1 Corinthians 9:15-18

1 Corinthians 9:15-18

But I myself do not make use of any of these.  And I did not write these things in order that it should become in me.  For it is better for me to die rather than for anyone to make my grounds for boast powerless.  For if I should proclaim the Gospel, it is not my grounds for boasting!  For necessity is imposed upon me.  Woe is me if I should not proclaim the Gospel!  For if I voluntarily do this, I have a reward.  But if unwillingly, I have been entrusted with stewardship.  Therefore, what is my reward?  In order that while I proclaim the Gospel, I should place the Gospel free of charge in order to not make full use of my authority in the Gospel.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought

One of the words that Paul uses that is the most confusing is this word: “boasting.”  So many people read this word and think that Paul is speaking in a prideful manner.  After all, isn’t boasting a display of pride?  But what Paul says is that he doesn’t want to be deprived of his grounds for boasting.  After all, as he confesses later it isn’t even his grounds for boasting.  What Paul is talking about here is that God is at work in him.  He doesn’t want there to be anything that takes away his ability to have God work in Him.  He is not boasting, but rather talking about God who is able to work through him.  He is not boasting about Paul’s work but rather about God’s work in him.

How easy is it for you to focus on God’s work in you?  Do you every truly want to boast about yourself?  How often are you able to boast about God’s work in you?

Second Thought:

In the middle of this passage, Paul gives us an absolutely brilliant comment that up until this moment was lost on me.  “If I voluntarily do this, I have a reward.  But if unwillingly, I have been entrusted with stewardship.”  Essentially, here is what Paul is saying.  Whether I proclaim the Gospel willingly or unwillingly, I am doing a good thing by proclaiming the Gospel.  But if I do it willingly, I get a reward.  If I do it unwillingly, it becomes a job.  Why do we pay people on jobs?  We pay them because they are doing something that they are not willing to do without pay.  Now, that’s not always true.  Sometimes we just have to put food on the table and if we did everything for free we wouldn’t be able to feed ourselves.  But here is Paul’s point with respect to spirituality.  If I do the work of God for free, I will get a reward from God.  If I do the work of God but require payment for it, I get wages instead of a reward.  But it is still good work and there is still benefit to doing it.  Here is the question, though.  Would I rather stand before God and collect a reward for voluntary work or collect wages because my faithful actions were from mandate rather than from voluntary action?  Let me put it another way.  People do things voluntarily because they are buying into the culture presented before them and they want to be a part.  People have to be paid because the culture needs a way to force buy-in.  That’s what Paul is talking about here.

Do you respond to God with voluntary action?  What do you do for the Kingdom for which you can anticipate reward?  Do you think it is better to receive reward or wage?  Why?

Third Thought:

Paul also speaks about the use – or lack thereof – of his “authority.”  By authority, Paul is talking about his ability to command that other people support him.  Paul isn’t talking about spiritual authority to preach or teach.  He’s solely talking about his authority to command people to support him.  Paul clearly says that he did not use this authority.  He desired to be able to offer the gospel free to anyone who desired it.  This is why Paul worked largely as a tentmaker while preaching and teaching about Jesus Christ throughout his day.  He felt called to do so, and he wanted there to be no reason for him to stop following in the call of God.

What do you think about Paul’s decision to intentionally not collect monetary support from the people to whom he was ministering?  Do you think this is because he was an evangelist and not a long-term pastor in the same geographical locale?  What would it look like to be discipled by Paul knowing that he wasn’t interested in taking money but at the same time also needing to work and support himself?

Passage for Tomorrow: 1 Corinthians 9:19-23