1 Corinthians 9

This chapter stands at the center of 1 Corinthians. In chapter 8, Paul addresses the question of food offered to idols and states that he will limit his own freedom for the sake of a brother. In this chapter he illustrates that principle with his own example, and in chapter 10 he returns to the issue of food offered to idols.

Outline

• Verses 1–2 Paul affirms his apostleship. He has seen the Lord, and he says that the Corinthian believers themselves are the seal of his apostleship.
• Verses 3–6 Answering his critics, Paul lists the rights of an apostle: the right to eat and drink; the right to take along a believing wife, as the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas do; and the right to refrain from working for a living.
• Verses 7–12a He gives the grounds for these rights. He cites the examples of the soldier, the vineyard keeper, and the shepherd, and he quotes the law of Moses forbidding the muzzling of an ox that treads out the grain. Since he has sown spiritual things, he says, it is no great matter if he reaps material things.
• Verses 12b–18 Nevertheless, Paul has not used this right, so that nothing might hinder the gospel. Those who serve in the temple eat of the things of the altar, and the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live of the gospel. Even so, Paul regards preaching the gospel without charge as his reward.
• Verses 19–23 Paul says that although he is free from all, he has made himself a servant to all. To the Jews, to those under the law, to those without the law, and to the weak, he became like each of them in order to win as many as possible.
• Verses 24–27 He draws a comparison with the self-control of runners and of those who strive for the mastery. They seek to obtain a corruptible crown, but believers look to an incorruptible one. For this reason Paul disciplines his body and brings it into subjection.

Key Verses

• 1 Corinthians 9:16 "For woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!" This verse reveals Paul's sense of calling: he regards preaching the gospel not as a ground for boasting but as an inescapable commission.
• 1 Corinthians 9:22 "I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some." This verse is frequently cited as a principle of evangelism and mission.
• 1 Corinthians 9:27 "But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection." This verse is commonly cited in discussions of self-control and self-discipline.

People and Places

• Paul: The apostle who wrote this letter and the speaker throughout the chapter.
• Barnabas: Mentioned as a co-worker who, like Paul, worked for a living while ministering.
• Peter: Called by his Aramaic name "Cephas" in the text and mentioned as an apostle who traveled with his wife.
• The brothers of the Lord: The brothers of Jesus. They are not named.
• Moses: Named in verse 9 in connection with the law that Paul quotes.
• Corinth: The city in Greece where the church that received the letter was located.

Points for Reflection

• The quotation in verse 9 is from Deuteronomy 25:4. The same verse is also cited in 1 Timothy 5:18 as grounds for the support of ministers.
• Paul's practice of working for a living while ministering in Corinth is connected with the account of his tentmaking in Acts 18 and with 2 Corinthians 11.
• Interpretations differ regarding the word "castaway" in verse 27. The Reformed tradition, in keeping with the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, reads it not as a loss of salvation but as disqualification from ministry or from reward. The Arminian and Wesleyan traditions read it as a genuine warning that a believer can fall away from the faith.
• Protestants commonly read "a sister, a wife" in verse 5 as evidence that the apostles were married. Since the patristic era, however, some interpreters have read it as referring to women who assisted the apostles.
• Verses 19–23 are generally understood to mean not that the content of the gospel changes but that the manner of presenting it is adapted to the hearers.

In the Korean Church

The term jabiryang ("at one's own charges"), drawn from verse 7, is widely used in the Korean church to describe ministry in which the minister provides his or her own living expenses. Verse 14 and Paul's practice of working for a living are cited by both sides in discussions of pastoral compensation and bivocational ministry. Verse 22 is frequently used in sermons on mission and evangelism, and verses 24–27 in sermons and at retreats dealing with the race of faith and self-control.