Currently I'm preaching through The First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians. I'm in chapter 9. In this Chapter Paul uses himself as a example for true freedom. According to 9.11 Paul has every right to reap material things from the Corinthian church. After all, they are his work and Paul has sowed spiritual things in them.
Of course, verse 11 falls firmly into the main teaching of 9. Namely, by means of personal example, Paul reinforces the appeal of chap 8, that the stronger believer is to forego his/her rights for the sake of the weaker, even to adopt the stance of the weak if necessary, by drawing attention to his own surrendering of his apostolic rights for the sake of a greater good! In this case, for the sake of the Gospel’s advance!
The major significance is the gospel-first posture of Paul that so ordered and influenced his life - his passion to keep the Gospel free and clear from any hindrances - whatever that might mean for him personally (1 Cor. 2.2). As a result of this gospel-first posture, Paul was more than willing to forego his personal rights, to abandon his apostolic privileges and “become all things to all men” for the sake of the Gospel’s advance.
To put it another way, what is on display in 1 Corinthians 9 is the gospel-driven, sacrificial mindset and lifestyle! This is the lifestyle that was demonstrated by Jesus, modeled by Paul, and whose echo ought to reverberate through the lives of God’s people, wherever they may be found.
enjoy, ron
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