1 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 9.
Paul the Free Servant of Christ. 1 Cor. 9, 1-27.
The duty of hearers: V. 13. Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the thing's of the Temple, and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? V. 14. Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel.
V. 15. But I have used none of these things, neither have I written these things that it should be so done unto me; for it were better for me to die than that any man should make my glorying void.
Lest any member of the Corinthian congregation misunderstand him and make it a point to harp upon the necessity of unselfishness in preachers, Paul again refers them to the fundamental rule which should always be observed, namely, that under normal conditions the congregations should supply all the bodily needs of their pastors.
He derives a further reason for his argument from the Temple service: Do you not know that those employed in the sacred offices, those that are busy with the holy things in the Temple, eat what comes from the sacred place? The apostle speaks of the Temple service, especially that connected with the offering of sacrifices. The men engaged in this work everywhere, not only among the Jews, but among the Gentiles as well, obtained their support from the temple, from the gifts and offerings of the people. Compare Numbers 18, 8 ff.; Deuteronomy 18, 1 ff.
And those that wait at the altar, that are actually engaged in performing the sacrificial rites, have their portion with the altar, a part of the sacrifice being reserved for the use of the priests, Leviticus 10, 12–15. According to this precedent the rule holds true also in the New Testament: So also did the Lord determine for them that preach the Gospel that they should live of the Gospel.
Mark: This is a command of the Lord, and may not be set aside with impunity. Since all things in the world are really His own, merely entrusted to the users for the time being, therefore it is His function and privilege to decide in what way the goods of this world should be used. The pastors being exclusively engaged in the business of preaching the Gospel, devoting all their time to the study of the glorious message of salvation and to the application of its comforting truths, the Lord wants their physical wants supplied by the people that are served with the Gospel; the means, not of a mere existence or subsistence, but of a decent livelihood, should be forthcoming from the rich store of God's blessings, as given to His children.
Paul hastens to add that his own case is an exception: But so far as I am concerned, I have not used any of these things. He had the right and authority to expect from the Corinthian congregation a maintenance in accordance with his outline above, vv. 4–6. These privileges he has deliberately foregone; he had settled upon this policy for some definite reasons of his own, chief of which was the desire to serve the Gospel all the more efficiently.
And so he explains further: Not, however, have I written this that this should happen, should be done, in my case. He is not speaking for himself, in his own interest. He emphatically declares: For it is well, honorable, advantageous, for me rather to die than — my boasting shall no one make void! In his excitement the apostle forgets even the grammatical construction. Strong feeling, impatience, indignation, often influenced Paul in that way.
He had set his heart upon preaching the gospel without remuneration from the congregations, and his wish was rather to be dead than to have this glory taken from him. Any temporal loss or want he deemed unimportant beside the loss of his special boast, which he intended to take along beyond the grave. Not that Paul wanted to stand out prominently before the other apostles, but his humility was such that he would have called ingratitude in himself what he demanded for them as their right.