1st Corinthians Chapter
Nine
Commentary by Ron Beckham
Verse 1.
"Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our
Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord?"
In Acts 14:4 and 14, the word
"apostle" is used of Barnabas as well as Paul. In Romans 16:7,
Andronicus and Junias are called apostles. In 2 Cor. 8:23, two unnamed
brethren are called "apostles of the churches." In Phil. 2:25,
Epahphroditus is referred to as "your apostle." In 1 Thess. 2:6, the
word is used in relation to Paul, Silas, and Timothy, to define their
relation to Christ. The literal Greek for "apostle" is "apostolos" or
"one sent forth."
There are several definitions of
Christians. You would have to include "babes" or "carnal" which Paul
has previously discussed. Then we come to "disciple" ("learner" the
literal meaning of "disciple"). There are others, but let’s stick with
these for now. Following the simple definition of "apostolos," anyone
legitimately sent by our Lord, could be called an apostle. Someone sent
by a denomination or other group, would NOT, by that definition, be an
apostle. Only someone truly sent by our Lord would qualify.
"Webster’s New Collegiate"
defines "apostle" in the following interesting manner: "One sent on a
mission; one of an authoritative New Testament group sent out to preach
the gospel and made up esp. of Christ’s 12-original disciples and Paul;
the first prominent Christian missionary to a region or group; one who
initiates a great moral reform or who first advocates an important
belief or system; an ardent supporter; the highest ecclesiastical
official in some church organizations; one of a Mormon administrative
council of 12 men."
Certainly from the Lord's
perspective, "apostle" clearly refers to the original 12 and to Paul.
Beyond that, we should be slow to apply such labels (for ourselves and
to others) and quick to follow Jesus.
"Free" in the Greek means pretty
much what we would expect: freedom to go wherever one likes, along with
freedom from restrain and obligation. I conclude that Paul’s words
simply mean this: He has legitimate credentials to represent and
instruct these people. To truly belong to Christ and honestly to be
sent by Him are the highest qualifications we can have. I am not a
"black and white" kind of person --- That is, I like to see the other
person’s point of view (as much as I can), to see the "grays" of human
experience. But there is only black or white in the Christian
ministry. Either you belong to Christ or you do not. Either He sends
us or we should not go.
Freedom has its limitations, all
summed up in love. J. Vernon McGee said, "You have a right to swing
your fist any way you want to, but where my nose begins, your freedom
ends.
Paul gives another reference to
his apostleship, in that he reminds them that they were converted
through his ministry. He was the evangelist who was speaking to them,
when they received the Lord. Think back to how YOU received Christ, if
you have done so. If you honestly received Him through the work of a
person, the fact that you are now truly in Christ, tends to AUTHENTICATE
the work of that person. If you received Him through some other means,
like the Bible, it tends to AUTHENTICATE that other means.
Probably, Paul had seen the Lord
as a younger man, before his conversion. It seems impossible that
anyone in the area would have missed him (some did, but not very many).
They had no TV or radios, no newspapers as we know them; so they
GOSSIPED and they WENT to things, like parades and crucifixions. But
this reference, in my opinion, has to refer to his sudden meeting with
the Risen Jesus on the road to Damascus (see Acts 9). Paul also
subsequently heard the Word of the Lord in visions, as in Acts 18:8-9.
Verse 2.
"If I am not an apostle to others, yet doubtless I am to you. For you
are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord."
"Let’s decide, for the point of
argument," Paul seems to be saying, "Let’s decide for the moment that I
am NOT an apostle to other people --- just YOU! Then you," he goes on,
"authenticate me all by yourselves, because I led you to Christ."
What irony that the very people
he had led to Christ questioned his authority. The signs had been
manifest among them --- they themselves were the proof of his
apostleship. You might ask yourself, "What SIGNS am I missing today?"
We tend to look but not see. We conclude things that are not true. We
think, "I’m so tired of my pastor," or "my marriage is so boring," or "I
don’t like my job." Part of the reasons we do not "see" more of the
benefits in our lives, is because we are willfully blind.
Verse 3.
"My defense to those who examine me is this:"
Paul is forced to have a
"defense" with these people. The Greek word for "defense" was a legal
term for a defense to a charge in court. The word for "examine" is the
word that would be used for a legal inquiry. Paul has been "on trial"
in the words of these people. They had been trying to get the "speck
out of his eye" when they had a "four-by-six" in their own. If you
disagree with your Pastor, tell him (not somebody else). If you can’t
abide your Pastor, go to some other church. Gossip does not advance
the work of our Lord.
Verse 4.
"Do we have no right to eat and drink?"
Actually, this statement refers
to the right to be supported by those to whom we preach (as God Wills
and as God Leads). He’s asking, "Do you expect us to starve to death
because you don’t care enough to contribute to our needs? The Christian
minister, when he is truly CALLED by God, gives up his security and
looks to God in all things. He becomes part of the "poor & needy" of
the world. You may be able to help him.
Here’s another quote from J.
Vernon McGee: "A preacher drove a fine horse but he was very skinny. A
church officer asked him, ‘how come your horse is so fine looking & you
are so skinny.’ The preacher answered, ‘I will tell you: I feed my
horse but you are the ones who feed me.’"
Verse 5.
"Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, as do also the
other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?"
Simon Magus carried around with
him a woman from Tyre by the name of Helena, to whom he was not
married. This was the same man who was told by Peter (Acts 8:21 &
context) "your heart is not right in the sight of God." The true
apostles were all married (except Barnabas & Paul, as stated) (1
Corinthians 9:5 and other places), and marriage is honorable in the
sight of God, who created you, and Who created marriage.
There is every right for a
Christian minister or priest to be married. The exception is when God
denies marriage to a person, as he seems to have done with Paul. Paul
identified strongly with the lives of his hearers, most of whom were
married. The only reason I can imagine such a person would not be
married is that God led him to be single. Paul followed the Lord.
Verse 6.
"Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from
working?"
Barnabas was in every way a true
apostle. He was specifically called by the Lord to His service
(recorded in Acts 13:2); "Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul (Paul)
for the work to which I have called them." Note that this verse (1 Cor.
9:6) was AFTER the "split" between Barnabas and Saul, where one went in
one direction and the other in another. Paul continued to hold Barnabas
in LOVE and in ESTEEM. I’m sure the regard was mutual. Ultimately, it
was the Holy Spirit Who had allowed the split, leading these two men in
separate directions, where EACH would serve the Lord. We so often tend
to see the OUTWARD events and not see the dynamics that underlie all
things.
Verse 7.
"Who ever goes to war at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and
does not eat of its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not drink of
the milk of the flock?"
Paul now produces several
excellent arguments (in the next few verses) by looking to the customs
of our world, that the minister is able to receive sustenance from his
congregation. I think it’s important to note that a PRINCIPLE is being
laid down here. Yet it is not law, for Paul did not follow the
principle himself. The first relates to soldiers.
I remember being in the service
and feeling pleased about ONE thing: Every month they gave me a check:
$78.00! I took half the money and put it in the bank, which was a
pretty good thing, and the other half was wasted, as I look at it now.
The point is, nobody questioned the need for me to receive that money.
If somebody’s army came rushing toward us, it was my job to shoot back.
That’s why they paid me; that’s why the checks were always there.
I’ve never been a farmer or a goatherd, so I can’t speak personally
about them. But the principle is consistent. The farmer can expect to
eat of the crops. The shepherd is sustained by the sheep. The one who
helps others has the right to expect and receive reasonable sustenance
from them. That would include groups like police or firemen, teachers
or trash collectors.
Verse 8.
"Do I say these things as a mere man? Or does not the law say the same
also?"
You don’t have to merely look
into the New Testament to discover the way God wants to relate to the
Church. He changes us and we unexpectedly find ourselves doing the
works of God in this world. You can also freely look back into the Old
Testament, to the law, to the ways God related to Israel. When God
commanded Israel to worship Him only, to not be idolaters, to not take
His Name in vain, to rest (and also let our workers rest), to respect
our parents, to not commit murder, or commit adultery, or steal, to be
truthful, and to not covet what we do not have, and such, the words are
also spoken to each one, in the 20th (and 21st) century. In
the Old, we find the New. In Christ, we do not live under law, but in
Him, we find ourselves increasingly interested in fulfilling the need of
those around us.
Verse 9.
"For it is written in the law of Moses, ‘You shall not muzzle an ox
while it treads out the grain.’ Is it oxen God is concerned about?"
I love this verse. This is a
transliteration of Deut. 25:4 (also quoted in places like 1 Tim. 5:18),
which was not explained in Deuteronomy. As Paul continues in verse 10,
when God talks about animals, He is really talking about PEOPLE. Same
with the "sea," (often referring to nations of people), and trees
"clapping their hands" --- the fruitful palm trees carved into the
temple are actually representation of the PEOPLE of God, carved into the
true temple which is in and with Him.
When God talks about "lions"
lying down with "lambs" it will likely have a literal future
development, in that the curse will be lifted from each of the animal
races. But it also applies right now to people. Some are like lions
and some are like lambs in natural personality, but we lie down together
in peace, when we are in Christ.
"God," says Matthew Henry, "had
ordered that the ox should not be muzzled while he was treading out the
corn, nor hindered from eating while he was preparing the corn, for
man’s use, and treading it out of the ear. But the law was not chiefly
given out of God’s regard to oxen or concern for them (though He is
concerned), but to teach mankind that all due encouragement should be
given to those who are employed by us or labouring or our good, that the
labourers should taste of the fruit of their labours." Does God care
about the ox? Yes. Does God care about people? Yes: God cares for
YOU.
Verse 10.
"Or does He say it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt,
this is written, that he who plows should plow in hope, and he who
threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope."
If you place your hope in your
money, it will not satisfy you, and it will eventually let you down.
You will buy yourself out of a lot of places but eventually you will
reach a place where your money will have no worth. Jesus told us that
"if we give to a prophet, we will receive a prophet’s reward." He told
us to "lay up treasures in heaven" rather than on earth. Our hope must
be in Him, not in our money. When we share our money with one in need,
we share it with Christ. He exchanges our monetary investment
(remember, our money will soon lose its value) into the "currency of
heaven" in whatever form that may take. In other words, we give Him
that which has little worth and He gives us that which is of great
worth, in return. Now, that’s an investment!
Verse 11.
"If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we
reap your material things?"
I have come to regard payment of
bills as extremely important. Though I lack efficiency, sometimes, in
personal banking areas, nevertheless the payment of debts is something I
actually am coming to look forward to. My tithe is like a debt, to me.
I owe God everything, and I view the tithe as something at least as
important as that owed to any creditor. All I "have" is His. If He
places it on my heart to give to this or that, I am coming to regard the
payment of that sum as a wonderful privilege.
Verse 12.
"If others are partakers of this right over you, are we not even more?
Nevertheless we have not used this right, but endure all things lest we
hinder the gospel of Christ."
Where it says "endure" all
things, or as in the KJV, to "suffer" all things, the word really means
"to contain without leaking." We are actual containers of the good
things of God. "Vessels of honor," filled with the Holy Spirit. We
have excellent rights, for we are literally adopted children of the
King, and yet we often do not use these rights, for it is important to
bring this "gospel" or "good news" of Christ --- to others! If we
really contain without leaking, the good things of God, we will begin to
CARE about others (and the things of God), more than we care for
ourselves. What good are "my" rights in comparison to your need for
Christ?
Verse 13.
"Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the
things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the
offerings of the altar?"
Now Paul looks to the customs of
Israel and Greeks themselves, in that the priests who served at the
altar would eat of that which is sacrificed on the altar. It was not
only the way things were done in Israel, but was also the same in
Greece. The "gods" being prayed to were certainly different, but the
IDEA was the same, and Paul wanted to COMMUNICATE a valid concept to
these people, using imagery they would understand.
So many times (as to witnessing)
people remark, "I don't know what to SAY to them... What do I say?"
Find out what they are interested in, and start talking about that.
Sooner or later the subject of our Lord will fit into the conversation.
To become an effective witness, we must learn the grace of LISTENING
to other people.
Verse 14.
"Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should
live from the gospel."
In Matthew 10:10, and Luke 10:7,
the Lord uttered very similar words, which Paul here speaks to the
Corinthians. This is important in an additional way: It suggests Paul
was at least orally familiar with the discourses of Christ, uttered
while HE was here on earth. I am becoming more-and-more convinced that
at least some of the Gospel materials were being circulated in WRITTEN
form, long before the death of Paul (A.D. 60 or so). After a quarter
century of studying the works of Biblical "critics" who assign very LATE
dates to Scripture, I am concluding the critics are dead wrong. The
Gospels read like eye witness accounts in a court of law. Each
perspective different, but with excellent cross-over similarities.
Paul’s letters ring with the authenticity you would expect from a person
excited and upset --- writing about CURRENT difficulties. (His letters
never have the dry quality you would expect from a biographer of
200-years in the future).
By the way, these are excellent
verses to show we are not under some kind of New Testament "law" of
behavior --- The Lord "commanded" the receiving from those who, in turn,
receive the Gospel, but Paul did not so receive. We are not under law,
we are under the Grace of God.
Verse 15.
"But I have used none of these things, nor have I written these things
that it should be done so to me; for it would be better for me to die
than that anyone should make my boasting void."
Why did Paul use "none of these
things?" There’s only one way possible: He was LED to avoid them by
the Holy Spirit of God. "Freedom." What a wonderful word --- and so
often misunderstood. I am no longer under law, so I am free from that
which condemned me to death. I am also free to follow Christ. I never
had that freedom before, because I was dead to Him. I had no ability to
respond, because I was not alive to God. The true "zombies" of this
world, the actual "vampires" --- are us: More accurately, those who are
animated but are not "born-again" (Jesus’
words in John 3) to live in Him.
To be free is to follow Him. No
more do I want to spend the other half of what I have, on that which is
of no benefit to anyone. I want whatever time I have left to belong to
Him. That is because I have found, through intimate contact with Him
and His Word, that He is GOOD. He is worthy to be followed. At long
last, I have found the One to Whom I can safely turn. He is worthy to
be praised. Why would I follow my own desires (the usual definition of
"freedom") anymore? I will follow Him. That’s what Paul did, and
that’s why he did not receive sustenance from the Corinthians. He
followed the Lord specifically, in that, and in every area --- that’s
what Paul is all about.
Verse 16.
"For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity
is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!"
Paul speaks in the manner of a
true servant. One thing I am sure about, I never wanted to be a
servant! When I read books as a young guy, I never saw myself as the
butler --- I identified with the young Lord of the manor! I was the
knight who rode off, not the groom who followed him. Secretly, that is
all of us. We may BE servants in our jobs, but we don’t THINK of
ourselves that way! "If only they would LISTEN to me, the company
wouldn’t BE in this mess!" In the flesh, few are true servants.
The true servant cares for what
his boss wants. Every once in awhile, you meet someone who has
characteristics worthy to be followed. A good leader often understands
things that others do not see. A good leader is effective is causing
those around him to follow him. Alexander the Great took small
resources and won big victories. His men would follow him anywhere!
And they did, all the way across Asia (from Europe) and into India.
Genghis Khan did pretty much the same thing, though in the other
direction. God gives abilities of leadership and success in life.
What is a leader? Someone with
a powerful will, a flexible person who can change to new circumstances,
yet also a person not easily moved. It is a combination of firmness and
yielding. The person, though they might well not give credit to Him,
must have the physical blessing of God. Our Lord is sovereign, even in
the lives of those who do not acknowledge Him.
The true leader is really the
one who honestly serves in the Name of his Lord.
Verse 17.
"For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, I
have been entrusted with a stewardship."
What if we preach and no one
converts? I teach this Friday study with often small attendance, but if
there is one person here or fifty, it does not matter. I have
enthusiasm about being here, because God sent me. There is a REWARD in
faithful service to God. But whether or not we willingly serve, He WILL
get the job done.
Verse 17 talks about ATTITUDE. I
have seen too many Pastors (and non-Pastors) follow the Lord
GRUDGINGLY. "Oh, all RIGHT" is often the response, when church members
go elsewhere, and contributions fall. We follow God no matter what!
Even when things go "wrong." The biggest step in life is to learn to
follow Him, anywhere, any time, not expecting any personal reward at all
--- Just to BE with Him is the fulfillment which can be found in no
other person or situation, for in Him is that abundant life we always
hungered for in the wrong places. Go to Him - He is right for you.
Verse 18. "What then is
my reward? That, when I preach the gospel, I may offer the gospel
without charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel."
We do not give to get something,
and we have often heard this concept misused. I remember being young
and in love and married. I just wanted to please my beloved. This is
our reward: that we love Christ so much (He first loved us) that JOY
overflows in our hearts, simply from the love we have with Him. Why
charge money for that which is freely given? Why on TV do they harass
the audience for money, when God freely gives to us all? "Freely
you have received, freely give," (Matthew 10:8), for God has
bountifully given to you and to me.
Notice we have the "right" to
receive, but I would rather look to God than men, for my provision.
Verse 19. "For though I
am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may
win more."
As we are going to see in the
next few verses, to serve others is to identify with them. I become
like them, curbing whatever "freedom" I might think I have, to win them
to Christ. Soon, ever so soon, it won’t matter if I hit the home run
(or not), got the job, or won the lottery – none of this will matter.
It’s whether or not we are in Christ, and whether we loved the brethren
– that will last, and that matters a lot.
As stated, probably the last
thing I would have wanted as a young man, was to be a servant. My
attitude was the complete opposite of that which is the normal part of
the servant’s approach to living. The servant follows. The servant
looks to the needs of the other person. Yet, if we get this life in
Christ in its proper order, we are the servant of everyone we meet, to
win them to Christ, to "feed" them with the good food of God, to lead
others to the water of life. I know God is changing me, for I like
serving you.
Verse 20. "To the Jews I
became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the
Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I
might win those who are under the Law;"
You can talk to a man more
easily, if you are like him. I think of Joni Erickson (did I spell that
right?), who, not only has an excellent ministry to just about
everybody, but, because she cannot articulate with her hands and legs,
has a fine specific ministry to others who are paralyzed. I remember my
surprise, some years ago, when a doctor was droning and on about the
results from the exam of my back, that he said I have an "internal spina
bifada." Now, I would imagine lots of people have that, but to me it’s
sort of like a little footprint in my body that things could have been
much worse in life. Just a little difference in my spine, and I never
would have walked at all! Paul would emphasize particulars about
himself, for the benefit of his listeners. He’s a good example of
identification with those to whom we speak, and also a reminder that
we should be open like Paul.
I have been privileged to teach
quite often on Sunday afternoons, at the Empress Convalescent Hospital,
in Long Beach, CA. I love those elderly ladies at the Empress and
delight in being with them. Now, I like best of all to wear a sweat
shirt and shorts. Sandals are great! And for music, I like the "new"
Christian songs of the last quarter century. But when I go to the
Empress, I wear a suit, or at least a jacket, good slacks, and a tie.
When we sing there, the songs include "Amazing Grace," and the "Old
Rugged Cross." It isn’t a matter of what we need, it’s what will
lead others to Christ. He gave everything for others and He has
given us the Holy Spirit, enabling us to do things in the same manner He
did them. We meet people on their terms, as God leads, not on
our own.
Verse 21. "to those who are
without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but
under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law.
Here in America, we live in an
unlawful time, and we are an unlawful people. You just have to go out
on the freeway to see it in action. You pass a sign that says "Maximum
Speed Limit 65 MPH" and everybody responds to that by going 75 MPH.
When you pass that sign at around 72 MPH, you are being passed by three
cars traveling over 80 (plus one "slower" car at "only" 75). As a
people, we got tired of "having" to get married because someone was
pregnant, and also we were tired of having to raise one more child.
What did we do? Why, we eliminated all the laws that protected them,
and started killing our unborn babies – by the millions! We are a
blatantly lawless people. And if we defend by saying "abortion isn’t
against the law" we conveniently forget that GOD has a law of His own,
much higher than man’s law.
Of course, it’s important to
remember that we are speaking to very imperfect people, and that WE are
very imperfect ourselves. I gain no ground with you if I stare into
your face with wild eyes and shout "Baby-killer." I remember that I was
a baby-killer too, which makes me a murderer in the sight of God, but I
am also FORGIVEN by the Blood of Christ. My friend, YOU can be forgiven
in Him. No matter WHAT you have done.
Verse 22. "To the weak I
became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all
men, so that I may by all means save some."
Paul identifies himself with
those he encounters. This is not some kind of phony identification,
where we might pretend to be like the other person, as a man tends to do
when he is courting a woman. This is real. We really are weak, so we
let the other weak person see our weakness. It is on this common ground
of weakness, when our guards are down, that we can begin to talk about
Christ. If we are strong enough to admit our weakness, we become
believable to other people.
Paul argued from the standpoint
of the listener. He put himself into the place of those who heard. In
presenting Christ to the Jew, he argued from a Jewish standpoint, and it
was true of him, for he was very much a Jew. When he talked to
the Athenians, he was a philosopher, to the slave he was a slave, to the
workman, he was a tentmaker. Secretly, inside, we tend to feel that
outsiders could not possibly understand what we are feeling. There is
truth in that, except that Christ can make us "all things to all men"
through our experiences, and He can also give us understanding
through direct revelation. Something not expected by our
listeners. Our possibilities to help others are actually unlimited in
Christ, even when we feel helpless in our circumstances.
Verse 23. "I do all
things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow
partaker of it."
Here was a guy who could have
"written his own ticket." He was a student of the famous Gamaliel,
which was like being trained by Aristotle, or Aristotle’s mentor Plato,
or attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for Religion (if
there was such a place). He was a Pharisee, he was one of the Jewish
religious leaders, and apparently he was an up-coming young member of
the Sanhedrin. Yet he chucked it all. He underwent extreme sufferings
(2 Corinthians 11:24-29) and gave up Jewish associations which would
have made his life much easier. Not to mention he was a Roman citizen,
with all the privileges resulting from that. Why give it up? For the
Corinthians, for the Romans, for the Thessalonians, for you, and for me.
He is a partaker of this
"gospel" (good news) with us. If we choose Christ, we will sit, not
only with our Lord, but also with Paul, at the table which is set for
us. We will partake of the good things of God, with our friend and
mentor, Paul. I intend to talk with him. More significant people may
be speaking with him for the first few million years, but eventually, I
will have my time with Paul. And so will you, if you are in Christ.
Verse 24. "Do you not
know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the
prize? Run in such a way that you may win."
Do you feel like you’ve lost the
race? Are all the other runners way ahead of you? Have you been lapped
so many times there seems to be no chance of victory? Get up and run!
Not in your own strength, for that is how you lost before. Let Him
be your "legs" and the wind in your lungs. Let Him be your strength.
You (the true Church of God in Christ) will win.
Stay on the course. Like in
"Pilgrim’s Progress," we get into trouble when we take our eyes off
Christ and focus on the circumstances around. We so easily end up in
the "Valley of Despond" when we should be looking to our Lord.
Run with everything you’ve got.
I’m one of those guys who has tended to hold back in life. I haven’t
committed myself as totally to things as I should. If I am to be a
tentmaker, I should make tents with great enthusiasm. If I am to follow
Christ, my heart should be ABANDONED to Him. The kind of people who
win, whether it is in races, in marriage, or in business, are those who
COMMIT to victory. Let’s COMMIT to our jobs, our businesses, our
wives, our families, our Lord. Let’s RUN, in the circumstances
presented to us by our God.
Paul is talking about ministry,
but we often misunderstand that word. We are all "saints," and we are
all "ministers," if we are in Christ. Our "ministry" is likely to be
the simple circumstances of our lives. The people around us. When your
children interrupt you while you are watching TV, think of Christ. The
thing you are watching is just a TV, and those people interrupting you –
are your children! A man in a prison ministry (a former
prisoner) gave me a wrist band that says "WWJD" or "What would Jesus Do"
(from the book "In His Steps" by Sheldon). We think of "running a race"
as a violent thing, a brutal effort that will finally enable us to win.
But in the economy of Christ, "winning" is more accurately defined as
learning to love. What would Jesus do?
Verse 25. "Everyone who
competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then
do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable."
Notice Paul goes to their
interest – The race he was talking about was the biggest human event in
their lives. The Isthmian games were celebrated in the neighborhood of
their own city, and were of great interest to just about everyone Paul
spoke to. Contestants came from all parts of Greece to try out for the
athletic contests and just about every young man in Achaia dreamed of
doing well in the games. From the vivid imagery, I am sure Paul
attended these games and probably liked them.
God knows what you like and
don’t like, and He will go right to your interest in reaching out to
you. If Paul was around today (depending on where he might live), he
would talk about receiving a pass (football), or kicking a goal (the
other football), or succeeding in video games (the other, other
football). None of this is really about sports. All of it is actually
about receiving Christ into your life and sharing Him with others.
Verse 26. "Therefore I
run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not
beating the air;"
Virgil, the poet, once said:
"He fights well who plants his blows skillfully and makes them tell. To
not do so is to waste force."
If I am a "Sunday-only"
Christian, who is only interested in what I receive, and not what I can
give (through God’s Grace and Power) to others, then I am not really in
training or running the race. When we are told "take
up thy cross daily, deny thyself, and follow Me" (Him), we start
to grasp the nature of this "race." What we are really trying to defeat
in our lives is not bodily fat or even mental laziness, but selfishness
and unconcern for others, including unconcern for the Lord God, Maker of
heaven and earth. Unbelief is the "body fat" we must work-off, and
faith is the "muscle" which replaces it.
Verse 27. "but I
discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached
to others, I myself will not be disqualified.
God gives us "power" in the Holy
Spirit. To be true power, it must be disciplined, directed by something
higher than our own nature. Far too often, on a playground, the more
powerful boy uses that power to harm others. I believe it was H. G.
Wells that wrote an interesting but discouraging essay entitled "Might
is Right," in which we are persuaded that the strong are the ones who
win. I have come to realize that true strength is in Christ. True
power is found in being released to honestly care about the needs
of other people.
I had a friend for some years
who formerly had whipped himself, on a daily basis (fortunately he had
stopped doing that when I knew him). It isn’t so much the body (and its
appetites) that is our problem – it is our attitudes. I find an
increasing ability to resist temptation, over the years, but the victory
is not mine, it is Christ’s victory in me. I remember Corrie Ten Boom,
who often said "Jesus is Victor." And He is – I properly discipline my
body by going to Him. I discipline myself by exercising the "muscle" of
turning to Him in all of my trouble, all my shortcomings, all my
unbelief. Jesus indeed is Victor. You want to be a winner? Go to
Him.
Isaiah 58 is an excellent
chapter on "fasting" that is often misunderstood. People read verse 6,
"Is this not the fast that I have chosen, to loose the bonds of
wickedness, to undo the heavy burden" and they say, "I will fast today
that the bonds of wickedness may be loosed!" They read verse 7, "Is it
not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring to your house the
poor…" and say, "I will fast today in hopes the poor will have breat and
a place to stay. NO --- the true "fast" is when I ACT FOR these
people; when I give them my bread and bring them into my home.
I remember a married couple –
the man would be sitting in his easy chair and he would yell at his
wife, "hey baby, gimme’ a beer." He was closer to the kitchen than she
was, but she went to the refrigerator for him. You might, as a form of
"fast" that would please the Lord, try to figure out what you can do to
take a burden from your wife’s shoulders (instead of adding to her
burdens). Give MORE than just giving up food – Give your food to the
hungry. Take a hungry person into your home, as the Lord leads. Sure
he might steal your stuff. But on the other side (Isaiah 58:8) "your
light shall break forth like the morning, your healing shall spring
forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of
the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord
will answer; you shall cry, and He will say, Here I am."
Give your life to God, and as
the Lord leads, to those around you. That is the "discipline" which
will please the Lord, and you will find the JOY in Him you have hungered
for, all this time.
