1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22b-27
Chapter 9
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 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.
Commentaries
Paul’s Example.
It is precisely Paul’s defense of this freedom that propels him into a passionate, controversial, and vehement discourse. It includes some of the most memorable expressions from Pauline literature. Then the Apostle returns to explaining the meaning of his mission to proclaim the Good News with one of the most striking expressions from his lips: “Woe to me if I do not proclaim the Good News!” (16). He feels like a prophet, compelled to preach.
He concludes with a sporting image of running and boxing, inspired by the “Isthmian games” held in Corinth, to depict the way of being free he has chosen: training, discipline, and renunciation to win the prize. While only one person wins the sports medal in the stadium, in the Christian arena, everyone can win the award as long as they run and strive with perseverance and determination.