for our faithful service to Him. Unlike the crown of leaves, our prize will never wither away; it will last forever (see 2 Timothy 2:4-5; 4:7-8; James 1:12).
26 Paul does not run the race aimlessly; he runs the race in order to win. Paul does not want to reach the finish line behind the other racers.
In the Greek games of Paul’s time, boxing was one of the sports that athletes competed in. Paul here uses the illustration of a boxer who, instead of hitting his opponent, keeps beating the air. It is “aimless” for a boxer to beat the air; he’ll never overcome his opponent that way!
27 Paul says here: I beat my body. That is, Paul trains himself strenuously for the race. He exercises. He works constantly. He makes tents; he preaches and teaches; he travels from church to church; he writes letters. He is always working for God in one way or another (see 1 Thessalonians 2:9).
Paul makes his body his slave; that is, he subdues it. He keeps his body and the sinful desires of his body under control. Paul has self-control (Galatians 5:23). He denies himself (Mark 8:34). He does not want to lose his prize—that is, his reward for his faithfulness and good works (see 1 Corinthians 3:13-15).
Paul does not want to be disqualified for the prize. In the opinion of some Bible scholars, Paul is saying here that if he “runs the race” of the Christian life poorly, he might not get a “prize”—that is, he might lose his salvation. But other scholars say that the prize Paul is referring to here is not his salvation but rather the special praise and honor he hopes to receive from God for his faithful service.
How could a great preacher and apostle like Paul lose his prize? It’s certainly possible. No matter how great a Christian leader, pastor, or preacher is, it’s still possible for him to lose his prize. Even those who have led many others to heaven can lose the way themselves. Why? Because they too are human. They can fall into temptation. They can become lazy. They can become disobedient to Christ. Let us remember: if great apostles like Paul must keep running the race as hard as they can, surely we ordinary Christians must do so too!