Text -- 1 Corinthians 9:1-8 (NET)

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?

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 1Co 9:2

¹ tn Grk “the seal.”

NET Notes: 1Co 9:4

¹ tn Grk “the right to eat and drink.” In the context this is a figurative reference to financial support.

NET Notes: 1Co 9:8

¹ tn Or “only according to human authority”; Grk “saying these things according to men.”