1 Corinthians 9:1-6
Ps Paul Cheng
Dear Bethelites,
In the preceding chapter, Paul dealt with the issue of eating meat offered to idols. Paul said to the Corinthians, “If eating meat offered to idols causes your brother to stumble, you must be willing not to eat even if the whole world agrees that it is the right thing to do.” But some of the Corinthians might be wondering, “But we have our right!” So, here in 1 Corinthians 9, Paul used himself as an example that he had certain rights as a pastor, yet he was willing to give up those rights for the sake of Christ and the gospel.
Indeed, life is not about getting what we deserve, or having our rights, or bringing one another to court; it is about the glory of Christ and the preaching of the gospel that lost souls may hear and believe in Him for salvation. So, here, the theme is about, “Are you willing to give up your rights?”
I. The example of his apostleship
1 Corinthians 9:1, Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord?
These were rhetorical questions; obviously, Paul was an apostle, he had the liberty in Christ, he was a free man, and the Corinthians were the fruit of his labour in the Lord.
1 Corinthians 9:2, 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.
The word seal is something that authenticates that it is genuine and real. In those days, sometimes the kings would wear a ring that had a seal on it, and he would emboss his seal against a document to prove that it was a legal and genuine document endorsed by the king. In other words, Paul was saying, “Others may not accept me as an apostle, but surely you would accept me because you are the proof (seal) of my apostleship. You have believed in the Lord through my ministry.” The Corinthian church was considered a very special seal of his ministry as an apostle, because Corinth was a most difficult city to minister in, yet God had used Paul to minister to the people and transformed their lives.
1 Corinthians 9:3-4, Mine answer to them that do examine me is this, Have we not power to eat and to drink?
Again, this was a rhetorical question because as an apostle, Paul had the right to expect food and drink to be provided for him by those people whom he ministered to, and he should have the financial capacity to go out there and buy something to eat.
1 Corinthians 9:5, Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas?
The word power means authority, or right. Surely Paul had the right to marry a Christian woman and bring her along with him as he served the Lord. Just like the other apostles, like Cephas (Peter) were also married.
Here, Paul was not arguing about the right to get married, obviously, he had the right to do so. What he was trying to say is, “Don’t we have the right to have enough money to feed not only ourselves, but if we are married, we should have the financial ability to care for our wives?”
To lead about means to take along, or to bring along as one’s company. When the minister travels around to preach the gospel, the wife’s support and companionship is especially important. It is not only for the purpose of preventing sin, but it is also one of the contributing causes of divorce among ministers because many of them are not able to spend enough time with their wives. Of course, a wife with small children at home would be limited accordingly to the number of trips she can accompany her husband. That is one of the reasons whenever we invite ministers to preach at our church camp, we would try our best to provide for not only the speaker but also the wife as well.
1 Corinthians 9:6, Or I only and Barnabas, have not we power to forbear working?
Apparently, Paul did work as a tent-maker at a certain point in his life, and that was when the church was not able to support him, which was perfectly alright. Both Paul and Barnabas laboured with their own hands to support not only themselves, but also the people who laboured with them.
If for some reasons, the church is not able to support the pastor financially, he may need to go out to work, to support himself. But it should be only in a peculiar situation, and it must not be a permanent situation, because the pastor’s calling is to focus on the gospel, and it is not about working in the secular world. The moment the church is financially strong enough to support the pastor; he should stop “tent-making” and return to the ministry fulltime.
Notice, all these six verses speak about the right of the pastor being compensated for his ministry. When we return for our next pastoral chat, we will see how Paul used three examples of everyday life to demonstrate that he has the right to be compensated.
In Christ,
Pastor Paul Cheng
(To be continued in our next pastoral chat)
1 CORINTHIANS 9Are You Willing To Give Up Your Rights? (Part 1)Are You Willing To Give Up Your Rights? (Part 1)1 Corinthians 9:1-6
Are You Willing To Give Up Your Rights? (Part 2)Are You Willing To Give Up Your Rights? (Part 2)1 Corinthians 9:7-11
Having To Pay To Hear The Gospel?Having To Pay To Hear The Gospel?1 Corinthians 9:15-19
All Things To All MenAll Things To All Men1 Corinthians 9:19-23
How To Run The Race FaithfullyHow To Run The Race Faithfully1 Corinthians 9:24