1ST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER NINE - from the McDonald Paraphrase

Aren’t I a free man? Aren’t I one of the Lord’s apostles? Haven’t I come face to face with Jesus our Lord? Aren’t you, my dear Corinthian believers, the end of my efforts on behalf of our Savior? Though others may not affirm my divine calling, certainly you recognize my heavenly nomination. After all, you are the living, breathing, moving reward of my work among the Gentiles.

This is my defense to those who sit in judgment of me. Don’t I possess the inherent right to eat and quench my thirst? Don’t I retain the privilege of selecting a wife, and taking her with me on my travels, very much like the other apostles, including the Lord’s brothers and Cephas? And is it only I, and Barnabas who somehow lack the right to be supported by a spiritual ministry?

Consider it. What soldier depends on his own bank account? What vineyard keeper refrains from eating his own grapes? What shepherd leads a flock, but refuses to drink the milk? Am I just making up words here? Doesn’t the Law infer the exact same thing?

For we find the following words in the Law of Moses:

 “You should not prevent an ox from eating some of the grain upon which he treads.”

Is this verse all about the nutritional needs of a beast of burden, or is there another meaning here? Surely, this was written on our account. Wasn’t it? (There is little doubt about it). For you see, every man who plows the fields, and every man who harvests the grain should have his own share of that which is stored in the barns at the end of the season. If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much to ask that our financial needs are met by this ministry? If others are supported in this way, don’t we deserve the same kind of support, and more?

But we did not take advantage of this right. On the contrary, we endure anything, and everything rather than inhibit the Gospel of Christ.

Don’t you realize that those who serve in the temple receive their provisions from the temple, and that those who minister at the altar partake in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the Lord has ordered that those who preach the Gospel message should receive their food, and raiment and housing from those to whom the Gospel is preached.

 But I have not taken advantage of this privilege. And I am not writing to you now to suggest that you afford me such things, for I would rather go on to my reward than allow anyone to deprive me of my role. For when I preach the Gospel, there is no place for boasting, since I am compelled to preach, and the wherewithal to share this Gospel message was given to me as a gift.

How absolutely horrendous if I do not preach the Gospel! I am absolutely compelled to impact those whom God has set in my pathway. If I preached this message simply because I wanted to, I would be entitled to a reward. However, since I preach out of compulsion, and not voluntarily, I am simply fulfilling the charge I have been given, and I deserve no reward.

What then is my reward? That in preaching this wonderful Gospel, I may offer it without cost, and, as a result, avoid taking advantage of my natural rights as a minister of Christ’ message.

Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone; so I might impact as many as possible, and win as many as possible for our Lord. To the Jews I am a member of the Jewish race; so that I might win some of God’s chosen people. To those under the Law, I glory in my circumcision, (though I myself am not under the Law), so as to win those who serve the Law.

To the heathen, I am a man without the Law, (though I will never be free from Christ’ law), to win those who do not observe the Law. To the weak, I am weak; in order to save the weak. I will be all things to all people so that by every means possible, I might save some of them. What I do, I do on behalf of Christ and his everlasting message; that I might not be ashamed when I stand before him.

Consider the illusion of runners on a track. In any given race all the runners compete, but the prize is awarded to one. My friends, don’t settle for second place. Everyone who competes in the games follows a strict regimen of exercise. They do this to win a laurel of leaves which will quickly fade. But we undergo the rigors of intense preparation, and exercise intensive effort for a crown which will never fade.

Therefore, I do not run like someone who jogs for the sheer fun of it. I do not fight like a boxer just flailing my arms. No, I submit to the most powerful blows, and make this frail body a slave to the Gospel; lest having shared the Good News with others, I find myself disqualified.

1st Corinthians Chapter 9, McDonald Paraphrase of the New Testament. Copyright 2018

(I am preparing to submit my New Testament paraphrase to a publisher, and am posting selected chapters to my blog)