1 Corinthians 9 Summary

Paul defends his apostleship, asking whether he has not seen Jesus Christ and whether the Corinthians are not his work in the Lord. He asserts apostolic rights to eat, drink, and be supported by the churches, citing that those who preach the gospel should live of the gospel. However, Paul has not used these rights, choosing instead to suffer all things to avoid hindering the gospel of Christ. His reward is to preach the gospel without charge. Paul describes his strategy: he has become all things to all men—as a Jew to Jews, as one under law to those under law, as weak to the weak—that he might save some. He exhorts the Corinthians to run to obtain the prize, being temperate in all things, disciplining his body and bringing it into subjection.