1 Corinthians 9
9
Paul Is Like the Other Apostles
1I am a free man. I am an apostle. I have seen Jesus our Lord. You people are all an example of my work in the Lord. 2Others may not accept me as an apostle, but surely you accept me. You are proof that I am an apostle in the Lord.
3Some people want to judge me. So this is the answer I give them: 4Do we not have the right to eat and drink? 5Do we not have the right to bring a believing wife with us when we travel? The other apostles, the Lord’s brothers, and Peter all do this. 6And are Barnabas and I the only ones who must work to earn our living? 7No soldier ever serves in the army and pays his own salary. No one ever plants a vineyard without eating some of the grapes himself. No person takes care of a flock of sheep without drinking some of the milk himself.
8This is not only what men think. God’s law says the same thing. 9Yes, it is written in the law of Moses: “When an ox is working in the grain, do not cover its mouth and keep it from eating.”# Quotation from Deuteronomy 25:4. When God said this, was he thinking only about oxen? No. 10He was really talking about us. Yes, that Scripture was written for us. The one who plows and the one who works in the grain should hope to get some of the grain for their work. 11We planted spiritual seed among you. So we should be able to harvest from you some things for this life. Surely this is not asking too much. 12Other men have the right to get something from you. So surely we have this right, too. But we do not use this right. No, we put up with everything ourselves so that we will not stop anyone from obeying the Good News of Christ. 13Surely you know that those who work at the Temple get their food from the Temple. And those who serve at the altar get part of what is offered at the altar. 14It is the same with those who tell the Good News. The Lord has commanded that those who tell the Good News should get their living from this work.
15But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this now to get anything from you. I would rather die than to have my reason for bragging taken away. 16Telling the Good News is not my reason for bragging. Telling the Good News is my duty—something I must do. And how bad it will be for me if I do not tell the Good News. 17If I preach because it is my own choice, I should get a reward. But I have no choice. I must tell the Good News. I am only doing the duty that was given to me. 18So what reward do I get? This is my reward: that when I tell the Good News I can offer it freely. In this way I do not use my right to be paid in my work for the Good News.
19I am free. I belong to no man. But I make myself a slave to all people. I do this to help save as many people as I can. 20To the Jews I became like a Jew. I did this to help save the Jews. I myself am not ruled by the law. But to those who are ruled by the law I became like a person who is ruled by the law. I did this to help save those who are ruled by the law. 21To those who are without the law I became like a person who is without the law. I did this to help save those people who are without the law. (But really, I am not without God’s law—I am ruled by Christ’s law.) 22To those who are weak, I became weak so that I could help save them. I have become all things to all people. I did this so that I could save some of them in any way possible. 23I do all this because of the Good News. I do it so that I can share in the blessings of the Good News.
24You know that in a race all the runners run. But only one gets the prize. So run like that. Run to win! 25All those who compete in the games use strict training. They do this so that they can win a crown. That crown is an earthly thing that lasts only a short time. But our crown will continue forever. 26So I do not run without a goal. I fight like a boxer who is hitting something—not just the air. 27It is my own body that I hit. I make it my slave. I do this so that I myself will not be rejected after I have preached to others.
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
1 Corinthians 9
9
The Rights of an Apostle
1I am free. I am an apostle. I have seen the Lord Jesus and have led you to have faith in him. 2Others may think that I am not an apostle, but you are proof that I am an apostle to you.
3When people question me, I tell them 4that Barnabas and I have the right to our food and drink. 5We each have the right to marry one of the Lord's followers and to take her along with us, just as the other apostles and the Lord's brothers and Peter#9.5 Peter: See the note at 1.12. do. 6Are we the only ones who have to support ourselves by working at another job? 7Do soldiers pay their own salaries? Don't people who raise grapes eat some of what they grow? Don't shepherds get milk from their own goats?
8-9 #
Dt 25.4; 1 Ti 5.18. I am not saying this on my own authority. The Law of Moses tells us not to muzzle an ox when it is grinding grain. But was God concerned only about an ox? 10No, he wasn't! He was talking about us. This was written in the Scriptures so that all who plow and all who grind the grain will look forward to sharing in the harvest.
11 #
Ro 15.27. When we told the message to you, it was like planting spiritual seed. So we have the right to accept material things as our harvest from you. 12If others have the right to do this, we have an even greater right. But we haven't used this right of ours. We are willing to put up with anything to keep from causing trouble for the message about Christ.
13 #
Dt 18.1. Don't you know that people who work in the temple make their living from what is brought to the temple? Don't you know that a person who serves at the altar is given part of what is offered? 14#Mt 10.10; Lk 10.7. In the same way, the Lord wants everyone who preaches the good news to make a living from preaching this message.
15But I have never used these privileges of mine, and I am not writing this because I want to start now. I would rather die than have someone rob me of the right to take pride in this. 16I don't have any reason to brag about preaching the good news. Preaching is something God told me to do, and if I don't do it, I am doomed. 17If I preach because I want to, I will be paid. But even if I don't want to, it is still something God has sent me to do. 18What pay am I given? It is the chance to preach the good news free of charge and not to use the privileges that are mine because I am a preacher.
19I am not anyone's slave. But I have become a slave to everyone, so I can win as many people as possible. 20When I am with the Jews, I live like a Jew to win Jews. They are ruled by the Law of Moses, and I am not. But I live by the Law to win them. 21And when I am with people who are not ruled by the Law, I forget about the Law to win them. Of course, I never really forget about the law of God. In fact, I am ruled by the law of Christ. 22When I am with people whose faith is weak, I live as they do to win them. I do everything I can to win everyone I possibly can. 23I do all this for the good news, because I want to share in its blessings.
A Race and a Fight
24 #
4 Macc 6.10. You know that many runners enter a race, and only one of them wins the prize. So run to win! 25#Ws 4.2; 5.16. Athletes work hard to win a crown that cannot last, but we do it for a crown that will last forever. 26I don't run without a goal. And I don't box by beating my fists in the air. 27I keep my body under control and make it my slave, so I won't lose out after telling the good news to others.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.