Friday, June 11, 2010

1 Corinthians 9:1-18

1 Am 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? 2 Even 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.

3 This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me. 4 Don't we have the right to food and drink? 5 Don'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 ? 6 Or is it only I and Barnabas who don't have the right not to work for a living?
7 Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk? 8 Do I say this merely on human authority? Doesn't the Law say the same thing? 9 For 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? 10 Surely he says this for us, doesn't he? Yes, this was written for us, because when farmers plow and thresh, they should be able to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. 11 If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? 12 If 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.
13 Don'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? 14 In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.
15 But 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. 16 For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. 18 What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not misuse my rights as a preacher of the gospel.

Questions to consider:

  • Compare and contrast Paul’s situation with other apostles’ to (a) claim apostleship and (b) maintenance at the church’s expense.
  • What causes Paul to forego his rights? What is his attitude?
  • What rights might you forego in order to share the good news? What is your attitude?
  • What is the extent of Paul’s responsibility to God’s commission? What is yours?
  • What is the irony of Paul’s reward?

Possibilities for prayer:

We are given the choice and opportunity to share the good news of Jesus with others. The reward for making the decision to share Jesus with the world often does not look like a reward in the world’s sense--Paul experienced internal peace and joy as a result of his ministry, despite many physical challenges (many of which we read about in Acts). Let’s ask God to reorient our understanding of “reward” to look more like what Paul was excited about: peace, joy, and comfort of our souls.