Lessons #277 and 278
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GW = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
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Defense of Paul’s right of support and marriage (1 Cor 9:4-14)
4 Don’t we have the right to food and drink? 5 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? 6 Or is it only I and Barnabas who must work for a living?...
In the introduction of the section of 1 Corinthians 9:1-14, we stated that it is concerned with two major issues of Paul’s apostleship and his rights as an apostle. We considered in our last study the apostle’s defense of his apostleship provided in verses 1 to 3. We indicated that the apostle provided five assertions or declaration in support of his rights in verses 4 to 14. His first assertion given in verses 4 to 6 is that he and Barnabas have the right of support and specifically him of right of marriage as the other apostles and other gospel workers. His second assertion is that people get reward from their services as he argued in verses 7 to 10. His third assertion given in verses 11 and 12 is that his work in Corinth gives him more right of support by them than any other person. In verse 13, the apostle made the fourth assertion in support of his defense, which is that OT example indicates workers in the temple were supported by food brought to the temple. His fifth assertion given in verse 14 is that the Lord instructs support for gospel workers. We begin our study with the first assertion of the apostle in defense of his apostolic rights. But before we do, let me refresh your mind regarding the message of the first half of the ninth chapter of 1 Corinthians which is that ministers of the gospel of Christ have the right of support from believers.
Apostle Paul’s first declaration in support of his apostolic rights, as we have already mentioned, is that he and Barnabas have the right of material support and marriage to a fellow believing woman. Although the apostle referenced the right of marriage, but he did not develop further the argument regarding the issue of marriage; instead, he focused his attention on his physical right to be supported materially by the Corinthians and by implication other local churches he founded.
The declaration of the apostle of having the right to material support and marriage involves three rhetorical questions that require positive answers. Because of this we can turn the rhetorical questions into positive statements. Therefore, the first positive statement of the apostle in support of his defense of his apostolic right of being supported materially by the Corinthians is that he and those associated with him in the ministry of the gospel of Jesus Christ have the right to be supported by the Corinthians, implying that all ministers of the gospel of Christ have the right of support from the believers they minister the word of God. This positive statement is based on the first rhetorical question of 1 Corinthians 9:4 Don’t we have the right to food and drink? Literally, the Greek reads Have we not (the) right to eat and to drink?
The personal pronoun we refers to Apostle Paul, those in his apostolic team, and Barnabas. We say this first because the apostle traveled with others in his missionary work. He mentioned some of those in his apostolic team in 2 Timothy 4:10–11:
10 for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. 11 Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.
Mentioning those who are with him in his missionary trips, implies that those who are with him are also to be supported as he himself since those who travel with him have no other occupation to take care of themselves. It is inconceivable that the apostle would enjoy material support that does not include those in his team. Therefore, we contend that the apostle included his apostolic team members in his use of the pronoun we in this first rhetorical question of 1 Corinthians 9:4. We included Barnabas as part of those the apostle had in mind in this use of the personal pronoun we because he mentioned him in verse 6. The point is that the right the apostle mentioned as part of his apostolic right of material support extends to his apostolic team and Barnabas.
The word “right” is translated from a Greek word that we considered in our last study but for continuity of our study, we need to review what we said then. The word “right” is translated from a Greek word (exousia) that also has a range of meanings. The word may mean “ability” to do something as that desired by Simon the sorcerer who thought Christianity is for show off to be able to lay his hand on someone, so the person receives the Holy Spirit as stated in Acts 8:19:
and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
The word may mean “power” that one exercises over another as it is used in the purpose of the commission Apostle Paul received from the Lord Jesus in preaching the gospel that will result in freeing people from the dominion of Satan in Acts 26:18:
to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
The word may mean “right to act, decide” or “freedom of choice” as Apostle Paul used in his doctrine of election to indicate that a porter has the right to use clay in a way to produce whatever he decides as we read in Romans 9:21:
Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?
The word may mean “authority” as that possessed by those who rule others that have the right to give orders as those that need to be obeyed as we read in Titus 3:1:
Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good,
In our passage of 1 Corinthian 9:4, the word means “right” in the sense of a privilege reserved exclusively to a particular person or group.
The right Apostle Paul indicates he and other gospel workers have is given in the phrase in the NIV of 1 Corinthians 9:4 the right to food and drink. As we indicated, the literal Greek reads right to eat and to drink. This is because the Greek used two verbs instead of nouns used in the NIV. The word “food” of the NIV is translated from a Greek verb (esthiō) that means “to eat” as it is used in the instruction not to look down on a fellow believer based on what one eats or does not eat, as stated in Romans 14:3:
The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him.
The word may mean “to consume,” that is, to do away completely as it is used regarding God’s judgment in Hebrews 10:27:
but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 9:4, it means “to eat” food. The word “drink” of the NIV is translated from a Greek verb (pinō) that literally means “to drink,” that is, to take in liquid as it is used in the partaking of the Lord’s Supper in 1 Corinthians 11:28:
A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.
The word is used in connection with a cup leading to the expression “to drink the cup” that means “to submit to a severe trial, or death” as it is used by the Lord Jesus in His response to the request of the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, as recorded in Matthew 20:22:
“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” they answered.
It is in the sense of “to drink,” that is, to take in liquids by the mouth that the word is used in our passage of 1 Corinthians 9:4.
The phrase of the NIV of 1 Corinthians 9:4 food and drink should be understood as a reference to material support. There are two reasons we assert that the phrase is concerned with material support. Food and drink are not the only necessities we have. There is also the need for clothing and shelter, but the apostle was concerned mostly with the necessities of food and clothing. That we cannot separate food from other necessities of life is evident in the fact that our Lord in His Sermon on the Mount linked food and drink to clothing as we read in Matthew 6:31:
So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
The instruction of our Lord against worrying encompassed our basic necessities of food and clothing. Thus, it is unlikely that Paul was thinking only of food and drink as what he and other gospel workers have the right to. Another reason for asserting that the phrase food and drink is concerned with material support is that when the Apostle acknowledged the support he received from the Macedonians while ministering in Corinth, the support would have included money as we read in 2 Corinthians 11:8–9:
8 I robbed other churches by receiving support from them so as to serve you. 9 And when I was with you and needed something, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied what I needed. I have kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so.
The sentence what I needed of verse 9 would have included such material needs as food, money, and clothing. The word “support” in verse 8 is translated from a Greek word (opsōnion) that is also used in verse 7 of 1 Corinthians 9 that means “pay” as it is used in the instruction of John the Baptist to soldiers who came to him asking what they should do to reflect their repentance as recorded in Luke 3:14:
Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”
Since this Greek word conveys sense of salary then it certainly includes money. Thus, when Apostle Paul used it to describe his support by the Macedonians, he would have certainly included money. Likewise, when the apostle wrote of the things he received from the Philippians, he would have meant more than food and drink in Philippians 4:18:
I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.
The sentence the gifts you sent is more literally the things from you. Although some think, based on what the apostle stated in 1 Corinthians 8:13, the right expressed in the phrase of 1 Corinthians 9:4 food and drink includes the apostle’s right to eat meat offered to idols but based on the argument we presented and the immediate context, the apostle was concerned with the right to material support that would include, food, money, and clothing
Be that as it may, the declaration of the apostle of having the right to material support and by implication that all ministers of the gospel have the right to support from believers is one that is conveyed severally in the Scripture. The Lord Jesus conveyed this concept when He sent out the Twelve with no other provision than dependency on those to whom they went to preach the good news of the kingdom of God, as we read in Matthew 10:10:
take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep.
The Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul conveyed this same truth in Galatians 6:6:
Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.
It is because believers are supposed to support those who minister to them that Apostle Paul could speak of the burden that he did not want to place on the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 2:6:
We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else. As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you,
In any event, the first positive statement of Apostle Paul in support of his defense of his apostolic right of being supported materially by the Corinthians is that he and those associated with him in the ministry of the gospel of Jesus Christ have the right to be supported by the Corinthians. This brings us to his second positive statement present in a rhetorical question.
The second positive statement of Apostle Paul in support of his defense of his apostolic right of support and marriage is that such right is enjoyed by specified other gospel workers. It is this statement that is given in a rhetorical question of 1 Corinthians 9:5 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?
Again, the personal pronoun we refers to Apostle Paul, members of his missionary team, and Barnabas. Of course, we do not know much about the marital status of those in his missionary team and that of Barnabas, but it is likely that those who were involved in his missionary team were single, at least, during his missionary work.
The right of marriage of Apostle Paul and probably his apostolic team and the support of their wives is given in the verbal phrase to take a believing wife along with us or literally to take along (a) sister (as a) wife. The expression “take …along” is translated from a Greek word (periagō) that may mean “to go around/about,” that is, to travel about in various directions as it is used to describe Elymas the sorcerer after Apostle Paul pronounced judgment on him for attempting to disrupt the response of the Proconsul, Sergius Paulus, to the gospel message, as we read in Acts 13:11:
Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun.” Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand.
The sentence he groped about is literally he was going around. The word is used in our passage of 1 Corinthians 9:5 with the meaning “to bring/take along,” that is, to bring someone along as a permanent companion. Thus, the apostle wrote of bringing along with him a sister that is a believer as a wife since we have indicated that the verbal phrase to take a believing wife along with us is literally to take along (a) sister (as a) wife.
The word “believing” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (adelphē) that literally means “a sister,” that is, a female who comes from the same womb as the reference person as it is used in describing the relationship of Martha to Mary in the narrative that involved the Lord Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, as we read in John 11:28:
And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.”
Figuratively, the word means “sister” in the sense of a female who shares beliefs of the reference person or of others in a community of faith as the word is used by Apostle Paul in describing a believing lady, Phoebe, in Romans 16:1:
I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchrea.
It is in this figurative sense that the word is used to describe one Christian community in relationship to another as in 2 John 13:
The children of your chosen sister send their greetings.
Here “sister” refers to another local church that is the recipient of the epistle of John that is different from the local church from where he wrote. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 9:5, the Greek word is used in the sense of “a female fellow believer.” We should understand the apostle does not mean taking along in the missionary journey any believing sister that is not a man’s wife but the wife of the gospel worker.
The apostle was careful in describing the kind of wife he and others had the right to accompany them in their travels as those who are believers. This is to reinforce his teaching that a believer should marry a believer although he used a widow in teaching that truth in 1 Corinthians 7:39:
A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord.
The point is that the verbal phrase of 1 Corinthians 9:5 to take a believing wife along is a veiled confirmation of the truth that a believer should marry only a fellow believer. Unfortunately, many believers, especially in this country, are not mindful of this requirement either because they do not know or because they flatly disobey it. Marriage is hard enough because of the various challenges it presents but the challenges are heightened in a mixed marriage. When we use the term “mixed marriage” we mean the marriage between a believer and an unbeliever. Such marriages create problems, especially on the believer who must constantly explain his/her position to the unbelieving spouse that does not understand the way of life of the believer. It is true that those involved in Christian marriage also have challenges, but such arise because one or both believing couples have refused to be led by the Holy Spirit. If husband and wife in a Christian marriage strive to remain under the control of the Holy Spirit then there is no problem that will arise that they could not resolve amicably since they know that it is more important to please the Lord and so remaining in fellowship than to get involved in anything that would lead to being out of fellowship. I am saying that two married believers would experience marital problem because they have refused to be controlled by the Holy Spirit. Take for example, a believer controlled by the Holy Spirit should display love since that is an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit. So, if a spouse is filled of the Holy Spirit, love requires that the person be quite forgiving when the other spouse offends the individual. The person would not be involved in counting wrongs or past failures of the other spouse that would lead to bitterness and being out of control of the Holy Spirit. Later, the apostle in this epistle to the Corinthians provided some characteristics of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4–7:
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Based on this passage, you can understand the importance of being controlled by the Holy Spirit in marriage relationship. For a believer controlled by the Holy Spirit, that is tantamount to having love that would not keep record of wrongs. Such an individual will not be self-seeking which is one of the most destructive things in a marriage relationship. Anyway, I am not teaching on marriage at this point but simply to make the point that it is important for a believer to marry another believer because only such couple would be capable of being filled of the Spirit hence have the potential of living a more peaceful life. In any event, we contend that the verbal phrase of 1 Corinthians 9:5 to take a believing wife along is a veiled confirmation of the truth that a believer should marry only a fellow believer.
There is one more truth that is conveyed in the verbal phrase of 1 Corinthians 9:5 to take a believing wife along. It is that those on mission fields or on missionary trips have the right to take their wives with them and that believers should support both as they venture on a mission trip.
Be that as it may, the apostle mentioned other gospel workers in marriage relationship. The first group he mentioned are the apostles as in the clause of 1 Corinthians 9:5 as do the other apostles. Who are the other apostles that Apostle Paul had in mind? There are three factors that will be helpful in answering the question. A first factor is that the Greek phrase translated the other apostles appears only twice in the Greek NT. The other appearance of the Greek phrase other than our present passage is in Acts 2:37:
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
The context implies that the phrase the other apostles refers to the Twelve Apostles excluding Peter but certainly included Matthias that replaced Judas Iscariot. A second factor is that in the NT, the word “apostle” translated from a Greek word (apostolos) we noted in our consideration of the word in 1 Corinthian 9:1, is indeed used both in restricted and general senses. In a restricted sense, the word is used to refer to the twelve disciples of the Lord Jesus whom He chose from among His disciples and designated them with that title, as we read in Luke 6:13:
When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles:
The apostles are often described as “the Twelve apostles.” In a general sense, the word apostle is used to describe a group of highly honored believers with a special function as God’s envoys. It is in this sense that Paul and Barnabas were described as apostles in Acts 14:14:
But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting:
A third factor that helps our interpretation of the phrase of 1 Corinthians 9:5 the other apostles is the word “other” that is translated from a Greek adjective (loipos) that may mean “remaining, left” as it pertains to that which remains over, especially after an action has been taken, as it is used in describing the trumpets associated with judgment in Revelation 8:13:
As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!”
The verbal phrase the trumpet blasts about to be sounded is more literally the remaining sounds of the trumpets. The word may pertain to being one not previously cited or included hence means “other, rest of.” It is with the meaning “other” that Apostle Paul used it to refer to other Gentile local churches he founded, excluding the church in Corinth, as those who supported him, but such did not make the local church in Corinth to be inferior to the rest of the Gentile local churches as we read in 2 Corinthians 12:13:
How were you inferior to the other churches, except that I was never a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong!
It is with the meaning “rest of” that the apostle used it in referencing all the other believers involved in the preaching of the gospel in Philippians 4:3:
Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.
The three factors we considered enable us to interpret the phrase of 1 Corinthians 9:5 the other apostles to refer to the Twelve apostles excluding Peter and the other workers of the gospel at the time of Apostle Paul that were regarded as apostles in a general sense. The phrase implies that the Twelve apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ were married or at least majority of them and that some of those regarded as apostles in the general sense were married at the time of the epistle to the Corinthians. Anyway, the first group of gospel workers in marriage relationship consists of the apostles both in a technical sense of the twelve apostles excluding Peter who is also married and the group of highly honored believers with a special function as God’s envoys.
The second group of gospel workers in marriage relationship that Apostle Paul mentioned are those related to the Lord Jesus Christ in a natural, biological sense as in the phrase of 1 Corinthians 9:5 the Lord’s brothers. Again, we ask, who are meant in the phrase the Lord’s brothers? Four factors help us to answer the question. The first is the word “brothers” that is translated from a Greek word (adelphos) that has several meanings in the Greek. It could mean brother in the sense of a male person from the same mother as the referenced person. It is in this sense that the word is used by Apostle Paul to reference James as one from the same mother as Jesus in His humanity in Galatians 1:19:
I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother.
The word may mean “a believer” as that is the sense of the word “brother” in 1 Corinthians 5:11:
But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.
The clause anyone who calls himself a brother should be understood as one who claims to be a believer. Hence the word “brother” is the same as believer. Thus, it is not surprising that the translators of the NIV translated the Greek word as “believers” in 1 Corinthians 6:5:
I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers?
The phrase between believers is literally between his brothers. In keeping with this understanding, the word may mean “brother” in the sense of one who has the same beliefs with the one that uses the word, irrespective of gender, that is, the word refers to “a fellow believer.” It is in this sense of one who shares the same faith and so belongs to a specific Christian community, that is, a “fellow believer” that Apostle Paul used the word to describe Epaphroditus in Philippians 2:25:
But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs.
It is in this sense of fellow believers, regardless of gender, that Apostle Paul used it in his final greetings to the Ephesian church in Ephesians 6:23:
Peace to the brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The peace the apostle wished on “the brothers” could not possibly apply only to male members of the church in Ephesus. Therefore, the word “brothers” has the sense of “brothers and sisters in Christ” here in Ephesians 6:23. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 9:5, the word means “brother” in the sense of a male person from the same mother as the referenced person. A second factor that helps us in our interpretation of the phrase of 1 Corinthians 9:5 the Lord’s brothers is that we have a record of the names of the brothers of the Lord Jesus in Mark 6:3:
Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
A third factor is that prior to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, His brothers did not believe in Him as stated in John 7:5:
For even his own brothers did not believe in him.
A fourth factor is that there were at least two of the brothers of the Lord that were clearly identified as believers after His resurrection. The first is James as in the passage we cited previously, that is, in Galatians 1:19:
I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother.
The second is Jude. There is no direct mention of Jude as the Lord’s brother, but he is linked to the Lord Jesus Christ indirectly since he is described as the brother of James as we read in Jude 1:
Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ:
By the way, the name “Jude” is the same name in the Greek translated “Judas” in Mark 6:3 as the brother of Jesus. That aside, the factors we have considered help us to identify the persons Apostle Paul had in mind in the phrase of 1 Corinthians 9:5 the Lord’s brothers. He meant at least two individuals, James and Jude or Judas, the brothers of the Lord Jesus. It is possible that all four brothers of the Lord Jesus believed after His resurrection, but we are not informed that in the Scripture. We are not certain the reason Apostle Paul mentioned at least these two individuals as those who are married and receive support from the church. It is possible that these two men were known to the Corinthians or there is the tendency to give deference to them. We cannot discard the fact deference is given to these men in the early church, which might explain the reason none of the two men identified himself as the brother of the Lord Jesus but were carefully to convey that they recognize their brother as the God man. We say this because Jude could have identified himself with the Lord Jesus in his epistle; instead, he addressed himself as a servant of Jesus Christ. The Greek reads a slave of Jesus Christ. The use of the term Jesus Christ refers to Jesus as God man. The name Jesus refers to His humanity while the title Christ refers to His deity. That the title Christ refers to the deity of Jesus may be deduced from the confession of Peter regarding the identity of Jesus recorded in Matthew 16:16:
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
The phrase the Son of the living God is to be understood to mean that Christ is God. All the same, the second group of gospel workers in marriage relationship that Apostle Paul mentioned are those related to the Lord Jesus Christ in a natural, biological sense.
The last person mentioned that is a gospel worker that is married is Apostle Peter as in the last phrase of 1 Corinthians 9:5 and Cephas. Cephas is the same person as Peter. We know this from our Lord’s statement recorded in John 1:42:
And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).
Hence, there is no doubt that Cephas refers to Apostle Peter. Apostle Paul emphasized or singled out Peter in the list he presented. We said that he singled out or emphasized Peter because of the conjunction and used before Cephas. The conjunction “and” is translated from a Greek word (kai) that often means “and” as a marker that joins words or clauses. However, it has several usages such as being used to introduce a result that comes from what precedes and so may be translated “and then, and so.” But in our passage of 1 Corinthians 9:5, it is used for emphasis or giving force to something that it has he meaning “even.” Thus, the apostle emphasized Peter as one who is married and who travels with a wife.
Why did the apostle emphasize Peter as married? There are probably three reasons the Holy Spirit directed the apostle to emphasize Peter’s marital state. First, he has already referred to him as one of the personalities that some of the Corinthians claimed to be in his camp in their practice of partisanship. Second, it is possible that Peter visited Corinth with his wife. Third, it is probably because the Holy Spirit knew that later in the history of the church, there would be erroneous teaching that would swerve around Peter about his marital state. The gospel records the fact that Peter was married although not directly asserting this in Luke 4:38–39:
38 Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. 39 So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.
Those who claim that Peter was never married interpret the phrase Simon’s mother-in-law in an unnatural way that denies that Peter was married. However, there is no way to get around the truth that Peter was married according to the declaration of the Holy Spirit through Paul in this passage of 1 Corinthians 9:5.
In any case, the declaration of Apostle Paul regarding the marital status of the gospel workers he cited refutes errors that some propagate about marriage and the ministry. There are those who would not ordain a man as a pastor if he were not married. They, in part, base it on the qualifications of an overseer the Holy Spirit gave through Paul in 1 Timothy 3:2:
Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,
Although the phrase the husband of but one wife has resulted in various interpretations, one of which is to use it to exclude those who are single from being overseers of local church but such a view is contradicted by the marital status of Apostle Paul. It is unlikely that the Holy Spirit would through him advocate overseers of congregations should be married when he himself was single. Thus, the fact that the apostle indicated that he and some in his team were single at the time of his epistle invalidates any claim that an unmarried man could not be a pastor. The other error that Paul’s defense of his right and that of the other members of his apostolic team to marry is that a minister should be single. That was not the point of the apostle in his defense of right to be married. If anything, his defense supports those who are ministers being married since he mentioned the other apostles and Peter as being married. In any event, the second positive statement of Apostle Paul in support of his defense of his apostolic right of support and marriage is that such right is enjoyed by other gospel workers he mentioned.
In any case, the third positive statement of Apostle Paul in support of his defense of his apostolic right of support is that such right is not enjoyed by him and Barnabas. This positive statement is derived from the rhetorical question of 1 Corinthians 9:6 Or is it only I and Barnabas who must work for a living? Literally, the Greek reads or have only I and Barnabas not (the) right not to work?
The expression “work for a living” of the NIV is translated from a Greek verb (ergazomai) that may mean “to work,” that is, “to engage in activity that involves effort,” as the apostle used the word to describe his and his team’s manual labor to provide for their physical needs, as recorded in 1 Thessalonians 2:9:
Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.
The word may mean to do or accomplish something through work and so it may mean “to do, accomplish, carry out.” It is in the sense of “to do” that our word is used to encourage good works by believers in Galatians 6:10:
Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
It is in the sense of “to officiate at, to perform” that the word is used to describe those who work in the temple that should live by things associated with it in 1 Corinthians 9:13:
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?
The clause those who work in the temple is more literally those performing the holy services. It is in the sense of “to work,” that is, “to exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity” that the word is used in our passage of 1 Corinthians 9:6.
We do not have a clear record of Barnabas working to support himself but since Apostle Paul stated this, we know it must be true. By the way, we know that Barnabas provided for the support of the church through his generous gift mentioned in Acts 4:36–37:
36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), 37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.
That aside, we have records of Apostle Paul working to support himself while in Corinth as we read in Acts 18:2–3:
2 There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, 3 and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them.
The apostle worked while in Ephesus to support himself and his team members as we gather from his address to the elders of Ephesian church in Acts 20:34:
You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions.
We could cite more passages where the apostle referenced himself working to support himself but the ones we have cited, are sufficient to vindicate his statement of him and Barnabas working to support themselves while the other apostles or gospel workers received support from believers, they ministered the word of God. Anyway, the first defense of Paul’s right of support and marriage is that he and Barnabas have the rights of such support and marriage because these are rights enjoyed by the other apostles or gospel workers. Again, let me remind you of the message of the section we are expounding. It is that ministers of the gospel of Christ have the right of support from believers.
12/25//20