1 Corinthians (1 Co) 9
9
1Am I not a free man? Am I not an emissary of the Messiah? Haven’t I seen Yeshua our Lord? And aren’t you yourselves the result of my work for the Lord? 2Even if to others I am not an emissary, at least I am to you; for you are living proof that I am the Lord’s emissary. 3That is my defense when people put me under examination.
4Don’t we have the right to be given food and drink? 5Don’t we have the right to take along with us a believing wife, as do the other emissaries, also the Lord’s brothers and Kefa? 6Or are Bar-Nabba and I the only ones required to go on working for our living? 7Did you ever hear of a soldier paying his own expenses? or of a farmer planting a vineyard without eating its grapes? Who shepherds a flock without drinking some of the milk? 8What I am saying is not based merely on human authority, because the Torah says the same thing — 9for in the Torah of Moshe it is written, “You are not to put a muzzle on an ox when it is treading out the grain.” If God is concerned about cattle, 10all the more does he say this for our sakes. Yes, it was written for us, meaning that he who plows and he who threshes should work expecting to get a share of the crop. 11If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? 12If others are sharing in this right to be supported by you, don’t we have a greater claim to it?
But we don’t make use of this right. Rather, we put up with all kinds of things so as not to impede in any way the Good News about the Messiah. 13Don’t you know that those who work in the Temple get their food from the Temple, and those who serve at the altar get a share of the sacrifices offered there? 14In the same way, the Lord directed that those who proclaim the Good News should get their living from the Good News.
15But I have not made use of any of these rights. Nor am I writing now to secure them for myself, for I would rather die than be deprived of my ground for boasting! 16For I can’t boast merely because I proclaim the Good News — this I do from inner compulsion: woe is me if I don’t proclaim the Good News! 17For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if I do it unwillingly, I still do it, simply because I’ve been entrusted with a job. 18So then, what is my reward? Just this: that in proclaiming the Good News I can make it available free of charge, without making use of the rights to which it entitles me.
19For although I am a free man, not bound to do anyone’s bidding, I have made myself a slave to all in order to win as many people as possible. 20That is, with Jews, what I did was put myself in the position of a Jew, in order to win Jews. With people in subjection to a legalistic perversion of the Torah, I put myself in the position of someone under such legalism, in order to win those under this legalism, even though I myself am not in subjection to a legalistic perversion of the Torah. 21With those who live outside the framework of Torah, I put myself in the position of someone outside the Torah in order to win those outside the Torah — although I myself am not outside the framework of God’s Torah but within the framework of Torah as upheld by the Messiah. 22With the “weak” I became “weak,” in order to win the “weak.” With all kinds of people I have become all kinds of things, so that in all kinds of circumstances I might save at least some of them.
23But I do it all because of the rewards promised by the Good News, so that I may share in them along with the others who come to trust. 24Don’t you know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one wins the prize? So then, run to win! 25Now every athlete in training submits himself to strict discipline, and he does it just to win a laurel wreath that will soon wither away. But we do it to win a crown that will last forever. 26Accordingly, I don’t run aimlessly but straight for the finish line; I don’t shadow-box but try to make every punch count. 27I treat my body hard and make it my slave so that, after proclaiming the Good News to others, I myself will not be disqualified.
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1 Corinthians (1 Co) 9: CJB
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Learn More About Complete Jewish Bible1 Corinthians 9
9
1Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Haven't I seen Jesus our Lord? Aren't you the results of my work in the Lord? 2Even if I'm not an apostle to others, at least I am one to you. The proof of my being an apostle of the Lord is you!
3Here is my reply to those who question me about this: 4Don't we have the right to be provided with food and drink? 5Don't we have a right to be accompanied by a Christian wife, like the rest of the apostles, the Lord's brothers, and Peter? 6Is it only Barnabas and myself who have to work to support ourselves?#9:6. The original is given in terms of a double negative. The suggestion is that only Paul and Barnabas are not given the privilege of not having to work. 7Which soldier ever had to pay his own salary? Who plants a vineyard and doesn't get to eat its fruits? Who feeds a flock and doesn't consume its milk?
8Am I just speaking from a human point of view? Doesn't the law say the same thing? 9In the law of Moses it's written, “Don't muzzle the ox when it's threshing out the grain.”#9:9. Quoting Deuteronomy 25:4. Was God just thinking about oxen? 10Wasn't he directing this at us? Surely this was written for us—for anyone who plows should plow in hope and anyone who threshes should hope to share in the harvest. 11If we sowed what is spiritual with you, does it really matter if we reap some material benefit? 12If others exercise this right over you, don't we deserve it even more? Even so we did not exercise this right. On the contrary we would rather put up with anything than hold back the gospel of Christ.
13Don't you know that those who work in temples receive their meals from temple offerings, and those who serve at the altar receive their portion of the sacrifice on the altar? 14In just the same way the Lord ordered that those who announce the good news should live from supporters of the good news. 15But I have not made use of any of these provisions, and I'm not writing about this to suggest it should be done in my case. I'd rather die than to have anyone take away my pride in not having received any benefit.
16I have nothing to boast about in sharing the good news because it's something I feel compelled to do. In fact it's dreadful for me if I don't share the good news! 17If I'm doing this work because of my own choice, then I have a reward. But if it wasn't my choice, and an obligation was placed on me, 18then what reward do I have? It's the opportunity to share the good news without charging for it, not demanding my rights as a worker for the good news.
19Even though I am free and serve no one, I have placed myself in service to everyone so that I might gain more. 20To the Jews I behave like a Jew so that I might win Jews. To those who are under the law I behave as someone under the law (even though I am not obligated under the law), so that I might win those under the law. 21To those who don't operate according to the law,#9:21. Meaning those who are not Jews, who do not observe the law of Moses. I behave like them (though not disregarding God's law, but operating under the law of Christ), so that I might gain those who don't observe the law.
22To those who are weak,#9:22. Probably referring to the “weaker believer” issue mentioned in 8:7 and on. I share in their weakness so that I may win the weak. I have ended up being “everyman” to everyone so that by using every possible means I might win some! 23I do all this for the sake of the good news so that I too may share in its blessings!
24Wouldn't you agree that there are many runners in a race, but only one gets the prize? So run your best, so you may win! 25Every competitor who participates in the games maintains a strict training discipline. Of course they do so to win a crown that doesn't last. But our crowns will last forever!
26That's why I run straight in the right direction. I fight accurately, not punching the air. 27I also treat my body severely to bring it under my control, for I don't want somehow to be disqualified after sharing the good news with everybody else.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com