NOTES for Co1 9:15-26
15 But I have used none of these things: neither have I written these things, that it should be so done unto me: for it were better for me to die, than that any man should make my glorying void. |
16 For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel! |
17 For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me. |
18 What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel. |
19 For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. |
20 And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; |
21 To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. |
22 To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. |
23 And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you. |
24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. |
25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. |
26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: |
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Continuing the discussion of his apostolic ministry, Paul once again draws his readers' attention to the fact that he never intended to use the opportunities for support from the churches where his ministry took place, even though in his own opinion he had every right to them (v. 15). He did this not because he considered himself worse than others, but because he did not want to lose what the apostle calls his "boast" (the corresponding Greek word could also be translated as "glory" or "glorifying," v. 16). This thought of Paul's is close to the Savior's call to the apostles to consider themselves unworthy servants even when they have, as it were, done everything required of them and done it well. The point, of course, is not that the labor of witnesses to the Kingdom is worth nothing, but rather how such a witness relates to his ministry.
One can relate to it merely as work, necessary and even joyful work, but still only work, fulfilling the duties God has laid on the minister. Or one can serve God in such a way that ministry becomes an inseparable part of the minister's life; then the question of payment no longer arises, though a reward is possible (vv. 16-17).
The difference is that payment is always proportional to the work done, while a reward is not always so. Paul understands perfectly that in the Kingdom there is no payment for work, but there is reward for servants. In order to receive it, one must from the very beginning forget every calculation, giving oneself to ministry completely and without reserve, becoming, in the apostle's words, "all things to all people, that by all means I might save some" (vv. 18-23). The apostle speaks of just such ministry, comparing it with athletic contests in which one can win only by investing one's whole self in the victory, without reserve (vv. 24-27). In the Kingdom, one can live only a full life. It is entirely permeated by the breath of God, and every citizen of the Kingdom can receive that breath in all its fullness. But only on one condition: that he not calculate how much each movement and each breath costs.
Readings for 6 May 2025
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