1 Corinthians 9
The Apostle Paul defends his authority and right to be supported by the Corinthian church, citing his role as an apostle and the fact that he has seen Jesus Christ. He notes that he and Barnabas are the only apostles who do not receive support, despite the fact that soldiers, farmers, and shepherds are all supported by their work. Paul explains that he has chosen not to accept support in order to avoid hindering the gospel, and that he has become a servant to all in order to gain as many people as possible for Christ. He uses the analogy of a runner in a race to encourage the Corinthians to strive for spiritual excellence.
1 Am I not free? Am I not an Apostle? Have I not seen Christ Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord 2 And if I am not an Apostle to others, yet still I am to you. For you are the seal of my Apostleship in the Lord 3 My defense with those who question me is this 4 Do we not have the authority to eat and to drink 5 Do we not have the authority to travel around with a woman who is a sister, just as do the other Apostles, and the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas 6 Or is it only myself and Barnabas who do not have the authority to act in this way 7 Who has ever served as a soldier and paid his own stipend? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat from its produce? Who pastures a flock and does not drink from the milk of the flock 8 Am I saying these things according to man? Or does the law not also say these things 9 For it is written in the law of Moses: "You shall not bind the mouth of an ox, while it is treading out the grain." Is God here concerned with the oxen 10 Or is he saying this, indeed, for our sake? These things were written specifically for us, because he who plows, ought to plow in hope, and he who threshes, too, in hope of receiving the produce 11 If we have sown spiritual things in you, is it important if we harvest from your worldly things 12 If others are sharers in this authority over you, why are we not more entitled? And yet we have not used this authority. Instead, we bear all things, lest we give any hindrance to the Gospel of Christ 13 Do you not know that those who work in the holy place eat the things that are for the holy place, and that those who serve at the altar also share with the altar 14 So, too, has the Lord ordained that those who announce the Gospel should live by the Gospel 15 Yet I have used none of these things. And I have not written so that these things may be done for me. For it is better for me to die, rather than to let anyone empty out my glory 16 For if I preach the Gospel, it is not glory for me. For an obligation has been laid upon me. And woe to me, if I do not preach the Gospel 17 For if I do this willingly, I have a reward. But if I do this reluctantly, a dispensation is granted to me 18 And what, then, would be my reward? So, when preaching the Gospel, I should give the Gospel without taking, so that I may not misuse my authority in the Gospel 19 For when I was a free man to all, I made myself the servant of all, so that I might gain all the more 20 And so, to the Jews, I became like a Jew, so that I might gain the Jews 21 To those who are under the law, I became as if I were under the law, (though I was not under the law) so that I might gain those who were under the law. To those who were without the law, I became as if I were without the law, (though I was not without the law of God, being in the law of Christ) so that I might gain those who were without the law 22 To the weak, I became weak, so that I might gain the weak. To all, I became all, so that I might save all 23 And I do everything for the sake of the Gospel, so that I may become its partner 24 Do you not know that, of those who run in a race, all of them, certainly, are runners, but only one achieves the prize. Similarly, you must run, so that you may achieve 25 And one who competes in a contest abstains from all things. And they do this, of course, so that they may achieve a corruptible crown. But we do this, so that we may achieve what is incorruptible 26 And so I run, but not with uncertainty. And so I fight, but not by flailing in the air 27 Instead, I chastise my body, so as to redirect it into servitude. Otherwise, I might preach to others, but become myself an outcast