Rights. 1Corinthians 9:1-15 Chapter nine gives us a personal illustration of the practices taught in chapter eight. Because of love for others, we should, like Paul, surrender our rights for their benefit. He had the same rights as any Christian who serves the Lord. More than that, he was an apostle who had seen the Lord Jesus Christ and had been designated to a particular work for the Lord. God set him apart to take the Gospel to the Gentiles, those in authority, and kings as well as the Jews.
In carrying out the work of an apostle, he had come to Corinth, so the fact there were those there whom God had saved, was proof that he was doing what he had been commissioned to do. Those who heard this letter read were a “seal,” proof of the effectiveness of his work as an apostle of the Lord. He never solicited their support even though he had that right because he knew the kind of people he was dealing with and their backgrounds. Rather than ask them for their support lest they think he was taking advantage of them, he sacrificed his rights so no one could accuse him of some impropriety.
There were four reasons he stated gave him the right to claim material support. Common sense was one of them which is explained in verse seven. There was the law of God in verse nine, the practice of the priests in verse thirteen, and finally, the command of the Lord Jesus in verse fourteen. Through these illustrations, the word of God shows that those who preach the gospel should benefit from that labor. Spiritual work for others should deserve material support from those who receive the benefit of their labors.
There are those who arbitrarily choose to be a preacher, pastor, priest, or some sort of religious work as a vocation; a way to make a living; or an appealing lifestyle. This is not a calling from God to fulfill the commission the Lord Jesus Christ made just as He was leaving. Others spend a lifetime in secular employment until they are sure they have enough money to maintain a comfortable old age and then they want to respond to the commission on their own terms. Paul made it plain to the Corinthians that his credentials for preaching the Gospel, teaching them, and correcting them, came from the highest possible Source - the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
His apostleship came from the Lord speaking to him personally and plainly on the road to Damascus. It did not come as a feeling of interest, a personal desire to be able to move about among God's people, or wanting a career change. The Lord Jesus called Paul when He saved him and told him he would take the Gospel to the Gentiles. The Lord also made it known to Ananias three days after Paul was saved and before he baptized Paul, that he was to take the Gospel to the Gentiles, to kings, and to the children of Israel. His apostleship was without question. As such, he had the right to be supported by those who were blessed by his efforts and the saints of God who had fellowship with him in his work. Those people were actually his commendation and credentials.
When a person labors in daily work wherever you are in the world there is some kind of compensation. The farmer lives off of the food he harvests. The fisherman's needs are supplied by the fish he labored to catch. There are principles to guide us in the efforts we expend. "If any will not work, neither shall he eat." An ox treading over the sheaves of wheat to separate the grain from the stalks is to be free to bow its head and get a mouthful as it keeps walking. To have the need to be financially secure before being willing to give all of one's time laboring in the work of the Lord is not a walk of faith. It is not wrong for one to feel the need for security by having money from diligent labor in one's occupation.
One who is to go out in faith "taking nothing of the Gentiles," to spend his/her strength and life preaching the Gospel, is to live "of the Gospel." Each is to labor for God where He places them. One trusts God for strength to do his daily work on the job. The other trusts God to meet all of his needs. The spiritual principle we apply when spiritual blessings are received is those material blessings are to be given freely without asking or begging for them. To expect to receive material blessings when we are already financially secure is not what is in view when laboring for the Lord in the Gospel. "The laborer is worthy of his hire." He does have a right to feed his wife and family from the fruits of his work for the Lord. He is responsible to care for them and clothe them from what he receives through the material blessings passed on by others.
To give God one's full-time efforts for a short time at the end of life after being assured of plenty of money to live on isn't what was intended when the Lord called His disciples to follow Him. The strength of youth and the vigor of a healthy body is to be used for the furtherance of the kingdom of God. One who does that has the right to be compensated for their labor.
The enthusiasm of the apostle Paul and those who assisted him in reaching untouched areas with the truth of God is an example for us to follow. Those people followed Christ's example as He spent His public life ministering to people from place to place with His teaching and preaching, and at the same time being ministered unto by women from Galilee. Paul labored at tent-making on at least one occasion to supply the needs he and those with him had so he would not be "chargeable " to the Corinthian believers. He made sure those Corinthians didn't think of him as their hireling even though he had the right to be supported by them. Those saved through his preaching and taught the word of God, and gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, were his credentials for being supported by them.
Paul accepted support from the believers at Philippi and Thessalonica when it wouldn’t hinder the work of the Gospel in any way. Corinth was different because there was a different attitude among the believers as well as in the city in general. Those who opposed Paul could not accuse him of profiting from his preaching because he supported himself and others with his labor. He didn’t choose to preach the Gospel as a vocation but was chosen and called by God Himself. If he didn’t do what the Lord told him, he knew there were consequences that would come. He was not concerned about not being paid to preach but he was concerned about being faithful to the One who had called him.
An assembly has the responsibility to care for those who minister to them. The other side of the matter is that those who do minister to them do not have the right to contract with them or demand a certain amount of money or a salary from the assembly. To trust God to "supply all our needs" is to live by faith in Him and His ability and willingness to meet those needs. Preaching the Gospel was Paul's calling. He had to preach God's Word. It wasn't up to him to say he would or wouldn't. He was not able to say he would preach only if he was paid.
There is a certain drive and constraining power that motivates one to use the best of their life and strength for the work of God. The left-over time of our life to spend for God as we choose isn't taught. Yet there was an opportunity for some laborers to go into the harvest at the end of the day in a parable taught by the Lord Jesus. The driving power of the Holy Spirit that sent the Lord Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, is the same driving power behind those who go to "regions beyond" and to places where no foundation has already been laid. The motivation behind such people is an all-encompassing commitment based on "the love of Christ" and the need lost souls have - and the coming Judgment Seat of Christ.
Such people understand what "woe is me if I preach not the Gospel," really means. When a person's gift and Holy Spirit-given motivation come together, a person has no choice in the matter. The burden of heart, the urgency they have, and the vision of the work before them, move them. They expend their strength, their finances, their time, and their lives to fulfill the work to which God has called them. Our loyalty and allegiance to the Lord give us no other option than to live with a good conscience unless we do what God wants. Those who go out to the battle are not superior in any way to those who "stay by the stuff." But they do have different roles and responsibilities. Together those who supply the laborer and those who labor, share in the blessing at the end of the harvest.
Paul made every effort to conduct himself in ways that were suited to those to whom he was preaching at the time. He adapted his behavior and disciplined himself to be like those he sought to win. When he sought to persuade the Jews concerning the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Gospel of truth, he observed the customs and requirements of the law by placing himself under the law in matters like circumcision, and purification as things that did not compromise the Gospel but made his message more acceptable to the Jews.
To reach the Gentiles, Paul adopted their customs and culture without disregarding the law and the changes the Gospel makes in a Christian. He always remained true to the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ and the truth of the Gospel. He never violated his allegiance to the Lord by curtailing his personal privileges, and social and religious rights when dealing with different kinds of people. He adapted to what was suitable for the sake of the Gospel.
We each have specific work to do and we each have a role to fill. Until the labor of life is through, God forbid that I let my voice be still because we are sent with the commission to take the Gospel message into the whole world and make disciples. It is God's choice, not our own decision when He sends His servants to take the His Word to far places. There are those who have the hankering to preach but do not have the ability or desire to go places others have not reached. It is only near their own home they aspire to reach. One is not more important than the other as long as the will of God is done. God uses one to support his brother and the other laborer must leave his home.
Our rights are not just demands, although, through one, the other's needs are met. Both the front-line worker and supporter are under the command of the Lord of the harvest and the orders they get from Him. Through the one, sinners and saints are called and through the other, practical supplies are given. When the labor and commission are fulfilled, both of them will rejoice and share the blessings of heaven.