This passage is transitional concluding Paul's defense of his apostolic authority (9:1-23) and returning to the argument against participating in cultic meals (ch. 8). Metaphors from the athletic games fill the pericope.
9:24 The Corinthians were familiar with athletic contests. The Isthmian Games took place in a nearby town every two or three years. They were second only to the Olympic Games in importance in Greece.212The Greek word translated "race"is stadion, the word used to describe the standard 600-foot Greek race.213
Paul's emphasis in this verse was on the last statement. We should run our race so we will receive a reward from the Judge. In the Christian race we do not compete with one another for the prize. We compete with ourselves. In a foot race only one person is the winner, but in the Christian race all who keep the rules and run hard will receive a reward (cf. Matt. 6:19-21; 2 Tim. 2:5).
9:25 "Competes"is a translation of agonidzomaifrom which we get the English word "agonizes."To receive the prize of our Lord's "well done"we need to give all our effort. We also need to exercise self-control. Competitors in the Isthmian Games had to train for 10 months.214An athlete in training denies himself or herself many lawful pleasures to gain an extra edge of superiority. Likewise we may need to limit our liberty for a higher goal as spiritual athletes.
Winners in the Isthmian Games received a wreath of parsley, wild celery, or pine.215However the victorious Christian's reward is imperishable (cf. 2 Tim. 4:8). It also lies in the eschaton.216How much more important it is to be willing to forgo our rights for the spiritual advancement of others than it is to train for a physical foot race (cf. 2 Cor. 4:17-18)!
9:26 In view of the comparative value of these rewards, Paul ran the Christian race purposefully, not aimlessly or halfheartedly. He wanted to gain a prize at the judgment seat of Christ. To use a different figure to make the same point, he did not shadowbox but sought to make every punch score. Christian service is not just activity. It is activity focused on a target, namely the building of the church and the defeat of the enemy who wants to destroy people. It is the work of the gospel.
9:27 In another sense Paul viewed his flesh as his enemy. He recognized the need to exercise strict self-discipline. Obviously Paul was not speaking of self-discipline in the physical realm alone. He also had in mind moral discipline and discipline in the amoral areas of his life including voluntary curtailment of personal rights and liberties (cf. 1 Tim. 4:8).
We must be careful not to confuse the fear of disqualification with the fear of damnation. Paul had no fear that he would lose his salvation (Rom. 8:29-39). In the context what he could lose was a reward.217How ironic and pathetic it would be for Paul to forfeit a crown through his own lack of self-discipline or by breaking the Judge's rules since He had instructed others concerning how to win one.
This whole chapter is an explanation of the last verse of the preceding chapter. More generally it clarifies the importance of limiting our legitimate liberty as Christians for higher goals, namely the glory of God and the welfare of other people.
"Almost in reaction against . . . globalization, many people are responding with increasing nationalism, sometimes with almost frightening ethnocentrism. Christians are not immune to these sweeping currents of thought. They, too, can be caught up in flag-waving nationalism that puts the interests of my nation or my class or my race or my tribe or my heritage above the demands of the kingdom of God. Instead of feeling that their most important citizenship is in heaven, and that they are just passing through down here on their way home' to the heavenly Jerusalem (Heb. 12:22-23), they become embroiled with petty priorities that constitute an implicit denial of the lordship of Christ."218
