May 28, 2014 Corinthians I Chapter 9

First Corinthians Chapter 9

Originally posted Thursday July 17

First Corinthians Chapter 9:1-27 The Rights of an Apostle

Someone has been casting doubts on the source of Paul's authority and hence his status as an apostle. Perhaps this had come by way of one of the traveling prophets from Jerusalem or the wider Palestinian area. We have already read in Acts of those early Jewish Christians who opposed Paul's mission among the Gentiles. They attempted to attach strict requirements of Jewish piety - including circumcision to allow conversion. It is also possible that the opposition came from within the Corinthian community from the influences of other apostles - Cephas and at least two of Jesus' brothers, who had been in Corinth after Paul.

Whatever the source, Paul offers his defense with a series of questions to whoever would challenge his right to be called an apostle. The Greek grammar of these queries requires an affirmative answer. "I am free, right?" He is free of the Law as a means of salvation. "I am an apostle, right?" He has "seen the [risen] Lord." "You are my work in the Lord, right?" He is the spiritual father of the Corinthian church having spent eighteen months among them. He then proceeds to present the rights associated with apostleship, which are derived by reference to what rights other apostles have taken for themselves. The big difference is that while other apostles have made use of these rights, Paul and Barnabas have not:

• The right to receive food and drink - They support themselves by "working for a living." Paul does not consider his work among the churches as employment. He gives examples from the Law, which was written for their sake: farming - the one who plows and the one who threshes the grain; goat herding; priests serving the Temple altar; and those in military service. All of these examples point out that the one who labors deserves his wages or a portion of the fruit of his work.
• The right to be accompanied by a believing wife (who also would receive food and drink) - Paul is not married as are Cephas and Jesus' brothers who have exercised their rights in Corinth.

Paul and Barnabas have "sown spiritual good" in Corinth; therefore is it not appropriate that they "reap [the] material benefits?" Indeed, others have made such a "rightful claim" on the community and they have done little by comparison to Paul and Barnabas. Do they not have an even greater claim? They do, but they did not wish to "put an obstacle in the way of the Gospel of Christ." Therefore, Paul did not make such claims on the church and he isn't asking to do so in this letter. Paul understands that the reward for his preaching the Gospel is greater than any support from the church. Indeed, if he is materially rewarded by the church for his preaching, he has no grounds for boasting, for such a reward becomes an obligation to be paid by his preaching of his own free will. Rather he does not preach of his own free will. He is compelled, driven by the spiritual necessity to do so. The greater reward he receives for his preaching is the very fact that he has done so "free of charge," making no claim on the rights allowed by his status as an apostle.

There are other benefits to Paul's sense of being free. His freedom from the Law and his old Pharisaic traditions allow him to be a servant to both Jews and Gentiles, the better to win more to Christ. He can proclaim the Gospel in a way that is understandable in both groups. He can speak "on their level," with their own cultural nuances. He can be a Jew among Jews; a Gentile among Gentiles; weak among the weak. All of this he will do that he might win them all for Christ. He has "become all things to all people" so that he might save as many as possible. He labors in the Gospel vineyard that he might share in its blessings.

Paul has his eye fixed upon his own reward, which does not come in material support, but from God. Using a sports metaphor he exhorts the church: run the race in such a way as to win it. As a spiritual athlete, exercise self-control - keep your eye on the finish line. The winner receives a wreath of laurel, which disappears in the dust. He invites them to be as he is: not running aimlessly and boxing with the air, but by controlling their passions. Paul has submitted himself to Christ in all things "so that after proclaiming to others [he will] not be disqualified."