The people of Corinth questioned Paul’s genuine apostleship. Now he finds himself defending the fact he IS an apostle. Paul didn’t charge for his services to the church, and they found this suspicious since they were driven by their love of material possessions and greed.
1Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord? 2Even though I may not be 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 sit in judgment on me.
Paul says he is free from the old law the same as any other Christian. To prove he is an apostle, he reminds them he has seen Jesus Christ. He was visited by the risen Christ on the road to Damascus. He reminds them they are the spiritual fruit of his apostleship. His ministry is what won them to Christ, so how could they deny he is an apostle?
4Don’t we have the right to food and drink?
As an apostle, it is Paul’s right to have the church supply his earthly needs. In Luke 10:7, Jesus said workers deserve their wages. (“Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages…”)
Paul echoes this thought and urges the church to pay their Christian workers. It is our duty to see those who serve us in the ministry (pastors, teachers, and other spiritual leaders) are fairly compensated.
5Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas? 6Or is it only I and Barnabas who lack the right to not work for a living?
Here Paul is asserting his right to be married to one wife. This does not mean he was married, only that he felt he had the right to marry if he wanted, just as other apostles, such as Peter (A.K.A. Cephas), had done. Evidently both James and Jude (A.K.A. Judas), the brothers of Jesus, were married, according to what Paul is stating here, and both of them had attained leadership status within the church in Jerusalem.
7Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink the milk? 8Do I say this merely on human authority? 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? 10Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he? Yes, this was written for us, because whoever plows and threshes should be able to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. 11If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?
Paul considers himself a servant and soldier for Christ and asks what soldier has to pay his own way? Doesn’t the country for which he fights take care of him? Who would plant and harvest a vineyard and not enjoy the fruits of his labors? Paul is asking why he should continue to convert people to Christ and not have the pleasure of their friendship. Instead, they want to turn against him. He says even the old laws of Moses allowed for men to enjoy their harvest. Quoting the law found in Deuteronomy 25:4, he says “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” In other words, if the ox is doing his work, don’t interfere by causing him grief. Let him enjoy his labors and he will produce more. Then Paul asks, do you think God was really concerned about oxen? Of course not! He was speaking of the witnesses for Him, those who were working His spiritual fields.
Sometimes we hear people complain about preachers and church workers not working outside the church to support themselves. People see them as “riding a gravy train” and having a cushy job. But here Paul sets forth the principle that Christian workers should be paid for their labors in material ways: food, lodging, and salary.
12If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.
Paul goes on to say that even though they had a right to the support of the church, they hadn’t taken advantage of it because they didn’t want to do anything to hinder the message of the Gospel. They didn’t want anyone to view them as free-loaders. His love for the Corinthian people made him hesitate to make himself a burden to them.
13Don’t you know that those who serve in the temple get their food from the temple, and that those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? 14In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.
The Corinthian believers would have understood this illustration because of the practice in pagan temples in Greece and Rome, which were all around them. Whenever an animal was sacrificed, the meat was used to throw a feast for all the worshippers. Also, they had a vast knowledge of the Old Testament.
Leviticus 7:32-34 “32You are to give the right thigh of your fellowship offerings to the priest as a contribution. 33The son of Aaron who offers the blood and the fat of the fellowship offering shall have the right thigh as his share. 34From the fellowship offerings of the Israelites, I have taken the breast that is waved and the thigh that is presented and have given them to Aaron the priest and his sons as their perpetual share from the Israelites.’”
15But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me, for I would rather die than allow anyone to deprive me of this boast. 16For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!
Paul explains even though it was his right to claim these things, he is not asking for any of it. He does not want any payment for preaching the Gospel of Christ. He is proud of the fact he does it out of love and not for support of his fellow believers. He says he is compelled by his love of God and could not stop preaching the Gospel if he wanted to. It was a strong desire he had, not a burden.
17If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. 18What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make full use of my rights as a preacher of the gospel.
Paul explains that because he is choosing to preach voluntarily, without charging, he is rewarded by satisfaction of knowing he has done it for the Lord out of love and devotion. But if he were to do it involuntarily and charge for his services, he would not feel that kind of satisfaction.
When our focus is on living for Christ, our rights become comparatively unimportant.
Paul committed himself to win as many souls as possible to the Lord. Therefore, his entire life was given to saving others. He changed his approach depending upon who he was trying to reach. He joined in their customs and obeyed their laws and rules so they would accept him among them. He gave up his own personal freedoms and rights and privileges so others would be more accepting of him. But when he was with the Gentiles (those without the law), then he acclimated himself into their culture, as long as it did not violate his allegiance to Christ. When he speaks of the weak, he is referring to those spiritually weak and could easily be led astray. He would abstain from certain practices so they would not see him as hypocritical. His only motive was to spread the gospel and share in the joy of bringing others the joy of salvation.
Examples of things he did:
Acts 16:3 “Paul wanted to take him [Timothy] along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.”
Acts 18:18 “Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sisters and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchreae because of a vow he had taken.”
Acts 21:20-26 “20When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law. 21They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs. 22What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come, 23so do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a vow. 24Take these men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law. 25As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.” 26The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them.”
24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.
The Corinthians had the Isthmian games, which occurred every other year and were second only to the Olympic games in importance, so they were very familiar with foot races.
Winning a race requires purpose and discipline. The Christian life takes hard work and self-denial. The disciplines of prayer, Bible study, and worship gives us the stamina we need to run our race toward our heavenly reward.
The prize they received back then would be a perishable wreath, much like the ones the horses receive today when they win a race. Paul goes on to say these runners in their races receive a crown, or wreath, that won’t last, it’s perishable. But as Christians we are running the race to receive a crown that will last forever.
2 Timothy 4:8 “Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”
James 1:12 “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”
1 Peter 5:4 “And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.”
26Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
In keeping with the spirit of the games, Paul has switched to boxing. He is referring to the Christian life as a boxing match. He does not aimlessly beat the air, but disciplines his body in serving Christ. He says he keeps himself in check because he doesn’t want to win all these souls to Christ and then find in the end he has been disqualified because of his own sinfulness.
Philippians 3:14 “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
1 Corinthians 3:10-15 “10By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. 11For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.”
Paul emphasizes a life of strict discipline. Because of his commitment to winning souls to Christ, he kept himself free of material entanglements and anything else that might distract him from his goal. Freedom and discipline are important tools to be used in God’s service.
Paul gives us several important principles for ministry:
1. Find common ground with those you contact;2. Avoid a know-it-all attitude;
3. Make others feel accepted;
4. Be sensitive to their needs and concerns;
5. Look for opportunities to tell others about Christ.
Rather than be an observer of the race, or show up for one or two laps, train diligently—your spiritual growth depends on it.
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