First Letter to the Corinthians -- Chapter 9

Having finished addressing the subject of food sacrificed to idols Paul continues on to defend his Christian freedom and ministry as an Apostle of Jesus Christ. He is not doing this for selfish reasons but thru this defense he has a much higher goal of teaching in mind. “Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord? Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me” (1 Corinthians 9:1-3). In these opening words Paul references how he was called to be the Apostle of Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus. On that road he saw Jesus Christ with his own two eyes and was irrevocably appointed and called by Him to proclaim the gospel to the gentiles. Even if some ignorant groups disputed his authority as an Apostle, Paul urged the Corinthians to see that of all people they should recognize him as such. Wasn’t it his work and proclamation of God’s Word that brought about their conversion? Was not their church proof of God’s work buried within his commission to preach the gospel?

Continuing on Paul discusses the rights he has as a Christian: “Don’t we have the right to food and drink? Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord's brothers and Cephas? Or is it only I and Barnabas who must work for a living? Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk?” (1 Corinthians 9:4-7). As a fellow Christian, just like the rest of us, Paul asks: Don’t I have the right and freedom to eat and drink whatever I please, just like you? Don’t I have the right and freedom to take a wife if I choose to do so, just like you? Don’t I also have the right and freedom to receive daily support for the toils of my work, just like you? Or am I somehow exempt from being supported in my ministry and thereby forced to work multiple side jobs just to squeeze by? Paul has the exact same rights and freedoms as all Christians and he wants the Corinthians to see this. He hammers home his point by using the Scriptures: “Do I say this merely from a human point of view? Doesn't the Law say the same thing? For it is written in the Law of Moses: ‘Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.’ Is it about oxen that God is concerned? Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he? Yes, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? If others have this right of support from you, shouldn't we have it all the more? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ. Don’t you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:8-14). Paul wants us to see that the Scriptures were not written for the sake of oxen or anything else, but that they were all written for us. Paul implores us to therefore realize that those who preach the gospel have the right to be supported by those to whom they proclaim God’s Word (for all men have the right to receive their daily bread from their labors). It is inappropriate for congregations to “muzzle” those who proclaim God’s Word by refusing to support them with material necessities; they should instead actively support them so that they may be provided for in this life and enabled to proclaim God’s Word fulltime and without any “side jobs.” Thru bringing this up Paul wishes to show the church at Corinth that it is their duty to help those in the future who would come to them with the gospel. However this is not Paul’s main point or lesson.

Continuing on to the heart of the matter, he points out that he has deliberately forsaken his rights so as not to be a burden or hindrance upon the message he is proclaiming. “But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me. I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of this boast. Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it” (1 Corinthians 9:15-18). Paul doesn’t want the support of the Corinthians; Paul wants them to see the authority of Jesus Christ by whom he speaks. Paul doesn’t want the Corinthians to see “Paul”; he wants them to see Jesus Christ and the message of the cross that he has willingly given everything up for. Paul does not preach because he wants to or because he can make money or even a comfortable living by doing so; no, Paul preaches the gospel because the grace of God compels him, he has no choice. “The word of Yahweh has brought me insult and reproach all day long. But if I say, ‘I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,’ his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot” (Jeremiah 20:8-9). It is this that Paul wants the Corinthians to see. He wants them to stop listening to false teachers and preachers and to adhere to the full council of God that he brought them. He wants them to see the gospel that he is unequivocally passionate about, the gospel for which he would die a thousand painful deaths. He would do anything to make this message of the cross known: “Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings” (1 Corinthians 9:19-23). All Paul cares about is Jesus Christ and His gospel. For the sake of Jesus Christ Paul is willing to forsake all things. He is willing to give up all rights and freedoms so that the message of the cross may be proclaimed. It is this example that Paul is trying to illustrate to us. He is not ultimately talking about preachers getting material support, he is ultimately talking about discipleship and how we should be willing to give up all things for the sake of Christ. He wants us to see the message of Jesus Christ which is of unparalleled importance and significance, the Message which makes all things of this life pale in comparison. “Whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith” (Philippians 3:7-9). Paul is pointing us to the Gospel and to his example in preaching so we might have something to imitate. “I urge you to imitate me” (1 Corinthians 4:16). His goal is not to point to himself in order to boast, but to point to himself in order that thru imitating his discipleship we may be pointed to the cross of Jesus Christ.

It is with this in mind that he continues: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27). Paul concludes his beautiful testimony by comparing discipleship to something the Corinthians could relate to. Every three years the Isthmian games were held in the vicinity of Corinth and Paul wants to teach us thru this worldly and well known spectacle. Thru the analogy of the races run at these games Paul implores the Corinthians (and us!) to run the race of discipleship with perseverance, effort, diligence, and a passionate fight. Complacence has absolutely no place in the life of the Christian. The true effects of grace always spur men into action, into lives of bold discipleship that desire to live up to what we have already attained in Jesus Christ. There is a real danger in becoming lazy and complacent in the grace of God, and therefore Paul urges us to learn from his example and follow Jesus Christ with every fiber of our being. We run the race because we have taken hold of by Jesus Christ. We run the race because we are compelled thru the call and Word of Christ to cling to the cross and follow Him with unrelenting fervor and obedience. We run the race because Jesus Christ has already run and won the race on our behalf, and He continues to run it before us (leading us onward) even today. Let us therefore pray that we do not fall into the trap of abusing the grace of God, but that thru daily repentance before the law of God and thru faith in the uplifting gospel of the cross that we are empowered to run the faithful race of discipleship to Jesus Christ. “I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus…Let us live up to what we have already attained” (Philippians 3:12-14, 16).

First Letter to the Corinthians -- Chapter 8

Having concluded his thoughts on marriage Paul continues on by discussing our Christian freedom by means of the topic of food sacrificed to idols. “Now about food sacrificed to idols” (1 Corinthians 8:1). Matthew Henry adequately rephrased this concern and question that the Corinthians had: “Christians lived among idolaters, had many relations and friends that were such, with whom they must keep up acquaintance and maintain good neighborhood, and therefore have occasion to eat at their tables, what should they do if any thing that had been sacrificed should be set before them?” This is the question that Paul will set out to answer but before getting into it more deeply he starts with a few important preface points, reminding us that the knowledge and wisdom of men is nothing before God: “We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know” (1 Corinthians 8:1-2). No matter how much knowledge we have in this life it is useless apart from God and His love. Paul is quick to point out to the Corinthians (Greeks who were obsessed with knowledge and wisdom) that human knowledge can only puff us up, making us big in our perception but truly empty and hollow within. Like a balloon, knowledge can inflate us to outward seeming growth while in reality any trouble or thorn in life will quickly bring all that knowledge to naught, showing us we are only full of hot, meaningless air. True wisdom therefore lies in knowing that we are foolish, and true knowledge lies in recognizing our ignorance. “Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him” (Proverbs 26:12). “Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:22). “If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a ‘fool’ so that he may become wise” (1 Corinthians 3:18). “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you” (Romans 12:3). As Paul says, if we think we know something then we do know anything at all. Therefore it is ironically only the man who realizes he knows nothing that in reality knows something. True wisdom lies in seeing that before God Almighty we are less than nothing and that all our perceived knowledge amounts to a big fat zero.

Paul continues on: “But the man who loves God is known by God” (1 Corinthians 8:3). Here Paul reveals what is truly significant. The important thing is not what or how much we know, but who we are known by. Some will argue that we need to know Jesus Christ (and indeed we do), but we only know Christ because Christ knew us, seeking us out and saving us thru His blood. We do not rest content in our knowledge of God, we rest content because thru Jesus Christ we are known and loved by God; all of our knowledge of God is worthless if we are not known by Him. A song by Daniel Lanois entitled “The Maker” illustrates this beautifully: “Oh deep water, black and cold like the night. I stand with arms wide open; I’ve run a twisted mile. I'm a stranger in the eyes of the Maker. I could not see for fog in my eyes, I could not feel for the fear in my life.” In these couple lines we see how even though our arms are wide open and all our best efforts are put forth we can do nothing but run a twisted and depraved mile. We are blind and unfeeling despite all the knowledge, seeking, trying, choices, efforts, and wisdom of this life. Thru our empty knowledge we are nothing but strangers in the eyes of the Maker; nothing we can do can make God know us. The song continues: “From across the great divide, in the distance I saw a Light, John Baptist walking to me with the Maker. My body is bent and broken by long and dangerous sleep, I can work the fields of Abraham and turn my head away. I’m not a stranger in the eyes of the Maker.” Across the great divide of our helplessness came Jesus Christ, the Light of the world. “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). Thru Him and His work we ceased being strangers in the eyes of our Father, we became known by God.

Having laid the foundation with these key points Paul continues on to the specific topic the Corinthians were interested about: “So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many ‘gods’ and many ‘lords’), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live” (1 Corinthians 8:4-6). All the powers and gods of this world are nothing in spite of all their feigned knowledge and wisdom; they are literally powerless against us because we are known by God in Jesus Christ our Lord. The idols, false gods, and false religions of the world are themselves nothing at all and therefore their practices, rites, and rituals are also nothing. Therefore Paul tells us that food sacrificed to an idol is simply this: food. Just because something of God’s creation is perverted and twisted by unbelievers doesn’t make it perverted for us. Empty belief in powerless idols does not affect or alter the truth of the one God who is revealed in Jesus Christ. “But not everyone knows this. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do” (1 Corinthians 8:7). Even though these idols are nothing some believers and Christians do not know this. The modern day equivalent of this is how some Christians struggle with things like Halloween (I speak of the “holiday”, not actual devil worship), the rituals of other religions, the fact that some Christian traditions were derived from pagan customs, tattoos, piercings, etc. Thru the Scriptures however we know that everything in God’s creation is made clean for us thru the blood of Christ so when we have a strong conscience and faith we can participate in all sorts of things that have been perverted by unbelievers, because thru God’s Word they are sanctified and consecrated to us. “Everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer” (1 Timothy 4:4-5). As Paul says, food is just food, therefore it doesn’t matter to the believer one way or another. The problem arises when we do not respect and bear with those who have a lack of knowledge and a weak conscience or faith, and we rub our Christian freedom in their face.

Therefore Paul continues in this warning: “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol's temple, won't he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge” (1 Corinthians 8:9-11). We must be extremely careful not to cause those around us to stumble in their faith because of some knowledge that we have (we must always remember it is not our knowledge that makes us a Christian, but instead God’s knowledge of us). Someone who is less informed than we are or who is new or weak in faith might see us partaking in things that we know are perfectly fine, however this may cause them to stumble into idolatry if they begin to think the false teaching or empty ritual is actually something of substance and ok to follow. Some simply do not yet have the knowledge to see the freedoms and victory we have in Christ over all things. For instance, participating in Halloween is a perfectly fine thing when we realize that such pagans things are nothing and have no power over us, however if our fellow believer somehow comes to think that demon worship or séances are acceptable because we go to a Halloween party then we will have failed them. Christ died for this person so we should treat them with the tender loving care they need and not abuse or break them thru our knowledge. “He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart” (Isaiah 40:11). “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out” (Isaiah 42:3).

Moving on, Paul warns us to be extra sensitive because causing our weak brother to stumble is in fact sinning against Christ Himself: “When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ” (1 Corinthians 8:12). Therefore we need to pay special attention to those who are infants in Christ, so that our actions, freedoms, and knowledge will not crush their weak consciences. “Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall” (1 Corinthians 8:13). We should willingly forsake all our rights, liberties, knowledge, and freedoms for the sake of our brother. His soul and life means far more than any right or freedom we have. What good are our freedoms in Christ if we use them without love towards our fellow man? Let us therefore pray that we willingly put aside our selfish desires, knowledge, and freedoms when needed so that thru our patient bearing of our fellow man we will effectively bear witness to the love of God that has been given to us all in Jesus Christ crucified. “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:12-13).