1 Corinthians Chapter 9

vs 10

God probably is concerned with oxen, but more because they can be a useful example to us in fairness. People who work crops expect a share in those crops, whether it be a portion of the crop itself, or payment from the crop's sale.

vs 11

And this goes for all work, not just farm labour (of course it was the most common labour around at the time). So even spiritual labour deserves a material reward, because a man has to eat! And if the Corinthians are gaining the spiritual benefit from Paul's work, then shouldn't they give him a material reward? Of course they should.

vs 12

And it seems that this isn't a moot argument, because this church already supports other workers! But somehow, Paul has been neglected. This may again point to the somewhat strained relationship between Corinth and Paul. It may also point to the fact that people don't think of paying for the gospel given to them.

Paul does go on to say that he didn't claim this right. If he didn't tell them about it, then it's fair for them not to know (except that any Jew or God-fearer should have known the ox-muzzle-grain thing). To Paul, the most important thing is the gospel of Christ being shared, and if him being paid is going to hinder that, then he'd rather not get paid.

vs 13

This is true of most temples at the time, not just the Jerusalem temple. The idea being, of course, that spiritual work gains a physical reward.

vs 14

Paul uses that analogy to say that there is a command of God demanding that preachers are paid for their work. Now, don't just think that Paul was an evangelist in the modern sense of the word: that he blew into Corinth, preached a couple of evangelistic talks, and then left, and that means that only evangelists fall under this rule. No, Paul did the evangelism bit, and then spent well over a year at Corinth, teaching people daily and discipling them, and building and leading the church. All those things are just as important and are included in "living from the gospel".

vs 15

But like Paul said, he doesn't want these things. Now he's also saying that he doesn't want the Corinthians to pay him either. Paul is using their shame against them, and he doesn't want them to get out of it just by paying him off. That's not what it's about. This does sound a little bit like a sulky message - as if Paul wants to hold this over them because they have treated him badly. But his real goal is always the spread of the gospel. And if money is going to come between him and the gospel being preached in Corinth, then he would rather die than have that happen.

vs 16

Paul can feel God's hand shoving him in the direction of constantly preaching the gospel. He feels so compelled that he dreads the idea of not preaching the gospel! We feel dread if we do preach the gospel! But his desire to serve God and his knowledge of God, along with God's words to him about his commission, compel him to preach this gospel.

vs 17

Paul has been given a duty to preach the gospel - if he does it, and willingly, then he is rewarded. But even if he does it unwillingly, then he is still doing the job God gave him, and that is both a good thing and a necessary thing.

vs 18

In fact, Paul sees his reward as being able to preach the gospel to anyone, for free. In these times, philosophers and other public speakers made money by going around and giving speeches. Remember - no TV! This was very popular in greek culture, and so people would come and pay to hear you speak. But Paul doesn't want to charge people to hear God's word. Instead of thinking of the world as his moneybag, he sees the world as his synagogue - God's given him a job, he just has to go and do it.