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§24 The Rights of an Apostle, Their Basis, and Paul’s Practice (1 Cor. 9:1–18)

This chapter may appear to be an intrusion into the discussion of idols and eating foods that were sacrificed to an idol, but Paul takes himself and the matter of his rights as an apostle as an illustration of a proper demeanor for Christians. W. Willis (“An Apostolic Apologia? The Form and Function of 1 Corinthians 9,” JSNT 24 [1985], pp. 33–48) is correct in observing that this section of the epistle is not about Paul’s claiming of his rights as an apostle, despite the titles given to this portion of the letter in nearly every commentary and study Bible; rather, Paul explains the renunciation of his rights and, by example and implication, exhorts the readers to do the same for the benefit of others. Perhaps no major segment of any other letter is more rhetorical in form and force. Paul’s style aims to engage, to persuade, and to motivate the readers toward doing God’s will and work, not merely toward being religious—as they already are in very striking ways. In synopsis, Paul declares his own Christian freedom, then explains how and why he forewent his God-granted rights, and declares the motivation of his exercise of discipline. Paul vigorously presents a simple message that is easy to analyze but difficult to comprehend or embrace in life.

9:1 / Paul declares his freedom in a series of rhetorical questions. The queries are related; they build a case for the obvious freedom Paul enjoyed and examine the way Paul put that freedom into practice. Paul was free because of the grace of God in Jesus Christ. Yet, freed by Christ, Paul was commissioned or sent, an apostle. The outcome of Paul’s exercise of freedom was faithful service to the Lord Jesus. That meant serving others in a way that produced dramatic results for their lives. Paul’s founding of the Corinthian church is an example of this. In registering this logical sequence concerning freedom, Paul explains the real meaning of freedom in his own life.

9:2 / As Paul elaborates the meaning of freedom for his relationship to the Lord, he refers to his being an apostle. This contention seems to have been controversial. In verse 1 Paul appears to have stated one of the qualifications of an apostle: to have seen Jesus the Lord. Paul, of course, was not an earthly follower of Jesus, and so his experience of the Lord was distinguishable from the experience of those who were disciples during the course of Jesus’ ministry and/or who were among the earliest members of the Jerusalem church. Paul’s mention of any disputes related to the legitimacy of his apostleship is not his primary point, however, for his rhetoric aims at the Corinthians’ remembering and affirming his work among them on behalf of the Lord. Their existence as a church is proof of his apostolic labor, and as an apostle he would have rights because of the freedom and commission of the Lord.

9:3 / If anyone questioned Paul’s freedom, his apostolic experience, and attendant rights, all Paul needed to do was to point to the Corinthian congregation as evidence of God’s work through him.

9:4–5 / Having reminded the Corinthians of their experience of his work and of their ability to affirm that he was the Lord’s apostle, Paul next informs the Corinthians that he could make claims as others do. Paul mentions the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas. Paul’s point in using this intriguing list of prominent persons (with whom the readers of this letter were most likely familiar) is to support his claims. Although the exact identities of those being named is not Paul’s real concern, as a later reader one still wonders who these people were. “The other apostles” seems to refer to a broad group that included those who had seen the Lord Jesus and received a commission to ministry (see 15:3–11). The brothers of the Lord include James, whom Paul names explicitly later in the letter (15:7; also Gal. 1:19; cf. Mark 6:3). Cephas was the Aramaic form of the name Peter, meaning “rock”—a nickname given to Simon bar Jonah by Jesus in the course of his ministry (see 1 Cor. 1:12; cf. Mark 1:29–31; 3:16; Matt. 16:18–19).

Paul will elaborate the stated right to food and drink in more detail in verses 7–12; for now, he anticipates that discussion in order to create a contrast between his behavior and that of other leading figures in the church. The reference to take a believing wife along with us more literally reads, “to be accompanied by a sister as wife,” although the NIV communicates the sense of Paul’s words in a way that avoids unnecessary confusion. In the scheme of arrangements that Paul describes, the spouses of the traveling apostles were apparently also given hospitality by the churches that the apostles were visiting and serving.

9:6 / In contrast to the practices of those named in verse 5, Paul refers to himself and Barnabas in a way that indicates that they did not claim and accept food and drink, nor did they travel with the companionship of a spouse. Scholars often suggest that Paul is responding to some criticism of his habits of ministry, although if he is he does not elaborate the criticism here. In the writing of 2 Corinthians, this issue or one similar to it becomes explicit (see 2 Cor. 10–13, esp. ch. 11), but for now Paul’s main concern is to recall the selfless, sacrificial pattern of his work in order to explain his motivation and to encourage the Corinthians themselves to be more concerned with others than with the exercise of their own rights. Moreover, Paul’s rhetorical question shows further that Paul and Barnabas did work for a living. The practice of self-support and refusing the rights that were enjoyed by others set the pattern of ministry by Paul and Barnabas apart from the methods of others, but Paul merely refers to the methods of his and Barnabas’s ministry to make a point about foregoing recognized rights. In the following verses (vv. 12–18) Paul further explains the motivation behind his particular practices.

9:7 / Paul mounts the rhetorical force of his case by referring to soldiers, planters, and shepherds. Paul forms analogies for the reasonableness of apostles’ taking support from the congregations to which they ministered. The force of the logic in context, however, is not a comparison going from like to like, but a standard ancient argument that moves from lesser to greater, as becomes clear in verse 12. The language moves from everyday images to the level of remuneration for the labor of the apostles.

The choice of the images in the analogies is noteworthy. The soldier serves the commander; the vinedresser plants a vineyard; and the flock-herd tends a flock. In each instance some natural benefit is derived from the activity. Thus, from the by-product of the activities—warfare produced victory and booty; vineyards yielded fruit; flocks brought milk—the ones responsibly engaged in the activities educed an advantage without harm to the enterprise. In other words, Paul sees nothing wrong with taking support from the Corinthians, yet he refrains from enjoying the natural benefits of his labors.

9:8 / As Paul continues, he demonstrates that he recognized and agreed that God ordained that the apostles be able to derive their living from the work they did as ministers. He moves beyond a mere human point of view, as he documents his understanding by reference to the Law. Having laid out a logical, seemingly persuasive case, Paul does not leave the matter at that level; rather, he underwrites his reasoning with reference to the law, which was understood to be a definitive statement of the will and purposes of God.

9:9–11 / The mention of the law leads to a citation of Deuteronomy 25:4, in verse 9; and beyond this quoted material Paul builds a midrashic exposition in verses 9–11. That is, it is similar in form to the midrash, which freely retells a Bible story and makes applications of the lessons learned from the story to the situation of those to whom the midrash is addressed. In some critical editions of the Greek text, the words when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest are set as if they are also a quotation of Scripture. The style of Paul’s words leading into these lines does seem to anticipate another quotation from the law. Although the maxim is similar to phrases in Deuteronomy 24:14 and Sirach 6:19, it does not exactly match any known text. The sense of the statement is plain, and Paul’s exposition of the imagery in verse 11 is straightforward. Paul’s use of Scripture is analogical, even semitypological, as he takes the references to an ox eating as it works and to agricultural activities as being indicative of God’s will that the apostles take their sustenance from those among whom they ministered.

Paul’s images and uses of illustrations at this point are occasions for some critics to accuse Paul of an abusive attitude toward the real elements of creation. Rather, Paul’s style of exegesis is typical of his day. Philo of Alexandria, persherim (written interpretations of the Old Testament) from the Dead Sea Scrolls, and later rabbinical writings all engage in similar interpretations of texts. The idea was that God’s will, as clearly revealed in simple matters, was to be applied to and understood as congruent with more complex issues. Mundane matters in relation to which God’s will had been clearly revealed were taken as windows into the larger will of God and so treated as patterns for complicated situations. This kind of reasoning does not imply an inherent dismissal of the simple order of creation; rather, it recognizes the consistency of God’s will in all levels of creation.

9:12 / Paul forms a rhetorical question to argue for his and Barnabas’s right to support from the church to which they ministered. Yet he continues by bluntly stating that they did not use the right of support by the churches, lest their taking pay for ministry be misunderstood as fleecing the congregation. Paul’s wording is circumspect; he does not want to cast aspersions on those who do claim support from the congregations or have their actions seen as inappropriate. Paul’s aim was to avoid suspicion, to bypass potential misunderstanding, in order that no unnecessary objections be raised about the gospel itself because of the practices of Paul and his colleagues.

9:13 / Having explained the purity of his motives and the purpose of his practices, Paul elaborates the matter of his right to support by referring to the practice of supplying the needs of those in temple service from the proceeds given to the temple. This example is a fairly direct analogy that clarifies the previous models.

9:14 / Paul now builds on the picture he painted in verse 13 by saying, In the same way.… Then he cites a word from the Lord to the effect that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. This command seems close to the words of Jesus in Luke 10:7 and does not appear to be a reference to an OT text.

9:15 / Still using a pattern of repetition to reinforce his argument, Paul states his position and practice, not in the form of another rhetorical question but as a direct statement, But I have not used any of these rights. Paul makes it clear that he is not asking indirectly for such support with his present discussion; then he proceeds to explain why he does not take his rightful support—although at this point his thinking anticipates what is to come and is not immediately clear to the reader.

9:16 / This verse lays out the situation Paul faced in preaching the gospel. He preached because God had commissioned or commanded him to do so. It is not to his credit that he preached; he would be in a deplorable situation had he not done so. God’s commission made it necessary for Paul to preach the gospel, and for him to fail to fulfill that charge would be awful, unthinkable.

9:17 / Paul explains how he derives a benefit from his obedience to God’s command to preach that he would not have received had he taken his rightful payment for his services. By not taking support, Paul did not claim his rights. He gave up his own rights for the benefit of being able to offer something to God and to others that he would not have had to offer otherwise. Paul’s practice is simple, although it is so selflessly odd, so God-centered, and so much for the sake of others that we have difficulty grasping his line of thought. Above all, Paul aims to contribute something to the accomplishment of the mission that God gave him.

9:18 / As he concludes this section of the letter, Paul continues to explain why he preached without pay or support from the churches that he founded and to which he ministered. Amazingly, Paul’s reward is that he takes no reward! Paul preached because he was commissioned to do so, and by not taking his due he gave up his own rights as an offering to God. Paul made an offering of his preaching to God, and in so doing he demonstrated his freedom (9:1) by providing his services freely to the church. By refusing to accept support, Paul preached according to God’s commission, but he did not take advantage of the rights of support that God afforded him in conjunction with the command to preach. Paul gave his services to God free of charge, so that ironically his dividend was found in registering no charge.