1 Corinthians 9:1-18 - Surrendered Rights for Gospel Advance
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Handout
Introduction:
If you have your Bibles let me invite you to open with me to the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 9.
Paul has been speaking truth bombs since the beginning of this letter to the Corinthians.
He has addressed sins of all kinds.
He has addressed their pride
He has addressed their disunity
He has addressed their sexual immorality
In chapter 8 he has just addressed their unwillingness to sacrifice their preferences for their brothers and sisters in Christ.
Paul has been on the offensive, but in chapter 9 he shifts to the defensive.
He acknowledges that there are some in Corinth who would rather discredit Paul’s authority, submit to his authoritative teaching.
In this chapter we will see how some Corinthians are trying to discredit Paul when in reality they should have been following his example.
So lets read verses 1-18 and then pause and pray for understanding.
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.
Lets Pray
We are told in verse 3, what the context of this chapter is.
3 This is my defense to those who would examine me.
There are those in Corinth who would like to discredit Paul.
They have put Paul’s authority on trial.
Now why would they do such a thing?
They became Christians through the word of the apostle Paul.
Why would they now want to discredit what he has to say?
Why would they want to delegitimize his teaching?
Well perhaps their motivation is actually somewhat familiar to us…
It is human nature.
When we come face to face with a truth we don’t like, or truth we didn’t want to hear….,
we try to spin it,
we rework it,
or we ignore it.
The Corinthians are doing something we are very familiar with,
they are seeking ways to avoid accountability.
They are justifying why it’s ok to ignore Paul’s instruction.
If Paul can be discredited, then they don’t have to abide by his word.
If his teaching isn’t authoritative, then his teaching can be ignored.
But how could they discredit him as an apostle?
From what follows,
They apparently are attempting to discredit Paul because he was a man who worked with his hands for a living...
Paul was a tent maker.
Paul did not take a salary from the Corinthians as he labored among them.
He chose to work and to provide for his own needs.
This was not like the wisdom teachers of their day Who made their living from their teaching.
Now for Paul, it was an intentional choice as we will see,
but the Corinthians spin it to discredit his real authority as a teacher…
They argue that he’s no apostle… he’s just a tent maker.
“He’s not even a full time teacher.
What does he have that he can teach us?”
Thats the back drop, now here’s the defense.
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.
Paul begins to use rhetorical questions to emphasize his authority as an apostle.
Truth #1 Paul was an Authorized Apostle of Jesus Christ
Truth #1 Paul was an Authorized Apostle of Jesus Christ
He writes…
Am I not free? - answer is yes (more on what he means by this in a minute)
He writes…
“Am I not an apostle?” - the answer is yes I am an apostle
He writes
“Have I not seen Jesus our Lord?” - the answer is yes he did see the resurrected Lord on the road to Damascus.
This was important because this was a requirement to be named among one of the original apostles.
When the 11 apostles chose a man to replace Judas in Acts 1, they gave this criteria.
21 So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,
22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.”
later Paul would refer to himself as an apostle untimely born, because the resurrected Jesus appeared to him much later.
6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.
7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.
8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.
9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
Paul was an apostle chosen by the resurrected Christ to be his witness.
And God had blessed Paul’s apostolic ministry.
He writes,
“Are you not my workmanship in the Lord?”- the answer is yes the Corinthian church was a result of Paul’s apostolic ministry.
They had come to faith in Jesus through Paul’s ministry.
They were the living, breathing, fruit, and proof of Paul’s miracle ministry.
Their miraculous salvation and the launching of the Corinthian church was a seal of his apostleship in the Lord.
Paul was an authorized apostle… and as such, he could have asked the Corinthians for material support while he labored among them…
The argument expands in verses 3-11.
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?
Here is the big point.
Truth #2 Paul Had Rights to Compensation as a Gospel Preacher
Truth #2 Paul Had Rights to Compensation as a Gospel Preacher
Paul is not disagreeing with the Corinthian assumption that a teacher of God’s truth deserves wages like any other worker.
Soldiers are paid for their service
Those who plant vineyards eat the fruit
Those who tend the flock get some milk
Oxen that tread the grain,, get to eat grain.
Plowmen get some of the crop.
and therefor ministers of the gospel should get their living from such ministry.
It is not a bad thing to pay leaders in the church.
In fact, it’s commanded in the Scriptures to do so.
Paul makes this point in 1 Timothy 5.
Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”
There is no question that a church should care for the need of her pastors…
Paul is not arguing against this Corinthian assumption…,
but rather Paul wants them to understand why Paul chose to surrender this right.
He wants them to understand why he chose to work with his hands instead.
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.
Truth #3 Paul Surrendered His Rights for the Reward of Gospel Preaching
Truth #3 Paul Surrendered His Rights for the Reward of Gospel Preaching
Paul goes as far as to say, the Lord commands that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.
But Paul chose not to make use of this right.
He chose not to accept any financial support for his ministry.
Why?
We know that he didn’t do this everywhere. It appears that he did receive some support from Philippi, and he likely received support from Antioch.
But he didn’t in his ministry in Corinth.
He says he did not want to put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.
He did not want the Corinthians to think that he was just another Corinthian wisdom teacher who was in it for the money.
He wanted them to see that for Paul, the gospel of Jesus Christ clearly explained was primary.
Paul would rather work long hours and make less money, then anybody be able to say that he was simply preaching for the money.
Rather than live a more comfortable life, He would have people believe in the power of the gospel.
Now we are starting to see the connection to last week.
Last week, we saw Paul confront the Corinthians for selfishly make decisions in relation to eating food sacrificed to idols.…
The Corinthians weren’t even willing to sacrifice their eating preferences for the unity of the church…, but Paul was willing to sacrifice anything if it meant more fruitful gospel ministry in the world.
He affirms such priorities elsewhere. Consider is final words to the elders in Ephesus.
24 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
25 And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again.
Again in Philippians
20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.
21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell.
Now let me pause here and do some self reflecting…
Paul models for us here an intentional, thought-out rational, where he purposely did more work for less money for the sake of the gospel among the nations…
And Paul points to this, because Paul wants the Corinthians to have that same kind of self-sacrificial passion for gospel ministry.
He wants the Corinthians to prioritize gospel ministry over everything and anything.
so lets ask some questions….
Can you think of a time where you have made a decision like that?
When is the last time you have made a decision that is contrary to your comfortability For the sake of the mission God has called you to?
What rights have you surrendered for the sake of the expanding kingdom of God?
What kind of preferences might God be calling you to surrender for the sake of his expanding Kingdom?
Our team got home from Southeast Asia this morning at 5:30 AM after a brutal 30 hour travel.
They were visiting Julio and Becky, as well as, Matt and Amanda Glass.
Matt and Amanda are Americans… They are raising four boys in a foreign country away from any and all support systems their blood family would have provided. They are missing family birthdays, events, and milestones. They are sacrificing comfort, finances, and relationships for the sake of gospel proclamation in a place with very little of it.
Becky is learning a new language in a new country far from any of her blood family, and far from many of the comforts she enjoyed here in the states, but she joyfully does so for the sake of the gospel ministry she gets to do with Julio.
Gospel preaching, kingdom expanding ministry often calls us to surrender financially and relationally
It often requires us to surrender temporary comfortability for eternal reward.
For Paul, this was normal Christianity… and it was the kind of Christianity he is advocating for in Corinth.
To be a Christian is to reorient our priorities in such a way that we might actually look a little insane to the rest of the world,
to our own family members,
and even to our close friends.
There is something eternal that has gripped our hearts so that the wisdom of the world becomes foolishness to us…
and the wisdom of God in which we walk appears foolish to the world.
Truth #3 Paul Surrenders His Rights for the Reward of Gospel Preaching
now what do I mean for the reward of Gospel preaching?
Paul answers in the final four verses...
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.
Just to reiterate… Paul says I am not writing to get financial provision from you.
In fact, Paul would rather die than be deprived of his true reward.
His grounds for boasting………
Now we have to remember here what Paul means when he refers to his boasting.
This is not about Paul’s showing off how much he can sacrifice for the Lord.
The boasting is the glorifying in the gospel that he has described earlier in the letter.
We have to read this paragraph through the lens of this previous paragraph from chapter 1
26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.
27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;
28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,
29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,
31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
So what is Paul saying with this sentence?
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.
He’d rather die then for any reason direct boasting to himself then to the Lord who has saved him.
Paul wants no money from the Corinthians, he wants no praise, he wants no accolades…. he wants to boast only in the Lord for not only saving him but sending him to preach..
for even that is part of God’s sovereign grace to use Paul.
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.
Paul recognizes that he did not even choose to become a gospel preacher.
Paul was set on killing Christians when the resurrected Jesus interrupted his life and gave him a divine commission to preach the gospel.
This isn’t something Paul chose.
This isn’t something he sought after in the goodness of his heart.
He had a heart that had rejected Jesus.
He didn’t just up and choose to start preaching the gospel. He was oppressing it. he was bent on annihilating it.
And then God laid upon him necessity.
God opened his eyes to the wonder of salvation through Jesus and God commanded him to preach.
Paul doesn’t feel like his preaching can be a source of boasting.
He feels like God sovereignly laid upon him a task…
Its such a strong act of God on his life, that he feels like the only other option is judgment
By God’s miracle grace in his life Preaching the good news of Jesus is his only option.
and not only is it his only option, its part of his reward.
Despite Paul’s broken and sinful will…God imposed his own will on Paul by his grace and made him a steward of the most incredible message in the history of the world, the message of salvation.
This was Paul’s experience, but according to Paul this is the Christian experience.
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins
2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—
3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,
5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Paul saw his whole life as a stewardship.
God had given him something to take care of and to spread to the ends of the earth.
For Paul, money was not a reward.
Being used by God in communicating the gospel to the nations was his reward.
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.
Paul saw it to be a privilege that he could give the good news of Jesus to the Corinthians free of charge so that they could see how good and free of charge the gospel promises really were.
That was his reward!
Have you ever considered what a sweet reward it is to know the good news of Jesus, and to be able to share the good news of Jesus with others.
What a gift we have church!!!
We are freed to participate in the greatest purpose in all of the universe, the purpose of leading others to saving faith in God’s message.
Christian you are freed to boast in Jesus today with the waitress at lunch.
You can participate in God’s mission to save sinners today because of God’s grace on your life.
You are free to participate in what God is doing and its good.
do you feel this truth as Paul felt this truth?
Truth #3 Paul Surrendered His Rights for the Reward of Gospel Preaching
Truth #3 Paul Surrendered His Rights for the Reward of Gospel Preaching
and so should we.
Allow me to leave you with a few takeaways:
Believe the Gospel
Paul was willing to sacrifice anything and everything that more people might believe this message.
Your a sinner condemned to hell
but God loves you
He sent Jesus to pay the price for your sin through his death on a cross.
Jesus resurrected from the dead and he offers you eternal life.
Repent and believe and you will be eternally saved from the wrath of God and invited into the joyous presence of God.
Thats the good news Paul was willing to sacrifice for.
Share the Gospel
When is the last time you just straight up explained the good news of Jesus to someone?
What is keeping you from doing it?
What is keeping you from intentionally ordering your life so that you can explain to someone else how they can be eternally saved?
Surrender Your Rights for the Eternal Reward
Put it all on the table.
Give God a blank check.
Allow him to lead you.
Allow him to shape your priorities.
Enjoy the grace of a sovereign God using you in this world to draw more people to himself.
Let’s Pray to that End.