1 Corinthians 9
9
Rights and Duties of an Apostle
1Am I not a free man? Am I not an apostle? Haven't I seen Jesus our Lord? And aren't you the result of my work for the Lord? 2Even if others do not accept me as an apostle, surely you do! Because of your life in union with the Lord you yourselves are proof of the fact that I am an apostle.
3When people criticize me, this is how I defend myself: 4Haven't I the right to be given food and drink for my work? 5Haven't I the right to follow the example of the other apostles and the Lord's brothers and Peter, by taking a Christian wife with me on my travels? 6Or are Barnabas and I the only ones who have to work for our living? 7What soldier ever has to pay his own expenses in the army? What farmer does not eat the grapes from his own vineyard? What shepherd does not use the milk from his own sheep?
8I don't have to limit myself to these everyday examples, because the Law says the same thing. 9#Deut 25.4; 1 Tim 5.18We read in the Law of Moses, “Do not muzzle an ox when you are using it to thresh corn.” Now, is God concerned about oxen? 10Didn't he really mean us when he said that? Of course that was written for us. The one who ploughs and the one who reaps should do their work in the hope of getting a share of the crop. 11#Rom 15.27We have sown spiritual seed among you. Is it too much if we reap material benefits from you? 12If others have the right to expect this from you, haven't we an even greater right?
But we haven't made use of this right. Instead, we have endured everything in order not to put any obstacle in the way of the Good News about Christ. 13#Deut 18.1Surely you know that the men who work in the Temple get their food from the Temple and that those who offer the sacrifices on the altar get a share of the sacrifices. 14#Mt 10.10; Lk 10.7In the same way, the Lord has ordered that those who preach the gospel should get their living from it.
15But I haven't made use of any of these rights, nor am I writing this now in order to claim such rights for myself. I would rather die first! Nobody is going to turn my rightful boast into empty words! 16I have no right to boast just because I preach the gospel. After all, I am under orders to do so. And how terrible it would be for me if I did not preach the gospel! 17If I did my work as a matter of free choice, then I could expect to be paid; but I do it as a matter of duty, because God has entrusted me with this task. 18What pay do I get, then? It is the privilege of preaching the Good News without charging for it, without claiming my rights in my work for the gospel.
19I am a free man, nobody's slave; but I make myself everybody's slave in order to win as many people as possible. 20While working with the Jews, I live like a Jew in order to win them; and even though I myself am not subject to the Law of Moses, I live as though I were when working with those who are, in order to win them. 21In the same way, when working with Gentiles, I live like a Gentile, outside the Jewish Law, in order to win Gentiles. This does not mean that I don't obey God's law; I am really under Christ's law. 22Among the weak in faith I become weak like one of them, in order to win them. So I become all things to all people, that I may save some of them by whatever means are possible.
23All this I do for the gospel's sake, in order to share in its blessings. 24Surely you know that many runners take part in a race, but only one of them wins the prize. Run, then, in such a way as to win the prize. 25Every athlete in training submits to strict discipline, in order to be crowned with a wreath that will not last; but we do it for one that will last for ever. 26That is why I run straight for the finishing line; that is why I am like a boxer who does not waste his punches. 27I harden my body with blows and bring it under complete control, to keep myself from being disqualified after having called others to the contest.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
1 Corinthians 9
9
Paul Gives Up His Rights as an Apostle
1 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? 2If to others I am not an apostle, yet indeed I am to you, for you are my seal of apostleship in the Lord. 3My defense to those who examine me is this: 4Do we not have the right to eat and drink? 5Do we not have the right to take along a sister as wife, like the rest of the apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? 6Or do only I and Barnabas not have the right to refrain from working#Literally “not to work”? 7Who ever serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat the fruit of it? Who#Some manuscripts have “Or who” shepherds a flock and does not drink#Literally “eat” from the milk of the flock? 8I am not saying these things according to a human perspective. Or does the law not also say these things? 9For in the law of Moses it is written, “You must not muzzle an ox while it#*Here “while” is supplied as a component of the participle (“threshing”) which is understood as temporal is threshing.”#A quotation from Deut 25:4 It is not about oxen God is concerned, is it?#*The negative construction in Greek anticipates a negative answer here 10Or doubtless does he speak for our sake#Literally “for the sake of us”? For it is written for our sake#Literally “for the sake of us”, because the one who plows ought to plow in hope and the one who threshes ought to do so in hope of a share. 11If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too great a thing if we reap material things from you? 12If others share this right over you, do we not do so even more? Yet we have not made use of this right, but we endure all things, in order that we may not cause any hindrance to the gospel of Christ.
13Do you not know that those performing the holy services eat the things from the temple, and those attending to the altar have a share with the altar? 14In the same way also the Lord ordered those who proclaim the gospel to live from the gospel. 15But I have not made use of any of these rights. And I am not writing these things in order that it may be thus with me. For it would be better to me rather to die than for anyone to deprive me of my reason for boasting. 16For if I proclaim the gospel, it is not to me a reason for boasting, for necessity is imposed on me. For woe is to me if I do not proclaim the gospel. 17For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward, but if I do so unwillingly, I have been entrusted with a stewardship. 18What then is my reward? That when I#*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“proclaim the gospel”) which is understood as temporal proclaim the gospel, I may offer the gospel free of charge, in order not to make full use of my right in the gospel.
19For although I#*Here “although” is supplied as a component of the participle (“am”) which is understood as concessive am free from all people, I have enslaved myself to all, in order that I may gain more. 20I have become like a Jew to the Jews, in order that I may gain the Jews. To those under the law I became as under the law (although I#*Here “although” is supplied as a component of the participle (“am”) which is understood as concessive myself am not under the law) in order that I may gain those under the law. 21To those outside the law I became as outside the law (although I#*Here “although” is supplied as a component of the participle (“am”) which is understood as concessive am not outside the law of God, but subject to the law of Christ) in order that I may gain those outside the law. 22To the weak I became weak, in order that I may gain the weak. I have become all things to all people, in order that by all means I may save some. 23I do all this for the sake of the gospel, in order that I may become a participant with it.
24Do you not know that those who run in the stadium all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. 25And everyone who competes exercises self-control in all things. Thus those do so in order that they may receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one. 26Therefore I run in this way, not as running aimlessly; I box in this way, not as beating the air. 27But I discipline my body and subjugate it, lest somehow after#*Here “after” is supplied as a component of the participle (“preaching”) which is understood as temporal preaching to others, I myself should become disqualified.
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