Lessons #297 and 298
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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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Adaptability for the sake of the gospel (1 Cor 9:19-23)
19 Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
Recall the message of this section of 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 that we are considering is that You should do everything that is lawful to advance God’s word. The message is based on the fact Apostle Paul conveyed that he adapts to whatever group he interacts with in such a way that he would present the basic truth of the gospel or the Christian doctrine without compromising it. In verse 19, the apostle declared that he became subservient to the interests of others in order to gain as many converts to Christ as possible. He, of course, did not leave us to guess what he meant so he began to explain himself starting in verse 20. His first explanation of being subservient to the interest of others is that of being to the Jews what he was not after his conversion which is that when he was among Jews that are not believers in Christ, he followed the Jewish customs that he did not see as conflicting the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. A second explanation of what Apostle Paul meant by being subservient to the interest of others is that of being to those under that law as one under it. We identified those under the law as Jews and Proselytes who believed in Christ but felt the necessity of the Gentiles obeying the rituals of Mosaic law for salvation. A third explanation of what Apostle Paul meant by being subservient to the interest of others is that of being to those that are outside the law as one without the law. This means the apostle operated as though he was without law when interacting with those who did not have the Mosaic Law, that is, Gentiles. So, we move to the fourth explanation.
A fourth explanation of what Apostle Paul meant by being subservient to the interest of others is that of being weak to the weak as we read in 1 Corinthians 9:22 To the weak I became weak. By the way, there is no doubt that this sentence introduced a fourth explanation of the apostle because there is no connective between the present verse and the preceding, implying that the apostle is continuing with the explanation he began to offer in verse 20. That aside, the fourth explanation is presented in a manner that indicates it is different from the first three explanations. There are two indicators that convey the apostle must have considered this fourth explanation to be somewhat different from the first three explanations.
A first indicator of the difference between the fourth explanation and the preceding three explanations of what Paul meant by being subservient to the interest of others is the absence of the word like or as in verse 22 as we find in the previous explanations where the apostle used the word in the describing those the apostle compared himself. The word “like” appears three times in verses 20 and 21. Thus, in the first usage we read in verse 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew. In the second usage we read in verse 20 To those under the law I became like one under the law. In the third usage we read in verse 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law. But in verse 22, we simply read To the weak I became weak. So, we wonder why the apostle did not use the word “like” in this fourth explanation.
There is no direct explanation of the difference between the fourth explanation and the first three. Thus, it could be the apostle in this fourth explanation wants the Corinthians and subsequent readers of the epistle not to focus so much on comparison of himself to the weak as in the previous groups he described. This is because the first three explanations involve specific groups of individuals that although not necessarily related but have one common thread that runs through them which is the Mosaic Law. In effect, the three groups he mentioned are in some way compared to the Mosaic Law. However, the fourth explanation is dealing with something that is more general in nature that can be seen among people regardless of the group involved. In effect, it is the state of an individual that is the concern of the fourth explanation in contrast to a person’s relation to the Mosaic Law as found in the previous three explanations. The point is that the absence of the use of the comparative word “like” or “as” is to indicate that there is a difference in the nature of the fourth explanation from the previous three explanations.
A second indicator of the difference between the fourth explanation and the preceding three explanations of what Paul meant by being subservient to the interest of others is the repeat of the word became at the beginning of verse 22. This point is difficult to perceive from the English translations since the word “became” is used three times in verses 20 and 21 in most of our English versions, the NASB and the Authorized Version (KJV) being exception sto what I stated. If you have these two versions, you will easily perceive my point. In the Greek, the word became appears only at the beginning of verse 20. To help you understand the point I am making, consider the sentence of verse 20 To those under the law I became like one under the law. Literally the Greek reads to the ones under law as under law. The sentence of verse 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law is literally to the ones outside the law as outside the law. Granting that it makes sense to add the word “became” in the two sentences to make sense to the English reader but the Greek as you may note from the literal translation does not have the verb translated “became.” A person could argue that such meaning is implied but if that is the case, why then the apostle had to introduce the Greek verb at the beginning of verse 22? It would seem the meaning “became” at the beginning of verse 20 should have been carried to verse 22 as it was used in the two sentences of verses 20 and 21. The fact the apostle introduce the Greek word translated “became” in verse 22 suggests that he meant for us to understand the fourth explanation as being different from the first three explanations.
The difference between the first three explanations and the fourth explanation may probably be the difficulty of doing what the apostle stated in 1 Corinthians 9:22 To the weak I became weak. As with verse 20, the apostle emphasized the word “became” in the Greek because that is the first word in verse 22. It is not a usual practice to begin a Greek sentence with a verb so when that happens it is generally because the writer wants to emphasize the verb.
The word “became” in verse 22 is translated from the same Greek word (ginomai) that we encountered in verse 20. In both verses, the word has the general sense of “to enter or assume a certain state or condition” with various nuances. For example, the word may mean “to be characterized” as that is the sense in which Apostle Paul used it in the mischaracterization of the apostles by unbelievers as trash or worthless human beings because of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ in 1 Corinthians 4:13:
when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world.
The word “become” in this verse has the sense of “characterized.” The word may mean “to prove, show oneself, behave” as it is used by Apostle Paul to remind the Thessalonians how he and his apostolic team conducted themselves in an impeccable manner while they were with them as we read in 1 Thessalonians 2:10:
You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed.
The Greek word is translated “were” in this passage because our Greek word may also mean “to be.” However, the sense of the Greek word is “to behave” as reflected in the NASB that used the word “behaved” to translate the Greek word in this passage in 1 Thessalonians 2:10. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 9:22, the sense of the word is “to show oneself” or “to prove.” Thus, the apostle indicated that he proved himself or showed himself, probably with great difficult, as weak.
Anyway, the apostle’s fourth explanation is that of proving himself weak when in the company of those who are weak as we read in 1 Corinthians 9:22 To the weak I became weak. So, who are the weak the apostle had in mind? They are those who are physically and spiritually weak. The physically weak are those who suffer physically both in terms of health and in social standing. Those who are spiritually weak are those who succumb to temptation because of lack of faith in God’s word to resist temptation. They do not have adequate understanding of God’s word to stand firm in the faith. These are the individuals that the apostle proved himself to be weak. To justify our interpretation, we need to consider the word “weak,” as Apostle Paul used it severally.
The word “weak” is translated from a Greek adjective (asthenēs) that may pertain to suffering from a debilitating illness hence may mean “ill, sick” as Apostle Paul used it to describe his condition when he came to preach the gospel to the Galatians as we read in Galatians 4:13:
As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you.
The word may also pertain to experiencing some incapacity or limitation either physically or spiritually. It is in the sense of being “unimpressive” that the word is used by Apostle Paul to describe how some in Corinth viewed him as we read in 2 Corinthians 10:10:
For some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing.”
The clause but in person he is unimpressive is literally, but his bodily presence is weak. But the word “weak” stands in direct contrast to a Greek adjective (ischyros) that literally means “strong” although in the context has the sense of “impressive.” It is for this reason that our Greek word has the meaning of “unimpressive” as given in the NIV since it is the bodily appearance of the apostle that is being criticized by some in Corinth. In a spiritual sense, the word may mean “helpless” or “powerless” morally as it is used to describe our state before Christ died for our sins as stated in Romans 5:6:
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
The apostle used our Greek word in both physical and spiritual weaknesses in the same passage as we read in 2 Corinthians 11:29:
Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?
Being weak here probably refers to both physical and spiritual weakness. In other words, being weak refers to physical infirmity and being vulnerable to temptation and doubt. The apostle then feels weak in the sense that he empathizes or has compassion for the vulnerability to temptation and doubt of some in Corinth since he himself experienced illness, discouragement, and fear. Of course, the apostle burns with anger towards those who lead others to sin. It is true that our Greek word may be used to describe physical and spiritual weakness but there are specific nuances implied in the use of the meaning “weak,” depending on the context. So, we will explore these usages by Apostle Paul in his epistles.
Apostle Paul used the word “weak” to convey the concept of meekness or gentleness. Sarcastically, he used the word to describe his gentleness or meekness in 1 Corinthians 4:10:
We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored!
The apostle is being sarcastic when he stated We are weak, but you are strong! This is because he was spiritually more matured and stable than the Corinthians so he must be dripping with sarcasm as he wrote the sentence. The apostle did not tell us the reason the Corinthians could have perceived him or the other apostles to be weak or ineffective regarding spiritual matters. It is possible that the Corinthians could have misunderstood the apostle’s gentleness to mean he was weak. This sarcastic use of the word “weak” is also conveyed in 2 Corinthians 11:21:
To my shame I admit that we were too weak for that! What anyone else dares to boast about—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast about.
The apostle described himself and his apostolic team as weak in a sarcastic manner. He meant that he and his associates were characterized by gentleness in that he did not assert his apostolic authority in contrast to his opponents who were harsh and aggressive. His gentleness was then perceived as weakness. The same idea of meekness or gentleness of Apostle Paul is described in 2 Corinthians 13:9:
We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is for your perfection.
Weak here could refer to being meek in the sense that if the Corinthians were spiritually vibrant, the apostle would not have to exercise his disciplinary power and authority towards them but deal with them in meekness. This being the case, the Corinthians may then perceive his meekness as weakness. Anyway, the apostle used the word “weakness” to describe his sufferings. Consequently, we read in 2 Corinthians 12:5:
I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses.
The weaknesses of the apostle that he boasts refer to the sufferings and privations associated with his ministry which are summarized in 2 Corinthians 11:23–28:
23 Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.
It is in the concept of using weakness to denote suffering that the apostle used our Greek word in 2 Corinthians 13:4:
For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God’s power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him to serve you.
Weakness of the apostle could refer to suffering as he relates his weakness to Christ. Thus, when the apostle says he is weak in Christ, he probably means he is weak as Christ was in that He accepted suffering in humility and meekness. The apostle used the word “weakness” to portray his dependence on God 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.
Weakness could refer to the apostle’s confession of dependence on God since he said that he is strong when he is weak. By this, he means when he does not depend on his own strength then he sees Christ’s power displayed in him. Of course, in the previous chapter the apostle used the word “weak” to describe believers with weak conscience in 1 Corinthians 8:7:
But not everyone knows this. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled.
In the context of chapter 8, a believer with weak conscience, is a believer whose conscience is not properly informed by truth of God’s word about the nature of idols that they are nothing. Thus, when there is lack of faith or doubt, and lack of understanding of God’s word then we can describe an individual as weak spiritually.
In any case, in the passage of 1 Corinthians 9:22 that we are considering the apostle states To the weak I became weak. However, the apostle did not specify how he proved himself weak but the passages we have considered as we explored how the apostle used the word “weak” in his epistle help to state that the apostle did this by giving up what he knew was not sinful but was necessary to encourage a person who is weak in faith due to lack of knowledge of the Scripture. For example, he probably abstained from food that caused problem to believers that did not understand proper teaching regarding the dietary laws as implied in 1 Corinthians 8:13:
Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.
To those who are weak in a physical sense of suffering health wise and social powerlessness, he empathized with them as we have explained previously of how he would empathize with those who suffer physically and had compassion to those who fell into sin. He would also identify with those who are socially weak as if he were a slave or one without any advantage in life. Those who become weak in faith because of suffering, he would prove to them that he has suffered for the sake of the gospel as in the passage we previously considered where the apostle listed his sufferings for the gospel. The point is that the apostle would not have become weak in the sense that he would ignore the truth he knows or sin because he wants to help the weak spiritually. No, he proved himself weak in the sense of empathizing with those who are physically and spiritually weak in their faith or being careful not to use his knowledge in such a way to cause problem to them. So, learn to empathize with those who are spiritually weak in that you approach them in such a way that you do not become arrogant of your knowledge of truth.
The apostle proved himself weak as we have explained because of his goal to gain those who are weak to the cause of Christ as he states in the verbal phrase of 1 Corinthians 9:22 to win the weak. The goal of the apostle stated here is that of helping those who have failed spiritually to be restored in the right relationship with God. It is similar to the instruction he gave to the Galatians in Galatians 6:1:
Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.
A person who helps a fellow believer who has failed spiritually has indeed gained that believer as that is what is commended by the Holy Spirit in James 5:19–20:
19 My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
Since we identified the weak as including those who were physically weak that is both health wise and socially, the apostle would identify with such individuals in such a way to lead them to faith in Christ as part of what he means by winning the weak.
Be that as it may, the apostle after indicating that he proved himself weak to those who are weak as we have explained, summarized his adaptation to various groups of people as we read in the next sentence of 1 Corinthians 9:22 I have become all things to all men. We say that this sentence sums up the various adaptation he was concerned because of first, the apostle used a perfect tense translated I have become to sum up the actions he stated previously in verses 20 and 21 where the apostle used the aorist tense. Furthermore, we say that the apostle summarized what he stated previously because of what he has stated beginning in verse 20. Thus, the phrase all things refers to conducting himself as a Jew, conducting himself as under the law, conducting himself as being outside the law, and proving himself weak. Similarly, the phrase to all men refers to the various groups he had identified beginning from verse 20 as those he adapted or proved himself. He adapted to the Jews as in the first sentence of verse 20. He adapted to those under the law as he stated in the second part of verse 20. He adapted to those outside that law as he stated in verse 21. He proved himself to those who are weak in verse 22. Hence, the apostle summarized what he has been saying beginning in verse 20. So, he become all things to all men in the manner he conducted himself to each group without bending or compromising the truth.
Why would the apostle sum up what he already stated in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 9:22 I have become all things to all men? It is probably because the apostle needed the Corinthians to keep remembering what he wrote regarding the importance of adaptation to others because of the cause of Christ. It is because the Corinthians did not recognize the importance of adaptation to help fellow believers that they had some of the problems the apostle had already discussed, such as, the partisanship that exists among them or using spiritual freedom in such a way that ignores the weak in the faith. Hence, it is important that the apostle sum up his own adaptation for the gospel of Christ.
Certainly, the apostle is concerned to convey to the Corinthians, and so to all believers, the importance of being mindful of the goal of reaching others with the gospel message or helping those who are wavering in the faith. Therefore, the apostle stated the goal for his adaptation to various groups of people in the last clause of 1 Corinthians 9:22 so that by all possible means I might save some. This is an interesting clause because of the phrase by all possible means and the declaration I might save some that we need to examine.
The phrase by all possible means is one of the two ways to interpret the literal Greek that reads by all. This is because we have a Greek adverb (pantōs) that pertains to strong assumption that may or may not be true. and so, means “by all means, certainly, probably, doubtless.” Thus, it is our word that is used in the conclusion of the islanders of Malta when they saw a snake hanging from Apostle Paul’s hand, as we read in Acts 28:4:
When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.”
The translators of the NIV, like the NRSV, rendered the Greek adverb we are considering with the word “must” in this passage where some of our English versions translated it with the word “doubtless” or “undoubtedly” as in the NASB. In Acts 28:4, the assumption was wrong because the apostle was not a murderer. The Greek adverb we are considering may be used as a marker of strong emphasis, indicating complete validation of what is said hence means “indeed, certainly, at all, at least, in any event.” Thus, the Greek adverb is used by Apostle Paul as he quoted from the OT Scripture in support of his argument that a gospel worker should be compensated by believers as we read in 1 Corinthians 9:10:
Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he? Yes, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest.
The translators of the NIV used the meaning “surely” to translate the Greek adverb in 1 Corinthians 9:10. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 9:22, there are two possible interpretations. It could be interpreted to means “by any means, that is, in any way necessary” or it could be interpreted to means “at least” implying that instead of the reading by all possible means I might save some the Greek would be read as to save at least some. This second interpretation is reflected in the Revised edition of the NAB. Both interpretations make sense in the context. Therefore, this may be a situation where the apostle meant that he would use what is necessary to bring about the salvation of some.
The interpretation of the Greek adverb as by all possible means implies that Apostle Paul would use whatever is necessary to preach the gospel. The apostle is concerned with the means of getting the word to people not the manner of preaching it, so to say. You see, the apostle is careful that he does not use words that would deceive when he preached the gospel as he stated, for example, in 2 Corinthians 4:2:
Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
The approach of the apostle is certainly the same as that of the other apostles who preached the gospel as implied by what Apostle Peter stated in 2 Peter 1:16:
We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
Hence, it should be clear that the phrase of 1 Corinthians 9:22 by all possible means is concerned not with manner of the preaching of the gospel but with the means of getting the word to others or what the apostle had to do to gain audience that will enable him to preach the gospel. Thus, the phrase by all possible means implies that believers should follow ways that are not sinful to get the gospel message to people. We are careful in not using the expression “any legal method” because what may be illegal may not necessarily be a sin. Take for example, there are certain governments that ban missionary activities in their country and so forbid Bible getting into their countries. However, believers find ways to get the gospel and the Bible to these countries although the word used to describe getting Bibles in these countries is “smuggling.” There is no doubt that smuggling is illegal moving of an object into another country. However, when it comes to the word of God, we should not think of it as illegal transportation. Why not, you may ask? It is because it is a human law that forbids the transportation of the Bible or the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Such human law cannot supersede the commission of the Lord Jesus Christ regarding preaching of the gospel to many nations. Hence, when missionaries or other Christians try to get the Bible or the Christian message to nations hostile to the gospel, they obey God rather than man. We know, of course, that when such individuals are caught, they would have to suffer under whatever the repressive government mandates. If a believer is caught, we can be sure there is a purpose in God’s plan for it. I say this because we have records and testimonies of those who moved Bibles to Russia and other communist countries in almost plain sight without being caught because God provided them special protection to get His word or the Bible to those who want to read the word of God in their languages. So, there is nothing wrong in doing everything that is not sinful to get Bibles in countries that ban them since Apostle Paul indicated in the passage, we are considering that he did whatever is necessary to reach some with the gospel. Anyway, as we considered the phrase by all possible means we have indeed shown why we said that the phrase is interesting. This brings us to the other thing we said is interesting regarding the last clause of 1 Corinthians 9:22 so that by all possible means I might save some.
The other thing we said is interesting in the last clause of 1 Corinthians 9:22 so that by all possible means I might save some is the declaration I might save some. The thing that is interesting about the declaration is that the apostle expressed the same sentiment of this declaration in other passages in his epistles. Writing to the Romans, he declared of his desire to save some of his own people, the Jews, in Romans 11:14:
in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them.
In the encouragement given to believers not to divorce their unbelieving spouses, the apostle expressed similar sentiment of a spouse saving the other, as we read in 1 Corinthians 7:16:
How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?
In addition, the apostle has made clear that eternal salvation is God’s work. In writing to Timothy, the apostle makes the assertion that it is God who saved believers in 2 Timothy 1:9:
who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,
The same truth that God saves is given in Titus 3:5:
he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, when the apostle wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:22 I might save some we should be clear as to what he means as what appears to be on the surface is not what he meant.
What then does the apostle mean when he stated I might save some? We have interpreted this kind of statement of the apostle in previous studies but for completeness, we will, in a sense, review what we said previously. To begin with, the word “save” is translated from a Greek word (sōzō) that is used in a physical or a spiritual sense. In a physical sense, it may mean to preserve or rescue from natural dangers and afflictions, hence “to save, keep from harm, preserve, rescue.” To save in the physical sense may mean “to heal”, that is, to rescue from torment of diseases or to be restored to health, as the word is used of the Lord Jesus’ relieving a woman who has suffered from bleeding for twelve years, as stated in Matthew 9:22:
Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that moment.
The sentence your faith has healed you is literally your faith has saved you. The literal translation may imply that there is a physical healing as well as a spiritual healing. To save may mean to keep from dying as in the instruction of Paul to the centurion taking him to Rome about not allowing the sailors to abandon ship if they were to survive, as we read in Acts 27:31:
Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.”
To save may mean “to deliver”, that is, to bring out safely from a situation fraught with mortal danger, so the word is used to describe Israel’s deliverance from Egypt in Jude 5:
Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe.
The sentence the Lord delivered his people is literally having saved the people. In a spiritual sense, the word may mean to save or preserve from transcendent danger or destruction hence “to save/preserve from eternal death” with the implication of being preserved from judgment and from all that might lead to eternal death, for example, sin. It is in this sense that the word is used when Apostle Paul offered eternal salvation to the Philippian jailer in Acts 16:31:
They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”
It is, of course, in the spiritual sense of being saved from eternal death that the word is used in our passage of 1 Corinthians 9:22. Therefore, the only reasonable way to understand what the apostle meant when he stated in 1 Corinthians 9:22 I might save is that the apostle meant that he might become God’s agent of bringing eternal salvation to some of those he preached the gospel. Hence, it is the goal of the apostle to be an agent of God to bring salvation to some of those he preached the gospel. So, with this we have considered one of the goals of the apostle for adapting to various situations or circumstances of people as he preached the gospel to them. But there is more.
Another reason the apostle adapts to various people and their circumstances is to be a partaker in the gospel. He introduced this additional reason with the first sentence of 1 Corinthians 9:23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel. It may not be readily apparent that the apostle provided additional reason for his adaptation to people and their circumstances because there is no connective between verses 23 and 22 in the NIV. However, the Greek of verse 23, because of technical reason, has as its second word a Greek particle (de) that is used to connect one clause to another, either to express contrast or simple continuation. Although it is often translated “but” in the English when there is a perceived contrast between two clauses, but it has other meanings such as “then” or “and” or “that is” when it is used to link segments of a narrative. In our verse, it is used as a marker of an addition with the meaning “and,” implying that the apostle is providing additional reason for his adaptation to various groups and circumstances.
The apostle is, of course, referring to the various adaptations to people and circumstances in the declaration of 1 Corinthians 9:23 I do all this. Literally, the Greek reads And I do all things so we know that the apostle is referring to the things he detailed in verses 19 to 22 and not just one thing as the translation of the NIV may imply.
In any case, it is rare for people to do something willingly that costs them or puts them at a disadvantage. Thus, the apostle tells us that the adaptations to people and circumstances is because of the gospel or in the interest of the gospel as in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 9:23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel. The phrase for the sake of is translated from a Greek preposition (dia) that here is used to provide the reason or purpose for what the apostle did so that it means “for the sake of, because of.” The apostle recognizes the importance of the gospel message and so he would do anything to advance it. You see, he understood that the gospel message leads to salvation and so he was not ashamed to do anything to advance it as he implied in Romans 1:16:
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
The apostle is consumed with the desire to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ because of its importance. It is for this reason that he was willing to adapt to various circumstances that would enable him to preach the gospel to various groups of people. If you, like the apostle, become aware of the importance of the gospel message, you will do whatever is necessary to advance it.
Be that as it may, it is often difficult to differentiate purpose from result. This is the case in what the apostle stated following the reason or purpose of what he did that concerns the gospel as we read in the last clause of 1 Corinthians 9:23 that I may share in its blessings. The clause could be read as conveying purpose or result because the word “that” is translated from a Greek conjunction (hina) that here has two possible interpretations. The Greek conjunction may be used as a marker of purpose with the meaning “in order that, that” or it can be used as a marker of result so that it may be translated “that, so that, as a result.” Often, as we stated previously, it is difficult to differentiate purpose from result in which case the Greek conjunction is used for the result that follows according to the purpose of the subject. The implication is that the last clause of 1 Corinthians 9:23 states a result that follows the purpose for which the apostle did everything he did for the sake of the gospel.
The problem of the last clause of 1 Corinthians 9:23 that I may share in its blessings we are considering is to understand what the apostle meant. We say this because the literal Greek reads in order that I may become a fellow partaker of it. The pronoun it in the literal translation refers to the gospel so the issue is to understand what the apostle meant by being a partaker in the gospel. To do this, we begin with examining a Greek verb (sygkoinōneō) related to the word “share” used in the NIV or “fellow partaker” in the literal translation means to be associated with someone in some activity and so means “to be connected with, share with, associate with.” The apostle used the word twice in his other epistles. He used it to commend the Philippians for sharing in his troubles in the sense they took sympathetic interest in his trouble as we read in Philippians 4:14:
Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles.
The other use of the Greek verb is in the instruction against participating in sinful conducts as we read in Ephesians 5:11:
Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
The command Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness is literally And do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness. The noun form of the Greek verb translated “share in” in the NIV of 1 Corinthians 9:23 is translated from a Greek noun (sygkoinōnos) that may mean “participant, partner.” The word is used four times in the NT primarily by Apostle Paul that used it three times including the passage we are considering. The other usage of the Greek noun outside Paul’s writing is where it is given the meaning “companion” in Revelation 1:9:
I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
The apostle used the word in the sense of “sharer” in Philippians 1:7:
It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me.
The sentence all of you share in God’s grace with me is literally all of you are sharers of grace with me. Grace in this context refers to the apostle’s privilege of imprisonment and to that of the defense and establishing the gospel. It is also in the sense of sharer that the apostle used the Greek word in Romans 11:17:
If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root,
The verbal phrase and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root is literally and became a sharer of the root of the olive tree’s richness. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 9:23, it means “a fellow partaker,” that is, a person who partakes of the same object as another.
The meanings of the Greek word involved in 1 Corinthians 9:23 that we have considered indicates that when the apostle wrote literally in order that I may become (a) fellow partaker of it he meant more than one thing. He meant that he would partake in the preaching of the gospel, the suffering associated with preaching the gospel, and certainly the blessing associated with the gospel both here and eternally. The apostle’s point is that he did everything to ensure that he preached the gospel that results in his suffering for it and the eventual sharer of the blessings of the gospel. Thus, we should be willing to share in the gospel in the sense of preaching it and being ready or willing to suffer for it in keeping with what the Holy Spirit stated through Apostle Paul in Philippians 1:29:
For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him,
In any event, we close this section 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 by reminding you of its message that we have expounded which is You should do everything that is lawful to advance God’s word. 03/05//21