1 Corinthians

Paul’s Example

Am I not free? I am an apostle, and I have seen Jesus the Lord. You are my work in the Lord.

Although I may not be considered an apostle by others, I am one to you. In the Lord, you are proof of my apostleship.

Here’s how I respond to those who criticize me:

Have we not the right to be paid?

Have we not the right to take a sister along, as do the other apostles, and the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?

Am I the only one, along with Barnabas, who is obligated to work? What soldier goes to war at his own expense?

What farmer does not eat from the fruit of his harvest? Who tends a flock and does not drink its milk?

Are these rights only human customs? No, the law agrees.

In the law of Moses, it is written:

“Do not muzzle the ox that is threshing grain.”

Does this mean that God cares more about us or about oxen?

Naturally, it applies to us. It was written for our benefit, that no one plows without expecting a reward and no one threshes without hoping for a share of the crop.

Therefore, if we have sown spiritual blessings among you, isn’t it too much to ask for material things in return?

If others have this right to claim, shouldn’t we have it even more? Nevertheless, we haven’t used this right; instead, we endure everything to prevent hindering the gospel of Christ.

Do you not know that those working at the temple eat from what is offered there? And those serving at the altar share in its offerings?

The Lord also commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should earn their living from it.

However, I have not exercised this right, nor am I writing to claim it. I would rather die! No one should take pride in this.

I can’t boast about preaching the gospel—it’s a duty I am compelled to fulfill. Woe to me if I don’t preach it!

If I preach voluntarily, I will be rewarded, but I have been entrusted with this task against my will.

So, how can I deserve a reward? I will preach the gospel freely without claiming the rights that come with it.

Feeling free in Christ, I have become everyone’s servant to win as many as possible.

To save the Jews, I became a Jew myself, and since they are under the law, I submitted myself to the law, even though I am free from it.

With the Gentiles, who are not subject to the law, I became like one of them, even though I am not without God’s law, because Christ is my law. I aimed to win those unfamiliar with the law.

To the weak, I became weak to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that I might save some of them.

This I do for the sake of the gospel, to share in it.

Have you learned anything from a race? Many run, but only one wins the prize. Run in a way that you may win.

Everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything. They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we receive an imperishable one.

So I do not run aimlessly;

I box to win, and I discipline my body to keep it under control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.