1 Corinthians 9

Paul Gives Up His Rights

Am I not ^afree? Am I not an ^bapostle? Have I not ^cseen Jesus our Lord? Are you not ^dmy work in the Lord? 2 If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you, for you are the ^aseal of my ^bapostleship in the Lord.
3 My defense to those who examine me is this: 4 ^aDo we not have authority to eat and drink? 5 ^aDo we not have authority to take along a ¹believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the ^bbrothers of the Lord and ^cCephas? 6 Or do only ¹^aBarnabas and I not have authority to refrain from working? 7 Who at any time serves ^aas a soldier at his own expense? Who ^bplants a vineyard and does not ¹consume the fruit of it? Or who shepherds a flock and does not ¹consume the milk of the flock?
8 Am I speaking these things ^aaccording to ¹human judgment? Or does not the Law also say these things? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses, “^aYou shall not muzzle the ox while it is threshing.” Is God merely concerned about ^boxen? 10 Or is He speaking altogether for our sake? Yes, ^afor our sake it was written, because ^bthe plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops. 11 ^aIf we sowed spiritual things in you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? 12 If others share this authority over you, do we not more? Nevertheless, we ^adid not use this authority, but we endure all things ^bso that we will cause no hindrance to the ^cgospel of Christ. 13 ^aDo you not know that those who ^bperform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share ¹from the altar? 14 So also ^athe Lord directed those who proclaim the ^bgospel to ^cget their living from the gospel.
15 But I have ^aused none of these things. And I am not writing these things so that it will be done so in my case, for it would be better for me to die than have anyone make ^bmy boast an empty one. 16 For if I proclaim the gospel, I have nothing to boast, for ^aI am under compulsion. For woe is me if I do not proclaim ^bthe gospel. 17 For if I do this voluntarily, I have a ^areward; but if against my will, I have a ^bstewardship entrusted to me. 18 What then is my ^areward? That, when I proclaim the gospel, I may offer the gospel ^bwithout charge, so as ^cnot to make full use of my authority in the gospel.
19 For though I am ^afree from all, I have made myself ^ba slave to all, so that I may ^cwin more. 20 ^aAnd to the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews. To those who are under ¹the Law, as under ¹the Law though ^bnot being myself under ¹the Law, so that I might win those who are under ¹the Law. 21 To those who are ^awithout law, ^bas without law, though not being without the law of God but ^cunder the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. 22 To the ^aweak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become ^ball things to all men, ^cso that I may by all means save some. 23 So I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.
24 ^aDo you not know that those who run in a ¹race all run, but only one receives ^bthe prize? ^cRun in such a way that you may win. 25 Now everyone who ^acompetes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a corruptible ^bcrown, but we an incorruptible. 26 Therefore I ^arun in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not ^bbeating the air; 27 but I ¹discipline ^amy body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

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