Grace Is ... Getting What You Don't Deserve! 1 Corinthians 9

Paul’s Rights as an Apostle

9 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord? 2 Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. 3 This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me. 4 Don’t we have the right to food and drink? 5 Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas[a]? 6 Or is it only I and Barnabas who lack the right to not work for a living?

As in all of his letters to the churches, Paul is addressing another issue brought up by the church.  In this case he is addressing the claim by some who thought he was not a "true apostle", because he was not an ORIGINAL apostle.  Technically an apostle was someone who had seen and been with Jesus and preached the gospel, which led to conversion.  So Paul counters the false claim by pointing out the he did encounter the Lord personally on the Road to Damascus, and their own personal faith in Christ was evidence of his apostleship. Paul was a true apostle as we all know.

The presenting problem was that others argued that if Paul was a "real apostle" he would have asked for and taken financial support from them.  Guzik says in regard to this, 

"We might think this would make Paul and Barnabas more respected in the sight of the Corinthian Christians, but curiously, it made them less respected. It was almost as if the Corinthian Christians said, “If Paul and Barnabas were real apostles, we would support them; but since they are not supported, we suppose they aren’t real apostles.”

So this sets up the rest of the passage as Paul explains why he didn't assert these rights. 

7 Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink the milk? 8 Do I say this merely on human authority? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.”[b] Is it about oxen that God is concerned? 10 Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he? Yes, this was written for us, because whoever plows and threshes should be able to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. 11 If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? 12 If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ. 13 Don’t you know that those who serve in the temple get their food from the temple, and that those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? 14 In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.

In verses 7-10 Paul gives an analogy from military and farming life to further confirm he and Barnabas' right to receive material support from the Corinthian church.  He even quotes from Moses about how it is only fair to allow an ox to eat from the same grain it was treading out.  This might help you to understand what that verse means. 

"This law simply commanded the humane treatment of a working animal. In those days, grain was broken away from its husk by an ox walking on it repeatedly (usually in a circle). It was cruel to force the ox to walk over all that grain, yet to muzzle him so he couldn’t eat of it." (Guzik)

Though Paul has proven his right to be compensated, he now goes on to show why he refrains to use this right.  For Paul it was more important that he preach the gospel free of charge to avoid the appearance of preaching for money though it was his God-given right.

"Here we see Paul’s real heart. Paid or not paid, it did not matter to him. What mattered was the work of the gospel. Was it more effective for the gospel if Paul should receive support? Then he would receive it. Was it more effective for the gospel if Paul should work to support himself? Then he would do that. What mattered was that the gospel not be hindered in any way." (Guzik)

So how might this apply to us?  Most people are not pastors, or paid religious workers in a church.  But the same principles apply.  The overarching teaching is will you willingly not exercise a right for the sake of the gospel?  This takes an extreme amount of humility and self control.  We are told from day 1 to get all we can, and we are entitled to this and that.  But Christians should be counter cultural. Instead of just thinking about getting what we deserve, we should think about helping others who may not deserve anything.  We call that GRACE. 

You might choose to tip someone who may not even deserve it.  You may stick up for someone who others are picking on, even if they deserve it.  You may spend a lesser amount of money so you can give more to the church or those in need.  You might take a vacation and go serve the poor rather than enjoy the lap of luxury.

To be clear taking a vacation is not wrong and it is in fact important to have times of rest and recreation in your life, but the point is that we can willingly give up something we deserve to serve others as a witness of the gospel.  Remember we received the gospel free of charge. Jesus died on a cross for us not because we deserved it, but because of His great love for all us! 

As Paul says in another passage, 

"You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” 2 Corinthians 9:7