Christian Liberty and the rights of workers: (chap.9)
Paul ended chapter-8 with the warning about exercising freedom if it had detrimental effects on a brother with a statement expressing his willingness to be a vegetarian if it would keep a brother from faltering in his faith (8:13). In this chapter-9 he has illustrated how he practiced what he preached in this matter of rights when applied to food and drink. Further there seem to be some doubts of Apostleship among the members of the church. In this chapter-9 he clarifies that he is very much an Apostle and possess all the qualities for the requirement of an Apostle.
The rights of Apostleship: (9:1-14)
Paul’s Apostleship defense : (9:1-6):Paul continued to speak about his own freedom. Some Christians at Corinth denied that he was a real Apostle. This was because he did not expect to receive pay for his work. So Paul makes a 2-fold statement that he was an Apostle. An Apostle is primarily the one who has seen Jesus and was commissioned to do the ministry by the Lord Jesus Christ.
- Paul’s experience on the road to Damascus was an appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ after his resurrection. In fact Paul saw the Lord when he was travelling to Damascus to arrest Christians (Acts 9:1-9).
- The Christians at Corinth themselves showed that Paul was an Apostle. Paul calls them his ‘Seal’. A seal was an official stamp on a legal record. It showed that it was genuine. The church at Corinth was the ‘seal’ that Paul was a genuine Apostle. The Apostles also were given the ability to perform special signs and wonders to attest the message that they preached (Heb.2:4). Paul had performed such miracles during his ministry in Corinth (2 Cor. 12:12). In fact, Paul considered the Corinthian church a very special Seal of his ministry as an Apostle. Corinth was a difficult city to minister and yet Paul accomplished a great work because of the Lord’s enablement (Acts 18:1-17).
Further Paul makes a defense of his right to be Apostle and made a positive explanation that why he refused to be maintained at the Church’s expenses even though he had a right to be supported by the church. He had the right to hospitality, to be married and to be paid for his work. But he willingly gave up these rights to win people to Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ said that workers deserve their wages (Lk. 10:7), Paul reminds them that every church must take care of their pastors, teachers and other spiritual leaders. It is the duty of the church to see that those who serve them must be adequately compensated.
Paul also had the right to devote his full time to the ministry of the Word. He did not have to make tents. But the other Apostles did not work to support themselves because they gave themselves completely to the ministry of the Word. Even though Paul and Barnabas laboured for the churches, they have worked with their own hands to support themselves and also the men who laboured along with them.
The rights of Christian workers: (9:7-14):
Paul emphasized the right of maintenance as a principle or a sort of doctrine which extended beyond just Apostles but to all those who are labouring for the church. Here he gives 4-examples in which 3-examples from the day-to-day life and one from the O.T.
- Soldier: No soldier goes by his own expenses, but he is paid by the Government or the country. He fights for the country and all his liabilities are taken care of.
- Farmer: A farmer works for himself and after toiling and labouring he expects the first fruits for his consumption.
- A shepherd: A shepherd who tends the sheep, cattle drinks the milk from his flock
- Muzzling the oxen: In (Deu. 25:4), God commanded that “you shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.” This law simply is for human treatment of a working In those days the grain is broken away from husk by making the animal to walk on it repeatedly. It would be cruel to put the muzzle the oxen while it is working. This law speaks much more believers and God is establishing a principle that every minister has the right to be supported by the people for whom he is ministering.
Here Paul underlines an important thought that whether paid or not paid is not going to matter him. He was willing to deny the payment in which he had the right to receive. If he can go to that extreme of denying a benefit for him, how much more the believers of Corinth should deny the right to eat meat sacrificed to idols.