The Chosen Key Word in this Chapter is “Reward” it comes from the Greek Word “misthos” which means “reward, wage.”
Paul defends his right to be financially supported as an apostle, then explains why he deliberately gave that right up. Welcome to Bible Life Basics Chapter Reviews, I am Chris and this is 1 Corinthians 9.
Paul defends his apostleship and his rightful claim to material support, asking a series of rhetorical questions, whether he has not the right to eat and drink, to be accompanied by a believing wife, or to refrain from working for a living just as other apostles do. He appeals to common sense examples, a soldier, a vineyard planter, a shepherd, all benefiting from their own labor, and to the law of Moses itself, which forbids muzzling an ox while it treads out grain, arguing that this principle applies even more to those who labor spiritually, since “they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.”
Despite having this clear right, Paul explains he has deliberately used none of it, preferring to endure anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ, since necessity is laid upon him to preach, and he would consider it a genuine loss of his “reward,” “misthos” in Greek, if he preached for pay rather than willingly and free of charge. Though free from all men, Paul explains he has made himself “servant unto all, that I might gain the more.”
Paul describes his flexible, adaptable approach to ministry, becoming as a Jew to the Jews, as one under the law to those under the law, and as one without law to those without law, though never actually without God’s law but under Christ’s law, becoming all things to all people, “that I might by all means save some.” He compares this disciplined life to an athlete training for an incorruptible crown rather than a temporary one, explaining that he keeps his own body under strict control, “lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”
Paul’s willingness to set aside a legitimate right, financial support for his ministry, in order to remove any obstacle to the gospel, models real sacrificial flexibility. His famous phrase, becoming all things to all people, was never about compromising truth, but about willingly setting aside personal preference and comfort for the sake of genuinely reaching others.
Visit Us At: www.youtube.com/@BibleLifeBasics
Support Us On Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/BibleLifeBasics