1 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 9:1-14:
“Ministers Are To Be Supported By The Ministry”
By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study we looked
at how Paul answered yet another question which the Corinthians had asked him
about in the letter that they had sent him, “Should a Christian eat meat that
has been sacrificed to an idol?”
1.1.1. Paul warned the Corinthians about how knowledge about God can actually
be dangerous or harmful, and that, more than knowledge, a Christian must have love
for his brothers and sisters as a consideration for all his conduct
1.1.2. Paul gave the Corinthians one rule to follow in determining whether or
not they should do certain things that are not spelled out as right or wrong in
the scriptures, “Don’t do it if doing it will cause your brother to stumble.”
1.1.3. We considered how our conduct affects others, and that we ought to take
Jesus’ words very seriously when He pronounced a woe in Matt. 18:6 upon anyone
who causes another to stumble in their faith, “But whoever causes one of
these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it is better for him that a
heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depth of
the sea”.
1.1.4. In our study today we are going to look at what Paul wrote to the
Corinthians regarding the importance of the church supporting financially those
who minister to them in the things of God
1.1.4.1.Paul uses several means in this chapter to prove that the pastors in a
New Testament church are under normal circumstances supposed to be supported by
the ministry, and that it is only right that they should be, including
analogies from every day life as well as the Old Testament itself:
1.1.4.1.1.Every day life:
1.1.4.1.1.1.A soldier does not serve at his own expense
1.1.4.1.1.2.One who plants a field enjoys the fruit of his labor
1.1.4.1.1.3.One who owns a flock of sheep enjoys the milk they produce
1.1.4.1.2.Old Testament:
1.1.4.1.2.1.This concept is supported by the fact the Old Testament Law provided a
picture illustration of this truth when it forbids that an ox be muzzled when
it is plowing
1.1.4.1.2.2.The priests of the Old Testament were to be supported by the sacrifices
in the temple
1.1.4.2.Paul points out how that most of the apostles were supported by the
ministry, but that he and Barnabas had determined of themselves to provide
their own financial support. They chose
to be the exception to the rule
1.1.4.2.1.In the previous chapter we
saw that Paul had shown how that we Christians are not to hold onto and assert
our rights, but rather as humble servants we are to be willing to yield up our
rights to God as His servant and learn to be subservient to God. This is the context within which this
teaching today falls
1.1.4.2.2.Yielding up our rights and
being subservient are viewed in our culture as being un-American, however that
is what we are called to do, and it is Christian
1.1.4.2.3.In declaring their decision to provide their own support, Paul points
out to the church that he and Barnabas were using their lives as an example to
the church that we as Christians are not to stand up and defend our own rights
but rather to submit our rights to the Lord and view ourselves merely as God’s
servants to be used up and expended as He wishes
2.
VS 9:1 - “9:1 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord?” - Paul questions the
Corinthians concerning his legitimate rights as an apostle
2.1.
It is a wonderful thing for us as Christians that Christ has set us
free, for He sets all believers free from sin, hell, death, the grave, the
devil, and the law of Moses. God sets us
free from everything that has and could enslave us.
2.2.
In asking, ‘Am I not free?’, Paul is revealing that as a church leader
and in fact an apostle of Christ, he has just as much right to freedom in
Christ as any other believer.
2.2.1. The freedom that we enjoy as
Christians is a precious gift to us from the Lord. He could have required us to do many things
yet instead He declared us to be free from all the things that could enslave
us.
2.2.2. We Christians are free in
Christ, however we must determine of ourselves to be careful not to use our
freedom in such a way as to cause others to stumble in their faith.
2.2.2.1.We must yield up to God even
our freedom in Christ so that He can use it also for His kingdom.
2.3.
In asking, ‘Am I not an apostle?’, Paul realized that he had to defend
his apostleship. There were most likely
some in
2.3.1. By the way, don’t be
surprised if you find that you have detractors, for you will find yourself in
good company if you have them.
2.4.
There were a few others than the twelve apostles, and Paul, who are
called apostles in the New Testament, and thus there appears to have been two
different classes of apostles. Some
commentators have called the two different classes of apostles the capital ‘A’,
‘Apostles’, and the small ‘a’, ‘apostles’.
2.4.1. The word ‘apostle’ means
“one sent out”, and in this general sense anyone who is doing ground breaking
ministry work can be considered a small ‘a’, ‘apostle’.
2.4.2. The capital ‘A’, ‘Apostles’,
included only those original 12 apostles, minus Judas Iscariot, and evidently
plus Paul, although the 11 voted in Mattathias to replace Judas Iscariot after
his betrayal.
2.5.
In asking, ‘Have I not seen Jesus our Lord?’, Paul is revealing what
one of the qualifications of a capital ‘A’, ‘Apostle’ were: He must have seen the Lord personally. Paul writes this to show that he met this
qualification of being an ‘Apostle’ of Christ:
2.5.1. He had seen the Lord
personally in his conversion experience on the road to
2.5.2. He had also seen the Lord
when he had been taken up to heaven in visions which he had.
2.6.
In asking, ‘Are you not my work in the Lord?’, Paul is referring to
another test of his leadership. A
spiritual leader’s ultimate qualification is the effect that his ministry
produces in the lives of the people they minister to.
2.6.1. We can determine whether or
not we are called into a ministry by observing how the Lord is using us in the
lives of the people we are ministering to in that ministry. If there is legitimate and healthy fruit
being manifest through our ministry then that is evidence of our gifting from
the Lord for that ministry.
2.6.2. On the other hand, if there
is not a preponderance of fruit in the lives of those we minister to, then we
should realize that we may not be called to that ministry.
2.6.3. I have known people who for
some reason got the notion that they were called to a ministry and then for
many years they continued on in that ministry in spite of the complete lack of
evidence that they were gifted or being used in that ministry.
2.6.3.1.We Christians shouldn’t be
ashamed to admit that we are not gifted or being used in a particular
ministry. God will use us in another
ministry in His timing if we will just be open to His leading in our lives.
2.6.3.2.I have also known Christians
who have gone on in one fruitless ministry after another that was really I
believe unrelated to their giftedness for that ministry, rather there were some
character issues that they were unwilling to repent of and yield up to the
Lord, and thus God was not willing to trust a fruitful ministry to them.
2.6.3.2.1.God will mightily use any
person whom He knows He can trust.
2.6.3.2.2.Have you ever considered
just how much the Lord knows that He can trust you with when it comes to
ministry and people’s lives and spiritual well-being?
2.6.3.2.2.1.Its good to take a little
personal inventory about how much God can really trust us with every once in a
while I believe.
3.
VS 9:2 - “9:2 If to others I am not an apostle, at least I
am to you; for you are the seal of my
apostleship in the Lord.” - Paul tells the Corinthians that they are a
seal to his apostleship
3.1.
Though others may question whether or not Paul was indeed an apostle,
the Corinthians shouldn’t question Paul’s apostleship since Paul had planted
that church, led many of the people there to Christ, and trained the leadership
in the church.
3.2.
In Paul’s day someone might place their seal on a package, and this
unbroken seal upon a package would ensure that the contents genuinely came from
them. Paul says that the Corinthians
themselves were the true ‘seal’ of his apostleship. They proved the genuineness of his apostolic
ministry.
4.
VS 9:3-6 - “9:3 My defense to those who examine me is
this: Do we not have a right to eat and
drink? Do we not have a right to take
along a believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles, and the brothers of
the Lord, and Cephas? Or do only
Barnabas and I not have a right to refrain from working?” - Paul asks the Corinthians
whether or not he and Barnabas had the same rights that the other apostles
enjoyed: the right to eat and drink
other’s food, take a wife for themselves, and refrain from laboring to earn
their own support?
4.1.
Paul defended his claim to apostleship by simply revealing how he had
not taken advantage of the rights that he had as an apostle.
4.1.1. Interestingly, the integrity
of Paul’s very lifestyle and actions demonstrated the genuineness of his
calling as an apostle.
4.1.2. I have been shocked and
appalled at the trend in the church at large of accepting that a person’s
calling and ministry before the Lord has no connection with the integrity of
their character and lifestyle as people.
4.1.2.1.As I am on vacation in a
city far away from home composing these notes, a certain pastor of a very large
evangelical church in this city comes to my mind. This man divorced and re-married his wife a
few times during his years of ministry in this church, and he was even married
for a while to another woman in-between one of his remarriages to his
wife. Yet, during all of these escapades
his church continued to support him and allow him to function as their pastor. How can the church be so blind as not to
realize that the integrity of a person’s character has everything to do with
their qualification to participate in any ministry?
4.2.
In asking, ‘Do we not have a right to eat and drink?’, Paul is showing
that as an apostle he had the right to expect to receive from the people he
served, food and drink as payment. Yet,
Paul of his own choice refused support for himself so that no one could
question his motives for the work of the ministry.
4.3.
In asking, ‘Do we not have a right to take along a believing wife, even
as the rest of the apostles, and the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?’, Paul
is revealing that as an apostle he had the right to have a believing wife, and
to have those he ministered to pay for his expenses as well as those of his
wife as they traveled together in ministry.
4.3.1. Paul states that he has this
right because the rest of the apostles, Jesus’ half-brothers James and Jude, as
well as Peter, had wives who traveled around with them in all of their
ministries.
4.4.
In asking, ‘Or do only Barnabas and I not have a right to refrain from
working?’, Paul reveals that as an apostle, and as was the habit of the rest of
the apostles, Paul and Barnabas (who himself functioned as a small ‘a’,
‘apostle’) had the right not to have to work in a secular job to pay for their
upkeep.
4.4.1. Paul refused support from
all of the churches except those from
4.5.
As we look at Paul and Barnabas and their example for us, we Christians
ought to ask ourselves the following question, “If the apostle Paul was willing to yield up his rights to God and
to live in such a way as not to cause others to stumble, cannot and should not
we be willing to do the same thing?”
4.5.1. As Paul lived his life, we
also should be concerned that we do not cause others to stumble by the way that
we live.
4.5.2. Paul should be our example
to live in such a way as to not allow others to have the opportunity to
question our motives for the things that we do in our lives and ministry.
5.
VS 9:7 - “9:7 Who at any time serves as a soldier at his
own expense? Who plants a vineyard, and
does not eat the fruit of it? Or who
tends a flock and does not use the milk
of the flock?” - Paul points out to the Corinthians that one
who spends his time pasturing a flock of God’s people has the right to also be
supported financially by the people
5.1.
Paul in this verse gives ‘three
spiritual analogies’ which show why
a minister should be supported by those to whom he ministers.
5.1.1. That of a soldier.
5.1.1.1.A solder does not go to war at
his own expense, but rather is supported during his period of service. A Christian minister is surely in a spiritual
battle so this analogy is accurate for Paul’s argument.
5.1.2. That of a man who plants a vineyard.
5.1.2.1.A man does not plant a
vineyard but that he expects to eat of the fruit that is grown there. The
5.1.3. That of a shepherd.
5.1.3.1.A shepherd who tends a flock
does so for pay, as at the least, he will receive some of the flock’s milk as
his pay. A Christian minister is called
to be a shepherd of the flock of God so this analogy is accurate for the case.
5.2.
By these three analogies it is evident that the norm in church life is
for a church to actively provide financial support for those who minister in a
full-time capacity.
5.3.
We Christians in the church need to be faithful to tithe so that we can
provide the financial support which is rightly due to those who minister to us.
5.4.
In order for the church to be as healthy as possible and the minister
and his family not to undergo undo hardship, the church should at some point
begin to provide financial support for the pastor and his family so that his
attention will not have to be divided between secular employment and
shepherding and teaching the flock of God.
6.
VS 9:8-10 - “9:8 I am not speaking these things according to
human judgment, am I? Or does not the
Law also say these things? For it is
written in the Law of Moses, ‘You shall not muzzle the ox while he is
threshing’. God is not concerned about
oxen, is He? Or is He speaking altogether for our
sake? Yes, for our sake it was written,
because the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops.” - Paul points out to the Corinthians that the
Old Testament gave the picture illustration to support this teaching that the
minister (priest) was to be supported by the ministry
6.1.
We know that it is true that every New Testament precept has an Old
Testament illustration, and Paul in these verses is showing us what that Old
Testament illustration was for this teaching that a minister is to be supported
by the ministry: it is the picture
illustration of the oxen which must not
be muzzled while plowing.
6.1.1. Paul quotes from Deut. 25:4
about what the Law said about oxen who are threshing. Paul says that this verse in Deuteronomy was
given not because God cared so much for oxen (though He even feeds the ravens,
and as Jesus said in Luke chapter 12, ‘Not one sparrow is forgotten before
Him’), but rather God included it so that it would speak to us in the
church age, concerning supporting ministers.
6.1.2. Paul says in these verses
that what he is saying is not just something that came to him from his own human
wisdom or judgment.
6.2.
By the way, Paul also mentions in verse 14 that Jesus taught this same
lesson that a minister is to be supported by the ministry.
6.3.
So, in these verses Paul teaches us that the minister, since he works
as a plowman or a thresher, ought to have expectation that he should receive of
the crops that are to be raised in the fields he works on.
6.4.
Those Christians who do not believe that a Christian minister should be
supported by the ministry are wrong!
God’s word teaches that ministers of all varieties who have dedicated
and laid their lives down for the sake of ministry are entitled to have
financial support provided them by those to whom they minister.
7.
VS 9:11 - “9:11 If we sowed spiritual things in you, is it
too much if we should reap material things from you?” - Paul asks the Corinthians if
it is too much for the pastors who sow spiritual things for the people to reap
material things from them?
7.1.
In this verse, Paul is using a comparison of worth between the good
received through a pastor’s ministry, verses the peoples’ material support
which they could supply for their pastor.
7.1.1. In effect, Paul is asking
what is the worth of a man who continually provides for the spiritual growth
and nourishment of you and your family?
7.2.
Paul in this verse causes the Corinthians to be reminded that the
spiritual good received from a pastor is of such value that Christians should
be anxious to support their pastor financially.
7.3.
We Christians ought to ask ourselves how much value the ministry of the
pastor means to our souls? Is it not
worth our while to tithe and provide support for the ministers God has placed
in our lives?
7.4.
A pastor once said, ‘Most
people in the church today do not tithe, that is give a tenth of their income,
rather they tip God.’
7.4.1. I heard it said quite a
while back that in
7.5.
Some Christians have said that tithing is part of the Old Testament law
and that we are no longer under the law, however Abraham paid a tithe to Melchisidek
before the institution of the law.
Therefore, tithing was instituted before the law and has precedence over
the law since it was part of God’s plan before the law was ever instituted. Thus, we can say that tithing is a
‘principle’ that God has established from the beginning.
7.6.
Christians need to realize that if they tithe that it will be a
tremendous blessing in their lives.
7.6.1. First of all, they will grow
in their faith as they will be giving out of faith that the Lord will provide
all that they need if they are faithful to obey Him.
7.6.2. Secondly, if we give we will
be blessed because we will become like God who is the greatest giver of all.
7.6.3. Third, you cannot out-give
God.
7.6.3.1.In Mal. 3:8-10, we see that the only thing that the Lord asks us to
test Him concerning is our giving of a tithe, “8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How
have we robbed Thee?’ In tithes and offerings.9 “You are cursed with a curse,
for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you!10 “Bring the whole tithe into
the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in
this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of
heaven, and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.”
7.6.3.1.1.Note that the Lord says that
we are robbing God if we do not give a tithe to Him.
7.7.
Concerning tithing and giving of offerings to God, if we cannot give
cheerfully, then we should not give at all, as Paul wrote in 2 Cor. 9:7, “7 Each man
should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under
compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver”.
8.
VS 9:12 - “If others share the right over
you, do we not more? Nevertheless, we
did not use this right, but we endure all things, that we may cause no
hindrance to the gospel of Christ.” - Paul asks the Corinthians if the apostles do
not have a right more than any others to be supported by the churches?
8.1.
In this verse Paul reminds the Corinthians that they did support others
financially, and that if anyone deserved to be supported by the church it is
the apostle Paul. However, he and
Barnabas had never demanded this of them.
8.2.
Paul tells the Corinthians in this verse that though it is the
responsibility of the church to support those who minister to them, the
minister is not under obligation to receive this support.
8.2.1. In Paul’s and Barnabas’ case
they chose not to receive the support that was their due in order that no one
could ever say to them that they were only in the ministry for the financial
gain which they received from it.
9.
VS 9:13 - “Do you not know that those who
perform sacred services eat the food
of the temple, and those who attend
regularly to the altar have their share with the altar?” - Paul asks the Corinthians if
in fact they are not aware that the priests in the Jewish temple share in the
food from the sacrifices?
9.1.
In this verse, Paul tells the Corinthians that the Lord established
that the Levitical priests be supported by those who sacrifice. They were to eat from the sacrifices and to
have no secular employment as they were to be supported by the Israelites.
9.2.
Therefore, since the Levitical priests were supported by the temple
sacrifices, Paul teaches us that it was in God’s mind for ministers to be
supported by those that they minister to even before Christ was born on the earth.
10.
VS 9:14 - “9:14 So also the Lord directed those who proclaim
the gospel to get their living from the gospel.” - Paul tells the Corinthians that the Lord
Jesus directed those who preach the gospel to make their living from the gospel
10.1.
This verse may be interpreted in two different ways:
10.1.1. It may mean that as the
Levitical priests were to be supported by their Israelite brothers, so also the
ministers of the gospel in the New Testament times were to be supported by
those to whom they minister.
10.1.2. More probably, this verse
refers to Jesus’ statement to the
seventy He sent out concerning gospel ministers being supported by those whom
they ministered to: “‘Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, or
a bag for your journey, or even two
tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for the
worker is worthy of his support’”, Matt. 10:9-10.