1 Corinthians 9:1-27 - An Exemplary Regulator

Introduction

If you’ve ever played a team sport, then you know that the way to succeed is to have each player take care of his or her responsibility. It’s a pitcher’s job to pitch, and the other guys worry more about all the other stuff. Different players on a basketball court have distinct defensive and offensive responsibilities. And if everyone works together, then the whole team enjoys the satisfaction of winning.

In individual sports, this is not the case. The power lifter is just trying to lift as much as he can without tearing something. The gymnast is just focusing on her own routine and landing. The sprinter is just trying to be the first one to cross the finish line.

The Christian life, as it’s described in the Bible, is far more like a team sport than an individual one. Now, the gospel is believed by individuals, and we each must personally hear and understand and turn from our sin and trust and follow Christ… but the life we live as repenting and believing Christians is collective, not individual. When sinners become converted, they are baptized into fellowship with Christ and into lifelong discipleship alongside other Christians in a local church.

Today, we’re going to read and consider a passage that exemplifies and calls all Christians to live the sort of life that is others-oriented. The Apostle Paul is the exemplary Christian in our text, and his is an example worth following.

Scripture Reading

1 Corinthians 9:1–27 (ESV)

1 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord? 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.

3 This is my defense to those who would examine me.

4 Do we not have the right to eat and drink? 5 Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? 6 Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living?

7 Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk?

8 Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? 10 Does he not certainly speak for our sake?

It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. 11 If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? 12 If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more?

Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.

13 Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? 14 In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.

15 But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision. For I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting.

16 For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship. 18 What then is my reward? That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.

19 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak.

I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.

26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

Main Idea:

A life lived in service to Christ and for the genuine good of others is a greater reward in itself than prioritizing personal comforts, and aiming one’s life toward this sort of effort is the strategy of Christian perseverance.

Sermon

1. Free and Deserving (v1-2)

Some have thought that ch. 9 of this letter is something of a digression. At first glance, it may seem like the Apostle Paul is stepping away from his teaching and his urging of the Corinthians to live regulated lives in the areas of sex, marriage, and food. Some have thought this chapter is primarily about Paul’s own apostolic title and role. Paul does ask the question, “Am I not an apostle?” (v1). And he does offer his “defense” for “those who would examine” him (v3).

But the theme of this chapter is not Paul’s apostleship; it’s his example of regulated Christian living. The imperative of ch. 9 is found in v24 (“run that you may obtain [the prize]”), and Paul uses his own motives and actions as the model of what it looks like for a Christian to “run” for the “prize” so as to “obtain it” (v24). In fact, the only reason Paul is even bringing up his apostleship here is to amplify his example of regulated Christian living.

You see, Paul is an amplified or intensified example because he is doubly “free” (v1), and yet he chose to limit his own freedoms. Paul is free as a Christian, and he is also free as an Apostle. He is free and he has the right to do all sorts of things that he does not do… (1) for the sake of teaching/preaching the gospel without charge and (2) for the sake of sharing in the blessings of salvation with other Christians who have various obstacles in the way of their spiritual growth.

Paul says, “Am I not free?” (v1). And, of course, he is referring here to the freedom he described in ch. 8. Spiritually mature Christians (or stronger Christians) are free to do anything that they may do to the glory of God. Remember that the overarching command of this portion of the letter is still that comprehensive call for Christians to “glorify God in your body” (1 Cor. 6:20).

But Paul’s main point in ch. 8 was to call stronger Christians (those who are more mature in the faith) to set aside their freedoms for the sake of their weaker brothers and sisters in Christ. And Paul’s own exemplary conclusion at the end of ch. 8 was that he would personally let go of at least some of his freedom for the rest of his life in this world, if necessary, in order to prevent himself from being a stumbling block to his fellow Christians (1 Cor. 8:13).

Therefore, the first question Paul asks here in ch. 9 is rhetorical: “Am I not free?” (v1). Yes, of course he is “free” (v1)! And his second question is rhetorical as well: “Am I not an apostle?” (v1). Of course, he is “an apostle” (v1)! This is no digression; Paul is offering himself as a higher example of what he’s teaching and explaining in chs. 8-10. Paul is free as a Christian (just like the Corinthians), and he’s also deserving as an Apostle (which is more than the Corinthians).

And that’s where Paul goes next in our passage. He wanted the Corinthians to understand that he had intentionally given up some of his rights as an Apostle in order to practice what he was preaching.

2. Rights of Christian Ministry (v3-14)

In order to demonstrate Paul’s example of loving Christian living, he lists three “rights” he had as a Christian and as an Apostle, “rights” he had willingly set aside for a greater purpose. He had the “right” to “eat and drink” (v4). He was just as free as any Christian in Corinth to enjoy the freedom he described in ch. 8. Paul also had the “right” to “take along a believing wife” (v5). Just as Peter (or Cephas) and the other Apostles had Christian wives, so too Paul was free to marry. And Paul also had the “right” to “refrain from working for a living” (v6).

This third “right” is the one Paul explains further in our passage, so we will spend a bit more time on it too. It’s important to note here that Paul was not saying that any Christian man (including himself) has the right to avoid working at all. On the contrary, the consistent teaching of the Bible is that Christian men and women ought to be diligent workers, men earning their own living and providing for their own families (1 Tim. 5:8; 1 Thess. 4:11-12), and women primarily investing their time and labor in the raising of their own children and tending to the needs of fellow believers among the church (Titus 2:3-5; 1 Tim. 5:3-6, 9-16).

What Paul is talking about here is the “right” of “those who proclaim the gospel” to earn their “living” by “the gospel” (v14). This is especially true of first-century Apostles, but it’s also true of vocational pastors generally. We can know this because Paul cites and applies an OT law about a “muzzle” on an “ox” (v9).

This isn’t the only time Paul used that OT citation; he also referred to it in 1 Timothy 5, where he was teaching Timothy about the structure and function of a local church. In the context of church finances, Paul said that “the elders who rule well” among a church ought to be “considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching” (1 Tim. 5:17). And the basis Paul’s command there was that same OT law. Paul wrote, “For the Scripture says, ‘You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain’” (1 Tim. 5:18).

In short, Paul was arguing that those who devote their full-time labor to word-ministry are workers in the same way that other laborers are workers. Again, Paul is particularly applying this to his Apostolic ministry in 1 Corinthians 9, but the principle is applied more broadly to vocational pastors as well.

Now, this does not mean that every pastor will work full-time as a pastor; some will give themselves to shepherding ministry even as they work full-time jobs in other fields. But this does mean that those employed as mechanics, or as doctors, or as machinists, or as pastors/elders are all laborers of various sorts, and it is appropriate that all laborers earn their living according to their labors.

In our main passage, Paul uses six analogies to make this point. He lists some in the form of a question and others in the form of a statement, but they are are clearly meant to drive home the same idea.

The “soldier” does not “serve” at “his own expense” (v7).

The farmer does not “plant a vineyard without eating… of its fruit” (v7).

The shepherd does not “tend a flock without getting some of the milk” (v7).

The “plowman” and the “thresher” both “share” in the harvest of “the crop” (v10).

And the priests who are “employed in the temple service” receive “their food from the temple” (v13).

And Paul’s concluding statement is there in v14, “In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel” (v14). Drawing especially from the plowing and threshing analogies, Paul says, in v11, “If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you?” (v11).

Friends, this is not the main point of our text this morning, but since Paul does speak so much to the topic here, it is a good time for me to mention a couple of things about FBC Diana’s finances and word-ministry.

First, I am so very thankful that our church places such a high value on word-ministry, and I am so very thankful that I get to be employed full-time as a pastor. Because of your generous giving, our church is able to provide a full-time salary for a pastor to devote the bulk of his labor to the study and teaching of Scripture. This is a tremendous joy and blessing to me, and I trust that we all benefit from the amount of time and effort that goes in to overseeing and to personally contributing to the word-ministry of our church.

Second, it’s important for us to be reminded that the word-ministry of our church is the primary mission and function we have. We may spend our church finances on all sorts of good things, but we will do best to prioritize our spending on those areas that contribute to the increased health and substance of our pastoral ministry. The money we all allocate to pastoral staff, the investments we make in our pastoral development program, the finances we budget for Simeon Trust workshops, and the resources we invest in developing both existing and future elders… these are all material deposits we make in order that we might gain spiritual returns through the present and future word-ministry of our church.

Martin Luther (that German pastor, theologian, and reformer from the 1500s) referred to the church as a “mouth-house,” a people who are taught the word of God so that they might apply it well and teach it to others. When we invest (personally and collectively) in the ongoing word-ministry of this church, we are making deposits that will pay dividends today and far into the future.

Looking back now to our text, we want to see that Paul was arguing for the “right” of laborers in word-ministry to “get their living by the gospel” (v14), but Paul was making this argument in order to show how he had personally given up this “right” for a reason (v12). And Paul was pointing out this “right” of his among the church of Corinth, so that he might highlight his example of Christian love.

3. Boasting in a Free Gospel (v15-18)

Paul says, in v15, “But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision” (v15). He wanted to make it clear that his reference to these “rights” was not for the purpose of sending them on a guilt trip. Rather, Paul was telling them that there was a purposeful motivation behind his method. He hadn’t just forgotten about his “rights;” he had intentionally laid them aside in an effort to “serve” others (v19).

It seems to me that there are actually two motivating factors in our passage. The first motive Paul mentions is here in v15-18, and the second is in v19-23.

This first motivation behind Paul’s willingness to lay aside his freedoms and his rights is that of “boasting” (v15). Now, we probably think of “boasting” only in terms of arrogant bragging, but that’s not the way Paul is using the word here. Instead, Paul is saying here what he says elsewhere, that he does not count as a negative his own personal sacrifice for the sake of gospel ministry, but instead he counts his sacrifice as the very strength and glory of his particular ministry.

In 2 Corinthians 11:16-12:10, Paul “boasts” in all sorts of weaknesses and afflictions. From his perspective, the sacrifices he made for the advance of the gospel and the making of disciples were the sort of thing he took pleasure in, not the sort of thing he complained about. He wrote, “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:10).

It seems that Paul enjoyed a certain pleasure in knowing that he was suffering hardship for the sake of the gospel. He knew that he was commissioned to preach the gospel. He says as much in v16… “necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (v16). But he believed that it was a kind of “reward” for him to do this “of [his] own will” (v17) and “free of charge” (v18).

Paul’s example here is one of the highest self-sacrifice. Not only was he willing to endure hardships as he labored in word-ministry, but he counted such things as a sort of validation that (1) he was completely devoted to living as a “steward” of the gospel of Christ and (2) that the gospel itself was a message that he wanted to deliver “free of charge” to those who would receive it (v17-18).

In this way, Paul is holding up his own life and ministry as an example to the Corinthians. He was calling them to live their lives in service to Christ and in service to others, and he was calling them to be willing to give up their Christian freedoms in order to help weaker Christians become stronger. But he was not calling them to do anything that he wasn’t willing to do himself.

Why, then, was Paul’s self-sacrifice something he was able to boast about in this way? Was he boasting that he was better than other Christians who did not suffer the way he did? Was he trying to make them feel bad that they had not endured such hardships and afflictions? I don’t think so. Instead, I think Paul’s example here is one of personal satisfaction in the knowledge that he is giving up something of lesser value in order to gain something of greater value.

What was he losing by setting aside some of his Christian freedoms? What was he losing by preaching the gospel far and wide and free of charge?

Well, he was losing the pleasure of indulging his freedom to eat and drink without a care for how that might affect other believers. He was losing the experience and advantages of building a legacy of family and property in this world. And he was losing the luxury of having his material needs met by those who benefitted from his ministry to them.

But what was he gaining?

He was gaining the pleasure of knowing that his personal limitations on eating and drinking were in some cases contributing to the salvation and growth of other Christians around him. He was gaining the joy of building a legacy of a spiritual family and a spiritual kingdom, one that would last far beyond this world. And he was gaining the ability to minister to the needs of others (especially their spiritual needs) without asking anything of them in return.

Jim Elliot was an American missionary in the 1950s who died shortly after he first engaged with the people he aimed to evangelize.[i] He and four other men (all married, aged 26 to 33, and most of them with young children) committed to bring the gospel to an isolated tribe in Ecuador.[ii] When they tried to make initial contact with the tribe in January of 1956, some of the tribal warriors lashed out with violence. All five men were killed, their wives lost radio contact with them, and a rescue party discovered their bodies several days later.

One young daughter was heard saying to her crying infant sibling, “Never you mind, when we get to heaven I’ll show you which one is daddy.”

In our present American culture, such a sacrifice seems ridiculous. It seems foolish. It seems irresponsible. What of these wives? What of these children? Wouldn’t their fathers have served them better by staying safe, making a living doing something else, and growing old with their families?

But the Christian knows that this life is not all there is. The Christian knows that souls hang in the balance, and God’s justice is coming. The Christian knows that the gospel is the only hope for lost sinners, and the Christian knows that he or she is called to the highest purpose of all… to be a servant of and an ambassador for Christ… a calling and a purpose which carries with it a greater reward than any temporal pleasure or any present enjoyment of Christian freedom.

In a journal he kept from about age 21 to 28, Jim Elliot wrote, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

May God help us all to increasingly embrace this kind of perspective.

4. Sharing the Blessing (v19-23)

This next section of our text this morning tells us of Paul’s overwhelmingly emphatic motivation for giving up his rights as an Apostle and his freedoms as a Christian. He was certainly motivated by his desire to preach the gospel “of [his] own will” (v17) and “free of charge” (v18), but v19 through 23 (five verses) contain no less than seven “so that” or “in order that” statements!

In the syntax of NT Greek, this is called a “ἱνα” clause, and it is a marker in the structure of a sentence that shows purpose or result. Every verse in this section has at least one of these clauses, and the first one (v19) and the sixth one (v22) form sort of bookends, with the seventh (v23) serving as a kind of comprehensive purpose statement for the whole bunch of them.

Why did Paul make “no use of any of [the] rights” of an Apostle and minister of the gospel (v15)? Why did lay aside his Christian freedom (v1)?

In his own words, “though I am free of all, I have made myself a servant to all, that [ἱνα] I might win [or “gain” (KJV, NET)] more of them” (v19). And at the end of v22 he said, “I have become all things to all people, that [ἱνα] by all means I might save some” (v22).

Now, it is common for people to cite this last verse in the context of evangelism and conversion. And, while it certainly includes evangelism, Paul is not just talking about seeing sinners converted here. The “saving” of “some” sinners from among “all” sorts of “people” involves both the start of the “race” and the completion of it (v24). The context of these five verses is a broader teaching about living regulated Christian lives for the purpose of glorifying God, and the more immediate context is about regulating Christian freedom for the sake of love for fellow believers.

Therefore, conversion is included, but the emphasis is on discipleship, start to finish. As Paul says in v23, he set aside his rights and freedoms “for the sake of the gospel, that [ἱνα] I may share with them in its blessings” (v23)… “that I might be partaker thereof with you” (KJV)… “so that I may become a fellow partaker of it” (NIV). Whatever your translation says here, it is clear that Paul wants to share in the blessings of the gospel (both in this life and in the life to come) with others!

And that’s why, “to the Jews” (i.e., ethnic descendants of Abraham) he “became a Jew, in order to[ἱνα] win [or “gain”] Jews” (v20). And “to those under the law” (probably Gentile believers who continued to practice some of the OT ceremonial laws), Paul “became as one under the law… that [ἱνα] I might win [or “gain”] those under the law” (v20). And “to those outside the law” (probably Gentiles with no knowledge of Mosaic law), Paul “became as one outside the law… that [ἱνα] I might win [or “gain”] those outside the law” (v22). And “to the weak” (those immature Christians with a tender conscience from ch. 8), Paul “became weak, that [ἱνα] I might win [or “gain”] the weak” (v22).

For Paul, his conscience was free from legalism and free from the obsolete laws of the Mosaic covenant. And yet he did remain obedient to the “law of Christ” (v21)… which means he did not give himself over to sin, but aimed to live a holy and upright life. But in his relationships with others, especially with other Christians who had different convictions than his, Paul was willing to “become all things to all people” (v22).

In other words, he was willing to lay aside his freedoms and his rights for the sake of evangelism and discipleship, because his aim was to “share” in the “blessings” of the gospel with as many others who would believe and follow Jesus with him (v23). He wanted to see sinners converted and weaker Christian grow, so he was willing to patiently and self-sacrificially come alongside them in an effort to work for their spiritual good.

Brothers and sisters, how might we follow Paul’s example here?

It has been said that discipleship is me following Jesus, and discipling is me helping others follow Jesus… and both of these are essential features of faithful Christian living. One of the main signs of spiritual life and maturity is love for others and a genuine concern for the state of their souls.

Every sinner in the world wants to avoid hell and enjoy the benefits of God’s blessings… lots of sinners even want to be better and do better… but Christians are those who want to share in the blessings of the gospel along with others.

5. Disciplined Perseverance (v24-27)

I’ve already mentioned it earlier, but these last few verses are where we find the imperative or the command of this whole chapter. It’s right there at the end of v24, “So run that you may obtain it [i.e., the prize]” (v24). I want to close my sermon this morning by asking and answering two questions: (1) What is the prize? and (2) How must we run to obtain it?

First, what is the prize? This whole chapter has been an explanation of Paul’s life and ministry as an exemplary regulator. He is free, but he limits his freedoms. He has rights, but he does not make use of them. And he does all of this for the sake of the gospel, so that he might share in the blessings of the gospel with others (v23).

But here in this last portion of our text this morning, Paul’s example is not specifically aimed at serving others, but it has to do with his own final destination. Again, Paul uses his own life and example, saying that he does not “run aimlessly,” and he does not “box as one beating the air,” but he “disciplines” his “body” and “keeps it under control” (v26-27).

The language here is powerful and serious. The KJV says, “I… bring [my body] into subjection” (v27). And the old NIV says, “I beat my body and make it my slave” (v27). It’s clear that Paul makes a regular and intentional effort to glorify God in his body, and it is also clear that this is no passive or easy thing.

But to what end? Paul is aiming to glorify God, but what is he trying to avoid? He says it at the end of v27: “I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified” (v27). The word here is a term of authenticity, and it was often used to refer to false currency or fake money. Only the real thing is reliable, or useful, or qualified.

In the context of what Paul has been talking about (sharing in the blessings of the gospel), it seems to me that Paul is talking about the prize of complete salvation. He knows that sinners are only saved by the substitutionary work of Jesus Christ. He knows that a person’s justification before God is based on the life and death of Jesus in his or her place. But Paul also knows that true or authentic Christians persevere… they run the race all the way to the end, and they obtain the ultimate prize of glory… resurrection… eternal life.

What a terrifying verse we have here in v27! Is it possible that those who know the gospel and even preach it to others may still in the end prove to be disqualified to participate in the blessings of the gospel? Yes! That is possible.

And that is why Paul is so serious about the race he is running… which leads us to the second question: How must we run to obtain the prize of salvation, the blessings of the gospel, the glorious inheritance that is waiting for all those who love and trust and follow the Lord Jesus?

Well, first we have to know that only a certain kind of “runner” receives “the prize” (v24). Paul’s command for the Corinthians is the same for us today, “run that you may obtain it” (v24). And v25 repeats the same theme we’ve been reading and talking about for three chapters now – “self-control” (v25).

Since the end of chapter 6, Paul has been calling the Corinthians to live regulated lives to the glory of God. He’s been urging them to flee sexual immorality, to remain faithful in marriage, to serve the Lord in whatever circumstances they have, and to let love for fellow Christians be a stronger motivation than the mere pursuit of one’s own freedoms.

Now here, at the end of chapter 9, Paul is summing it all up in one command… Other “athletes exercise self-control in all things,” and “they do it to receive a perishable wreath [or prize],” but “we” run with self-control in all things so that we will receive “an imperishable” prize” (v25).

“So,” or therefore, “run that you may obtain it” (v24). Don’t just set life on autopilot, but live intentionally in service to Christ. Don’t let your desires push and pull you wherever, but discipline yourself to obey Christ. Don’t go on and do everything you can do just because there’s no clear law against it, but regulate your time and attention and actions… so that the overall pattern and theme of your life will be self-discipling in service to Christ and self-regulation out of love for others… persevering in both all the way through to the end.

Endnotes

[i] See a summary of this story here: https://www.crossway.org/articles/jim-elliot-was-no-fool/ [ii] See greater details about these men, their families, and their lives here: https://www2.wheaton.edu/bgc/archives/exhibits/Ecuador1956/02%20Men%20.htm

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