I Corinthians 9:1-6

“Attitudes Concerning Church Practice: Part III”

· In Chapter 8 Paul plainly stated that in Christ he has much liberty, but that he would willingly give up some of that liberty if

by using it he would cause a less mature Believer to stumble.

· Here in Chapter 9 he continues by explaining that he and other ministers of the Gospel had every right to be financially taken

care of by those to whom they ministered.

· Later in the Chapter Paul explains why he did not receive financial provisions from the Church even though he expected the

Church to provide for their ministers financially.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Verse 1

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?

Paul asks 4 rhetorical questions in this verse with the obvious implied answer to each of them being ‘yes’.

1) Is he free? Yes, just as the Corinthian Believers were free in Christ.

2) Is he an apostle? Yes, Paul was made an apostle by the Lord who gave him his authority.

3) Had Paul seen Jesus? Yes. He saw Jesus after Jesus had ascended back to Heaven (Acts 9).

4) Were the Corinthian Believers Paul’s work in the Lord? Yes. He went there after his ministry at Thessalonica and after he

preached in Athens at mars Hill. (Acts 17 & 18). God gave the Corinthians the Gospel message through Paul.

Verse 2

2 If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you; for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

Paul knew that many people did not consider him to be an apostle, but he also knew that those he ministered to at Corinth did

accept his apostleship.

He says to them that they are the ‘seal’ (sphragis): an emblem of ownership; of his apostleship in the Lord. Did Paul literally

OWN the Corinthian Believers? No, but he was the person God used to bring them the Gospel and also to shepherd them in

their understanding of the Word.

Paul was responsible to God to preach the Gospel to these pagans and he had done so. Many of them trusted in Jesus. After

that his primary responsibility to God and to the Believers at Corinth was to equip them with the Word of God. There is

much confusion in the Church today as to WHAT the job of the pastor is. In Ephesians 4:11-12 Paul explained that THE

job of the pastor is to ‘equip the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ’. In the verse before

the previous 2 mentioned, Paul said that it is Jesus who gives this assignment. There are some people in churches today

who ‘hire’ a pastor to do all of the stuff that they come up with. Speaking as a pastor, I will stick to what Jesus said

instead of what people say.

Verse 3

3 My defense to those who examine me is this:

Paul’s authority was apparently being questioned by his opponents or ignored by the Corinthian Believers.

He then feels it necessary to give a ‘defense’ (apologia): a vindication or a speech in defense of something or someone;

Just as he had said in the first verses of Chapter 4 of this same letter he says now, ‘It is no problem for me to be examined by you.’

Verse 4

4 Do we not have a right to eat and drink?

Even though Paul had refused to be compensated monetarily by the Church at Corinth he had the ‘right’ (exousia): authority; to

be supported by them so that he was provided for to be able to buy food and beverage.

It is not the same as paying him with food and drink, but providing for him so that he could purchase the basic necessities that all

human beings have.

Verse 5

5 Do we not have a right to take along a believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?

Paul, although he has already said that he would remain single, asks this rhetorical question which again would be answered in the

affirmative. Did he and other ministers have the right to marry a woman who was a Believer? Yes.

He backs this up by reminding the Corinthians that the rest of the apostles have done this and so did the brothers of Jesus and

EVEN Peter was married.

Not only was Paul saying that it was within their right to marry, but he takes it farther. He says that he and the other ministers

had the right to ‘take along’ (periago): to take with in one’s company; a Believing wife. IF the minister was married and

his wife went with him as he ministered, the Church was expected to support them financially well enough that both

could be sustained.

*** Listen to this quote from Dr. John MacArthur: ‘I believe this verse supports the principle of paying pastors, evangelists,

missionaries, and other such Christian workers enough so that their

wives do not have to work; so they can have more time to be with their

husbands in the ministry.’

This does not mean that a minister’s pay rate should be determined by his singleness or married status or by how many

children he has. His pay should always be determined by how well he his doing his work as Jesus assigned him in

Ephesians 4:11-12.

** Illustration: My personal disdain for ‘church surveys’ when searching for a pastor.
Verse 6

6 Or do only Barnabas and I not have a right to refrain from working?

Paul & Barnabas were tent-makers (leather-workers). They had a trade that supported them as they ministered. Other ministers

might not have had a trade to fall back on as they ministered.

In this verse Paul makes it clear that he and Barnabas had the right to give up tent-making and be solely provided for by the

Church as other ministers were provided for.

** An interesting note about this verse is that Paul mentions Barnabas. This was years after they had separated over John Mark

(Acts 15:36-41). Even though these 2 men were not serving in the same place at the same time they were still serving the

Lord. And even though they had disagreed about taking John Mark along and had subsequently separated, Paul still loved

Barnabas and regarded him as a trustworthy minister. They did not let a personal disagreement stop them from ministering

to people in the Lord’s name.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Closing:

· Are you being equipped consistently with the Word of God here at SWBC? If so, then I am doing my job. If not, then I need

to be reprimanded.

· Before you answer the question I just asked, you need to let me ask you this question. ‘Are you HERE at SWBC on a

consistent basis enough to be equipped with the Word of God?’ If yes, then you will take what you have been equipped with

out into this community and wherever you go. If not, why?

· Finally, is your attitude concerning the financial support of ministers derived from the Scriptures or from what you think apart from the Scriptures? I pray that it is derived from the Scriptures.