King James Version
1 Corinthians 9
27 verses with commentary
Paul's Rights as an Apostle
Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord?
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord?</strong> Paul opens with four rhetorical questions asserting his apostolic credentials. The Greek <em>eleutheros</em> (ἐλεύθερος, "free") introduces the chapter's theme: Christian liberty. Paul's freedom rests on three pillars—apostolic commission, resurrection encounter with Christ (Acts 9:1-9; 1 Cor 15:8), and fru...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(1) **Am I** **not an apostle?**—Better, *Am I not free? am I not an Apostle?* such being the order of the words in the better MSS. Thus the thought grows more naturally out of the previous chapter than it seems to do in the English version. He had mentioned his solemn resolve to give up a freedom to which he had a right in regard to eating meat. He had on another occasion, in regard to his right ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. I--**the preacher: as 1Co 2:2 describes the subject, "Christ crucified," and 1Co 2:4 the mode of preaching: "my speech ... not with enticing words," "but in demonstration of the Spirit."
**weakness--**personal and bodily (2Co 10:10; 12:7, 9; Ga 4:13).
**trembling--**(compare Php 2:12). Not personal fear, but a trembling anxiety to perform a duty; anxious conscientiousness, as proved by th...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 9
Chapter Outline
The apostle shows his authority, and asserts his right to be maintained.
(1-14)
He waved this part of his Christian liberty, for the good of others.
(15-23)
He did all this, with care and diligence, in view of an unfading crown.
(24-27)
**Verses 1-14**
It is not new for a minister to meet with unkind returns for good-will to a people, and...
Read full commentary →If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you: for the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you: for the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord.</strong> Even if outsiders reject Paul's credentials, the Corinthians cannot—they owe their very existence as a church to his ministry. The Greek <em>sphragis</em> (σφραγίς, "seal") denotes authentication, like a signet ring pressed into wax. Their conversion, spiritual gifts...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **If I be not an apostle unto others.**—The allusion here is probably to some who may have arrived at Corinth subsequent to St. Paul’s departure, and who, not recognising his Apostleship in relation to themselves, stirred up some of the Corinthians to repudiate it also. So the Apostle says, “Even if I am not an Apostle to these others, I am, at all events, to you; for you are yourselves the ve...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. my speech--**in private.
**preaching--**in public [Bengel]. Alford explains it, My discourse on doctrines, and my preaching or announcement of facts.
**enticing--**rather, "persuasive."
**man's wisdom--**man's is omitted in the oldest authorities. Still "wisdom" does refer to "man's" wisdom.
**in demonstration of ... Spirit, &c.--**Persuasion is man's means of moving his fellow ma...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 9
Chapter Outline
The apostle shows his authority, and asserts his right to be maintained.
(1-14)
He waved this part of his Christian liberty, for the good of others.
(15-23)
He did all this, with care and diligence, in view of an unfading crown.
(24-27)
**Verses 1-14**
It is not new for a minister to meet with unkind returns for good-will to a people, and...
Read full commentary →Mine answer to them that do examine me is this,
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Mine answer to them that do examine me is this,</strong>—Paul introduces his formal <em>apologia</em> (ἀπολογία, "defense") to those who <em>anakrino</em> (ἀνακρίνω, "examine, interrogate") him. This legal term denotes judicial inquiry or cross-examination. Paul is not insecure or defensive; he is providing a reasoned case for his apostolic conduct, particularly his refusal to accept payme...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **Mine answer. . . .**—The verse refers to what has gone before, and not to what follows. *That* (emphatic) *is my answer to* *those who* *examine me as to the truth of my Apostleship.* Both the words “answer” and “examine” are in the Greek the technical terms for a legal defence and examination before a tribunal.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5. stand in ... wisdom of men--**rest on it, owe its origin and continuance to it.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 9
Chapter Outline
The apostle shows his authority, and asserts his right to be maintained.
(1-14)
He waved this part of his Christian liberty, for the good of others.
(15-23)
He did all this, with care and diligence, in view of an unfading crown.
(24-27)
**Verses 1-14**
It is not new for a minister to meet with unkind returns for good-will to a people, and...
Read full commentary →Have we not power to eat and to drink?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Have we not power to eat and to drink?</strong> Paul begins his defense by asserting apostolic <em>exousia</em> (ἐξουσία, "authority, right, power")—the same term used in 8:9 for the "strong's" liberty to eat idol-meat. The parallelism is intentional: just as the knowledgeable have freedom regarding food, apostles have the right to receive material support from those they serve spiritually...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **Have we not power** **. . .?**—This follows 1 Corinthians 6 after the parenthetical argument contained in 1Corinthians 9:2-3. Having established his right to be called an Apostle by the fact that he had seen the Lord, and had been instrumental in their conversion, he now in the same interrogative style asserts his rights as an Apostle. The use of the plural “we” carries on the thought that h...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
6-7. Yet the Gospel preaching, so far from being at variance with true "wisdom," is a wisdom infinitely higher than that of the wise of the world.
**we speak--**resuming "we" (preachers, I, Apollos, &c.) from "we preach" (1Co 1:28), only that here, "we speak" refers to something less public (compare 1Co 2:7, 13, "mystery ... hidden") than "we preach," which is public. For "wisdom" here denot...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 9
Chapter Outline
The apostle shows his authority, and asserts his right to be maintained.
(1-14)
He waved this part of his Christian liberty, for the good of others.
(15-23)
He did all this, with care and diligence, in view of an unfading crown.
(24-27)
**Verses 1-14**
It is not new for a minister to meet with unkind returns for good-will to a people, and...
Read full commentary →Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas? wife: or, woman
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas?</strong> Paul asserts a second apostolic right: to be accompanied by a believing wife at the church's expense. The phrase "lead about" (Greek <em>periagō</em>, περιάγω) means to bring along on missionary journeys. Other apostles, Jesus' biological brothers (James, Jude,...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **To lead about a sister, a wife**—*i.e.,* to take with us on our journeys a Christian woman as a wife. Roman divines have interpreted this as referring to “the custom of Christian matrons attending as sisters upon the Apostles.” But as the Apostle illustrates his meaning by a reference to Peter, who we know had a wife, such an interpretation is inadmissible. St. Paul, in this verse, carries h...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
6-7. Yet the Gospel preaching, so far from being at variance with true "wisdom," is a wisdom infinitely higher than that of the wise of the world.
**we speak--**resuming "we" (preachers, I, Apollos, &c.) from "we preach" (1Co 1:28), only that here, "we speak" refers to something less public (compare 1Co 2:7, 13, "mystery ... hidden") than "we preach," which is public. For "wisdom" here denot...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 9
Chapter Outline
The apostle shows his authority, and asserts his right to be maintained.
(1-14)
He waved this part of his Christian liberty, for the good of others.
(15-23)
He did all this, with care and diligence, in view of an unfading crown.
(24-27)
**Verses 1-14**
It is not new for a minister to meet with unkind returns for good-will to a people, and...
Read full commentary →Or I only and Barnabas, have not we power to forbear working?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Or I only and Barnabas, have not we power to forbear working?</strong> Paul names his missionary partner Barnabas (Acts 13-14), noting that both of them uniquely continued to work manual labor rather than living exclusively from gospel ministry. The Greek <em>mē ergazesthai</em> (μὴ ἐργάζεσθαι, "to not work") means ceasing secular employment to devote full time to preaching. Other apostles...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **Or I** **only and Barnabas.**—“Or” here does not introduce a question which implies a new right in addition to the rights already claimed, but it completes the argument. Granting the existence of the rights established by the previous questions, the Apostle now says—still preserving the interrogative form—“These things being so, the only way you can possibly do away with this right is by mak...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8. Which--**wisdom. The strongest proof of the natural man's destitution of heavenly wisdom.
**crucified ... Lord of glory--**implying the inseparable connection of Christ's humanity and His divinity. The Lord of glory (which He had in His own right before the world was, Joh 17:4, 24) was crucified.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 9
Chapter Outline
The apostle shows his authority, and asserts his right to be maintained.
(1-14)
He waved this part of his Christian liberty, for the good of others.
(15-23)
He did all this, with care and diligence, in view of an unfading crown.
(24-27)
**Verses 1-14**
It is not new for a minister to meet with unkind returns for good-will to a people, and...
Read full commentary →Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock?
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges?</strong> Paul shifts from personal example to universal analogy, using three illustrations from everyday life: soldiers, farmers, and shepherds. No soldier funds his own military campaign—commanders provide supplies. The Greek <em>opsōnion</em> (ὀψώνιον, "wages, rations") originally meant soldiers' pay, then broadened to any compensation for...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **Who goeth a warfare any time at his own** **charges?**—Three illustrations from human life and business show that the principle which has been adopted in the Christian Church is not exceptional. A soldier receives his pay; the planter of a vineyard eats the fruit of it; and the owner of a flock is supported by selling the milk. The best MSS. omit the word “of” before “fruit.” It probably cre...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**9. But--**(it has happened) as it is written.
**Eye hath not seen, &c.--**Alford translates, "The things which eye saw not ... the things which God prepared ... to us God revealed through His Spirit." Thus, however, the "but" of 1Co 2:10 is ignored. Rather construe, as Estius, "('We speak,' supplied from 1Co 2:8), things which eye saw not (heretofore), ... things which God prepared ... But...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 9
Chapter Outline
The apostle shows his authority, and asserts his right to be maintained.
(1-14)
He waved this part of his Christian liberty, for the good of others.
(15-23)
He did all this, with care and diligence, in view of an unfading crown.
(24-27)
**Verses 1-14**
It is not new for a minister to meet with unkind returns for good-will to a people, and...
Read full commentary →Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also?</strong> Having argued from natural reason (v. 7), Paul now anticipates an objection: "These are merely human arguments (Greek <em>kata anthrōpon</em>, κατὰ ἄνθρωπον, "according to man")." Paul counters that divine law confirms what nature teaches. He is not imposing human wisdom but expounding God's revealed will.<br><br>The...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **Say I these thing as a man?**—He proceeds to show that his appeal is not to a human principle, but to the recognition by men of a principle which is itself divine. The divinely given Law also says these things.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10. revealed ... by ... Spirit--**The inspiration of thoughts (so far as truth essential to salvation is concerned) makes the Christian (1Co 3:16; 12:3; Mt 16:17; Joh 16:13; 1Jo 2:20, 27); that of words, the PROPHET (2Sa 23:1, 2; 1Ki 13:1, 5), "by the word of the Lord" (1Co 2:13; Joh 20:30, 31; 2Pe 1:21). The secrets of revelation are secret to some, not because those who know them will not reve...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 9
Chapter Outline
The apostle shows his authority, and asserts his right to be maintained.
(1-14)
He waved this part of his Christian liberty, for the good of others.
(15-23)
He did all this, with care and diligence, in view of an unfading crown.
(24-27)
**Verses 1-14**
It is not new for a minister to meet with unkind returns for good-will to a people, and...
Read full commentary →For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn.</strong> Paul quotes Deuteronomy 25:4, a command protecting working animals. In ancient threshing, oxen walked over grain to separate kernels from chaff; muzzling prevented them from eating while they worked. God's law ensured even beasts of burden received immediate benefit from th...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **The ox that treadeth out the corn.**—Better, *the ox while treading out the corn.* In this verse the question of the previous one is answered. The Law does say the same: “For it is written in the Law of Moses,” etc. The pointed and emphatic mention of the Law of Moses would give the words great weight with Jewish opponents. On a space of hard ground called a threshing-floor the oxen were dri...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11. what man, &c.--**literally, "who of men knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of that man?"
**things of God knoweth no man--**rather, "none knoweth," not angel or man. This proves the impossibility of any knowing the things of God, save by the Spirit of God (who alone knows them, since even in the case of man, so infinitely inferior in mind to God, none of his fellow men, but hi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 9
Chapter Outline
The apostle shows his authority, and asserts his right to be maintained.
(1-14)
He waved this part of his Christian liberty, for the good of others.
(15-23)
He did all this, with care and diligence, in view of an unfading crown.
(24-27)
**Verses 1-14**
It is not new for a minister to meet with unkind returns for good-will to a people, and...
Read full commentary →Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Or saith he it altogether for our sakes?</strong> Paul intensifies his argument: the ox-muzzling law was written primarily (Greek <em>pantōs</em>, πάντως, "altogether, certainly") for human application. <strong>For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope.</strong> Agricultural workers ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **That he that ploweth should plow in hope.**—There is considerable variation in the MSS. here. The best rendering of the text is, *that the plougher* *is bound to plough in hope, and the thresher *(*to thresh*)* in the hope of having his share.* It has been much discussed whether this passage is to be taken literally as referring to actual ploughing and threshing, or whether we are to give t...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**12. we ... received, not ... spirit of ... world--**the personal evil "spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience" (Ep 2:2). This spirit is natural in the unregenerate, and needs not to be received.
**Spirit which is of God--**that is, which comes from God. We have received it only by the gift of God, whose Spirit it is, whereas our own spirit is the spirit that is in us men (1Co ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 9
Chapter Outline
The apostle shows his authority, and asserts his right to be maintained.
(1-14)
He waved this part of his Christian liberty, for the good of others.
(15-23)
He did all this, with care and diligence, in view of an unfading crown.
(24-27)
**Verses 1-14**
It is not new for a minister to meet with unkind returns for good-will to a people, and...
Read full commentary →If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things?</strong> Paul applies the agricultural metaphor directly to his relationship with the Corinthians. He "sowed" (Greek <em>speirō</em>, σπείρω) spiritual seed—the gospel, teaching, discipleship—resulting in their conversion and growth. The Greek <em>pneumatika</em> (πνευματικά, "spiritual thin...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **If we have sown unto you spiritual things.**—The two sentences in this verse contain a striking double antithesis, the “we” and “you” being emphatic, and “spiritual” being opposed to “carnal.” The spiritual things are, of course, the things of the Spirit of God, by which their spiritual natures are sustained; the carnal things those which the teachers might expect in return, the ordinary su...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13. also--**We not only know by the Holy Ghost, but we also speak the "things freely given to us of God" (1Co 2:12).
**which the Holy Ghost teacheth--**The old manuscripts read "the Spirit" simply, without "Holy."
**comparing spiritual things with spiritual--**expounding the Spirit-inspired Old Testament Scripture, by comparison with the Gospel which Jesus by the same Spirit revealed [Grotiu...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 9
Chapter Outline
The apostle shows his authority, and asserts his right to be maintained.
(1-14)
He waved this part of his Christian liberty, for the good of others.
(15-23)
He did all this, with care and diligence, in view of an unfading crown.
(24-27)
**Verses 1-14**
It is not new for a minister to meet with unkind returns for good-will to a people, and...
Read full commentary →If others be partakers of this power over you, are not we rather? Nevertheless we have not used this power; but suffer all things, lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>If others be partakers of this power over you, are not we rather?</strong> Paul concedes that other teachers in Corinth received support; his own claim is even stronger given that he founded the church. Yet he immediately pivots: <strong>Nevertheless we have not used this power; but suffer all things, lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ.</strong> The Greek <em>egkopē</em> (ἐγκοπή, "...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **If others** **be partakers. . . .**—You do recognise this principle in regard to other teachers, and they actually partake of this right to be supported by you; we, your first teachers, have a stronger right. St. Paul had been literally their “planter” (1Corinthians 3:6).
**But suffer all things**—*i.e.,* We endure all kinds of hard work and privation rather than use a power which I have de...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14. natural man--**literally, "a man of animal soul." As contrasted with the spiritual man, he is governed by the animal soul, which overbears his spirit, which latter is without the Spirit of God (Jude 19). So the animal (English Version, "natural") body, or body led by the lower animal nature (including both the mere human fallen reason and heart), is contrasted with the Spirit-quickened body ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 9
Chapter Outline
The apostle shows his authority, and asserts his right to be maintained.
(1-14)
He waved this part of his Christian liberty, for the good of others.
(15-23)
He did all this, with care and diligence, in view of an unfading crown.
(24-27)
**Verses 1-14**
It is not new for a minister to meet with unkind returns for good-will to a people, and...
Read full commentary →Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? live: or, feed
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar?</strong> Paul shifts from secular analogies (soldier, farmer, shepherd) and Torah principle (ox) to Levitical practice. Old Testament priests received portions of sacrifices and temple offerings (Lev 6:16-18; 7:6-10; Num 18:8-32). Those ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **Do ye not know.**—The Apostle now turns to appeal to an argument which would have weight with them as Christians. The rights of the ministry to be supported by the Church have already been established by an appeal to ordinary life and to the Jewish law; and the statement has been made that the Apostle having that right, did not, for wise reasons, use it. There is one higher step in the argu...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15. He that is spiritual--**literally, "the spiritual (man)." In 1Co 2:14, it is "A [not 'the,' as English Version] natural man." The spiritual is the man distinguished above his fellow men, as he in whom the Spirit rules. In the unregenerate, the spirit which ought to be the organ of the Holy Spirit (and which is so in the regenerate), is overridden by the animal soul, and is in abeyance, so th...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 9
Chapter Outline
The apostle shows his authority, and asserts his right to be maintained.
(1-14)
He waved this part of his Christian liberty, for the good of others.
(15-23)
He did all this, with care and diligence, in view of an unfading crown.
(24-27)
**Verses 1-14**
It is not new for a minister to meet with unkind returns for good-will to a people, and...
Read full commentary →Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.</strong> Paul's climactic argument: Jesus Himself commanded that gospel preachers be supported by those who receive the gospel. The phrase "the Lord ordained" (Greek <em>diatassō</em>, διατάσσω, "appointed, decreed") indicates authoritative decree. Paul likely alludes to Luke 10:7 ("the laborer is w...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **Even so.**—These words explain why the Apostle again referred to Jewish law, after having in 1Corinthians 9:9 already made use of an appeal to the Law as an argument. It is now again referred to only to introduce the crowning argument that Christ Himself perpetuated this law in its application to the Christian ministry. (See Matthew 10:10; Luke 10:7.)
**They which preach the gospel.**—The p...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**16. For--**proof of 1Co 2:15, that the spiritual man "is judged of no man." In order to judge the spiritual man, the ordinary man must "know the mind of the Lord." But "who of ordinary men knows" that?
**that he may instruct him--**that is, so as to be able to set Him right as His counsellor (quoted from Is 40:13, 14). So the Septuagint translates the Greek verb, which means to "prove," in Ac ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 9
Chapter Outline
The apostle shows his authority, and asserts his right to be maintained.
(1-14)
He waved this part of his Christian liberty, for the good of others.
(15-23)
He did all this, with care and diligence, in view of an unfading crown.
(24-27)
**Verses 1-14**
It is not new for a minister to meet with unkind returns for good-will to a people, and...
Read full commentary →But I have used none of these things: neither have I written these things, that it should be so done unto me: for it were better for me to die , than that any man should make my glorying void.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But I have used none of these things:</strong> After fourteen verses asserting his rights, Paul shockingly renounces them all. The Greek <em>kechrēmai</em> (κέχρημαι, perfect tense, "I have used") emphasizes sustained refusal—Paul has not taken support in the past and will not in the future. <strong>Neither have I written these things, that it should be so done unto me:</strong> This entir...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **But I.**—Again, after the assertion of the right, we have the statement that though he had vindicated the right by the highest and unquestionable authority of Christ Himself, the Apostle had not seen fit to avail himself of it.
**Neither have I written these things.**—Better, *neither am I writing.* The Apostle in these words carefully guards against the possibility of their taking these ar...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-23**
It is the glory of a minister to deny himself, that he may serve Christ and save souls. But when a minister gives up his right for the sake of the gospel, he does more than his charge and office demands. By preaching the gospel, freely, the apostle showed that he acted from principles of zeal and love, and thus enjoyed much comfort and hope in his soul. And though he looked on...
Read full commentary →For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me;</strong> Paul explains why he cannot boast in preaching itself—he is under divine compulsion. The Greek <em>anankē</em> (ἀνάγκη, "necessity, compulsion") denotes inescapable obligation. Paul's Damascus Road encounter (Acts 9) imposed a commission he cannot refuse. Preaching is not optional or volunta...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing** **to glory of.**—Better, *For though I preach the gospel, I have no ground of boasting.* St. Paul proceeds now to show how his maintenance by the Church would deprive him of his right to boast or glory in his work. The mere preaching of the gospel supplies no ground of boasting; it is a necessity; God’s woe would await him in the judgment-if ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 3
1Co 3:1-23. Paul Could Not Speak to Them of Deep Spiritual Truths, as They Were Carnal, Contending for Their Several Teachers; These Are Nothing but Workers for God, to Whom They Must Give Account in the Day of Fiery Judgment. The Hearers Are God's Temple, Which They Must Not Defile by Contentions for Teachers, Who, as Well as All Things, Are Theirs, Being Christ's.
**1. And I--**tha...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-23**
It is the glory of a minister to deny himself, that he may serve Christ and save souls. But when a minister gives up his right for the sake of the gospel, he does more than his charge and office demands. By preaching the gospel, freely, the apostle showed that he acted from principles of zeal and love, and thus enjoyed much comfort and hope in his soul. And though he looked on...
Read full commentary →For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward:</strong> If Paul preached voluntarily—a freely chosen profession rather than divine compulsion—he would deserve the reward of material support (the <em>misthos</em>, μισθός, "wage" of v. 18). But Paul does not preach willingly in that sense; he preaches under apostolic commission. <strong>But if against my will, a dispensation of the gospe...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward.**—The previous words, “Yea, woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel,” are a parenthesis; and now the writer proves the truth of his assertion—that the necessity of preaching the gospel deprives the mere act itself of any grounds of boasting—by showing that if there were no necessity there would be a ground of boasting. The argument is thi...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
2. (He 5:12).
**milk--**the elementary "principles of the doctrine of Christ."
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-23**
It is the glory of a minister to deny himself, that he may serve Christ and save souls. But when a minister gives up his right for the sake of the gospel, he does more than his charge and office demands. By preaching the gospel, freely, the apostle showed that he acted from principles of zeal and love, and thus enjoyed much comfort and hope in his soul. And though he looked on...
Read full commentary →What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>What is my reward then?</strong> If preaching under compulsion yields no reward (v. 16-17), how can Paul have a <em>misthos</em> (μισθός, "wage, reward")? <strong>Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge,</strong> Paul's reward is the joy of offering the gospel <em>adapanos</em> (ἀδάπανος, "without expense, free of charge"). He glories in removi...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **What is my reward then?**—It seems better to omit the note of interrogation, and read the whole verse thus:—*What reward then is to be mine, so that *(*i.e.,* which induces me) *in preaching the gospel I make the gospel without charge *(*to my hearers*)*, so that I use not my power in the gospel?* The “power” being the right to support maintained in 1Corinthians 9:6; 1Corinthians 9:12.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. envying--**jealousy, rivalry. As this refers to their feelings, "strife" refers to their words, and "divisions" to their actions [Bengel]. There is a gradation, or ascending climax: envying had produced strife, and strife divisions (factious parties) [Grotius]. His language becomes severer now as He proceeds; in 1Co 1:11 he had only said "contentions," he now multiplies the words (compare the...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-23**
It is the glory of a minister to deny himself, that he may serve Christ and save souls. But when a minister gives up his right for the sake of the gospel, he does more than his charge and office demands. By preaching the gospel, freely, the apostle showed that he acted from principles of zeal and love, and thus enjoyed much comfort and hope in his soul. And though he looked on...
Read full commentary →Paul's Self-Discipline
For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.</strong> Paul introduces his missionary strategy of voluntary enslavement. The Greek <em>eleutheros</em> (ἐλεύθερος, "free") echoes verse 1; as an apostle, Paul has liberty from human authority and cultural expectations. Yet he chose to become a <em>doulos</em> (δοῦλος, "slave, servant")...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **For.**—The question is here answered. His reward was to gain the greater number of converts—Jews (1Corinthians 9:20), Gentiles (1Corinthians 9:21), weak ones (1Corinthians 9:22). The only reward he sought for or looked for in adopting that course of conduct, for pursuing which they taunted him with selfishness, was, after all, their good.
The word “For,” introducing the answer, would seem t...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
4. (1Co 1:12).
**are ye not carnal--**The oldest manuscripts read, "Are ye not men?" that is, "walking as men" unregenerate (1Co 3:3).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-23**
It is the glory of a minister to deny himself, that he may serve Christ and save souls. But when a minister gives up his right for the sake of the gospel, he does more than his charge and office demands. By preaching the gospel, freely, the apostle showed that he acted from principles of zeal and love, and thus enjoyed much comfort and hope in his soul. And though he looked on...
Read full commentary →And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law;
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews;</strong> Paul begins illustrating his adaptive ministry. To Jews, he lived as a Jew—observing dietary laws (when helpful), attending synagogue, reasoning from Torah, and participating in Jewish festivals (Acts 18:18; 21:20-26). This was not hypocrisy but cultural sensitivity. Paul did not require Gentiles to become Jews (Gal ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20) **And unto the Jews I became as a Jew.**—This and the following verses are a categorical explanation of the previous statements. They show in detail both how he became the slave of all and the reward he had in view in doing so.
For example, of St. Paul’s conformity to Jewish law, see Acts 16:3; Acts 18:18; Acts 20:6; Acts 21:26.
**To them that are under the law. . . .**—Better, *To them that ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5. Who then--**Seeing then that ye severally strive so for your favorite teachers, "Who is (of what intrinsic power and dignity) Paul?" If so great an apostle reasons so of himself, how much more does humility, rather than self-seeking, become ordinary ministers!
**Paul ... Apollos--**The oldest manuscripts read in the reverse order, "Apollos," &c. Paul." He puts Apollos before himself in ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-23**
It is the glory of a minister to deny himself, that he may serve Christ and save souls. But when a minister gives up his right for the sake of the gospel, he does more than his charge and office demands. By preaching the gospel, freely, the apostle showed that he acted from principles of zeal and love, and thus enjoyed much comfort and hope in his soul. And though he looked on...
Read full commentary →To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>To them that are without law, as without law,</strong> When ministering to Gentiles unfamiliar with Torah, Paul did not impose Jewish customs. He ate with Gentiles (Gal 2:12), ignored kosher laws, and dismissed calendar observances as non-binding (Col 2:16-17). This offended Jewish Christians (Acts 15; Gal 2) but opened gospel access to the nations.<br><br><strong>(Being not without law to...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **To them that are without law**—*i.e.,* the heathen. St. Paul adapted himself to their habits and mode of thought when necessary. He quoted from their literature (Acts 17:28); he based an argument on the inscriptions on their altars (Acts 17:23); and he did not require them to adopt Jewish ceremonies (Galatians 2:9; Galatians 2:11). The parenthesis explains in what sense only St. Paul was “w...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6. I ... planted, Apollos watered--**(Ac 18:1; 19:1). Apollos at his own desire (Ac 18:27) was sent by the brethren to Corinth, and there followed up the work which Paul had begun.
**God gave the increase--**that is, the growth (1Co 3:10; Ac 18:27). "Believed through grace." Though ministers are nothing, and God all in all, yet God works by instruments, and promises the Holy Spirit in the fait...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-23**
It is the glory of a minister to deny himself, that he may serve Christ and save souls. But when a minister gives up his right for the sake of the gospel, he does more than his charge and office demands. By preaching the gospel, freely, the apostle showed that he acted from principles of zeal and love, and thus enjoyed much comfort and hope in his soul. And though he looked on...
Read full commentary →To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak:</strong> Paul circles back to chapter 8's concern—the "weak" in conscience who fear idol-meat defiles them (8:7-13). Though Paul knows idols are nothing (8:4), he voluntarily limits his freedom to avoid causing the weak to stumble. This is the chapter's central application: Paul practices what he preaches. He is the "strong" who bec...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **To the weak.**—We can scarcely take this (as some do) to refer to weak Christians, of whom he has spoken in 1 Corinthians 8. The whole passage treats of the attitude which the Apostle assumed towards various classes outside the Christian Church, that he might gain them as converts. The words “I became,” which have introduced the various classes in 1Corinthians 9:20, are here again repeated,...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7. neither is he that ... anything ... but God--**namely, is all in all. "God" is emphatically last in the Greek, "He that giveth the increase (namely), God." Here follows a parenthesis, 1Co 3:8-21, where "Let no man glory in men" stands in antithetic contrast to "God" here.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-23**
It is the glory of a minister to deny himself, that he may serve Christ and save souls. But when a minister gives up his right for the sake of the gospel, he does more than his charge and office demands. By preaching the gospel, freely, the apostle showed that he acted from principles of zeal and love, and thus enjoyed much comfort and hope in his soul. And though he looked on...
Read full commentary →And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And this I do for the gospel's sake,</strong> Paul summarizes his motivation: everything is subordinated to gospel advance. Financial sacrifice (v. 12-18), cultural adaptation (v. 19-22), and personal hardship (v. 27) all serve one master: the gospel. The Greek <em>euangelion</em> (εὐαγγέλιον, "good news") is Paul's polestar—every decision is evaluated by whether it helps or hinders gospel...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23) **And this I do . . .**—Better, *And all things I do for the gospel’s sake:* such being the reading of the best MSS. Here a new thought is introduced. From them for whom he labours, the Apostle turns for a moment to himself. After all, the highest reward even an Apostle can have is to be a sharer in that common salvation which has been brought to light by the gospel. With argument and illustr...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8. one--**essentially in their aim they are one, engaged in one and the same ministry; therefore they ought not to be made by you the occasion of forming separate parties.
**and every man--**rather "but every man." Though in their service or ministry, they are essentially "one," yet every minister is separately responsible in "his own" work, and "shall receive his own (emphatically repeated) r...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-23**
It is the glory of a minister to deny himself, that he may serve Christ and save souls. But when a minister gives up his right for the sake of the gospel, he does more than his charge and office demands. By preaching the gospel, freely, the apostle showed that he acted from principles of zeal and love, and thus enjoyed much comfort and hope in his soul. And though he looked on...
Read full commentary →Know ye not that they which run in a race run all , but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize?</strong> Paul shifts to athletic metaphors drawn from the Isthmian Games held near Corinth every two years. Greek <em>stadion</em> (στάδιον, "race, running track") was a footrace of about 200 yards. All runners compete, but only one wins the victor's crown. Paul is not teaching salvation by works or competition...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(24) **Know ye not . . .**—The illustration which follows refers to these Isthmian games (so called from their taking place in the isthmus where Corinth stood) with which his readers would be familiar. These, like the other games of Greece—the Olympian, Pythian, and Nemean—included every form of athletic exercise, and stood on an entirely different footing from anything of the kind in modern times...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
9. Translate, as the Greek collocation of words, and the emphasis on "God" thrice repeated, requires, "For (in proof that "each shall receive reward according to his own labor," namely, from God) it is of God that we are the fellow workers (laboring with, but under, and belonging to Him as His servants, 2Co 5:20; 6:1; compare Ac 15:4; see on 1Th 3:2) of God that ye are the field (or tillage), of G...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 24-27**
The apostle compares himself to the racers and combatants in the Isthmian games, well known by the Corinthians. But in the Christian race all may run so as to obtain. There is the greatest encouragement, therefore, to persevere with all our strength, in this course. Those who ran in these games were kept to a spare diet. They used themselves to hardships. They practised the ex...
Read full commentary →And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things.</strong> The Greek <em>agōnizomai</em> (ἀγωνίζομαι, "strive, compete") gives us "agonize"—intense exertion. Athletes practice <em>enkrateuomai</em> (ἐγκρατεύομαι, "self-control, temperance"), abstaining from pleasures and luxuries to maximize performance. Ancient training regimens involved strict diets, sexual abstinen...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) **Every man that striveth for the mastery.**—Better, *Every one that enters into the contest.* The Greek word (*agonizomenos*) is identical with the English “agonise.” Hence the use in devotional works of the phrase “to agonise in prayer,” etc.
**Is temperate in all things.**—He fulfils not only some, but all of the necessary preliminary conditions. He indulges self in no way.
**They do it to...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10. grace ... given unto me--**Paul puts this first, to guard against seeming to want humility, in pronouncing himself "a WISE master builder," in the clause following [Chrysostom]. The "grace" is that "given" to him in common with all Christians (1Co 3:5), only proportioned to the work which God had for him to do [Alford].
**wise--**that is, skilful. His skill is shown in his laying a foundat...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 24-27**
The apostle compares himself to the racers and combatants in the Isthmian games, well known by the Corinthians. But in the Christian race all may run so as to obtain. There is the greatest encouragement, therefore, to persevere with all our strength, in this course. Those who ran in these games were kept to a spare diet. They used themselves to hardships. They practised the ex...
Read full commentary →I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>I therefore so run, not as uncertainly;</strong> Paul personalizes the athletic metaphor. He does not run "uncertainly" (Greek <em>adēlōs</em>, ἀδήλως, "without clear goal, aimlessly"). Unlike runners who meander off-course, Paul races with focused purpose—gospel advance and Christ's glory. Every step is calculated; every sacrifice strategic. <strong>So fight I, not as one that beateth the...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(26) **I therefore so run.**—The Apostle appeals to his own conduct as an illustration of the lesson which he is teaching, and by means of it reminds the reader that the whole of this chapter has been a vindication of his own self-denial, and that he has a clear and definite object in view.
**So fight I.**—The illustration is changed from running to boxing, both being included in the word used in ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
11. (Is 28:16; Ac 4:12; Ep 2:20).
**For--**my warning ("take heed," &c. 1Co 3:10) is as to the superstructure ("buildeth thereupon"), not as to the foundation: "For other foundation can no man lay, than that which has (already) been laid (by God) Jesus Christ," the person, not the mere abstract doctrine about Him, though the latter also is included; Jesus, God-Saviour; Christ, Messiah or Ano...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 24-27**
The apostle compares himself to the racers and combatants in the Isthmian games, well known by the Corinthians. But in the Christian race all may run so as to obtain. There is the greatest encouragement, therefore, to persevere with all our strength, in this course. Those who ran in these games were kept to a spare diet. They used themselves to hardships. They practised the ex...
Read full commentary →But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means , when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection:</strong> Paul concludes with stark honesty. The Greek <em>hypopiazō</em> (ὑποπιάζω, "strike under the eye, bruise, discipline severely") is the boxer's term for delivering punishing blows. Paul "blackens the eye" of his flesh—subduing bodily desires through rigorous self-discipline. <em>Doulagōgeō</em> (δουλαγωγέω, "enslave, bring int...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(27) **But I keep under my body.**—Better, *but I bruise my body.* The word is very strong, and implies to beat the flesh until it becomes black and blue. The only other place the word occurs is in Luke 18:5. The body is spoken of as his adversary, or the seat of those lusts and appetites which “war against the mind*”* (Romans 7:23; Galatians 5:17).
**Bring it into subjection.**—Better, *and make ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**12. Now--**rather, "But." The image is that of a building on a solid foundation, and partly composed of durable and precious, partly of perishable, materials. The "gold, silver, precious stones," which all can withstand fire (Re 21:18, 19), are teachings that will stand the fiery test of judgment; "wood, hay, stubble," are those which cannot stand it; not positive heresy, for that would destroy ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 24-27**
The apostle compares himself to the racers and combatants in the Isthmian games, well known by the Corinthians. But in the Christian race all may run so as to obtain. There is the greatest encouragement, therefore, to persevere with all our strength, in this course. Those who ran in these games were kept to a spare diet. They used themselves to hardships. They practised the ex...
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