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1 Corinthians 9:2

in 1 Corinthians 9

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.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

If to others I am not an apostle, yet at least I am to you; for the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord.

KJV

If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you: for the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord.

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This verse in 1 Corinthians 9

Commentary

3 notes on this verse

A commentator

Ambrosiaster

COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES · Written before 384.

Those Jewish believers who nevertheless continued to observe the law of Moses denied that Paul was an apostle because he taught that it was no longer necessary to be circumcised or to observe the sabbath. Even the other apostles thought that he was teaching something …

This site's exposition

Am I not an apostle

on 1 Corinthians 9:1-2

Am I not an apostle?: the first of four rising questions, and the second, am I not free, confirms the whole chapter answers a challenge to Paul's freedom, the very freedom chapter 8 has just argued the strong must sometimes lay down. Having seen the risen Lord was the apostolic qualification Acts 1:22 sets for filling Judas's place, and Paul claims it for himself as for the Twelve. The Corinthians themselves are his answer to any doubter, the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord, a congregation standing as living proof the way a signet authenticates a document.

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

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.

The words behind it

19 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

9 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

2 Corinthians 12:12The true marks of an apostle—signs, wonders, and miracles—were performed among you with great perseverance.6 worksActs 1:25to take up this ministry and apostleship, which Judas abandoned to go to his rightful place.”6 works1 Corinthians 9:12If 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.4 works1 Corinthians 3:10By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one must be careful how he builds.4 worksJohn 6:27Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval.”4 works2 Corinthians 3:1–3Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you?3 works
The other 3 cross-references, with their words ▾
Romans 1:5Through Him and on behalf of His name, we received grace and apostleship to call all those among the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.3 worksGalatians 2:8For the One who was at work in Peter’s apostleship to the circumcised was also at work in my apostleship to the Gentiles.2 worksRomans 1:13I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, how often I planned to come to you (but have been prevented from visiting until now), in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.2 works

The walk

7 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    John 6:27

    Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of…

    it leads to

    • Colossians 3:2

      Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

    • Isaiah 55:2

      Why spend money on that which is not bread, and your labor on that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the…

    • John 6:54

      Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

    • 2 Timothy 2:19

      Nevertheless, God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord must turn away from iniquity.”

    • Matthew 6:19

      Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

  • Through

    2 Corinthians 12:12

    The true marks of an apostle—signs, wonders, and miracles—were performed among you with great perseverance.

    it leads to

    • Romans 15:18–19

      I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obedience by word and deed,

    • 2 Corinthians 4:2

      Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful ways. We do not practice deceit, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by open proclamation of the truth, we commend ourselves to…

Where this verse is studied

About 1 Corinthians

The Crucifixion — 'Christ crucified' (1 Cor 2:2) — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)
The Crucifixion — 'Christ crucified' (1 Cor 2:2) — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)
1 Corinthians: the study guide →Read 1 Corinthians 9 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrosiaster, COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES; Charles Hodge, An Exposition of the First Epistle to the Corinthians and John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament.

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