| Introduction The commentator Paul Barnett calls this section of 1 Corinthians "Freedom Forsaken" because in it Paul lists rights that are properly his, but that he is willing to give up for the sake of the Gospel. Paul is willing to give up all his rights because of "his Christ-inspired passion for the lost" (Barnett). He was willing to do that not only for the lost, but also for the sake of the Corinthians. Paul loved the brethren in such way that he was willing to forgo his freedom in order to remove any obstacle from their following Jesus Christ. He does not want to be a stumbling block between the Corinthian Christians and Christ. What Paul is doing in chpt. 9 is putting feet to the teaching of chpt. 8. Paul gave us the theory of loving the brethren in chpt. 8; now he gives us the practice of that theory in his own life (the practice of 8:9). Paul is adorning the Gospel by having a godly testimony. You see, sometimes we might tell people about Christ. We might tell them everything just right, exactly like the Bible says. Yet, our lives, the way we carry ourselves, the way act, the way we think, the way we treat others speak so loudly against every word that we say to the point that people don't hear a thing we are saying. If the people who know you well, those who are around you more often than not, felt safe enough to honestly right down 5 things that characterize you what would they be? Would they adorn the Gospel? We will come back to this point later. Paul is going to spend a lot of the chapter asserting that, as an apostle, he has rights that he is free to exercise at any point. He does that in order to get to the main point in v. 12.s I. Paul Is an Apostle, 1-2. A. It seems like Paul's apostleship is being attacked. 1. It is not as evident in this letter, but it is a big part of 2 Corinthians. 2. Three reasons some were saying that Paul was not really an apostle: a. He was not a member of the original apostolic college, nor had he seen the resurrected Jesus. b. He didn't usually take payment from the churches where he ministered (apparently the other apostles did) – he sometimes did too, 2 Cor. 11:7-12. c. He was willing to eat with Gentiles (he did that for the sake of the Gospel, 19-23). B. The series of questions Paul asks in these two verses all demand an yes answer. 1. Am I an apostle? Yes, I am (some versions have this question and the next question in reversed). 2. Am I not free? Yes, I am free of bondage to sin and to the law through Jesus Christ 3. Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Yes, I saw him when I was on the way to Damascus to kill the likes of you (Acts 9:1-8). a. Notice the our Lord. b. Paul says that he has seen the very Jesus who is now their common Lord. 4. Are you not the result of my apostleship? Yes, you are. a. Of all the people of the world, the Christians in Corinth should know that Paul was an apostle because of all that the Spirit had done among them through Paul. b. As a matter of fact the Christians in Corinth are the proof (the seal on wax) of Paul's apostleship, 2. 1) Some of other people may doubt his office, though they are wrong in doing that. 2) But you Corinthians? You heard the Gospel from my lips and you were saved as a result of my coming to you and if I had not come to you, you would still be in your pagan temples! You know better. 3) Aren't we often like that as well? We appreciate more people who are afar off than those who are ministering to us in the trenches with us. II. As an Apostle, Paul Has Rights, 3-11, 13-15 (he brings up two in particular). A. He had the right to receive physical provision from the church, 4, 7-11, 12a, 13-14. 1. Common sense shows that's the case, 7, 11. a. The analogy of military life, farming, and shepherding, 7. 1) The expenses of war were the responsibility of the government and it was unthinkable to require a soldier to pay for the cost of putting his own life on the line. 2) The idea that a farmer should worker really hard growing his vines and then be denied any access to the fruit of the vines is crazy – it is unjust and revolting. 3) It is assumed, one doesn't have to prove that it is true, it is self evident that a shepherd should benefit from the milk that the flock produces after he worked hard to take care of it. b. If it is self-evident that the soldier, the farmer, and the shepherd should benefit from their work, then it is also self-evident that the Gospel worker should benefit from his work – that is, that pastors and missionaries should be paid for being pastors and missionaries, 11. 2. Besides the self-evident nature of this issue, the Bible shows that's the case, 8-10, 13-14. a. If the oxen, which are a lesser creature than humans, benefit from their work, then shouldn't the Gospel worker also benefit of his work? 9-10. 1 Tim. 5:17-18 – Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. For the Scripture says, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain," and, "The laborer is worthy of his wages." b. The priests were fully supported by the offerings and tithes of the people of God who benefited from their services, 13. c. Thus, in the same way that the oxen and the priests enjoyed the physical fruit of their labor, the Gospel worker has the right to enjoy the physical fruit of his spiritual labor, 14. Lk. 10:7 (sending out of the 72) – And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not go from house to house. B. He had the right to take his wife with him in ministry trips at the church's expense, 5-6. 1. It is obvious that everybody else was doing this, and rightly so, 5. 2. It seems that the Corinthian church had had contact with other Gospel workers, and particularly with Peter. 3. The brothers of Jesus were James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. 4. As a quick side note, notice how this one verse destroys two Roman Catholic doctrines: the perpetual virginity of Mary (she had other kids after Jesus) and that Peter as the first pope never married (he took his wife in ministry trips with him). C. Now, the point of all these arguments concerning his rights was not to demand that they be kept, but to show how the Gospel freed him to forsake his rights. III. As an Apostle, Paul Gives up His Rights for the Sake of the Gospel, 12, 16-18 "… the Corinthians' approach to dealing with food offered to idols… should be based not on their view of their rights, but rather on their concern for the spiritual well-being of those around them." Beale and Carson A. This is true of every issue in life, not just food. B. In Paul's opinion, getting paid by the church in Corinth would get in the way of the Corinthians' listening to and believing in the Gospel. C. So, Paul forgoes this right for the sake of the Gospel. 1. This was not an absolute standard for Paul – he received money from the Philippian church. 2 Cor. 11:7-9 – Did I commit sin in humbling myself that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you free of charge? I robbed other churches, taking wages from them to minister to you. And when I was present with you, and in need, I was a burden to no one, for what I lacked the brethren who came from Macedonia supplied. And in everything I kept myself from being burdensome to you, and so I will keep myself. 2. He commanded Timothy to teach the church in Ephesus that those who labor in the Word should be honored with provision. 1 Tim. 5:17-18 – Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. For the Scripture says, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain," and, "The laborer is worthy of his wages." 3. But in this situation in Corinth, the best thing he could do to remove any obstacle in hearing the Gospel, the way that he could be the best testimony of the presence of Christ in his life was by not getting paid. 4. And that's the point we need to get out of this passage: we are to live in such way that adorns the Gospel, and not in ways that create obstacles for the Gospel. a. The word translated endure in v. 12 means to keep silent out of love for others. b. Paul loved the Lord Jesus and he loved the Corinthians; so, giving up his rights was something he willing did. c. After all, that's what his Savior had done for him. Phil. 2:5-8 – Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. d. This is not to say that it was easy for Paul. 1) He would spend most nights making tents out of leather – an extremely hard and stinky job relegated to lesser people in society. 2) Then he would preach/teach during the day. D. Paul was able to do that because he was completely convinced that Christ was sufficient for him. Phil 3:7-10 –But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death… E. He had learned from Christ to be able to give up his rights. Phil 4:12-13 – I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. F. Paul was more concerned that others be built up than that he got his fair share. "… the totality of the Christian life is to 'build up' other in mature understanding, motivated by love." Paul Barnett G. So having a clear, godly, Christ-exalting, Gospel-inspired, people-loving testimony was of the utmost importance to Paul. H. So he was satisfied with his payment for preaching the Gospel to be preaching the Gospel, 15-18. 1. He was able to that because he had a boasting, a bragging, a making big that kept him going. 2. What was Paul's boasting? 1:31 Gal. 6:14 – But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Application & Conclusion · How about us? Do the realities of the Gospel manifest themselves in the way that we live? http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2013/05/freedom-forsaken-1-cor-91-18.html | |||
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Friday, May 31, 2013
"Freedom Forsaken" - 1 Cor. 9:1-18
