1Cor 9:12-19 | KingComments | STEP | . Paul is still busy to prove his right to support by the churches. In he has given three examples from daily living. By doing so he has, as he says here, spoken “according to human judgment”, thus according to what is common in society. . He doesn’t stop there. He even goes a step higher and quotes something from “the Law of Moses”. He uses an example from the Word of God and of course that is more powerful than what is common with people in society. The instruction he quotes, regards “the ox while he is threshing”. An ox that was threshing the grain was not to be muzzled. That was an instruction from God because He knows the heart of man. A relentless and greedy boss could have muzzled such an animal to prevent it from eating the grain. He would then have had more grain to sell on the market and therefore earn more money. Nevertheless, God had determined that an ox was allowed to eat from the grain he was threshing. So God cares for the oxen. God is concerned about the well-being of all animals ( ). In Jonah 4 God also considers the many animals when He decides to have compassion on Nineveh ( ). . Behind this instruction of God’s concern for the oxen, a higher instruction is hidden, namely God’s concern for His servants. It has been written for them in the first place. Very directly Paul wants to say here that he, as a sower and plowman, i.e. as an evangelist, and as the one who is permitted to see the fruit of this work, certainly can expect that food is given to him. Whether a servant is plowing or threshing, he can be sure that his work will be fruitful. The plowman is preparing the soil so that the seed can be sown in it. The thresher processes the harvest after the seed has grown and has ripened. A person may be standing at the beginning of the work of God, when he, for example, preaches the gospel to another person. Even so a person may also be standing at the end of that work when he, for example, can bring another person to the Lord Jesus. In both cases he is sowing something spiritual. . God shall provide for the means that are needed for the work. You can also provide other servants who have served you spiritually, with something material. Actually it is something you ought to do. Yet it is more beautiful to look at it as a privilege. When brothers have to travel often, you might provide them with money for those journeys. Or others who distribute much literature, you can provide those with money for literature. But even if they don’t have that much expense, you might also support them financially, so that they are able to buy food and drink and pay their housing costs. Here it is about people who have resigned from their job in society to spend their time henceforth on spiritual sowing-work. They are entitled to be provided by us in their living. This is how God has ordained it. . Paul once again brings out the right that he has with the Corinthians in this regard. He says that if others shared this right over them, he even does more. After all, they owed to no one as much as to him, did they? Nevertheless he had not used this right. To him the gospel of Christ was more important than all the rights he owned. He would have abandoned anything that would have been a hindrance for preaching the gospel. He preferred the endurance of being falsely accused by other people rather than that the progress of the gospel would be stopped. Imagine what would have had happened if he had insisted on his rights toward the Corinthians. Then they would have provided him with money and goods, but at the same time they would have boasted about that, as if the great apostle owed it to them that he could do his work. They could have even thought that they had bought the gospel. Paul made every effort to prevent that. . Before he continues on this, he remembers something else. There is one more example in the Old Testament from which it appears that a person who is in the service for God, receives something through that same service to support his life. It is about the priests and Levites. In the Old Testament the priests and Levites were a special class of people among Israel. They had to do tasks in the tabernacle, when the people were still in the wilderness, and later in the temple, when the people lived in the promised land. When an Israelite wanted or had to bring an offering, he gave that to the priest. The latter slaughtered it and put it as an offering on the altar. But God had ordained that the priest was allowed to keep a part of some offerings for himself to eat. In Leviticus 6 for example you read that the priest received a portion of the grain offering ( ). In the same chapter it is written that the priest who brought the sin offering had to eat of the sin offering ( ). The priests put the offerings on the altar and the Levites helped them thereby. In Numbers 18 you find something like that. The priests receive the breast and the right thigh as food ( ). With the Levites it was something different. Also in Numbers 18 the Israelite received the order to give their tithes to the Levites as an inheritance in return for the work which they performed ( ). In Deuteronomy 18 you read once more the way God had ordained how the tribe of Levi had to be provided for. The whole tribe of Levi, so all priests and Levites, had no inheritance in the land while all the other tribes had. The other tribes were able to farm on the land they received as an inheritance and provide themselves with the crop of their land. But the tribe of Levi had no piece of land to receive an income from. Concerning them, the Lord was their inheritance ( ). Therefore the Lord ensured them – through the means of instructions to the people – that the tribe of Levi would receive what they were entitled to. . The conclusion Paul draws from this, is as follows: “So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel.” Therefore do not shirk your responsibility to support brothers and sisters who go forth for the work of the Lord without receiving a permanent salary. In the third letter of John you find a nice example of someone who acted that way. Gaius supported brothers, whom he didn’t even know, because they “went forth for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles” ( ). If you would look at your involvement in the Lord’s work in that way, you will also be blessed. Just read what is written in Malachi 3 ( ). If you start to give for the work of the Lord, God will open the windows of heaven and pour out blessings abundantly over you. Herein lies, as it were, a real challenge from God’s side. Do you dare to accept this challenge? Now read 1 Corinthians 9:8-14 again. Reflection: The law says that you should give your tithes. What do you think ‘mercy’ says?

‏ 1 Corinthians 9:12-19

God’s Concern for His Servants

1Cor 9:8. Paul is still busy to prove his right to support by the churches. In 1Cor 9:7 he has given three examples from daily living. By doing so he has, as he says here, spoken “according to human judgment”, thus according to what is common in society.

1Cor 9:9. He doesn’t stop there. He even goes a step higher and quotes something from “the Law of Moses”. He uses an example from the Word of God and of course that is more powerful than what is common with people in society.

The instruction he quotes, regards “the ox while he is threshing”. An ox that was threshing the grain was not to be muzzled. That was an instruction from God because He knows the heart of man. A relentless and greedy boss could have muzzled such an animal to prevent it from eating the grain. He would then have had more grain to sell on the market and therefore earn more money. Nevertheless, God had determined that an ox was allowed to eat from the grain he was threshing.

So God cares for the oxen. God is concerned about the well-being of all animals (Psa 104:27-28). In Jonah 4 God also considers the many animals when He decides to have compassion on Nineveh (Jona 4:11).

1Cor 9:10. Behind this instruction of God’s concern for the oxen, a higher instruction is hidden, namely God’s concern for His servants. It has been written for them in the first place. Very directly Paul wants to say here that he, as a sower and plowman, i.e. as an evangelist, and as the one who is permitted to see the fruit of this work, certainly can expect that food is given to him. Whether a servant is plowing or threshing, he can be sure that his work will be fruitful.

The plowman is preparing the soil so that the seed can be sown in it. The thresher processes the harvest after the seed has grown and has ripened. A person may be standing at the beginning of the work of God, when he, for example, preaches the gospel to another person. Even so a person may also be standing at the end of that work when he, for example, can bring another person to the Lord Jesus. In both cases he is sowing something spiritual.

1Cor 9:11. God shall provide for the means that are needed for the work. You can also provide other servants who have served you spiritually, with something material. Actually it is something you ought to do. Yet it is more beautiful to look at it as a privilege. When brothers have to travel often, you might provide them with money for those journeys. Or others who distribute much literature, you can provide those with money for literature. But even if they don’t have that much expense, you might also support them financially, so that they are able to buy food and drink and pay their housing costs.

Here it is about people who have resigned from their job in society to spend their time henceforth on spiritual sowing-work. They are entitled to be provided by us in their living. This is how God has ordained it.

1Cor 9:12. Paul once again brings out the right that he has with the Corinthians in this regard. He says that if others shared this right over them, he even does more. After all, they owed to no one as much as to him, did they? Nevertheless he had not used this right. To him the gospel of Christ was more important than all the rights he owned. He would have abandoned anything that would have been a hindrance for preaching the gospel.

He preferred the endurance of being falsely accused by other people rather than that the progress of the gospel would be stopped. Imagine what would have had happened if he had insisted on his rights toward the Corinthians. Then they would have provided him with money and goods, but at the same time they would have boasted about that, as if the great apostle owed it to them that he could do his work. They could have even thought that they had bought the gospel. Paul made every effort to prevent that.

1Cor 9:13. Before he continues on this, he remembers something else. There is one more example in the Old Testament from which it appears that a person who is in the service for God, receives something through that same service to support his life. It is about the priests and Levites. In the Old Testament the priests and Levites were a special class of people among Israel. They had to do tasks in the tabernacle, when the people were still in the wilderness, and later in the temple, when the people lived in the promised land.

When an Israelite wanted or had to bring an offering, he gave that to the priest. The latter slaughtered it and put it as an offering on the altar. But God had ordained that the priest was allowed to keep a part of some offerings for himself to eat. In Leviticus 6 for example you read that the priest received a portion of the grain offering (Lev 6:16). In the same chapter it is written that the priest who brought the sin offering had to eat of the sin offering (Lev 6:26). The priests put the offerings on the altar and the Levites helped them thereby. In Numbers 18 you find something like that. The priests receive the breast and the right thigh as food (Num 18:18). With the Levites it was something different. Also in Numbers 18 the Israelite received the order to give their tithes to the Levites as an inheritance in return for the work which they performed (Num 18:21).

In Deuteronomy 18 you read once more the way God had ordained how the tribe of Levi had to be provided for. The whole tribe of Levi, so all priests and Levites, had no inheritance in the land while all the other tribes had. The other tribes were able to farm on the land they received as an inheritance and provide themselves with the crop of their land. But the tribe of Levi had no piece of land to receive an income from. Concerning them, the Lord was their inheritance (Deu 18:2). Therefore the Lord ensured them – through the means of instructions to the people – that the tribe of Levi would receive what they were entitled to.

1Cor 9:14. The conclusion Paul draws from this, is as follows: “So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel.” Therefore do not shirk your responsibility to support brothers and sisters who go forth for the work of the Lord without receiving a permanent salary.

In the third letter of John you find a nice example of someone who acted that way. Gaius supported brothers, whom he didn’t even know, because they “went forth for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles” (3Jn 1:7).

If you would look at your involvement in the Lord’s work in that way, you will also be blessed. Just read what is written in Malachi 3 (Mal 3:10). If you start to give for the work of the Lord, God will open the windows of heaven and pour out blessings abundantly over you. Herein lies, as it were, a real challenge from God’s side. Do you dare to accept this challenge?

Now read 1 Corinthians 9:8-14 again.

Reflection: The law says that you should give your tithes. What do you think ‘mercy’ says?

Win More

1Cor 9:15. Paul has proven his right for support by believers clearly and extensively. Now he senses the danger that the Corinthians would be thinking that he had written all those things to get money from them. That was certainly not his intention! In the past he never accepted anything from the Corinthians and that was still the case.

Some of the Corinthians thought that Paul only preached for his own benefit. To nip this thought in the bud, he says that he would rather die than want to give that impression. He would like to have his boast, not for himself, but for the gospel. He didn’t want to be obstructed by anything at preaching the gospel (1Cor 9:12). The gospel had to be brought in all its clearness and without any restriction.

Money can play an obstructing role in preaching the Word. There is a saying that sounds: ‘Who pays the piper calls the tune.’ That indicates that you are inclined to say what people like to hear who give you a lot of money. You might become fully dependent on them. It is a danger that threatens each preacher who preaches on demand to people who also pay him. You may think on what is written in 2 Timothy 4: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but [wanting] to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires” (2Tim 4:3). But a servant of the Lord must speak the Word of the Lord, without having thoughts about whether or not he will receive a reward from anyone.

1Cor 9:16. When Paul was preaching the gospel, it wasn’t something he could boast in. He owed that to the Lord, for He was the One Who commanded him to do it. He talks about the necessity that was laid upon him, not by people or by an organization, but by the Lord. He even speaks the “woe” over himself if he doesn’t preach the gospel.

1Cor 9:17. To him preaching the gospel was not a kind of voluntary work. In general voluntary work is appreciated well in our society. Such an appreciation would also be his reward, in case he worked as a volunteer for the Lord. But Paul was not willingly or voluntarily a preacher of the gospel. “A stewardship” was “entrusted” to him by the Lord. Paul was aware of his responsibility. Therefore he did not want to connect the gospel with money nor goods in any way.

1Cor 9:18. His “reward” consisted of the assurance that his Master approved what he was doing. That ‘reward’ was sufficient for him. He didn’t need a reward from the Corinthians. He wanted to preach the gospel for free and did not want to make use of his right for support. In that way he remained free from all men.

1Cor 9:19. That freedom concerned only his work. As for himself, he wanted to be a servant to all people, to win through the gospel as many people as possible for the Lord Jesus. How much, in that respect, does he resemble the Lord Jesus Himself, Who also did everything without asserting His right for compensation. Who was as free as He was? He did not allow anyone to tell Him what He should do. Though, who was a servant like Him? He came, not to do His own will, but the will of His Father.

1Cor 9:20. Paul made himself a servant to all men willingly. His desire was to serve every man with the gospel. He adjusted himself as much as he possibly could to meet his listeners. When he was preaching to the Jews, he adjusted himself to the habits of the Jews. That implies that he wouldn’t eat pork when having a meal with a Jew. He wanted to use every opportunity to win the heart of the Jew by fulfilling, as much as possible, all outward demands that were of importance to the Jews. He considered the commandments from the law if he could win the heart of a Jew for the gospel.

That didn’t mean, however, that he was willing to preach the law again. He himself was free from the law and he wouldn’t permit to be brought back under the yoke of the law again. Only if the situation demanded that it would serve the advancement of the gospel, he adjusted himself to it.

When he preached the gospel to the Gentiles, thus to people to whom God had not given the law, he operated differently. Then he descended to their level of thinking. In Acts 17 you read about a speech of Paul that hooks up to the thinking of the people from Athens (Acts 17:22-34).

In our days other ways of adjustment are also possible. Just think about the missionaries who go to the inlands of Africa or who travel to other countries with totally different cultures to preach the gospel. They get the best entrance to the gospel when they start living in the same way as the native people.

1Cor 9:21. The fact that he was “without law” did not mean that he behaved himself lawlessly. At approaching the Gentiles he remained subject to Christ. He would have never acted in a way that was not in accordance with his Commander.

Some nice examples of the way to approach people, you find in John 3 and 4. In John 3 the Lord Jesus speaks with a high-placed spiritual leader of Israel. In John 4 He speaks with a woman who was through and through sinful. It is wonderful to see how the approach of the Lord is adjusted exactly for each person (Jn 3:1-12 ; Jn 4:7-26).

The lesson is clear. Adjust yourself as much as possible to your conversation partner, whom you want to win for the gospel’s sake, but keep your eye fixed on the purpose. Toward someone who has placed himself under the law, as many reformed Christians do, admit the good things of the law. In that way you can keep the conversation going on with them. Try to demonstrate what effect the law has had, death and judgment (2Cor 3:7 ; 9), and what God’s solution is for this problem, Christ, Who suffered the curse of the law (Gal 3:13). During the conversation, remain aware that you are free from the law and do not give the other person any room to bring you under the influence of the law.

In your conversations with worldly people who have nothing to do with religion and who waste their lives with hunting for money, drink, drugs and sex, you act differently. Stand beside them and tell them that you can understand them in their desire for happiness. Make yourself a friend of them; the Lord Jesus is called “a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Mt 11:19). You can tell them about the happiness you have found in the Lord Jesus. During the conversation, remain aware that you are legally subjected to Christ and don’t let yourself be tempted to a worldly way of thinking and living.

Now read 1 Corinthians 9:15-21 again.

Reflection: Do you also have the desire to win people for Christ?