Sovereign or Servant?

Series on I Corinthians

V Meat Sacrificed to Idols

C The Ideal, Text: 9:1-27

Title: Sovereign or Servant?

Introduction

The general discussion in this part of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians revolves around the question of eating meat, bought in the market place, but previously used in idolatrous worship. Since some Christians saw no problem in this and others were offended by it, the question became how to deal with this difference of opinion. Although the Apostle agrees in theory with the strong who saw no problem in eating the meat, he sympathizes with the weak who were offended. Thus the issue at this point is: how the strong ought to behave in such a circumstance. It is as we have seen an issue of love. In chapter 9, our text, Paul extends the idea of love and caring in a personal example. People who care support the ministry, and pattern their lives according to the ministry. We shall consider Paul’s example under two headings a freeman’s rights and a follower’s heart.

I A Freeman’s Rights

Every Christian is a child of a king. We are saved by grace. Jesus Christ has paid the full price for our redemption and we are free to obey Him alone. We are not bound by the commandments of men. We may do what we wish as long as it does not violate the commandments of Christ and it is done in love. Love was something the Corinthians lacked. Paul had proved his value to them as stated in verses 1 and 2, 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? 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. This free Christian and Apostle gave up many rights voluntarily in his ministry but here in verses 3-14 he defends his right because the Corinthians were neglectful and he has a right to be paid, This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me. Don’t we have the right to food and drink? 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? Or is it only I and Barnabas who must work for a living? Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk? Do I say this merely from a human point of view? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing? For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it about oxen that God is concerned? Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he? Yes, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? 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. Don’t you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. There is much valuable information here but we should not lose sight of the reason Paul is making this argument. His sole reason for this is to establish he has the authority and the right to get paid. His reference to a wife has nothing to do with the right to be married, but with the right to take a wife along which would imply additional cost. He covers the whole range of human society servant and free, owner and employee, soldiers, shepherds, and farmers, reminding us that nobody works for nothing. Even the Old Testament priests who worked for God were still entitled to make a living from that work. He even appeals to Deuteronomy 25 and God’s care for dumb animals in verses 8-10. God did not say this for the sake of the animals but to teach Israel a principle of human life. The conclusion of the whole matter is that Paul had a right to live from preaching the gospel and according to verse 3 some were questioning it. No one could legitimately deprive him of that right because it was a universal rule, grounded in scripture and common sense. Granting that some people abuse this and get rich as preachers and evangelists and live in big mansions and drive Rolls Royce’s the principle is still inviolable. Verse 11 takes us to the real reason for the questions. In other words, if we have enriched you spiritually, is it a big deal for you to enrich us materially? If they really appreciated the spiritual gift and if they really loved God, then they would have had open hearts and open hands. It reminds me of the story of the little girl surprised at receiving a dollar on her fourth birthday. She carried the bill about the house and sat on the stairs admiring it. “What are you going to do with your dollar?” her mother asked. “Take it to Sunday School,” said Mary promptly. “To show your teacher?” Mary shook her head. “No,” she said. “I’m going to give it to God. He’ll be as surprised as I am to get something besides pennies.”

II A Follower’s Heart

Even though Paul had a freeman’s rights he had a servant’s heart and so he says that he has not insisted on his rights. Paul’s focus was not on his freedom, but on following the Lord Jesus Christ as his bond-slave. This issued in a threefold course of action. He denied himself, he deferred to the weak, and he was dedicated to the cause.

A Denial

In verses 15-18 we read that Paul denied himself, But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me. I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of this boast.Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it. Why did Paul deny himself? It is true that he received gratification from preaching the gospel, however, physically he suffered from refusing to accept payment. He did this because there were unappreciative people who would say Paul’s just doing this for the money. Look at the situation today. There are a few scattered examples of dishonesty in the ministry. But if you talk to some people, every preacher is an Elmer Gantry, in it for the profit. You may say, I’m not a preacher, how does this apply to me? please remember Paul is writing to church members. He is asking them to deny themselves as he has. For you it may take a different form, but self-denial is important for Christians to get along. Sometimes i just need to do things a different way so that we can get along. if you’re not sacrificing for the fellowship, something is wrong. in the book “The Carpenter’s Son” are these words, “Our relation to Christ, the meaning of our atonement, the risk we run to have God at our elbows, the inevitable concomitant of our salvation means that at this cross there is no place for observers. there is no detached ground; there are no uninvolved ones. We are caught here. The cross means “nailed here.” There are no spectators… we are all on stage. You are in it: the drama of the redemption of the world. But not alone — there are no single crosses anywhere, anymore. all our crosses participate in his.” James Calvert a missionary sailing to preach to the cannibals of Fiji many years ago was told by the captain to turn back “You will lose your life and the lives of those with you if you go among such savages,” he cried. Calvert only replied, “We died before we came here.” Thus Paul said i am crucified with Christ.

B Deferral

Paul’s second course of action was deferring to people’s need in love as he states in verses 19-23, Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. The illustrations here have to do with the scruples of both Jews and Gentiles. Many Jewish Christians insisted on continuing Jewish practices. Gentiles on the other hand would be completely ignorant of any Jewish customs. In so far as he could still obey God and do it, Paul adapted to the conscience of whomever he was with. He summarizes the effort in verse 22, To the weak i became weak to win the weak. Paul didn’t do anything wrong, he just didn’t insist on his own preference. i tremble to touch on the theme of church music because it stirs people up, but i think it is important to make this point. As an individual i believe that certain types of music and certain kinds of lyric are more edifying. It is my personal preference therefore that these would be all that we use in worship. But not only do I defer to my brothers with different preferences but i have consistently encouraged us to appreciate in a reasonable way the fact that we have different tastes. I do this because i believe it is the Biblical pattern and that God does not want us to be so taken up with our own viewpoint that we don’t defer to others where we can. This flies in the face of the church growth movement with its niche marketing and target group philosophy that says that only homogeneous churches grow fast. No wonder it sells. Thinner thighs in thirty days. Church is not a place to please the customer or feel comfortable. It is a place to learn how to get along with those with whom we differ. Sometimes people refuse to do that. So Paul makes a strong appeal from his own example.

C Dedication

Paul dedicated himself to the cause in verses 24-27, Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. In order to be a fruitful useful servant Paul focused on what was important. Notice he is humble and humble people defer to the weaker brother not in a condescending manner but in a way that recognizes we all have weaknesses and it is just easier to see the other fellow’s. Paul’s point is that we need to focus on running the race to the finish. We don’t have time to be quibbling about non-essentials. At bottom the Corinthian dispute was petty and superficial compared to Paul’s concern for reaching the lost. In fact that’s why Paul uses the illustration of a man running well in a race or aimlessly flailing his arms in the air. You need to run to the finish and you need to hit the target.. Being concerned about my preferences and arguing with my brother over them is a needless expenditure of energy. Did you ever see a good runner look back?

Conclusion

Paul gives us the ideal, and he practices what he preaches. Do not assert your rights to the detriment of others. Do not spend your time arguing about or judging others in non-essentials. Put all your energy into direct and forceful Christian endeavor. “There are three kinds of people in all types of organizations: rowboat people, sailboat people, and steamboat people. Rowboat people need to be pushed or shoved along. Sailboat people move when a favorable wind is blowing. Steamboat people move continuously, through calm or storm. They usually are masters of themselves, their surroundings, and their fate.” And so Paul pushed for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.