The Race · The Symbolism of Scripture
The Race
Paul borrows a real institution and keeps every detail of it accurate, then changes exactly one rule, and tells you which one.
What It Stands For
a real stadium, a few miles from the church being written to
A modern reader hears “run the race” as a figure of speech. The Corinthians heard a description of something that happened near their city every couple of years, and that half of them had probably watched.
It is sufficiently evident that the apostle alludes to the athletic exercises in the games which were celebrated every fifth year on the isthmus, or narrow neck of land, which joins the Peloponnesus, or Morea, to the main land; and were thence termed the Isthmian games. The exercises were running, wrestling, boxing, throwing the discus or quoit, etc.; to the three first of these the apostle especially alludes.
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible, 1832Wesleyan
1 Corinthians 9:24
In the remainder of this chapter, Paul illustrates the general sentiment on which he had been dwelling - the duty of practicing self-denial for the salvation of others - by a reference to the well known games which were celebrated near Corinth.
Albert Barnes· Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments, 1851Presbyterian
1 Corinthians 9:24
The "prize" awarded by the judge or umpire was a chaplet of green leaves; at the Isthmus, those of the indigenous pine, for which parsley leaves were temporarily substituted (1Co 9:25).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, 1871Scottish, nineteenth century
1 Corinthians 9:24
The wreath matters. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown point out that the word is not the one for a king’s crown — “"Crown" here is not that of a king (which is expressed by a different Greek word, namely, "diadem"), but a wreath or garland.” — and at the Isthmus it was cut from a pine tree. A year of training, for something that would be brown by the end of the week. Paul is not sneering at the athletes; he is pointing at what they were willing to pay.
What He Keeps, and the One Thing He Changes
- The training rules1 Corinthians 9:25
strict abstinence for the whole season, not the race day
- The wreath that withers1 Corinthians 9:25
pine at the Isthmus, and it dies within days
- The boxer who does not miss1 Corinthians 9:26
the verb is the one for striking under the eye
- The herald who announces the contest1 Corinthians 9:27
and can himself be disqualified by the judges
- The marked lanePhilippians 3:14
a line from the start to the goal that a runner may not leave
- Every weight laid asideHebrews 12:1
what a competitor strips off before the start
The one rule that changes
In the stadium, “they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize”. At the end of Paul’s own course, the crown is “not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing”.
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.The fact about the games, and then a command that does not follow from it: so run, that ye may obtain.
From now on there is laid up 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 to all who crave His appearing.And the clause that will not fit inside a stadium.
For neither is excess of wine permitted to those who contend at the time of the contest, nor wantonness, lest they should weaken their vigor, nor yet so much as to be busied about any thing else, but separating themselves altogether from all things they apply themselves to their exercise only." Now if there these things be so where the crown fails to one, much more here, where the incitement in emulation is more abundant. For here neither is one to be crowned alone, and the rewards also far surpass the labors.
John Chrysostom· Homily on 1 Corinthians 23, 407Greek, fourth century
1 Corinthians 9:25
Chrysostom’s argument runs the way the figure does. If men train like that where the crown fails to one, how much more here — and then he names the difference outright. It is not an inference the church added later; it is in the fourth-century reading of the passage, and it is in Paul’s own last letter.
The Training, and the Words He Chose
four Greek terms taken straight off the field
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.'Temperate in all things' is not general moderation. It is a season of rules.
No, I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.Two technical words in one sentence: one from boxing, one from the judges' bench.
And every man that striveth for the mastery - (ὁ ἀγωνιζόμενος ho agōnizomenos). That agonizes; that is, that is engaged in the exercise of wrestling, boxing, or pitching the bar or quoit; compare the note at Luk 13:24. The sense is, everyone who endeavors to obtain a victory in these athletic exercises. Is temperate in all things - The word which is rendered is temperate (ἐγκρατευεται egkrateuetai) denotes abstinence from all that would excite, stimulate, and ultimately enfeeble; from wine, from exciting and luxurious living, and from licentious indulgences.
Albert Barnes· Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments, 1851Presbyterian
1 Corinthians 9:25
Adam Clarke quotes a first-century description of what that season actually involved: it is Epictetus, talking to a young man who fancies winning something:
Do you wish to gain the prize at the Olympic games? - Consider the requisite preparations and the consequences: you must observe a strict regimen; must live on food which you dislike; you must abstain from all delicacies; must exercise yourself at the necessary and prescribed times both in heat and in cold; you must drink nothing cooling; take no wine as formerly; in a word, you must put yourself under the directions of a pugilist, as you would under those of a physician, and afterwards enter the lists.
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible, 1832Wesleyan
1 Corinthians 9:25
The four words, and what each one meant on the fieldagonizomai · hupopiazo · kerux · adokimos
The word is derived probably from ὑπώπιον hupōpion, the part of the face under the eye (Passow), and means properly, to strike under the eye, either with the fist or the cestus, so as to render the part livid, or as we say, black and blue; or as is commonly termed, to give anyone a black eye. The word is derived, of course, from the athletic exercises of the Greeks.
Albert Barnes· Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments, 1851Presbyterian
1 Corinthians 9:27
The allusion is still to fighters, who, by cuffing and boxing, give their antagonists black and blue eyes, which is the proper signification of the word here used
John Gill· Exposition of the New Testament, 1748Particular Baptist
1 Corinthians 9:27
The word κηρυξας, which we translate having preached, refers to the office of the κηρυξ, or herald, at these games, whose business it was to proclaim the conditions of the games, display the prizes, exhort the combatants, excite the emulation of those who were to contend, declare the terms of each contest, pronounce the name of the victors, and put the crown on their heads.
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible, 1832Wesleyan
1 Corinthians 9:27
The herald detail is the sharpest thing in the verse. The man who stood up and announced the contest, read out the rules and put the wreath on the winner’s head was not himself exempt from them, and Paul, who had just called himself a preacher, uses that exact word.
The word αδοκιμος signifies such a person as the βραβευται, or judges of the games, reject as not having deserved the prize.
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible, 1832Wesleyan
1 Corinthians 9:27
Adokimos is worth holding at the level the word sits at. Ambrose reads it inside the picture and gets the register right — disqualified for the prize:
And so Paul, like a good athlete, not only knew how to avoid the blows of opposing powers, but also how to strike back. Therefore he says: I beat my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. And so, like a good athlete, he deserved to reach the crown.
Ambrose of Milan· On Paradise, Chapter 12, 397Latin, fourth century
1 Corinthians 9:27
Older commentators, Clarke among them, take the same verse further and read it as a warning that Paul himself might finally be rejected. That reading is real, honestly held, and named in the column at the foot of this page rather than argued with here.
The Course Itself
a marked line, a stripped runner, and where to look
Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.Two postures in one sentence: nothing carried from behind, everything strained toward ahead.
Reaching forth - The Greek word επεκτεινομενος points out the strong exertions made in the race; every muscle and nerve is exerted, and he puts forth every particle of his strength in running. He was running for life, and running for his life.
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible, 1832Wesleyan
Philippians 3:13
Κατα σκοπον διωκω· I pursue along the line; this is a reference to the white line that marked the ground in the stadium, from the starting place to the goal, on which the runners were obliged to keep their eye fixed; for they who transgressed or went beyond this line did not run lawfully, and were not crowned, even though they got first to the goal.
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible, 1832Wesleyan
Philippians 3:14
The white line is the detail that makes “the mark” concrete. A runner in that stadium could reach the goal first and be given nothing, because he had left his lane. Arriving is not the whole of it; how you ran is part of the result.
John Chrysostom gets the same posture from the other end: “For the runner reckons not up how many circuits he hath finished, but how many are left. We too should reckon up, not how far we are advanced in virtue, but how much remains for us.”
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us.Two things laid aside, and they are not the same thing: a weight need not be a sin.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.And the only instruction about the eyes in the whole figure.
Let us lay aside every weight - As those who ran in the Olympic races would throw aside every thing that might impede them in their course; so Christians, professing to go to heaven, must throw aside every thing that might hinder them in their Christian race.
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible, 1832Wesleyan
Hebrews 12:1
Let us lay aside every weight - As all who run a race take care to do. Let us throw off whatever weighs us down, or damps the vigour of our Soul. And the sin which easily besetteth us - As doth the sin of our constitution, the sin of our education, the sin of our profession.
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament, 1755Methodist
Hebrews 12:1
Both are reading two separate instructions where a hurried reader sees one. A weight is not necessarily wrong: a runner strips off a perfectly good cloak. The besetting sinis the particular one, and Wesley’s three categories are worth the sentence they take: the sin of a man’s constitution, of his upbringing, and of his trade.
The cloud of witnesses: spectators, or testifiers?two readings, and they change what the verse is doing
Compassed about - Here is another allusion to the Olympic games: the agonistae, or contenders, were often greatly animated by the consideration that the eyes of the principal men of their country were fixed upon them; and by this they were induced to make the most extraordinary exertions. Cloud of witnesses - Νεφος μαρτυρων. Both the Greeks and Latins frequently use the term cloud, to express a great number of persons or things
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible, 1832Wesleyan
Hebrews 12:1
The apostle represents those to whom he had referred in the previous chapter, as looking on to witness the efforts which Christians make, and the manner in which they live. There is allusion here, doubtless, to the ancient games. A great multitude of spectators usually occupied the circular seats in the amphitheater, from which they could easily behold the combatants
Albert Barnes· Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments, 1851Presbyterian
Hebrews 12:1
Clarke and Barnes both hear an amphitheatre: the great men of the country in the front seats, and the competitors lifted by being watched. John Chrysostom reads the same word the other way:
With good reason he calls not those in the New Testament only, but those in the Old also, "witnesses" [or "martyrs"]. For they also were witnesses to the greatness of God, as for instance, the Three Children, those with Elijah, all the prophets.
John Chrysostom· Homily on Hebrews 28, 407Greek, fourth century
Hebrews 12:1
On his reading the crowd is not watching us; they testified, and the eleventh chapter is their testimony. Both are available from the Greek, and the difference is worth knowing: one makes the chapter about being observed, the other about being preceded.
Chrysostom also notices which event the writer picked, and why:
He did not say, Let us contend as boxers, nor, Let us wrestle, nor, Let us do battle: but, what was lightest of all, the contest of the foot-race, this has he brought forward. Nor yet did he say, Let us add to the length of the course; but, Let us continue patiently in this, let us not faint.
John Chrysostom· Homily on Hebrews 28, 407Greek, fourth century
Hebrews 12:1
And the next verse gives the one instruction about where a runner looks. Chrysostom reads it as a coaching relationship rather than a devotional posture:
that is, that we may learn to run. For as in all arts and games, we impress the art upon our mind by looking to our masters, receiving certain rules through our sight, so here also, if we wish to run, and to learn to run well, let us look to Christ, even to Jesus "the author and finisher of our faith."
John Chrysostom· Homily on Hebrews 28, 407Greek, fourth century
Hebrews 12:2
Where It Points
a course finished, and who else gets a crown
But I consider my life of no value to me, if only I may finish my course and complete the ministry I have received from the Lord Jesus—the ministry of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.Said years before the end, and it already names the course as something received rather than chosen.
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.And the same word again at the end, in the past tense.
Ουδενος λογον ποιουμαι; I consider them as nothing; I value them not a straw; they weigh not with me. Neither count I my life dear - I am not my own; my life and being are the Lords; he requires me to employ them in his service; I act under his direction, and am not anxious about the issue.
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible, 1832Wesleyan
Acts 20:24
For in a contest there is much labor needed. After the contest victory falls to some, to others disgrace. Is the palm ever given or the crown granted before the course is finished?
Ambrose of Milan· On the Duties of the Clergy 1.15.58, 397Latin, fourth century
2 Timothy 4:7
As the laws of these games must be most diligently observed and kept, (for though a man overcome, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully), so I have kept the rules of the spiritual combat and race; and thus, having contended lawfully, and conquered in each exercise, I have a right to expect the prize.
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible, 1832Wesleyan
2 Timothy 4:7
This crown is without end. This is not of olive leaves. It has not a human umpire. It has not men for spectators. The theater is crowded with Angels. There men labor many days, and suffer hardships, and for one hour they receive the crown, and immediately all the pleasure passes away. But here far otherwise, it continues for ever in brightness, glory, and honor.
John Chrysostom· Homily on 2 Timothy 9, 407Greek, fourth century
2 Timothy 4:7
Chrysostom lists the differences one at a time — no olive leaves, no human umpire, no men in the seats — and then arrives at the one that matters most. In the games the pleasure ended within the hour. Here it does not end.
What Scripture says outright
- 1 Corinthians 9:24
Paul states the stadium rule himself — one receiveth the prize — before building anything on it.
- 2 Timothy 4:8
And states the change: the crown is laid up not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
- Hebrews 12:1
The course is described as set before us — the runner did not choose the route, only whether to run it.
What readers have heard in it
Readings of long standing, named as readings.
- 1 Corinthians 9:27
That adokimos means Paul feared losing his salvation. A serious reading with serious names behind it; the word itself is what the judges say about a competitor they will not award, and Ambrose reads it that way. MannaFest lands on the security of the believer and does not treat the other reading lightly.
- Hebrews 12:1
That the cloud of witnesses are watching us from the stands. Clarke and Barnes read it that way; Chrysostom reads the same word as those who testified, which is what chapter eleven is.
- 1 Corinthians 9:25
That the incorruptible crown is a specific reward distinguishable from the others named in the New Testament. The verse contrasts two kinds of wreath and does not itemise a catalogue.
Its Presentation Through Scripture
the figure, from the first use to the last
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.
The image introduced with a fact about the games (one prize, one winner) and a command that does not follow from it.
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.
The season of training, and the wreath it was for. Paul is not impressed by the wreath.
No, I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.
Two athletic words in one verse: a boxer's punch, and the judges' verdict on a competitor.
Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.
A runner's posture described exactly: nothing behind him, everything ahead, and a marked line to keep to.
But I consider my life of no value to me, if only I may finish my course and complete the ministry I have received from the Lord Jesus—the ministry of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.
The same word for the course, in a farewell speech, and he names what the course is: a ministry received.
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
Three verbs in the past tense, written by a man who knows the course is over.
From now on there is laid up 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 to all who crave His appearing.
And then the clause that breaks the stadium rule, in the same breath as the crown.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us.
A crowd, a stripped-down runner, and a course described as already set: the runner did not choose it.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
And where to look while running. Not at the track, not at the crowd.
The Voices
with the work named
Adam Clarke is the reason this page can be specific. He names the games, quotes Epictetus on what the training actually cost, explains the herald’s job, gives the judges their Greek title, and finds the white line on the stadium floor behind Philippians 3:14. Albert Barnes supplies the boxing word and the amphitheatre. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown identify the wreath and separate it from a king’s crown.
John Chrysostom does the thinking. He notices that the crowning rule has changed, that the writer of Hebrews chose the gentlest event on the programme, and that a runner counts the laps remaining rather than the laps behind. Ambrose keeps adokimos inside the picture, and asks the question that settles the tense of the whole image: is the crown ever granted before the course is finished?
Where to Go Next
What is at the end of it
What the running costs
Nearby in the index
Its neighbours in the index
The Symbolism of Scripture gathers every picture the Bible thinks in. This one sits with: