1 Corinthians 9
9
Paul Is like the Other Apostles
1I am a free man. I am an apostle. I have seen Jesus our Lord. You people are all an example of my work in the Lord. 2If others do not accept me as an apostle, surely you do, because you are proof that I am an apostle in the Lord.
3This is the answer I give people who want to judge me: 4Do we not have the right to eat and drink? 5Do we not have the right to bring a believing wife with us when we travel as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Peter? 6Are Barnabas and I the only ones who must work to earn our living? 7No soldier ever serves in the army and pays his own salary. No one ever plants a vineyard without eating some of the grapes. No person takes care of a flock without drinking some of the milk.
8I do not say this by human authority; God’s law also says the same thing. 9It is written in the law of Moses: “When an ox is working in the grain, do not cover its mouth to keep it from eating.” When God said this, was he thinking only about oxen? No. 10He was really talking about us. Yes, that Scripture was written for us, because it goes on to say: “The one who plows and the one who works in the grain should hope to get some of the grain for their work.” 11Since we planted spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we should harvest material things? 12If others have the right to get something from you, surely we have this right, too. But we do not use it. No, we put up with everything ourselves so that we will not keep anyone from believing the Good News of Christ. 13Surely you know that those who work at the Temple get their food from the Temple, and those who serve at the altar get part of what is offered at the altar. 14In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who tell the Good News should get their living from this work.
15But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this now to get anything from you. I would rather die than to have my reason for bragging taken away. 16Telling the Good News does not give me any reason for bragging. Telling the Good News is my duty—something I must do. And how terrible it will be for me if I do not tell the Good News. 17If I preach because it is my own choice, I have a reward. But if I preach and it is not my choice to do so, I am only doing the duty that was given to me. 18So what reward do I get? This is my reward: that when I tell the Good News I can offer it freely. I do not use my full rights in my work of preaching the Good News.
19I am free and belong to no one. But I make myself a slave to all people to win as many as I can. 20To the Jews I became like a Jew to win the Jews. I myself am not ruled by the law. But to those who are ruled by the law I became like a person who is ruled by the law. I did this to win those who are ruled by the law. 21To those who are without the law I became like a person who is without the law. I did this to win those people who are without the law. (But really, I am not without God’s law—I am ruled by Christ’s law.) 22To those who are weak, I became weak so I could win the weak. I have become all things to all people so I could save some of them in any way possible. 23I do all this because of the Good News and so I can share in its blessings.
24You know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize. So run to win! 25All those who compete in the games use self-control so they can win a crown. That crown is an earthly thing that lasts only a short time, but our crown will never be destroyed. 26So I do not run without a goal. I fight like a boxer who is hitting something—not just the air. 27I treat my body hard and make it my slave so that I myself will not be disqualified after I have preached to others.
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
1 Corinthians 9
9
Paul’s Rights as an Apostle
1Aren’t I free? Aren’t I an apostle? Haven’t I seen Jesus our Lord? Aren’t you the result of my work for the Lord? 2Others might not think of me as an apostle, but I’m certainly one to you! You’re the proof that I am the Lord’s apostle.
3This is how I defend myself when people judge me. 4Don’t we have the right to eat and drink? 5Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us when we travel? That’s what the other apostles do, and the Lord’s brothers and Peter do the same. 6Or are Barnabas and I the only ones who have to do other work to support ourselves while we serve as apostles?
7Who serves as a soldier but has to pay his own expenses? Who plants a vineyard but doesn’t get to eat any of its grapes? Who takes care of a flock but doesn’t get to drink any of the milk from the sheep? 8Do I say this only on human authority? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing? 9It’s written in the Law of Moses, “Don’t stop an ox from eating while it helps separate the grain from the straw.” But is God concerned only for oxen? 10Isn’t he saying that for all of us too? Yes, it was written for us. Whoever plows and whoever separates the grain has a right to hope that they will share in the harvest. 11We have planted spiritual seed among you. Is it too much for us to expect to receive some material things from you? 12If others have the right to receive support from you, don’t we have an even greater right?
But we haven’t used that right. No, we’re prepared to make any sacrifice we have to, rather than let anything get in the way of the good news of Christ.
13Don’t you know that people who serve in the temple get their food from the temple, and that people who serve at the altar eat the food that’s offered on the altar? 14So those who preach the good news should also receive their living from that work. That’s what the Lord has commanded.
15But I haven’t used any of those rights. And I’m not writing this because I want you to do things like that for me. I’d rather die than let anyone take away the satisfaction I get from bragging about this. 16I’m not bragging about preaching the good news. I have to preach the good news—woe to me if I don’t! 17If I preach because I want to, I get a reward. If I preach because I have to, I’m only doing my duty. 18So what reward do I get? Here’s my reward: being able to offer the good news free of charge, without claiming all my rights as a person who preaches the good news.
Paul Uses His Freedom to Share the Good News
19I’m free and I don’t belong to anyone, but I’ve made myself a slave to everyone. I’ve done that to win as many people as I can to Christ. 20To the Jews I became like a Jew, in order to win the Jews. To those who are under the law, I became like one who was under the law, even though I’m actually not under the law myself, in order to win those under the law. 21To those who don’t have the law, I became like one who didn’t have the law (even though I’m not free from God’s law, but under Christ’s law), in order to win those who don’t have the law. 22To those who are weak I became weak, in order to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23I do all of this for the sake of the good news, so that I can share in its blessings.
Training to Win the Prize
24Don’t you know that in a race, all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? So run in a way that will get you the prize. 25Everyone who competes in the games trains hard. They do that to get a crown that won’t last. But we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26So I don’t run like someone who doesn’t know where the finish line is. I don’t fight like a boxer who hits nothing but air. 27No, I train my body and bring it under control, so that after I’ve preached to others, I won’t be disqualified myself.
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