Commentary
Old Testament : Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1 Samuel
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther
Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
The Song of Songs
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
![](images/minus.gif)
Text -- 1 Corinthians 9:1-25 (NET)
![](images/arrow_open.gif)
Strongs On/Off
Context
The Rights of an Apostle
9:1 Am I not free ? Am I not an apostle ? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord ? Are you not my work in the Lord ?
9:2 If I am not an apostle to others , at least I am to you , for you are the confirming sign of my apostleship in the Lord .
9:3 This is my defense to those who examine me .
9:4 Do we not have the right to financial support ?
9:5 Do we not have the right to the company of a believing wife , like the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas ?
9:6 Or do only Barnabas and I lack the right not to work ?
9:7 Who ever serves in the army at his own expense ? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its fruit ? Who tends a flock and does not consume its milk ?
9:8 Am I saying these things only on the basis of common sense , or does the law not say this as well?
9:9 For it is written in the law of Moses , “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain .” God is not concerned here about oxen , is he?
9:10 Or is he not surely speaking for our benefit? It was written for us , because the one plowing and threshing ought to work in hope of enjoying the harvest .
9:11 If we sowed spiritual blessings among you , is it too much to reap material things from you ?
9:12 If others receive this right from you , are we not more deserving ? But we have not made use of this right . Instead we endure everything so that we may not be a hindrance to the gospel of Christ .
9:13 Don’t you know that those who serve in the temple eat food from the temple , and those who serve at the altar receive a part of the offerings?
9:14 In the same way the Lord commanded those who proclaim the gospel to receive their living by the gospel .
9:15 But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing these things so that something will be done for me . In fact, it would be better for me to die than – no one will deprive me of my reason for boasting !
9:16 For if I preach the gospel, I have no reason for boasting , because I am compelled to do this. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel !
9:17 For if I do this voluntarily , I have a reward . But if I do it unwillingly , I am entrusted with a responsibility .
9:18 What then is my reward ? That when I preach the gospel I may offer the gospel free of charge , and so not make full use of my rights in the gospel .
9:19 For since I am free from all I can make myself a slave to all , in order to gain even more people .
9:20 To the Jews I became like a Jew to gain the Jews . To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law ) to gain those under the law .
9:21 To those free from the law I became like one free from the law (though I am not free from God’s law but under the law of Christ ) to gain those free from the law .
9:22 To the weak I became weak in order to gain the weak . I have become all things to all people , so that by all means I may save some .
9:23 I do all these things because of the gospel , so that I can be a participant in it .
9:24 Do you not know that all the runners in a stadium compete , but only one receives the prize ? So run to win .
9:25 Each competitor must exercise self-control in everything . They do it to receive a perishable crown , but we an imperishable one .
![](images/advanced.gif)
![](images/advanced.gif)
![](images/advanced.gif)
Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics
![](images/arrow_open.gif)
Names, People and Places:
Dictionary Themes and Topics:
Minister |
Evil |
SCRIBES |
Zeal |
Gospel |
Self-denial |
Games |
Unselfishness |
Expediency |
Servanthood |
APOSTLE |
CHURCH GOVERNMENT |
ESCHATOLOGY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT, VI-X |
Diplomacy |
GALATIANS, EPISTLE TO THE |
Tact |
PAUL, THE APOSTLE, 4 |
Crown |
SPIRITUAL GIFTS |
LAW IN THE NEW TESTAMENT |
more
![](images/cmt_minus_head.gif)
expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: 1Co 9:4 Grk “the right to eat and drink.” In the context this is a figurative reference to financial support.
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: 1Co 9:8 Or “only according to human authority”; Grk “saying these things according to men.”
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: 1Co 9:15 Paul breaks off his thought at mid-sentence (indicated by the dash in the translation) and it is somewhat difficult to determine his reason for boasti...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: 1Co 9:19 Or “more converts.” The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. It has been supplied in the translation to cla...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)