Lessons #289 and 290
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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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Rights in relation to the gospel (1 Cor 9:15-18)
15 But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me. I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of this boast. 16 Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. 18 What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it.
In the preceding section of 1 Corinthians 9:1-14, Apostle Paul defended his right to be married and to be supported by the Corinthians although his focus was the defense of his right, and so the right of other gospel workers, to be supported by believers in general but he directed his defense to right of support by the Corinthians. In this section of 1 Corinthians 9:15-18, the apostle makes further comments on his rights and reward in relation to the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Because the apostle is concerned primarily with his rights in relation to the preaching of the gospel, there is a message the Holy Spirit intended for him to convey to us. It is this message that will be our concern. The message is that those in the ministry of the word of God should not boast about their task but should discharge their duty as those under God’s order. Being under God’s order implies that they should not preach or teach the word of God to please people but the Lord who has sent them to do so. That aside, we will expound on this message as we consider four assertions of the apostle in the passage we are about to consider.
The first assertion of the apostle as it pertains to his right in relationship to the gospel is that he has not utilized his right of support and of marriage. It is this assertion that is given in the clause of 1 Corinthians 9:15 But I have not used any of these rights. Literally, the Greeks But I have used not any of these things.
There are two things worthy of note about this first clause of 1 Corinthians 9:15 But I have not used any of these rights before we expound it. The first is that the apostle used a Greek conjunction (de) translated “but” in our verse to contrast what is the situation with him and what is expected based on his teaching regarding support of gospel workers. He has particularly established through series of arguments in the preceding section the right he has to be supported by the Corinthians. So, it would be appropriate for the apostle to be supported by the Corinthians but that was not the case. Hence, it is to contrast what is the current situation of things with him and what is expected that he used the word but in the clause we are considering. The second is that the apostle was emphatic in the first declaration we are considering. This is because he began the Greek with a Greek pronoun (egō) that means “I” that is not necessary since the form of the Greek verb used conveys that the subject is first person singular. However, when an author in the Greek wants to emphasize the subject then an independent pronoun is used. Therefore, the apostle by using an independent pronoun “I” in the Greek conveys he was being emphatic in what he wrote. Another indicator of his emphasis in what he wrote is the word not in the clause we are considering. The word “not” is translated from a Greek adverb (ou) that is an objective negative, denying the reality of alleged fact fully and absolutely in contrast to another Greek negative (mē) that is a subjective negative, implying a conditional and hypothetical negation. Thus, the apostle states in the first clause strongly a fact that cannot be denied concerning what he said he did not do. There is one more indicator of emphasis regarding what the apostle wrote in the first clause we are considering, it is the fact the apostle in a sense kept repeating himself. He has previously indicated that he and his apostolic team refused support from the Corinthians, as we read in 1 Corinthians 9:12:
If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.
You notice the clause But we did not use this right is similar to the one we are considering in verse 15, so we are correct to say that the apostle was being emphatic in what he wrote otherwise there is no reason for him to be repeating himself in such a short space of writing. Of course, firstly, his repetition indicates he was returning to the concept he introduced in verse 12. Secondly, there is nothing wrong with repetition when it comes to the word of God. This is because of the enemy of the truth does everything he could to steal from the hearers the word of God declared to people as the Lord Jesus conveyed in the explanation of the seed that fell on a path in the parable of the Sower, as we read in Luke 8:12:
Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.
The reality is that Satan through his demons strives to cause those who hear the word of God from retaining it because he knows that that is the weapon of the spiritual warfare against him. A person may hear what may be described as a “secular music” or a TV commercial once and that will stick in the person’s mind but not so with the word of God. The reason is that Satan knows that none of these has spiritual connotation. That aside, the fact remains that the apostle was emphatic in what he wrote in the first clause of the passage we are considering, that is, the first clause of 1 Corinthians 9:15 But I have not used any of these rights.
It is true that the translators of the NIV were interpretative in their rendering of the first clause of 1 Corinthians 9:15 But I have not used any of these rights but the literal Greek does not contain the word “rights” since literally the Greek reads But I have used not any of these things. The word “used” is translated from a Greek word (chraomai) that may mean “to act” as Apostle Paul used the word to encourage the Corinthians not to put him in a situation he would act in harsh manner when he visits them as we read in 2 Corinthians 13:10:
This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.
The sentence I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up is literally I may not have to act severely according to the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing. The word may mean “to make use of” or “to employ” as in the instruction to Timothy to use wine for health reasons in 1 Timothy 5:23:
Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.
The word may mean “to allow” as it is used in the privilege granted to Apostle Paul in Sidon to visit his friends although he was a prisoner, as we read in Acts 27:3:
The next day we landed at Sidon; and Julius, in kindness to Paul, allowed him to go to his friends so they might provide for his needs.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 9:15, the word is used in the sense of “to avail,” that is, to use to one’s advantage.
What is it that the apostle indicated he has not availed himself or used to his own advantage? The answer based on the NIV is in the phrase these rights although literally the Greek reads these things because we have a Greek demonstrative pronoun (houtos) that as an adjective means “this” as it pertains to an entity perceived as present or near in the discourse. But what are these things the apostle did not avail himself or used to his advantage? The preceding context of the passage we are studying indicates the apostle probably had two things in mind. The first is the right to be supported by the Corinthians as an apostle of Jesus Christ who brought to them the gospel message of Jesus Christ and founded their local church and second is the right to marry. Both rights the apostle mentioned in 1 Corinthians 9:4–5:
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?
The apostle as we have alluded asserted in a strong possible way that he has not availed himself of the rights to support and marriage with the focus on the right of support as he did in the preceding section where he mentioned the two rights but explored fully the right of support.
The apostle guided by the Holy Spirit recognized how some people think once they hear certain kind of teaching from a pastor in that there is the tendency to think that the pastor is concerned about self in certain kind of teaching, especially when it affects the matter of giving. Consequently, the apostle makes his second assertion of the section of 1 Corinthians 9:15-18 that we are studying. The apostle’s second assertion is that he did not write the passage of this ninth chapter of 1 Corinthians about supporting those whose sole occupation is with the gospel to plead for support for himself. It is this assertion that is given in the second clause of 1 Corinthians 9:15 And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me. This clause as it reads in the NIV could cause some problem since it may create the impression that the apostle is concerned with the Corinthians applying everything, he has written so far, to him which will include the right of marriage. The apostle would not have included that right when he penned down this clause. It is true that the Greek sentence translated in the NIV I am not writing this is literally I wrote these things not, but the apostle would not have been thinking of the right of marriage at this point since he mentioned it in passing and then focused on the right of support by the Corinthians in the rest of what he wrote so far in this ninth chapter of first Corinthians. We are arguing then that the demonstrative pronoun this of the NIV or literally these things should be understood not to include the right of marriage the apostle mentioned in passing. The demonstrative pronoun this or literally these things should be understood as a reference to the right of support of the apostle by the Corinthians and the various arguments he marshalled out in support of the teaching that the Corinthians, and so all believers, are expected to provide support to gospel workers. Of course, in case of the apostle, he has right of support by the Corinthians.
Further complexion in interpreting second clause of 1 Corinthians 9:15 And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me is due to the phrase such things. This phrase again implies that the apostle would not have included the right of marriage which the Corinthians could not fulfill in the sense of procuring a wife for the apostle. He could not possibly have included right of marriage because the Corinthians could not do anything about that for the apostle. The phrase such things is translated from a Greek adverb (houtōs) that in our passage of 1 Corinthians 9:15 is used to refer to what preceded so that it may be translated “in this manner, thus, so.” In effect, it is used as an adverb of manner to show in which an action stipulated in the clause should take place. The action stated involves only the right of support of the apostle by the Corinthians. To justify this interpretation, we need to consider a key word used in the clause we are considering.
The expression “will do” of second clause of 1 Corinthians 9:15 And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me is translated from a Greek verb (ginomai) that has several meanings. For example, it may mean “to come into existence” so may have the sense of “to perform” as it is used for the description of the miracles of the apostles in Acts 5:12:
The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade.
The word may mean “to become something” as Apostle Paul used it in cautioning believers not to become stumbling block to others in their use of their freedom in Christ in 1 Corinthians 8:9:
Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.
The word may mean “to occur as process or result” hence may mean “to take place, to happen.” It is in this sense of something occurring because of another thing that the word is used by Apostle Paul regarding the commendation the Lord will give in the future as stated in 1 Corinthians 4:5:
Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.
The sentence each will receive his praise from God is literally praise will come to each one from God. It is with the meaning “to happen” that Apostle Paul used the word to describe his sufferings as stated in 2 Timothy 3:11:
persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 9:15, the general sense of the word is “to come into existence” with the specific meaning of “to happen.” Hence, the clause in the NIV of 1 Corinthians 9:15 in the hope that you will do such things for me is literally in order that it may be/happen thus with me although the standard Greek English lexicon of BDAG suggests the clause may be translated in order to have such action taken in my case.
The key word we have considered that may be literally translated it may be/happen or as the lexicon of BDAG suggests have such action taken implies that only one action was in the mind of the apostle. This one action is that of support by the Corinthians. In other words, the apostle was concerned only with his right to be supported by the Corinthians and not his right to marriage since that is not within the power of the Corinthians to grant him the right of marriage or to provide him a wife for that matter.
Be that as it may, the apostle wanted the Corinthians to know in no uncertain terms that he did not write of his right to support from them or the right of other gospel workers to be supported by believers because he was looking towards them to support him. As we stated previously, there are people who think that when a pastor teaches on some subjects in the Scripture that he does so to benefit himself. The apostle dissuades any person in Corinth that might be prone to think that the apostle wrote about his right of support by the Corinthians because he was looking for them to support him or for them to remedy their lack of support of him. That was not the case, he wrote what he did because the Holy Spirit through him was teaching the universal church of Christ of the necessity to support those who are in the full ministry of the word of God. These individuals are to be supported as a matter of fairness in life and because the Lord Jesus instructs His church to do so. I understand what the apostle said in the clause of 1 Corinthians 9:15 And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me. I say this because any time I teach about giving and the responsibility of believers to support those who teach them, I feel uncomfortable in that I think that some in the congregation may think that I am complaining or teaching because I need help. This is farther from the truth. I teach the word regardless of how it applies or does not apply to me as a person. Personally, this congregation does take care of me well that no one should ever think that when I teach some passages that have to do with the support believers should provide those who teach the word of God that I mean that I am in need of anything. My point is that I understand how the apostle felt as he wrote this section of his first epistle to the Corinthians although I could not say to this local church what he said next, but I can do so to other group of believers that benefit from the ministry of this local church that do not contribute financially to the support I receive from this local church of Christ.
The apostle did not only convey to the Corinthians that he was not looking for support because of his epistle to them but went further to explain his mindset as far it concerns the Corinthians. His explanation is that the thought of the Corinthians supporting him is unthinkable since he would not accept any support from them. It is this that he stated in the last sentence of 1 Corinthians 9:15 I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of this boast. Literally, the Greek reads for better for me to die rather than – no one will make empty my boast. The difference between the translation of the NIV and our literal translation is firstly because of manuscript problems. The best manuscripts read as we have in the literal translation, implying that the apostle violently broke off the second sentence but later manuscripts and almost all our English versions attempt to make the break less abrupt in some way so that it reads smoothly in the English. A few of the English versions that followed the Greek text include such English translation as the NET. However, it is most likely that the apostle broke off his thought without completing it resulting in what is called technically an “aposiopesis — a sudden breaking off of a thought in the middle of a sentence, as though the speaker were unwilling or unable to continue.” The point was that the apostle was overwhelmed with emotion as he wrote what we have. Secondly, it is because of the key words used that we would get to shortly but for the moment I want you to understand what the apostle means when he states I would rather die or literally better for me to die. He means that he would rather starve to death than to go back on his word, so to say. The apostle was not being arrogant as someone could think when he wrote what he penned down. He wanted to convey to the Corinthians how serious he was in what he has already stated about not writing them for the purpose of receiving support. For him to tell the Corinthians that he would rather die of starvation than to receive support from them, should convince anyone that reads or hears the epistle read that the apostle was not in any way seeking support from the Corinthians.
Be that as it may, we indicated that there are key words in the Greek that led to the difference in the translation of the NIV and the literal translation. The first is a Greek conjunction (gar) that was not translated in the NIV that has several usages. For example, it can be used as a marker of inference with the meaning “so, then, by all means” or it can be used as a marker of cause or reason for something in which case it may be translated “for, because.” In our context, it is used as a marker of explanation or justification for what is said about writing not for the purpose of support from the Corinthians.
The second key word in the Greek is translated “deprive” in the NIV. The word is translated from a Greek word (kenoō) that may mean “to cause to be without result or effect,” that is, “to destroy, render void or of no effect” as Apostle Paul used it to argue that if those who live by law are heirs to God’s promise to Abraham then faith has been rendered void in Romans 4:14:
For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless,
The sentence faith has no value is more literally faith is rendered void. The word may mean “to empty, divest” as the word is used to describe Jesus Christ who gave up the appearance of His divinity and took on the form of a slave as Apostle Paul used the word in Philippians 2:7:
but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
The verbal phrase made himself nothing of the NIV is literally emptied himself. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 9:15, the word means “to empty,” that is, to make void or empty of contents. The thing that would be emptied of contents or made void is the third key word translated “boast” both in the NIV and the literal translation.
The word “boast” is translated from a Greek word (kauchēma) that may mean “boast,” that is, the act of taking pride in something or that which constitutes a source of pride as Apostle Paul used it to argue that if Abraham was justified by his works then he has a basis of boasting but, of course, he was not justified by works and so would not have basis of boasting, as stated in Romans 4:2:
If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God.
The word may refer to an expression of pride, and so means “what is said in boasting, boast,” as the word is used by the apostle to caution the Corinthians not to allow what he said in boasting about them to be false, as recorded in 2 Corinthians 9:3:
But I am sending the brothers in order that our boasting about you in this matter should not prove hollow, but that you may be ready, as I said you would be.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 9:15, it has the sense of “reason for boasting,” that is, a motive or ground for being satisfied with one’s achievements.
The meaning of the Greek word translated “boast” in the NIV that we said in our passage has the sense of “reason for boasting,” that is, a motive or ground for being satisfied with one’s achievements, enables us to interpret what it is that the apostle is concerned in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 9:15 anyone deprive me of this boast. In effect, the meaning we gave enables us to interpret what the apostle meant in the phrase this boast. This refers to what the apostle had said about preaching the gospel to the Corinthians without any support from them as the apostle had already indicated in the passage we cited previously, that is, 1 Corinthians 9:12:
If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.
Therefore, when the apostle wrote in the words of the NIV of 1 Corinthians 9:15 I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of this boast he meant that he will rather die of starvation than for anyone to make void or render invalid his reason of boasting regarding not receiving any support from the Corinthians while he ministered the word among them. There is a sense that the apostle meant that he would not do anything that will render his word untrue. He was not about to receive support from the Corinthians while he was ministering among them. However, the apostle does not rule out the possibility of the Corinthians supporting other believers through him or even paying for his missionary travel expense as he goes to other location but not while in Corinth. This is probably what the apostle had in mind in what he wrote them in 2 Corinthians 1:16:
I planned to visit you on my way to Macedonia and to come back to you from Macedonia, and then to have you send me on my way to Judea.
That the apostle could have meant in this passage of 2 Corinthians 1 that the Corinthians could support his missionary trip is because of the expression “send…on” is translated from a Greek verb (propempō) that has the additional meaning of helping someone on the journey with food, money, by arranging for travel companions, and the means of the travel and supplying other things that may be needed for the travel. Anyway, receiving of any kind of financial support from the Corinthians while he ministered to them would invalidate the apostle’s statement of not using his right of support from them while he ministered to them. The apostle implied that he would rely on the support from other local churches while he ministered among the Corinthians as he had done in the past while in Corinth as he stated in 2 Corinthians 11:9–12:
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. 10 As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, nobody in the regions of Achaia will stop this boasting of mine. 11 Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do! 12 And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about.
In any event, the second assertion of Apostle Paul in the passage of 1 Corinthians 9:15-18 that we are considering is that he did not write the passage of this ninth chapter of 1 Corinthians about supporting those whose sole occupation is with the gospel to plead for support for himself. This brings us to the third assertion of the apostle in the passage we are considering.
The third assertion of Apostle Paul in the section of 1 Corinthians 9:15-18 that we are considering is that he did not have to boast of preaching the gospel for several reasons. This assertion of the apostle that is related to the second assertion is stated in the first clause in the NIV of 1 Corinthians 9:16 Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast. We say that this third assertion is related to the second for two reasons. First, verse 16 technically begins in the Greek with a Greek conjunction (gar) that the translators of the NIV rendered yet although we are not sure in what sense the translators used the word “yet” since as an adverb it could mean “even (emphasizing increase or repetition) or “in spite of that” or “in addition” but as a conjunction means “but at the same time; but nevertheless.” This aside, our Greek conjunction has several usages. For example, it can be used as a marker of inference with the meaning “so, then, by all means” or it can be used as a marker of cause or reason for something in which case it may be translated “for, because.” In our clause of 1 Corinthians 9:16 that we are considering, it may be translated “for” to be understood as used to either to indicate that additional information is to follow with respect to what is being described or to introduce an explanation of a previously mentioned sentential element. Because of the second reason we will give next, the apostle used the Greek conjunction as a further explanation of what he said about boasting. Second, the apostle used the word “boast” that was used in the previous verse. This second word suggests that there is a connection between what the apostle states in verse 16 and what he stated in the previous verse.
The apostle did not state directly what his boast was concerned in the previous verse, but we indicated that it has to do with the apostle’s ministry among the Corinthians without receiving support from them. Thus, to ensure that the apostle is concerned with the ministry of the word without receiving support, he wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:16 Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast. Literally, the Greek reads For if I preach the Good News, it is not to me boasting. This is because of the Greek words used.
The expression “preach the gospel” of the NIV is translated from a Greek verb (euangelizō) from which our English word “evangelize” is most certainly derived. The word is used in a general sense of bringing or announcing good news about something, so it is the word that is used to describe the announcement by Angel Gabriel of the birth of John the Baptist, as we read in Luke 1:19:
The angel answered, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.
It is in the same general sense that the word is used by the angel that announced to the shepherds the news of the birth of Jesus Christ in Luke 2:10:
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
However, our Greek word is used specifically for proclaiming the divine message of salvation and so means “to proclaim or preach the gospel.” It may be used with the mention of the object of proclamation such as the word of God, as in Acts 8:4:
Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.
The word can also be used with the mention of the thing or person proclaimed. Hence, it is used for proclaiming Jesus Christ as in Galatians 1:16:
to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man,
It is in this sense of proclaiming with the mention of the thing proclaimed that the word is used in our passage of 1 Corinthian 9:16.
The word “boast” in the sentence of the NIV of 1 Corinthians 9:16 I cannot boast is not a verb although it has that sense in the NIV. It is a noun since it is translated from the same Greek word (kauchēma) used in verse 15 that we indicated had the sense of “reason for boasting,” that is, a motive or ground for being satisfied with one’s achievements. Thus, when the apostle wrote I cannot boast or literally it is not to me boasting, he is saying that it should be understood the reason for boasting that he mentioned in verse 15 does not involve the actual content of the gospel. Instead, it is the fact that he ministered to the Corinthians without their support.
In any case, the third assertion of Apostle Paul in the section of 1 Corinthians 9:15-18 that we are considering is that he did not have to boast of preaching the gospel for several reasons. The apostle provides four reasons for this assertion in verses 16 and 17. The reason we are certain the apostle provided reasons for his assertion is because of the Greek conjunction (gar) we stated has several usages. It is used to begin the next clause in verse 16 following the sentence I cannot boast. It is also used technically to begin verse 17 although the NIV did not translate it. In each of these occurrences, the Greek conjunction is used to supply reason for the apostle’s third assertion.
The first reason the apostle states for not boasting about the preaching of the gospel is that he is obligated to preach it as stated in the next clause of 1 Corinthians 9:16, for I am compelled to preach. This translation of the NIV appears that the translators combined a noun and a verb using the expression “am compelled” probably for economy of words and they added the verbal phrase to preach that is not in the Greek text although a good way of helping the English reader understand that the apostle was still concerned with preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our reason for this statement is that literally the Greek reads for (an) obligation is laid on me as reflected in the NRSV. The literal translation indicates that a noun and a verb are used in the Greek. This is because of the Greek words used. The word “compelled” in the NIV or “obligation” in our literal translation is translated from a Greek word (anagkē) that may mean “necessary” as it is used in the argument of the human author of Hebrews regarding the necessity of the death of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins or purification of heavenly things as we read in Hebrews 9:23:
It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
The word may mean “compulsion” as it is used in apostle’s teaching regarding giving in a local church that should avoid pressurizing believers to give, as stated in 2 Corinthians 9:7:
Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
The word may mean “hardship” as Apostle Paul used it to narrate his difficult experiences as it relates to the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ in 2 Corinthians 12:10:
That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
The word may mean “distress” as in 1 Thessalonians 3:7:
Therefore, brothers, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 9:16, it is used with the sense of “necessity,” that is, “the state of being absolutely required.”
The word “am” in the NIV or “laid” used in the literal translation is translated from a Greek verb (epikeimai) that may mean “to lie upon” as it is used to describe the fish the Lord Jesus prepared for His disciples after His resurrection as recorded John 21:9:
When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
The phrase with fish on it is literally fish lying on it. The word may refer to the act of pushing, hence means “to press around, press upon” as it is used to describe the pushing on the Lord Jesus by the crowd in Luke 5:1:
One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God,
The clause with the people crowding around him is more literally while the crowd was pressing around him. The word may mean “to act upon through force or pressure” and so may mean “to confront” as that is the sense of the word in describing the weather condition faced by the ship taking Apostle Paul to Rome to stand trial as we read in Acts 27:20:
When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.
The sentence the storm continued raging is more literally and with not a little bad weather confronting us. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 9:16, the word means “to be in force” or “to lay upon” with the sense of exerting force or influence or imposing something on someone. Thus, the standard Greek English Lexicon of BDAG suggests that the sentence I am compelled of the NIV should be translated necessity is laid upon me. This translation is reflected in the ESV and the Authorized Version (KJV). The Greek word that we have considered is in the passive voice in the Greek implying that there is a subject that is responsible for laying a necessity on the apostle for preaching the gospel. The implied subject is God, specifically the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is our assertion that the one who laid necessity or obligation on the apostle regarding the preaching of the gospel is God, specifically the Lord Jesus Christ. So, let me justify this assertion. Apostle Paul attributes his calling to the ministry of the word to God as indicated in Galatians 1:15–16:
15 But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man,
This passage is concerned with Apostle Paul trying to demonstrate that his apostleship is solely from God and so he mentioned three actions of God that led to him being an apostle. God chose or set him apart; God called him; and God revealed His Son to him. When the apostle stated called me he meant both his salvation and commission as an apostle of Jesus Christ to preach the gospel. The apostle was aware that his call involves two members of the Godhead, the Father, and the Son as we deduce from Galatians 1:1:
Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—
The apostle specifically stated that he was appointed to the service of preaching the gospel as in the apostle’s declaration in 1 Timothy 1:12:
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service.
Hence, it should be clear that we are correct in stating that God, specifically, the Lord Jesus Christ laid on Apostle Paul the necessity to preach the gospel.
Be that as it may, when the apostle wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:16 I am compelled to preach or literally obligation/necessity is laid on me he had in mind his commission to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Lord appeared to him with the instruction given in Acts 9:6:
“Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
The thing the apostle must do is the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He understood this in that he gave a detailed description of his encounter and commission by the Lord Jesus Christ when he defended his preaching of the gospel before King Agrippa as we read in Acts 26:16–18:
16 ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. 17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 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 apostle in a sense recognized that he had no choice in the matter of preaching the gospel. He was appointed by the Lord to do so in an unusual way. The Lord blinded Paul on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians so that there is no way for him to forget that experience and so he knew from then that he did not have any choice in the matter but to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. If the Lord inflicted you with blindness and then tells you to go and preach, would you dare to say no? As you would not dare to say no, so the apostle recognized that he had no other choice but to carry out the commission given to him regarding the preaching of the gospel. Of course, he recognized that such was a high privilege that the Lord would appear to him as He did to appoint him an apostle and a herald of the gospel message. I understand the apostle’s statement because personally I feel the same way. My salvation experience and the Lord’s statement to me over fifty years ago still rings in my mind. As I have told you in the past the direct statement of the Lord to me is “You must not play with my word.” This instruction remains in my thought as I study the word of God. This is one reason that I do not mince word when I teach the word of God. I feel that I am obligated to Him rather than humans. Therefore, if a person is angry with me for how I teach the word, that is the person’s problem not mine since my desire is to obey the heavenly assignment given to me. The truth is that if any believer understands his/her salvation and what the Lord Jesus did for the individual then the person would feel like the apostles who indicated they could not help but preach the gospel as we read in Acts 4:20:
For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.
The other apostles and Apostle Paul felt the same compulsion to deliver God’s word as the prophets of the old. Listen to what Prophet Amos said in this respect of compulsion to preach God’s word as recorded in Amos 3:8:
The lion has roared—who will not fear? The Sovereign LORD has spoken—who can but prophesy?
In any event, the first reason the apostle states for not boasting about the preaching of the gospel is that he is obligated to preach it. We will continue with the other reasons in our next study but let me end by reminding you of the message of the section we are considering which is that those in the ministry of the word of God should not boast about their task but discharge their duty as those under God’s order.
02/05//21