1 Corinthians 9:3-7

Scripture: 1 Cor. 9:3 This is my defense to those who would examine me.

1 Cor. 9:4 Do we not have the right to eat and drink?

1 Cor. 9:5 Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? 

1 Cor. 9:6 Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living?

1 Cor. 9:7 Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk?

Teaching: Paul is addressing the idea of Christian liberty in this chapter, and at the same time, defending his relinquishing of his own liberty for the sake of the Corinthians and others. It seems by the context that some element of the Corinthian church was doubting Paul’s apostleship because he, in their minds should not rely upon the Corinthians for his living. 

To parry this line of thinking, in typical Pauline style, he broadens the argument. He asks if, as an apostle, he (and Barnabus) are allowed to eat, drink, and be married (to a believing wife)? The answer to each would be the Corinthians nodding, “Well, yes.” The conclusion is, then, that these things do not diminish one’s authority as an apostle. As an interesting aside, we see Paul affirm that no one must, as a condition to serving the Lord fully, remain unmarried. 

But, we know Paul set aside these things, particularly the “right” (as he terms it) to marry, as he has described in chapter 7. We can assume that Paul has also set aside some level of eating and drinking in service of the Lord and his continued evangelism. Does this mean that Paul is of less authority than the other apostles, or not an apostle at all? Certainly not. The conclusion Paul is leading the Corinthians to is that these things do not determine one’s authority as an apostle. 

So, when Paul then asks, pointedly, in verse 6, “Is it only Barnabus and I who must continue working for a living?”, Paul means that there should be some expectation that the Corinthian church support him materially in his service to the Lord. As we’ll see later in this chapter, Paul will refuse financial support from the Corinthians. But that does not negate the expectation that the Corinthians support him, and others like him. In verse 7, Paul gives three examples of workers who depend upon their own supply for their sustenance as it benefits those who the workers provide for. Soldiers are a small group (relatively) who protect an entire nation, a vineyard owner and shepherd produce far more for others than for themselves. These three occupations are all such that the producer or provider is producing more for others by their singular focus on their work than consuming themselves. Paul’s point is that an apostle works in much the same way. 

Takeaway: Who qualifies for financial support from the church? And to what extent? It is a major question at hand in this chapter and Paul’s teaching is that whether or not a servant of the Lord accepts support, the Church is called to support those who are called by the Lord into full-time ministry. As Paul will affirm later in this chapter, Jesus called his disciples to “freely give, as you have freely received” (Matt. 10:8). Jesus was speaking here of freely giving the Gospel, as we have freely received it. There should not be an expectation of receiving anything from the world for the preaching of the Gospel. However, it should be incumbent upon believers, those who have already freely received the Gospel, to support the mission of the Gospel and those who work tirelessly to proclaim it. The interesting thing about the examples Paul gave in verse 7 are that in the example of the vineyard owner, the source of his living is his own supply, and in the example of the shepherd, that supply comes from his own flock. Thus, it is biblical and right for a congregation to support those who make their living by proclaiming the Gospel so that it may continue to be freely given and freely received. God loves a cheerful giver and we are blessed to have the opportunity to see our dollars yield Kingdom citizens rather than more stuff for ourselves.