1 Corinthians 9–10

Paul Gives Up His Rights as an Apostle

9Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? ²If to others I am not an apostle, yet indeed I am to you, for you are my seal of apostleship in the Lord. ³My defense to those who examine me is this: ⁴Do we not have the right to eat and drink? ⁵Do we not have the right to take along a sister as wife, like the rest of the apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? ⁶Or do only I and Barnabas not have the right to refrain from working^a? ⁷Who ever serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat the fruit of it? Who^b shepherds a flock and does not drink^c from the milk of the flock? ⁸I am not saying these things according to a human perspective. Or does the law not also say these things? ⁹For in the law of Moses it is written, “You must not muzzle an ox while it^* is threshing.”^d It is not about oxen God is concerned, is it?^{* 10}Or doubtless does he speak for our sake^e? For it is written for our sake^f, because the one who plows ought to plow in hope and the one who threshes ought to do so in hope of a share. ¹¹If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too great a thing if we reap material things from you? ¹²If others share this right over you, do we not do so even more? Yet we have not made use of this right, but we endure all things, in order that we may not cause any hindrance to the gospel of Christ.

¹³Do you not know that those performing the holy services eat the things from the temple, and those attending to the altar have a share with the altar? ¹⁴In the same way also the Lord ordered those who proclaim the gospel to live from the gospel. ¹⁵But I have not made use of any of these rights. And I am not writing these things in order that it may be thus with me. For it would be better to me rather to die than for anyone to deprive me of my reason for boasting. ¹⁶For if I proclaim the gospel, it is not to me a reason for boasting, for necessity is imposed on me. For woe is to me if I do not proclaim the gospel. ¹⁷For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward, but if I do so unwillingly, I have been entrusted with a stewardship. ¹⁸What then is my reward? That when I^* proclaim the gospel, I may offer the gospel free of charge, in order not to make full use of my right in the gospel.

¹⁹For although I^* am free from all people, I have enslaved myself to all, in order that I may gain more. ²⁰I have become like a Jew to the Jews, in order that I may gain the Jews. To those under the law I became as under the law (although I^* myself am not under the law) in order that I may gain those under the law. ²¹To those outside the law I became as outside the law (although I^* am not outside the law of God, but subject to the law of Christ) in order that I may gain those outside the law. ²²To the weak I became weak, in order that I may gain the weak. I have become all things to all people, in order that by all means I may save some. ²³I do all this for the sake of the gospel, in order that I may become a participant with it.

²⁴Do you not know that those who run in the stadium all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. ²⁵And everyone who competes exercises self-control in all things. Thus those do so in order that they may receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one. ²⁶Therefore I run in this way, not as running aimlessly; I box in this way, not as beating the air. ²⁷But I discipline my body and subjugate it, lest somehow after^* preaching to others, I myself should become disqualified.

A History Lesson from Israel

10For I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all went through the sea, ²and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, ³and all ate the same spiritual food, ⁴and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. ⁵But God was not pleased with the majority of them, for they were struck down in the desert.

⁶Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we should not be desirers of evil things, just as those also desired them, ⁷and not become idolaters, as some of them did, just as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to play,”^{a 8}nor commit sexual immorality, as some of them committed sexual immorality, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day, ⁹nor put Christ to the test, as some of them tested him, and were destroyed by snakes, ¹⁰nor grumble, just as some of them grumbled, and were destroyed by the destroyer. ¹¹Now these things happened to those people as an example, but are written for our instruction, on whom the ends of the ages have come. ¹²Therefore, the one who thinks that he stands must watch out lest he fall. ¹³Temptation has not come upon you except what is common to humanity. But God is faithful, who will not permit you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but will also make a way out together with the temptation, so that you may be able to endure it.

Warning Against Idolatry

¹⁴Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. ¹⁵I am speaking as to sensible people; you judge what I am saying. ¹⁶The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? ¹⁷Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all share from the one bread. ¹⁸Consider Israel according to the flesh: are not the ones who eat the sacrifices sharers in the altar? ¹⁹Therefore, what am I saying? That food sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? ²⁰No, but that the things which they sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to become sharers with demons. ²¹You are not able to drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You are not able to share the table of the Lord and the table of demons. ²²Or are we attempting to provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than he is, are we?^*

Freedom in Christ

²³All things are permitted, but not all things are profitable. All things are permitted, but not all things build up. ²⁴Let no one seek his own good^b but the good of the other. ²⁵Eat everything that is sold in the meat market, asking no questions^c for the sake of the conscience, ²⁶for “the earth is the Lord’s, and its fullness.”^{d 27}If any of the unbelievers invites you, and you want to go, eat everything that is set before you, asking no questions^e for the sake of the conscience. ²⁸But if someone says to you, “This is offered to idols,” do not eat it, for the sake of that one who informed you and the conscience. ²⁹Now I am not speaking about your own conscience, but the conscience of the other person. For why is my freedom judged by another’s conscience? ³⁰If I partake with thankfulness, why am I slandered concerning that for which I give thanks?

³¹Therefore, whether you eat or you drink or whatever you do, do all things for the glory of God. ³²Give no offense^f both to Jews and to Greeks and to the church of God, ³³just as I also please all people in all things, not seeking my own benefit, but the benefit of the many, in order that they may be saved.