A wreath of pine, its needles beginning to brown, lying on a plain stone pedestal beside an empty earthen running track at dawn.

The Book of

1 Corinthians 9

Paul had every right to be paid for preaching. He gave it up, so nothing would stand in the way of the gospel.

27 verses≈ 5 min3 peopleBSB

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In this chapter

Where we are

1–4DivisionsChrist crucified, not rival leaders
5–6A holy peopleDiscipline, lawsuits and the body
7–10Your questionsMarriage, food and freedomChapter 9
11–14Worship togetherThe Supper, gifts and love
15–16Raised with ChristResurrection hope; the collection

The Rights of an Apostle

Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you yourselves not my workmanship in the Lord? Even if I am not an apostle to others, surely I am to you. For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

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This is my defense to those who scrutinize me: Have we no right to food and to drink? Have we no right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas? Or are Barnabas and I the only apostles who must work for a living?

Paul

Do I say this from a human perspective? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing? For 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?

Isn’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.

If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much for us to reap a material harvest from you? If 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.

Question

Quick question

On a threshing floor, an ox walked round and round over the cut grain to loosen it. The Law of Moses said: let it eat as it works.

Why does Paul quote the law about not muzzling an ox?

Do 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? In the same way, the Lord has prescribed that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.

But 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.

Yet 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!

1 Corinthians 9:16

If my preaching is voluntary, I have a reward. But if it is not voluntary, I am still entrusted with a responsibility. What 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

Though I am free of obligation to anyone, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.

To 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. To 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. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak.

1 Corinthians 9:22

I do all this for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.

To win as many as possible

Whiteboard

Paul meets each group where they are, setting aside customs and freedoms that might stand in the way. What he never sets aside is Christ: “I am not outside the law of God but am under the law of Christ.” He bends in how he reaches people, never in the message, and all of it has one aim: “to win as many as possible.”

Reflect

All things to all people

Paul said, “I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.” He gave up comforts, customs and rights, but never the gospel. Think of one person in your life who does not yet know Jesus. What could you set aside, or take up, to make it easier for them to hear the good news from you? Write down one step you could take this week.

Run Your Race to Win

A boxer’s hands, bound in long thongs of leather, rest on his knees at dawn; his face is out of the frame.

Do 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. Everyone 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.

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Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain

Therefore I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight like I am beating the air.

No, I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

Pray

For the imperishable crown

Thank God for the freedom you have in Christ, and ask Him to teach you to use it in love, giving up rights gladly when it helps others hear the gospel. Ask Him for a heart that says, “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” And pray for discipline and joy to run your race with purpose, not aimlessly, toward a crown that is imperishable.

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1 Corinthians 9

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A verse to carry with you

I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.

1 Corinthians 9:22

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