Sunday, August 15, 2010 pm
STUDIES IN 1 CORINTHIANS (28)
Concerning those who preach
1 Corinthians 9:1-18
Tonight we continue our study of 1 Corinthians.
We have examined numerous problems the brethren at Corinth faced.
We have noted divisive attitudes, improper treatment toward one
another and dealt with the conscience.
Our lesson tonight takes us to a different subject.
It deals with a sensitive area that preachers are sometimes
hesitant to address because it deals with their support and fear of
being accused of wrongful motives.
There are churches where anytime the preacher mentions giving or
passages such as this one it is assumed he is asking for a raise.
But in our current ongoing study, this is just the next in line
in the text. We shall not
shy away from it. (NOTE: I am
being treated well by the brethren here).
Paul in our text begins to address some personal issues and
accusations made against him.
He is in a position where he has to defend himself to serve them
and to preach with authority.
He has to defend his right to expect what any other apostle had
the right to expect.
Reluctantly, he does this.
a.
Here is a
text where Paul CLEARLY establishes his apostleship.
It is apparent that there were some in Corinth who questioned
Paul’s apostleship. His
simple statement here does not remove that element because he has to
write the 2nd epistle for the express purpose of defending
his apostleship and ministry.
Nevertheless, Paul was an apostle in EVERY sense of the word!
b.
“Am I not
an apostle?” – Paul simply states what they should have known.
He is an apostle which he will proceed to prove in a moment.
c.
“Am I not
free?”
When he speaks of being free, what he clearly has in mind is freedom
found in Christ. Paul had
delivered to these brethren the message that made them free.
Free from the bondage of sin.
One might ask, is a Christian truly free?
The answer depends on what you mean by free.
We have effectively shown over and over that the Christian
becomes a slave of God (Rom. 6:16-19).
But the freedom every Christian enjoys is described by Butler in
his commentary on this verse, “God, through Christ, has set the
Christian free from all hindrances and restraints that would keep him
from reaching the highest possibility for which he was redeemed.”
When you ACT LIKE a Christian, you have overcome attitudes that
enslave or hinder such as guilt, doubt, rebellion against God, rejection
of truth, fear of death and even selfishness.
All these enslave.
(See Butler, College Press Commentaries, 1 Corinthians, pg. 162).
d.
“Have I
not seen Jesus Christ our Lord?”
There are a handful of requirements necessary for one to serve as an
apostle of Jesus Christ – these included:
1) Having physically seen Jesus –cf. Acts 1:21-22 – of the
original 12 (and Matthias), they had to have been with Jesus throughout
His ministry. While Paul was
not with Jesus while upon this earth, he had been with the Lord 1 Cor.
15:8 notes that the Lord was seen by him, “as by one born out of due
time.”
2) There were certain “signs” that demonstrated who the apostles were
– 2 Cor. 12:12, “Truly the signs
of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in
signs and wonders and mighty deeds.”
In Acts 8:14-15, 18 – we find that only the apostles had the
ability to lay hands upon someone so that they could perform some
miraculous gift. Paul could
do that – see Acts 19:6 (in Corinth)
3) They were chosen to serve as an apostle by the Lord.
The twelve were certainly chosen by Jesus (John 15:16, 19); Paul
– 1 Tim. 2:7 – appointed, Acts 9:15-16 – “a chosen vessel of Mine”
e.
“You
are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.”
Paul’s concern is that brethren in cities like Corinth, where he
had been so instrumental in starting their faith would even consider
questioning if he was really an apostle.
Paul notes, that if they would just THINK for a moment at what he
had done and taught, it would be obvious.
Further, he notes that they were his proof of being an apostle of the
Lord. What that tells me is
that he had probably given some in that city miraculous abilities.
FURTHERMORE, his work in their midst proved to others that he was
who he claimed to be. Later in
this letter he will issue this challenge: “If
anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge
that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord.”
(1 Cor. 14:37)
a.
Lessons to
be gleaned: There is authority for a located preacher who is supported
by the congregation. While
the arguments used in this text were Paul speaking of himself as an
apostle, it is was his fulltime devotion to preaching the gospel that
entitled him to support.
b.
Vs. 3-6 Paul’s challenge:
Do we have no right to eat and drink, or to have a family, even as other
apostles and preachers do?
He is making a point for preaching the gospel!
When done properly it is WORK and it is time consuming.
And the truth is, if he is adequately supported by brethren, he
can devote his full time to the work and not have to spend it surviving
and providing for his family, if he has one – which Paul addresses!
We sometimes hear the joke about the perfect preacher being
someone who:
Preaches 20 minutes and sits down.
He condemns sin but never hurts anyone's feelings. He works from 8 a.m.
to 10 p.m. in every type of work from preaching to custodial service. He
makes $60 a week, wears good clothes, buys good books regularly, has a
nice family, drives a good car, and gives $100 a week to the church. He
also stands ready to contribute to every good work that comes along.
He is 26 years old and has been preaching for 30 years. He is
tall and short, thin, and heavy‑set. He has one brown eye and one blue,
and hair parted down the middle, left side dark and straight and the
right brown and wavy.
He has a burning desire to work with the teenagers and spends all
his time with the older folks. He smiles all the time with a straight
face because he has a sense of humor that keeps him seriously dedicated
to his work. He makes 15 calls a day on church members, spends all of
his time evangelizing the unchurched, and is never out of his office.
(Taken from various sources on the internet under Perfect Preacher)
c.
Vs. 7-18 - Reasons given to justify being
supported:
i.
Vs.
7 - Whoever goes to war at
his own expense? Plants a vineyard or tends a flock at his own expense?
The point is that workers have a right to be supported!
Farmers expect to be paid for their efforts.
Soldiers need to be taken care of (by govt.) so that they can
defend their country. Etc.
We understand this in the business world.
It is true spiritually as well.
ii.
Vs.
8-10 – Is this not what
God has taught? Both under
the Old Law and in the teachings of Jesus, it was emphasized that one
who works is worthy of being paid.
In other words, this is GOD’S LAW!
Even when Adam was cursed there were provisions.
Gen. 3:17-19 notes that he was to eat, but it came with hard
work.
Paul quotes from Deut. 25:4, which is instructions in the midst of
general rules about living.
Why did God say this? “You
shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.”
As I understand, this was unique compared to the pagan nations
around who would muzzle the animals and control their intake.
Paul explains it wasn’t so much about the oxen as it was a lesson about
paying for services rendered.
Now the intent was not to say animals were to be abused but for
man to be CONSIDERATE! If
you don’t cheat your animals, you are not going to cheat your fellow
man. Apply this to the one
who devotes his life to preaching the gospel.
iii.
Vs.
11-13 – Spiritual things
vs. physical things.
I suppose it has always been a challenge for people to properly asses
the greater value of spiritual things over physical things.
Jesus emphasized this in Matt. 6:19-21 when he spoke of our
treasure.
Paul puts things in perspective – if one helps you develop spiritually
(i.e. instructs you on how to get saved and STAY saved), namely he has
given his life and livelihood to helping you become as spiritual as you
can possibly be, is it such a big deal if you support him with some of
your worldly possessions? Is it
not right that you support him to 1) Encourage him to keep studying and
teaching and 2) let him know that your priorities are in order?
In vs. 12 he makes personal application – being an apostle and
considering the work and sacrifice they have made do they not deserve at
least as much as others, who have not worked as hard for them (not
saying they have not worked, but perhaps in other places)?
He also notes that they had not taken advantage of this right (more in a
few moments) – but instead they “endure all things lest we hinder the
gospel of Christ.” I
consider this a sad statement, but I suspect some attitudes have not
changed!
Vs. 13 – He gives an example – under the Old Law, the priest and Levite
were to be taken care of.
Every Israelite was to give 10% plus much more.
When priests offered sacrifices they were entitled to a portion
of the sacrifice. (cf. Lev. 6 & 7, Num. 5:9-10, etc)
iv.
Vs.
14 – Paul notes concluding
this argument: Even so the
Lord commanded!
Those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.
OBSERVATIONS: We live in an age where most congregations realize the
need to support a preacher (except for churches that oppose located
preachers).
Let me qualify what I am about to say by noting there are times
when preachers make unreasonable demands to sustain themselves (though
they are the exception).
But our problem in many places today (though it is better than it
used to be) is a failure to comprehend what is needed to fully support a
gospel preacher. There are
congregations content to keep the preacher in poverty out of
indifference. Generational
farmers who own their land who don’t know what it takes to raise a
family with a mortgage.
Business workers who take for granted their benefits (health insurance,
life insurance, retirement planes, etc.) but squawk if the preacher
wants to establish a saving’s plan.
They complain to their brethren in neighboring
cities because they can’t keep a preacher more than a couple of
years (so that they can really start focusing on spiritual growth) when
they fail to realize they have starved them out of house and home.
Another problem: There are preachers that need to be supported
that cannot find adequate support because members simply refuse to give
as they ought to. In direct
violation of commands such as 1 Cor. 16:1-2, 2 Cor. 9:4-5, etc., they
give sparingly and leftovers.
Their giving is NOT a indicator of a life where God is first.
This is something we need to think about often and reexamine
ourselves (2 Cor. 13:5).
a.
Vs.
15 – Paul had not taken
advantage of his right to be support (nor had he let it hinder his
work). NOTE: This implies
that when possible, it is not wrong for one to preach “free of charge”,
but let it be of his own choosing and because he has the ability to do
so.
Paul goes as far as to say he would rather die than his “boasting” be
made empty or void. One
author observed in Paul’s viewpoint, “He
clearly foresaw that, in so doing, he would rob Satan of any excuse to
allege that the eternal gospel of Christ had first been advocated by
people seeking their own gain.
He would simply rather die than to give the devil any such
opportunity to slander the truth.” (Coffman)
It is observed that Paul’s “glorying” is not bragging for
himself, but his joy he has with his brethren.
He did not want ANYTHING to cast doubt on that by questioning his
motives.
b.
Vs.
16 – Why Paul really
preached -
He notes that in his preaching there is not intent to personally brag.
He is not doing it for any self-serving reason (not money, nor
fame, nor pride, etc.).
Why did Paul preach? “Necessity is laid upon me.”
In other words, he had to.
I have heard that the advice given by older preachers to younger
preachers is something akin to saying, “If you can do anything else,
don’t preach.” The point was
not to discourage preaching, but to note that the TRULY effective
preacher is the one who keeps coming back to it!
He may do other work to support himself, but he HAS TO preach!
ANOTHER REASON: Woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.
For Paul it was not an option.
He would be sinning if he did not preach!
His disposition demanded it!
c.
Vs.
17 – Paul was compelled to
preach. Whether he wanted to
or not (i.e. in season and out of season).
Perhaps when he speaks of doing this willingly what he has in mind is
preaching there without being supported by them.
Even so, he is rewarded in his efforts.
But even in circumstances where he does not want to do something – it
still NEEDS to be done! Paul
calls it his stewardship.
d.
Vs.
18 – What is Paul’s reward? The honor of preaching to these brethren the
gospel of Christ, without having to be supported by them.
There is another lesson in this. The preacher of God does it not
for the financial benefit, but for other more noble reasons.
That is why he suffers great loss before he compromises the
truth. I believe that is
Paul’s attitude here.
Preaching the gospel was more important than a paycheck.
But I pity that congregation who has the ability to adequately
support a godly man and refuses to do so!
Who is hindering the gospel in such cases?
And thus we can see another lesson from this book which teaches
us to work together as the Lord’s people in a given location.
In our next lesson we will continue to notice Paul’s labors and
his challenge to all brethren.
In the meantime, let us consider the message of these verses we
have examined tonight.