Sermon Tone Analysis

I. Reading of Scripture

[ 1 Corinthians 9:13-14 ]

This is God’s Word, Amen.

[Title Slide]

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Living By The Gospel

II.

Introduction

A. Introduction to Theme

In the previous chapter, the apostle answered a question from the church about food sacrificed to idols.

Should Christians eat it?

Or should Christians refrain?

It was a simple question to answer on the surface.

An idol isn’t real.

An idol doesn’t have a real existence!

So eating food sacrificed to an idol that doesn’t really exist, is not a big deal.

Food is food.

Food will not commend us to God.

So it is not wrong to eat that food.

But remember, the church’s question was two-fold.

It was not only about food, but also “knowledge.”

What about my brothers in Christ who “know” where this food has been and have a weak conscience because they used to be associated with these idols, they used to worship these idols with this food, and now they are stumbling in their faith in Christ, the one Lord, the one, true, living God, because I’m eating of this food?

Now, the question no longer centers upon me.

Now, it’s no longer a question about whether I can or cannot eat this food, but rather how my knowledge relates to my brother who does not possess the same knowledge I do.

And so the apostle instructs the Christian who is strong in conscience, not to use his knowledge to destroy the Christian, who is still weak in conscience.

That brother, although weak, is “the brother for whom Christ died.”

This apostle says “this knowledge puffs up, but love builds up” (1 Cor 8.1).

This concern you show toward your weak brother is called “love.”

And it is not just any kind of love, but it is a sacrificial love.

It is the love that God showed us in Jesus Christ.

So the apostle ends Chapter 8 with this conclusion:

It’s not about “me.” It’s about “we.”

Christianity is not about what rights I as an individual am free to exercise.

Christianity is about what rights I as an individual am free to lay down so that we, the Church, are strengthened in the love of Christ.

B. Introduction to Text

The apostle seems makes a change in Chapter 9.

Instead of continuing to talk about food sacrificed to idols, it seems that he devotes considerable attention to a new topic: Why should a preacher of the gospel get his living by the gospel?

Warren Wiersbe says that this chapter may appear to be an interruption but it is not an interruption at all!

It is an illustration (598).

The apostle is still talking about a “love that builds up,” but now, he is shifting the conversation to a topic that concerns himself so that me might show how he is loving them, the church in Corinth, with the same love that he wants them to have for one another in Christ.

In the first half of Chapter 9, the apostle explains his rights.

Then, about halfway through this chapter, he talks about his reward.

Lastly, he ends this chapter, with the imagery of a runner and a race.

We can outline this text in this way:

The apostle’s rights - the apostle’s reward - the apostle’s race.

III.

Exposition

First,

A. 9.1-14 | The Apostle’s Rights

In verse 1, the apostle begins with a series of questions To the Church:

9.1

These are questions that would be met with a resounding “Amen”!

Yes, Paul, you are free!

Yes, Paul, you are an apostle!

Yes, Paul, you have seen Jesus our Lord.

And Yes, Paul, we are your workmanship in the Lord.

That word translated “workmanship” is the word for “work.”

What is the apostle’s work?

It IS this church in Corinth.

His labor is for them and among them.

He did not seek out or apply for this work.

He was called to this work by God.

It appears that others, people who were not believers in Christ, questioned whether or not Paul was actually an apostle, so he says in verse 2 —

9.2

A seal certifies that something is genuine (LN).

So the apostle says - if you want to know if I am truly an apostle, look no further than yourselves who are in the Lord.

You church, in the Lord, are my certification.

9.3

The word “defense” and “examine” are legal terms.

The text now enters into the setting of a court of law.

For those who would judge the apostle, he will make a defense, that’s the word [ ἀπολογία ], an apology.

As G. Campbell Morgan says, the apostle “uses the word apology in the true sense.

He [is] not admitting he [is] wrong.

He [is] claiming he [is] right” (112).

In other words - oh prosecutors, oh judges, let me begin by telling you about my rights.

Let me tell you about what I have the power and authority to do.

And notice the language shift in verse 4.

He doesn’t begin by speaking of himself by saying “I,” but instead he says “we.”

He is making a defense not just for himself, but for his office as an apostle, his assignment as a preacher of the gospel, his calling by the will of God.

God’s calling does not nullify his rights.

If anything, it validates them all the more!

9.4

9.5

9.6

The apostle says that “we” - ministers of the gospel have a right to expect that our basic material needs be cared for.

Food and drink.

We’ve got to eat to live! We’ve got to drink to live!

And beyond that, this calling to ministry does not restrict us from marrying a believing wife and “taking her along” in this journey of ministry.

In other words - I have a right to eat and drink, and by extension my wife along with me has the right to eat and drink too.

I’m not prohibited from having a wife and a family because I labor in ministry.

I’ve found that many churches expect that their minister be married.

Many churches expect that their minister have children.

But when it comes time to care for that minister’s needs, all of a sudden it is no longer about the family.

The family is set aside out of view.

The wife and children are pushed out of the picture.

“We’re not paying for them.

We are paying for you.”

That’s the economics of the world.

As if the wife and children should be left at home to fend for themselves, to work and earn for themselves, and not be taken along in the journey and not a part of the ministry because they are an “extra expense.”

And if you don’t believe this happens in the church, you’ve had your head buried in the sand and you don’t know and you are not asking!

When is the last time you asked a minister if ever: “Are your needs being met?

Are you being cared for?

What about your family?

Do they have what they need??

The apostle asks:

It is not that the apostles do not work for a living, it is that their work is the work of ministry.