1 Corinthianschapter 9
27 verses · Paul · AD 54 or 55 · Paul's letters
Or are Barnabas and I the only apostles who must work for a living?
Introduction
Paul, Paul's letters, 1 Corinthians Overview.
In the middle of his answer about food offered to idols, Paul turns to his own life as an example. Some in Corinth doubted that he was a true apostle, since he would not take their money. He first argues at length that he had every right to be paid, and then explains why he refused. Listen for the many questions in the opening half and the pictures drawn from soldiers, farmers, shepherds and priests. Listen also for the athletes at the close, whom every Corinthian had seen. Read it as the apostle's own practice of what chapter 8 asked.
Context
- Who
- Corinthians who read his refusal of financial support as an insult or as proof he was not a real apostle.
- What
- Paul defends his rights as an apostle, explains why he preached without pay, and describes the discipline of his ministry as a runner and a boxer.
- Where
- Written from Ephesus to Corinth, the host city of the Isthmian Games.
- When
- About AD 53 to 55, during Paul's ministry at Ephesus.
- Why
- To show by his own example how a believer gives up a right for the sake of the gospel and the good of others.
Historical context
Patronage ran the ancient world. A wealthy man supported a teacher, and the teacher's presence brought the patron honour; both sides gained. Refusing that support was not humility in Corinthian eyes, it was a rejection of the relationship, and it implied the would-be patron was not worthy. It could also suggest the teacher knew he was not worth paying.
Show the rest of the historical context, 3 more paragraphs
Paul insists at length that he had every right to be supported, soldiers, farmers, shepherds, and the priests who ate from the altar all live from their work, and the Lord commanded that those who preach the gospel should live by it. Then he says he has used none of these rights.
His reason is freedom. Taking money would have obligated him to a patron's interests and given rivals a handle. Working leather in a shop instead kept the gospel free of charge, and that, he says, is his boast.
The athletic imagery would have landed hard in Corinth, which hosted the Isthmian Games, one of the great festivals of the Greek world, every second year. Runners, boxers, strict training regimes, and the perishable wreath given to the victor were local knowledge, not distant metaphor.
Significance
For a status-conscious congregation, this chapter modelled what the previous one demanded: a man with unquestioned rights refusing to use them for the sake of others.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
It also explained his flexibility, becoming as a Jew to Jews, as one outside the law to those outside it, which critics could read as inconsistency. He calls it the discipline of a runner who does not want to be disqualified after preaching to others.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
The Ox, the Soldier, and the Preacher's Wage
1 Corinthians 9:1-2
Am I not an apostle?: Seeing the risen Lord was the qualification Acts 1:22 set for filling Judas's place, and Paul claims it as the Twelve did. The Corinthians are the seal of his apostleship, as a signet authenticates a document.
1 Corinthians 9:1
“Am I not an apostle? - This was the point to be settled; and it is probable that some at Corinth had denied that he could be an apostle, since it was requisite, in order to that, to have seen the Lord Jesus; and since it was supposed that Paul had not been a witness of his life, doctrines, and death. Am I not free? - Am I not a free man; have I not the liberty which all Christians possess, and especially which all the apostles possess?”
2 more voices on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
1 Corinthians 9:1
“Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? To be a witness of his resurrection was one great branch of the apostolical charge. "Now," says Paul, "have not I seen the Lord, though not immediately after his resurrection, yet since his ascent?" See ch. iv.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 Corinthians 9:1
“His vision of Christ in the temple (Ac 22:17) was "in a trance." To be a witness of Christ's resurrection was a leading function of an apostle (Ac 1:22). The best manuscripts omit "Christ." ye my work in the Lord--Your conversion is His workmanship (Eph 2:10) through my instrumentality: the "seal of mine apostleship" (1Co 9:2).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
the seal of my apostleship: Paul narrows his claim to the church he founded. Clarke reads the seal as the Corinthians' own conversion, God's mark on a mission He sent.
1 Corinthians 9:2
“If I be not an apostle unto others - If there be other Churches which have been founded by other apostles; yet it is not so with you. The seal of mine apostleship are ye - Your conversion to Christianity is God’s seal to my apostleship. Had not God sent me, I could not have profited your souls. The σφραγις or seal, was a figure cut in a stone, and that set in a ring, by which letters of credence and authority were stamped. The ancients, particularly the Greeks, excelled in this kind of engraving.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 Corinthians 9:3-4
This is my defense to: Those who scrutinize me renders anakrino, the word for a formal legal inquiry, and Paul writes as a man in the dock. The right in question, exousia, is an apostle's claim to support from the churches he serves.
1 Corinthians 9:3
“Mine answer - Greek Ἡ ἐμὴ ἀπολογία Hē emē apologia. My “apology;” my defense. The same word occurs in Act 22:1; Act 25:16; 2Co 7:11; Php 1:7, Php 1:17; 2Ti 4:16; 1Pe 3:15; see the note at Act 22:1. Here it means his answer, or defense against those who sat in judgment on his claims to be an apostle. To them that do examine me. - To those who “inquire” of me; or who “censure” and condemn me as not having any claims to the apostolic office.”
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 9:3
“Paul says that if anyone wants to examine his works, let him look at the Corinthians, for they are a sufficient witness to his labors.”
Theodoret of Cyrus · written before 458 · Commentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians 219patristic
right to food and to drink?: The word right carries the chapter. Chrysostom explains why the question serves as a defence, for one who gives up even what is allowed cannot fairly be suspected of seeking gain.
1 Corinthians 9:4
“The Greek interrogative expresses, "You surely won't say (will you?) that we have not the power or right," &c. eat and drink--without laboring with our hands (1Co 9:11, 13, 14). Paul's not exercising this right was made a plea by his opponents for insinuating that he was himself conscious he was no true apostle (2Co 12:13-16).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 9:4
And if we would persuade any of our fellow-guests to virtue, we are all the more on this account to abstain from those dainty dishes; and so exhibit ourselves as a bright pattern of virtue, such as we ourselves have in Christ. "For if any of such meats make a brother to stumble, I shall not eat it as long as the world lasts," says he, "that I may not make my brother stumble." I gain the man by a little self-restraint. "Have we not power to eat and to drink?"
Clement of Alexandria · written before 215 · The Instructor Book 2patristic
1 Corinthians 9:5-6
Have we no right to: The other apostles, the Lord’s brothers and Cephas took along believing wives, and the churches supported their travels. Naming Cephas points to a practice the Corinthians knew and respected, which sharpens the contrast with their treatment of Paul.
1 Corinthians 9:5
“For that a wife is here to be understood by the sister-woman ~ adelphen gynaika, is plain from this, that it would have been utterly unfit for the apostles to have carried about women with them unless they were wives. The word implies that they had power over them, and could require their attendance on them, which none could have over any but wives or servants.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
3 more voices on this verse
1 Corinthians 9:5
“Thus it comes to pass that "all things are lawful, but not all are expedient," so long as (it remains true that) whoever has a "permission" granted is (thereby) tried, and is (consequently) judged during the process of trial in (the case of the particular) "permission." Apostles, withal, had a "licence" to marry, and lead wives about (with them ).”
Tertullian · written before 220 · On Exhortation to Chastitypatristic
1 Corinthians 9:5
“Have we not power? - Have we not a right? The objection here seems to have been, that Paul and Barnabas were unmarried, or at least that they traveled without wives. The objectors urged that others had wives, and that they took them with them, and expected provision to be made for them as well as for themselves. They therefore showed that they felt that they had a claim to support for their families, and that they were conscious that they were sent of God. But Paul and Barnabas had no families.”
1 Corinthians 9:5
“Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife,.... The phrase "a sister, a wife", is an Hebraism, and answers to אחתיכלה, "my sister, spouse", Son 4:9. The Jews called their wives, sisters, not on account of religion, which also is not the meaning here; but because of the common relation that men and women, all mankind, stand in to one another, antecedent to any nearer relation, as that of man and wife.”
Barnabas and I the only apostles: Paul names a partner in the practice. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown recall that Barnabas, like Paul, forbore to claim a minister's support, and Paul made tents at Corinth, as at Acts 18:3.
1 Corinthians 9:6
“Or I only and Barnabas - Have we alone of all the apostles no right to be supported by our converts? It appears from this, 1. That the apostles did not generally support themselves by their own labor. 2. That Paul and Barnabas did thus support themselves. Some of the others probably had not a business at which they could conveniently work; but Paul and Barnabas had a trade at which they could conveniently labor wherever they came.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Who serves as a soldier: Three trades share one verse, soldier, vineyard planter and shepherd, each assuming that labor draws support from what it produces. The principle matches the Lord's own teaching on a worker's wages, which Paul cites as Scripture at 1 Timothy 5:18.
1 Corinthians 9:7
“THIS question occurs in the course of an argument. The Apostle was proving that the minister who gives all his time to the preaching of the Word is entitled to a maintenance from those people amongst whom he labours. He gives divers illustrations, amongst them this—that the soldier who devotes himself to the service of his country is not expected to find his own equipment and his own rations, but he is provided for by his country. And so should it be, he teaches us, in the Church of God.”
Charles Spurgeon · written before 1892 · The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3511: “The Battle of Life” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition)Particular Baptist
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 9:7
“Who goeth a warfare ... - Paul now proceeds to illustrate the right which he knew ministers had to a support 1Co 9:7-14, and then to show the reason why he had not availed himself of that right; 1Co 9:15-23. The right he illustrates from the nature of the case 1Co 9:7, 1Co 9:11; from the authority of Scripture 1Co 9:8-10; from the example of the priests under the Jewish law 1Co 9:18; and from the authority of Jesus Christ; 1Co 9:14. In this verse (7th) the right is enforced by the nature of the case, and by three illustrations.”
1 Corinthians 9:8-10
Do I say this from: Paul grounds the claim in the written Law, Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain, from Deuteronomy 25:4. The argument runs from light to heavy, a common rabbinic pattern, reaching from the ox to the plowman and thresher.
1 Corinthians 9:8
“Does not God also say, in effect, the same thing? The ox that treadeth out the corn - This was the custom in Judea, and many eastern nations. In several of them it is retained still.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 9:8
“Paul indicates here that his position corresponds to the teaching of Scripture and that his refusal to accept any payment from the Corinthians was with good reason.”
Ambrosiaster · written before 384 · Commentary on Paul's Epistlespatristic
about oxen that God is concerned?: Readers differ on how far God's care for the ox reaches here. Theophylact and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown hold that God does care for oxen while the law's final aim looks to people.
1 Corinthians 9:9
“What was the use, however, of adducing the Creator's, which he was destroying? It was vain to do so; for his god had no such authority! (The apostle) says: "Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn," and adds: "Doth God take care of oxen? "Yes, of oxen, for the sake of men! For, says he, "it is written for our sakes.”
Tertullian · written before 220 · Against Marcion Book Vpatristic
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 9:9
“For it is written - Deu 25:4. In the law of Moses - See the note at Luk 24:44. Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth ... - To muzzle means, “to bind the mouth; to fasten the mouth to prevent eating or biting” - Webster. This was done either by passing straps around the mouth, or by placing, as is now sometimes done, a small “basket” over the mouth, fastened by straps to the horns of the animal, so as to prevent its eating, but not to impede its breathing freely.”
Cross references
1 Corinthians 9:9
- QuotingDeuteronomy 25:4“Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.”
'Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn' ('it is written in the law of Moses')
the plowman plows: Paul applies the ox law to the worker in the gospel. Theophylact reads the plowman and thresher as the teacher who cultivates the field of hearts in hope of a share in the harvest.
1 Corinthians 9:10
“And he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope - Instead of ὁ αλοων της ελπιδος αυτου μετεχειν, επ’ ελπιδι, many of the best MSS. and versions read the passage thus: ὁ αλοων επ’ ελπιδι του μετεχειν· And he who thresheth in hope of partaking. “The words της ελπιδος, which are omitted by the above, are,” says Bp. Pearce, “superfluous, if not wrong; for men do not live in hope to partake of their hope, but to partake of what was the object and end of their hope.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 Corinthians 9:11-12
If we have sown spiritual: Paul proves the right in full and then says we did not exercise this right. Some at Corinth read that refusal as proof he lacked apostolic standing.
1 Corinthians 9:11
“If we have sown unto you spiritual things - If we have been the means of imparting to you the gospel, and bestowing upon you its high hopes and privileges; see the note at Rom 15:27. The figure of “sowing,” to denote the preaching of the gospel, is not unfrequently employed in the Scriptures; see Joh 4:37, and the parable of the sower, Mat 13:3 ff. Is it a great thing ... - See the note at Rom 15:27. Is it to be regarded as unequal, unjust, or burdensome?”
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 9:11
“Behold, however, he who forbade carrying a purse and bag grants expenses and food from that same preaching. For it is added: "And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as are with them. For the laborer is worthy of his hire." If our peace is received, it is fitting that we remain in the same house eating and drinking such things as are with them, so that we may obtain earthly provisions from those to whom we offer the rewards of the heavenly homeland.”
Gregory the Dialogist · written before 604 · Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 17patristic
put up with anything: Barnes takes the others as teachers in Corinth who received support, and Paul bore every hardship instead. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown explain the hindrance he feared, for pay taken from the flock could give a handle for the charge of self-seeking.
1 Corinthians 9:12
“The same Greek is in 1Co 13:7. lest we . . . hinder . . . gospel--not to cause a hindrance to its progress by giving a handle for the imputation of self-seeking, if we received support from our flock. The less of incumbrance and expense caused to the Church, and the more of work done, the better for the cause of the Gospel (2Ti 2:4).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 Corinthians 9:13-14
Do you not know that: Paul adds the priestly portion of Numbers 18 and the Lord's ordinance, most likely the saying kept at Luke 10:7. Three grounds now stand together: common trade, the Law of Moses and a word of the Lord.
1 Corinthians 9:13
“Do ye not know ... - In this verse Paul illustrates the doctrine that the ministers of religion were, entitled to a support from the fact that those who were appointed to offer sacrifice receive a maintenance in their work. They which minister about holy things - Probably the “Levites.” Their office was to render assistance to the priests, to keep guard around the tabernacle, and subsequently around the temple.”
receive their living from the gospel: Paul's strongest proof comes last, a command of the Lord Himself. Chrysostom observes that the support is credited to the gospel itself, as the priest lived from the altar at 9:13.
1 Corinthians 9:14
“Even so hath the Lord ordained - This is evidently a reference to our Lord’s ordination, Mat 10:10: The workman is worthy of his meat. And Luk 10:7: For the laborer is worthy of his hire. And in both places it is the preacher of the Gospel of whom he is speaking.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
The Right Paul Refuses to Use
1 Corinthians 9:15-16
But I have not used: Paul would rather die than let anyone nullify his boast, preaching the gospel at his own charge. Preaching gives him no reason to boast, since the obligation to preach was laid on him at his calling on the Damascus road.
1 Corinthians 9:15
“Paul's special gift of continency, which enabled him to abstain from marriage, and his ability to maintain himself without interrupting seriously his ministry, made that expedient to him which is ordinarily inexpedient; namely, that the ministry should not be supported by the people.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
I am obligated to preach: Theophylact sets the preaching, which Paul owes as a command, apart from preaching free of charge, where his boast lies. Matthew Henry reads the woe as the charge of a steward who would break a plain command by keeping silent. Ambrosiaster recalls Moses and Jonah, both sent against their wishes.
1 Corinthians 9:16
“For though I preach the Gospel - I have cause of glorying that I preach the Gospel free of all charges to you; but I cannot glory in being a preacher of the Gospel, because I am not such either by my own skill or power. I have received both the office, and the grace by which I execute the office, from God. I have not only his authority to preach, but that authority obliges me to preach; and if I did not, I should endanger my salvation: yea, wo is unto me, if I preach not the Gospel.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 Corinthians 9:17-18
If my preaching is voluntary: Paul's reward is the very renunciation the chapter has defended his right to make, offering the gospel free of charge. A right proven at length is handed back as an offering.
1 Corinthians 9:17
“For if I do this thing willingly - If I preach so as to show that my heart is in it; that I am not compelled, If I pursue such a course as to show that I prefer it to all other employments. If Paul took a compensation for his services, he could not well do this; if he did not, he showed that his heart was in it, and that he preferred the work to all others.”
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 9:17
“And so, in the next verse, another might have used that power without abusing it. But his own using it at all, he would have termed abusing it. A dispensation is intrusted to me - Therefore I dare not refrain.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
offer it free of charge: The reward is the freedom to give the gospel away. Clarke and Theophylact take the final verb as using a right to the full, so that Paul claims nothing he could demand.
1 Corinthians 9:18
“The former, as involving the latter, is verbally made the answer to the question, "What is my reward?" But really the "reward" is that which is the ultimate aim of his preaching without charge, namely, that he may gain the more; it was for this end, not to have matter of glorying, that he did so.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 9:18
“That I abuse not my power - I am inclined to think that καταχρησασθαι is to be understood here, not in the sense of abusing, but of using to the uttermost - exacting every thing that a man can claim by law. How many proofs have we of this in preachers of different denominations, who insist so strongly and so frequently on their privileges, as they term them, that the people are tempted to believe they seek not their souls’ interests, but their secular goods. Such preachers can do the people no good.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Free From All, Slave to All
1 Corinthians 9:19-20
Though I am free of: The freedom of verse 1 becomes the ground of a chosen servitude, a slave to everyone to win as many as possible. Acts records Paul keeping Jewish custom, circumcising Timothy and taking a vow, to meet Jewish hearers with the gospel unchanged.
1 Corinthians 9:19
“For though I be free - I am a freeman. I am under obligation to none. I am not bound to. give them my labors, and at the same time to toil for my own support. I have claims like others, and could urge them; and no man could demand that I should give myself to a life of servitude, and comply with their prejudices and wishes, as if I were a “slave,” in order to their conversion; compare 1Co 9:1; see the notes at 1Co 6:12. From all men - (ἐκ πάντων ek pantōn).”
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 9:19
“I made myself the servant of all - I acted with as self-denying a regard to their interest, and as much caution not to offend them, as if I had been literally their servant or slave. Where is the preacher of the gospel who treads in the same steps?”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
I became like a Jew: Paul's word like marks a chosen course. Chrysostom and Theophylact point to the circumcision of Timothy at Acts 16:3, done as one like a Jew for the sake of winning Jews.
1 Corinthians 9:20
“Unto the Jews I became as a Jew - In Act 16:3, we find that for the sake of the unconverted Jews he circumcised Timothy. See the note on Act 16:3. To them that are under the law - To those who considered themselves still under obligation to observe its rites and ceremonies, though they had in the main embraced the Gospel, he became as if under the same obligations; and therefore purified himself in the temple, as we find related, Act 21:26 (note).”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
3 more voices on this verse
1 Corinthians 9:20
“Though he looked on the ceremonial law as a yoke taken off by Christ, yet in many instances he submitted to it, that he might work upon the Jews, remove their prejudices, prevail with them to hear the gospel, and win them over to Christ. To those that are without the law as without law that is, to the Gentiles, whether converted to the Christian faith or not.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 Corinthians 9:20
Their truth may be inferred from their agreement with the apostle's own profession, how "to the Jews he became as a Jew, that he might gain the Jews, and to them that were under the law, as under the law,"-and so here with respect to those who come in secretly,-"and lastly, how he became all things to all men, that he might gain all."
Tertullian · written before 220 · Against Marcion Book Vpatristic
1 Corinthians 9:20
“Not Judaizing in essentials, but in matters where there was no compromise of principle (compare Ac 16:3; 21:20-26); an undesigned coincidence between the history and the Epistle, and so a sure proof of genuineness. to them that are under the law, as under the law--in things defined by the law; such as ceremonies not then repugnant to Christianity.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 Corinthians 9:21-22
To those without the law: Paul stays under the law of Christ, the law of love, even among Gentiles. I have become all things to all people states his settled missionary method, one gospel offered in as many forms as there are hearers.
1 Corinthians 9:21
“So the Christian, though no longer subject to the literal law as constraining him from without, is subject to an inward principle or law, the spirit of faith in Christ acting from within as the germ of a new life. He does not in the Greek (as in English Version) say "under the law (as he does in 1Co 9:20) to Christ"; but uses the milder term, "in . . . law," responsible to law.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
To the weak I became weak: The weak are the scrupulous believers of chapter 8, as Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read them. Ambrosiaster says Paul became weak by giving up what offended them.
1 Corinthians 9:22
“He who did not think it robbery to be equal with God took the nature of a slave. He became all things to all men to bring salvation to all. Paul, an imitator of him, lived as if outside the law while remaining accountable to the law. He spent his life for the advantage of those he wished to win. He willingly became weak for the weak in order to strengthen them. He ran the race to overtake them.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Letter 37 (To Simplician)patristic
3 more voices on this verse
1 Corinthians 9:22
“To the weak became I as weak - Those who were conscientiously scrupulous, even in respect to lawful things. I am made all things to all men - I assumed every shape and form consistent with innocency and perfect integrity; giving up my own will, my own way, my own ease, my own pleasure, and my own profit, that I might save the souls of all. Let those who plead for the system of accommodation on the example of St. Paul, attend to the end he had in view, and the manner in which he pursued that end.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 Corinthians 9:22
“He denied himself for their sakes, that he might insinuate into their affections, and gain their souls. In short, he became all things to all men, that he might by all means (all lawful means) gain some. He would not sin against God to save the soul of his neighbour, but he would very cheerfully and readily deny himself.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 Corinthians 9:22
“THE Apostle speaks very broadly and talks about saving men. Some of our extremely orthodox Brothers would say at once, "You save men? How can man do that? The expression is inaccurate in the extreme. Is not salvation of the Lord from first to last? How can you, Paul, dare to speak of saving some?" Yet Peter spoke very much like this when he said, "Save yourselves from this untoward generation." Indeed, the expression is a little more bold, if anything, and if Peter were alive now he would be called to account.”
I do all this for: Paul's motive for every adaptation is the gospel and a share in its blessings. The sharing he seeks is his own as much as theirs, which looks ahead to the fear of being disqualified in verse 27.
1 Corinthians 9:23
“For the gospel’s sake - That it may be advanced, and may be successful. That I might be partaker thereof with you - You hope to be saved. You regard yourselves as Christians; and I wish to give evidence also that “I” am a Christian, and that I shall be admitted to heaven to partake of the happiness of the redeemed. This he did, by so denying himself as to give evidence that he was truly actuated by Christian principles.”
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 9:23
“Only someone as mature in faith as the apostle Paul could say this. A sinner could never talk in this way.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Commentary on 1 Corinthians 3.43.49-50patristic
Run to Win: Discipline the Body or Be Disqualified
1 Corinthians 9:24-25
Do you not know that: Paul's picture of the runner comes from the Isthmian Games that Corinth hosted and the church knew firsthand. Every competitor trains for a perishable crown, a wreath that withered within days, while the believer runs for an imperishable one.
1 Corinthians 9:24
“Know ye not that - In those famous games which are kept at the isthmus, near your city. They who run in the foot race all run, though but one receiveth the prize - How much greater encouragement have you to run; since ye may all receive the prize of your high calling!”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
1 Corinthians 9:24
“They which run in a race run all - 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 (1810-1826)evangelical
1 Corinthians 9:24
“WE ARE CONTINUALLY insisting upon it from day to day, that salvation is not of works, but of grace. We lay this down as one of the very first doctrines of the gospel. “Not of works, lest any man should boast.” “By grace are ye saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” But we find that it is equally necessary to preach the absolute necessity of a religious life for the attainment of heaven at last.”
a crown that is imperishable: Paul turns to the athlete's training to press the self-restraint he has urged since chapter 8. Wesley notes that the victor's crown was a garland of leaves which soon withered. Theophylact finds the rebuke plain, for athletes discipline themselves for less.
1 Corinthians 9:25
This is the struggle of our faith in which we engage, in which we conquer, in which we are crowned. This is the struggle which the blessed Apostle Paul has shown to us, in which it behoves us to run and to attain the crown of glory. "Do ye not know," says he, "that they which run in a race, run all indeed, but one receiveth the prize? So run that ye may obtain." "Now they do it that they may receive a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible."
Cyprian · written before 258 · Epistle VIIIpatristic
2 more voices on this verse
1 Corinthians 9:25
“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.”
1 Corinthians 9:25
"Crown" here is not that of a king (which is expressed by a different Greek word, namely, "diadem"), but a wreath or garland.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 Corinthians 9:26-27
Therefore I do not run: Behind I discipline my body stands hypopiazo, to strike under the eye, the boxer's own term turned on himself. Disqualified is adokimos, used of metal that fails the assayer's test.
1 Corinthians 9:26
“I run straight toward it. I cast away every weight, regard not any that stand by. I fight not as one that beateth the air - This is a proverbial expression for a man's missing his blow, and spending his strength, not on his enemy, but on empty air.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
3 more voices on this verse
1 Corinthians 9:26
“I therefore so run, not as uncertainly - In the foot-course in those games, how many soever ran, only one could have the prize, however strenuously they might exert themselves; therefore, all ran uncertainly; but it was widely different in the Christian course, if every one ran as he ought, each would receive the prize. The word αδηλως, which we translate uncertainly, has other meanings.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 Corinthians 9:26
“Ye Corinthians gain no end in your entering idol temples or eating idol meats. But I, for my part, in all my acts, whether in my becoming "all things to all men," or in receiving no sustenance from my converts, have a definite end in view, namely, to "gain the more." I know what 1 aim at, and how to aim at it.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 Corinthians 9:26
“There is no room for any such exercise in the Christian warfare. Christians are ever in close combat. There enemies make fierce and hearty opposition, and are ever at hand; and for this reason they must lay about them in earnest, and never drop the contest, nor flag and faint in it.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
I discipline my body: Paul's word for discipline comes from the boxer's blow, as Theophylact notes. Ambrosiaster reads it as fasting and the refusal of luxury.
1 Corinthians 9:27
“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 · written before 397 · On Paradise, Chapter 12, 56patristic
3 more voices on this verse
1 Corinthians 9:27
“The The Christian herald is also a combatant, in which respect he is distinguished from the herald at the games. a castaway--failing shamefully of the prize myself, after I have called others to the contest. Rejected by God, the Judge of the Christian race, notwithstanding my having, by my preaching, led others to be accepted.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 Corinthians 9:27
“But I keep under my body,.... 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: so it is said (u) of Menedemus, that in questions or scholastic exercises, he was so vehement and pugnacious, that he never departed without υπωπια φερων, "carrying away black and blue eyes".”
1 Corinthians 9:27
“But I keep under my body - (ὑπωπιάζω hupōpiazō). This word occurs in the New Testament only here and in Luk 18:5, “Lest by her continual coming she ‘weary’ me.” 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.”
How this psalm is built
The form: Paul's own example inside the answer on food offered to idols, following his resolve at 8:13 to give up meat for a brother's sake, as Chrysostom classes it.
The patterns in this chapter
| Device | What it does | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| The chain of questions | The Berean text of the chapter carries 19 question marks, 17 of them in verses 1 to 13 and four in verse 1 alone. Adam Clarke holds that each question expects the answer yes, and that together they show common sense joining with the providence of God.Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible, 1832, on 1 Corinthians 9:7. | 1 Corinthians 9:1, 1 Corinthians 9:4, 1 Corinthians 9:7, 1 Corinthians 9:13 |
| Soldier, vineyard, flock, then the Law | Verse 7 names the soldier, the planter of a vineyard and the shepherd, verse 10 the plowman and the thresher, and verse 13 those who serve at the temple and the altar. John Chrysostom marks the order of the proof, first the other apostles, then the illustrations of common life, then the Law of Moses at verse 8.John Chrysostom, Homily on 1 Corinthians 21, 407, on 1 Corinthians 9:8. | 1 Corinthians 9:7, 1 Corinthians 9:8, 1 Corinthians 9:10, 1 Corinthians 9:13 |
| All things to all people | Verses 19 to 22 repeat the words to win five times, and Paul says four times in verses 20 to 22 that he became like those he sought, before the whole is gathered into all things to all people. Ambrose of Milan reads Paul as an imitator of Christ, who took the nature of a slave to bring salvation to all.Ambrose of Milan, Letter 37 (To Simplician), 397, on 1 Corinthians 9:22. | 1 Corinthians 9:19, 1 Corinthians 9:20, 1 Corinthians 9:21, 1 Corinthians 9:22 |
| The runner and the boxer | Verses 24 to 27 draw on the games, the race with one prize, the strict training, the crown that perishes and the fighter who does not beat the air. Ambrose of Milan reads Paul as a good athlete who knew how to avoid the blows of opposing powers and how to strike back.Ambrose of Milan, On Paradise, Chapter 12, 56, 397, on 1 Corinthians 9:27. | 1 Corinthians 9:24, 1 Corinthians 9:25, 1 Corinthians 9:26, 1 Corinthians 9:27 |
Where the chapter stands
11 more paragraphs on the patterns
Chapter 9 stands in the middle of the answer on food offered to idols that runs from 8:1 to 10:33. Chapter 8 ended with Paul's resolve never to eat meat if it made his brother stumble. John Chrysostom reads 9:1 as Paul showing that he had already given up things allowed him, so the resolve could not be called a boast. The chapter closes on the fear of being disqualified, and 10:1 turns at once to Israel, who had every gift and fell. John Chrysostom reads 10:1 as a new set of examples after the games and Paul's own course.
Who speaks
Paul speaks in the first person throughout. Those who scrutinize him at verse 3 are heard only through his answers, and Albert Barnes holds that some at Corinth denied he could be an apostle.
The units
Verses 1 to 3 defend his apostleship. Verses 4 to 14 prove his right to support. Verses 15 to 18 explain why he refused it. Verses 19 to 23 show him making himself a slave to all. Verses 24 to 27 call the reader to run.
The Old Testament cited
Verse 9 quotes Deuteronomy 25:4 on the ox treading out grain. Verse 13 points to the priests' portions, which the site's published exposition ties to Numbers 18. Verse 14 cites a command of the Lord, which the same exposition ties to Matthew 10:10 and Luke 10:7.
The debated readings
The believing wife of verse 5. Matthew Henry holds that a wife is plainly meant, and Jamieson, Fausset & Brown read a sister in the faith who is also a wife. Clement of Alexandria holds that the apostles took their wives about as sisters, to minister to the women of households. Tertullian resists reading the verse as proof that the apostles had wives. Theophylact of Ohrid reads women of means who provided for the apostles.
The oxen of verse 9. Origen of Alexandria holds that God's care was for the apostles more than for the oxen. Fulgentius of Ruspe marks that animals give no account because they are not rational. Jamieson, Fausset & Brown hold that God does care for the animal, and that the ox is not the final object of the law.
Rights and support. Augustine of Hippo, in Of the Work of Monks, reads the passage as a right granted and permitted, which a minister may forgo.
Keep studying
Studies9
Words12
Trails1
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The form and classifications
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible, 1832, on 1 Corinthians 9:3; John Chrysostom, Homily on 1 Corinthians 21, 407, on 1 Corinthians 9:1 and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament, 1755, on 1 Corinthians 9:1.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes; Ambrosiaster, COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES; Augustine of Hippo; Charles Hodge, An Exposition of the First Epistle to the Corinthians; Frederic Godet, Commentary on First Corinthians; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on the Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians; John Chrysostom; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, ON FIRST PRINCIPLES 2.4.2; Tertullian, Against Marcion Book III and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 1 Corinthians.