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Scripture Reading: 1 Cor. 9:1-15
The philosophical Greek believers at Corinth made everything complicated. In answering their questions, Paul simplified matters. He encouraged the Corinthians to take the Lord, His ordination, and His sovereign arrangement. Paul also realized that if we live Christ by being one spirit with the Lord and if we are submissive to the Lord and committed to Him, many complicated situations will be simplified. Complications in human life come from the philosophizing mind. For example, philosophizing about marriage can produce complications in married life. In today’s society there are many complications regarding marriage. In the church life in the Lord’s recovery, we need to follow the New Testament principles to simplify situations and eliminate complications. When we analyze our married life and family life, we become complicated. But when we turn to the spirit, everything is simplified.
I appreciate 1 Corinthians 7 because this chapter shows us a person, Paul, who was saturated with God, one with Him, and fully submissive to Him. There was no argument between Paul and God, and no discrepancy between him and God. He was happy with whatever circumstances God arranged for him. We know this not because he says so explicitly; we know it by the instructions he gives the Corinthians concerning married life. These instructions reveal the kind of person Paul was. Paul’s writing in this chapter shows that he was a genuine God-man.
In chapter eight Paul deals with the problem of eating idol sacrifices. This problem seems to have a yes or no answer. However, in chapter eight Paul does not answer yes or no. The way he deals with this question shows that he is not a person who lives according to the tree of knowledge of good and evil, but one who lives according to the tree of life. With the tree of life it is not a matter of yes or no; it is solely a matter of life, God’s life, the divine, eternal life expressed through love which builds up. This life always commends us to God.
In 8:8 Paul introduces the thought of being commended to God. This is an excellent expression, even an extraordinary one. I doubt that such an expression can be found elsewhere in the Bible. Paul’s answer in chapter eight certainly is not a matter of yes or no. On the contrary, it is related to doing things which commend us to God. According to Paul’s realization, if a certain thing does not commend us to God, there is no need for us to engage in it.
Paul was so one with God and saturated with Him that his entire being was in God. Therefore, he answers the questions raised by the Corinthians not with a yes or a no, but according to what he is and according to his own practice. His practice was to have a life that was absolutely one with God. We all need to see this vision and practice it, even as Paul did.
In chapter eight Paul speaks of loving God (v. 3), of being commended to God (v. 8), of “the brother because of whom Christ died” (v. 11), and of sinning against Christ (v. 12). Eventually, he concludes this chapter by saying, “Wherefore if food stumbles my brother, I will by no means eat meat forever, that I may not stumble my brother” (v. 13). The expression “my brother” indicates that every brother was dear to Paul. He loved all the brothers. Paul was one with God and one with the Body of Christ. For this reason, he did not answer questions according to yes or no, according to the tree of knowledge. If everyone in a local church had a life and practice to match that of Paul, there would be no questions, problems, or complications. Questions come from the philosophizing mind. But when we turn to the Christ who dwells in our spirit, the situation becomes simple.
Chapter nine is an insertion in the section on eating idol sacrifices. In this insertion the apostle presents himself to the Corinthian believers as a pattern that they may not cause others to stumble, but build them up by practicing the principle of considerate love in 8:13.
Verse 1 says, “Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord?” The Apostle Paul is free from all men, enslaved to no one (9:19). As all believers in Christ should be, he is also free from the bondage of any particular way of eating, although he practices the principle of considerate love.
As he presents himself a pattern to the believers, Paul comes to his apostleship, which gives him authority to deal with all the problems covered in this book, serious problems concerning the church life and its fellowship. His handling of them is based not only on his teaching, but also on the authority inherent in his apostleship. To deal with the situation, Paul must take this standing and make this matter clear to the Corinthian believers. They had questioned his apostleship and were in a chaotic situation, mostly due to the foolishness of their worldly wisdom, self-confidence, and pride.
Apostle is an anglicized Greek word which means one who is sent. An apostle of the Lord is a believer who is sent out by Him with His authority to preach the gospel of God, to teach the divine truth, and to establish churches. Peter and John were such apostles among the Jews in the first section of the book of Acts, and Paul and Barnabas were such apostles among the Gentiles in the second section of Acts. Others, such as Silas and Timothy, also became apostles (1 Thes. 1:1; 2:6). As long as anyone has the power to preach the gospel, the gift to teach the divine truth, and the ability to establish churches, he is qualified and confirmed to be an apostle sent by the Lord with His commission and authority.
In verse 1 Paul asks, “Have I not seen Jesus our Lord?” This refers to Paul’s seeing the Lord in His glorious resurrected body (15:5-8). This is a special privilege; it constitutes some dignity and glory to the seer, but it is not a requirement or qualification for being an apostle of the Lord. This is proved by the case of Barnabas, who was one of the apostles (Acts 14:14), yet did not see the Lord in this way. However, to know the Lord in spirit by spiritual revelation is definitely needed for being an apostle.
In verse 1 Paul also asks, “Are you not my work in the Lord?” The fruitful result of his work in the Lord is a proof of Paul’s apostleship, not a qualification for it.
In verse 2 Paul goes on to say, “If to others I am not an apostle, yet surely I am to you; for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.” Because Paul had begotten the Corinthian believers in the Lord through the gospel (4:15), he was surely an apostle to them. The fruit of his labor is evidence of his apostleship. The sufficient result of the apostle’s efficient work is not only an evidence, a proof, but also a seal of his apostleship. It puts a distinctive mark on his apostolic labor that authenticates and certifies his apostleship.
In chapter nine Paul speaks about himself in a direct manner. The fact that he speaks about his apostleship indicates that the Corinthian believers also had a problem regarding Paul’s apostleship. Some of them may have doubted whether Paul was truly an apostle. They may have discussed this matter and questioned Paul’s apostleship. Paul must have learned of their doubts. Now in chapter nine he speaks about it in a way that is strong, direct, and frank. The four questions he asks in verse 1 illustrate Paul’s frankness. Paul’s spirit here is very clean. He is not in the least political. To play politics is to be impure. When we try to speak in a polite way, we may actually be political. Paul’s questions in verse 1 certainly are not polite. Would you write a letter in which you asked such questions? Here Paul was not polite or political, but he was pure, genuine, and honest. We, however, may be polite or political because we are not pure in our motive or intention.
Paul was also frank and direct in verse 2. Here he tells the saints that if he is not an apostle to others, he is surely an apostle to them. He had begotten them in the Lord, and they were the seal of his apostleship in the Lord. Here Paul seems to be saying, “To others I may not be a begetting father, but surely I am such a father to you. I have begotten you through the gospel, and your existence is a seal of my apostleship. I have the apostleship, and you are the seal.”
In verse 3 Paul says, “My defense to those who examine me is this.” We need to pay attention to the words examine and defense. The Corinthians were actually examining Paul; they were investigating him to determine whether or not he was an apostle. What a shame to them! This is just like children examining their father to see if he is a genuine father.
The colon at the end of verse 3 in the text indicates that the following verses are intended to be Paul’s defense. Certain so-called spiritual people think that a believer should never make a defense for himself. They claim that Christians should always suffer, bear the cross, and refrain from defending themselves. However, sometimes the Lord Jesus defended Himself, and here Paul set forth his defense before the Corinthians.
In verse 4 Paul asks, “Do we not have a right to eat and to drink?” Literally the Greek word rendered right is authority. The same word is used in 8:9 and 9:18. The right here is that of eating and drinking for the gospel (v. 14) at the expense of the saints and the churches.
In verse 5 Paul continues, “Do we not have a right to take along a sister as a wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?” Once again, Paul’s words are strong. The complicated philosophical believers at Corinth made it necessary for him to speak in such a strong, direct way.
Verse 6 says, “Or only I and Barnabas, have we not the right not to work?” Not to work here means not to have a job. Some of the apostles did not work at a job, but were supported by the church or by the believers. Paul and Barnabas had the right not to work. But they worked with their hands in order to supply their needs.
In verse 7 Paul asks, “Who at any time carries on a war at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Or who shepherds a flock and does not eat of the milk of the flock?” Paul’s reference to carrying on a war implies that formerly the Corinthians were captives and that Paul had fought for them so that they might be released from Satan and set at liberty. Here Paul seems to be saying, “We have fought in a war to release you from captivity. Should we carry on such a war at our own expense? Is it fair that we must do so?” Furthermore, Paul’s word about a vineyard and a flock indicates that the believers at Corinth were a vineyard to produce fruit and also a flock shepherded by the apostles.
Verses 8 through 10 say, “Am I speaking these things according to man? Or does not the law also say these things? For in the law of Moses it is written: You shall not muzzle a threshing ox. Is it for the oxen that God cares? Or does He say it assuredly for our sake? For our sake; for it was written that the plower should plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope of partaking.” Here Paul quotes the Old Testament in a wonderful way and applies it to the present situation. He also says that the plower should plow in hope and he who threshes, in hope of partaking. Here he again likens the church in Corinth to a farm. In 3:9 he had told them that they are God’s farm. Paul plowed the ground and threshed in hope of partaking.
In verse 11 Paul says, “If we have sown to you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your fleshly things?” Once again Paul is quite strong. The Corinthians did not have a case against him.
In verse 12 Paul continues, “If others partake of this right over you, should not rather we? But we did not use this right; but we bear all things that we may not cause any hindrance to the gospel of Christ.” The Greek word translated bear literally means to contain as a vessel, to conceal; hence, to cover as a roof. Paul was like a vessel containing everything the Corinthians had done to him and also like a roof covering them. But they forced him to remove the covering and pour out the contents of the vessel. In all this Paul’s concern was not to cause any hindrance to the gospel of Christ.
In verse 13 Paul again refers to the Old Testament when he asks, “Do you not know that those who labor on sacred things eat the things of the temple; those who attend to the altar partake with the altar?” In verse 14 he applies this principle to those who preach the gospel: “So also the Lord has ordained that those who announce the gospel live of the gospel.”
In verse 15 Paul declares, “But I have used none of these things. And I did not write these things that it might be so with me; for it is good for me rather to die than that anyone should make my boast empty.” Here we see that the apostle is desperately absolute for the Lord’s interests. He is willing not only to sacrifice all his rights (vv. 12, 15a, 18), but also to pay the price even of his life. Paul definitely did not write these things in order to receive support or gifts from the believers at Corinth. On the contrary, he was willing even to die for Christ and the church.
If we look into the depths of 1 Corinthians 9, we shall see that Paul was not only a person one with God, but was also a person with a pure heart and spirit. No other portion of the Bible presents such a picture of a person who is clean and pure. If Paul had not been pure, he would not have been able to write all these verses.
Problems among Christians are caused not only by their complications, but even the more, by their lack of purity. For the most part, the complications are on the surface. Under the surface lies impureness. The elders, the co-workers, and the saints may not be pure in their motive or intention. To be pure is to be genuine, single, and altogether without politics.
In this chapter we should be deeply impressed by the fact that Paul was pure and genuine. The Corinthians, by contrast, were not pure. They examined Paul and had doubts concerning his apostleship. In their motives, thoughts, and feelings they were impure. Some of the Corinthians even thought that Paul was defrauding them, that he was cheating them in a crafty way. Had they been pure even as Paul was pure, they would have had no doubts about Paul or his apostleship.
Brother Nee once said that those who are thieves are often worried that others will steal from them. If someone suspects that a person sitting nearby will steal from him, this may indicate that he himself is a thief. If he had not stolen from others, he would not have the fear that others might steal something from him. In the same principle, because the Corinthians were not pure, they suspected that Paul was not pure and that he was taking advantage of them. The fact that they had such thoughts about Paul proves that they were impure. This evil of impureness is hidden in us all. Because of our fallen nature, we are all impure.
Suppose a brother comes to me with a gift, and I suspect that this gift is presented with the intention that I do something for the brother. This thought is not sinful, but it is impure. Concerning the receiving of gifts, I have learned an important principle from the Lord. This principle is to accept every gift as genuine, having no thought that it may be given with a motive, and then not do anything for the one who gives the gift. To do something for a person who gives us a gift indicates that we have been bribed. A few times people have given me things out of an impure motive. At the time I had no thought that those persons were impure; only later did I learn that the motive was not pure. To repeat, thinking that a gift is given out of an impure motive indicates that we ourselves are impure. If we are pure, we shall not think like this.
I appreciate Paul’s word in verse 15: “But I have used none of these things. And I did not write these things that it might be so with me.” Such a word exposed those Corinthians who thought that Paul wrote in this way so that he would be given some support or supply. Paul closed the door on such impure thoughts by saying plainly that he did not write with the intention of receiving anything from the Corinthians. Once again we see that Paul was one spirit with the Lord and that he was absolutely pure. Because of his purity, he could be frank, direct, and straightforward. If Paul’s purpose in writing chapter nine had been to be supplied by the Corinthians, Paul would have been impure. However, in writing this Epistle Paul was pure.
In the church life today many problems are apparently due to complications; actually, the problems are caused by impureness. It is impure to say or do anything with the aim that others will do something for us. It is also impure to think that others are trying to take advantage of us. In the church life we must close the door to impure thinking. If we are impure, we shall not be able to be bold, frank, or direct. Instead, we shall be political, polite.
In 1 Corinthians 9 we see that Paul’s only motive and intention were related to Christ and His Body. Paul was pure to the uttermost. If we were pure in the church life in every respect, there would not be any problems. The underlying cause of problems in the church life is impureness. On the one hand, the Corinthians asked questions of Paul; on the other hand, they examined him. They welcomed him, but they also had doubts about him. This exposes their impureness. But even though the Corinthians were not pure, Paul conducted himself in a pure way as a begetting father. In writing to the believers at Corinth he revealed himself as a person who was one with God and absolutely pure. In the Lord’s work he had no motive other than Christ and the Body.
