1 Corinthians Chapter 9

In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul bares his heart as he openly discusses his feelings and his attitude towards his ministry to all his readers. While Paul was addressing certain people in those times, we today also get to peek into the mind of Paul and learn much from him.

1. Paul’s critics

Paul starts off by responding to certain people who examined him. “Do we have no right to eat or drink?” “Is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working?” The answer to these rhetorical questions is obvious. Of course, Paul and Barnabas were deserving of such basic things. Could those that were criticizing him really be saying that Paul ought not to eat or take breaks? 

Oftentimes we criticize people without really thinking of what we are suggesting. We may even think that we have the other person’s interest, or even the church’s interest at heart. For example, someone could have made an off-hand comment when Paul was having fellowship with other brethren – “what are these apostles doing? If they are so free, they should be doing more to preach the Gospel.” However, they do not realize that they are implying that Paul should not take breaks or enjoy food and rest. 

We should always keep Jesus’ teaching from Matt 7:1-5 in mind – be careful to judge others since whatever measure we use on others will likewise be applied to ourselves.

2. Paul’s reaction

We can clearly see from Paul’s writing that he felt wronged. It is perfectly fine to express ourselves like this – just because we are Christians, it does not mean that we must always humble ourselves and silently suffer wrong. 

But more importantly, rather than exercising his rights, Paul put his love for the church first – continuing to work for the church despite criticism, and not taking anything from the Corinthian church despite being entitled to, choosing instead to make his own living as a tentmaker. In so doing, he put into practice what he had taught the Corinthians in chapter 6 – that rather than insisting on one’s own rights, even to the point of going to court and putting the church to shame, we should rather accept the loss for the sake of the Gospel.

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