60 Days in the Word

Day 30: 1 Corinthians 9: 1-14

Rev. Dyson | About the passage

What does it mean to serve the Lord? The Apostle Paul clarifies the difference between the law and responsive service for the Lord on behalf of others. He fully understands the allowances he’s given as a Christian worker. He explains that he’s not exercised his rights as a leader in order to avoid stumbling it could cause weaker saints. He is not claiming what is clearly within his right to claim. Are you willing to lay down your rights for the sake of others?
Picture of Rev. Gregory Dyson
Rev. Gregory Dyson

Vice President for Spiritual Life and Intercultural Leadership | Campus Pastor

Day 30: 1 Corinthians 9: 1-14

Am I not as free as anyone else? Am I not an apostle? Haven’t I seen Jesus our Lord with my own eyes? Isn’t it because of my work that you belong to the Lord? Even if others think I am not an apostle, I certainly am to you. You yourselves are proof that I am the Lord’s apostle.

This is my answer to those who question my authority. Don’t we have the right to live in your homes and share your meals? Don’t we have the right to bring a believing wife with us as the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers do, and as Peter does? Or is it only Barnabas and I who have to work to support ourselves? What soldier has to pay his own expenses? What farmer plants a vineyard and doesn’t have the right to eat some of its fruit? What shepherd cares for a flock of sheep and isn’t allowed to drink some of the milk? Am I expressing merely a human opinion, or does the law say the same thing? For the law of Moses says, “You must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain.” Was God thinking only about oxen when he said this? 10 Wasn’t he actually speaking to us? Yes, it was written for us, so that the one who plows and the one who threshes the grain might both expect a share of the harvest. 11 Since we have planted spiritual seed among you, aren’t we entitled to a harvest of physical food and drink? 12 If you support others who preach to you, shouldn’t we have an even greater right to be supported? But we have never used this right. We would rather put up with anything than be an obstacle to the Good News about Christ. 13 Don’t you realize that those who work in the temple get their meals from the offerings brought to the temple? And those who serve at the altar get a share of the sacrificial offerings. 14 In the same way, the Lord ordered that those who preach the Good News should be supported by those who benefit from it.

Questions

What does the passage say? / What is happening in the text?

How does this impact me?/  What is significant or noteworthy?

What does this mean in my life?/ What does this mean to me? 

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