Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Corinthians 9:16
For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!
16. necessity is laid upon me ] See Act 9:6; Act 22:21.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
For though I preach the gospel … – This, with the two following verses, is a very difficult passage, and has been very variously understood by interpreters. The general scope and purpose of the passage is to show what was the ground of his glorying, or of his hope of reward in preaching the gospel. In 1CO 9:15. He had intimated that he had cause of glorying, and that that cause was one which he was determined no one should take away. In this passage 1CO 9:16-18. He states what that was. He says, it was not simply that he preached; for there was a necessity laid on him, and he could not help it; his call was such, the command was such, that his life would be miserable if he did not do it, But all idea of glorying, or of reward, must be connected with some voluntary service – something which would show the inclination, disposition, desire of the soul. And as that in his case could not be well shown where a necessity was laid on him, it could be shown only in his submitting voluntarily to trials; in denying himself; in being willing to forego comforts which he might lawfully enjoy; and in thus furnishing a full and complete test of his readiness to do anything to promote the gospel. The essential idea here is, therefore, that there was such a necessity laid on him in his call to preach the gospel, that his compliance with that call could not be regarded as appropriately connected with reward; and that in his case the circumstance which showed that reward would be proper, was, his denying himself, and making the gospel without charge. This would show that his heart was in the thing; that he was was not urged on by necessity; that he loved the work; and that it would be consistent for the Lord to reward him for his self-denials and toils in his service.
I have nothing to glory of – The force of this would be better seen by a more literal translation. It is not to me glorying; that is, this is not the cause of my glorying, or rejoicing ouk esti moi kauchema. In 1Co 9:15 he had said that he had a cause of glorying, or of joy ( kauchema). He here says that that joy or glorying did not consist in the simple fact that he preached the gospel; for necessity was laid on him; there was some other cause and source of his joy or glorying than that simple fact; 1Co 9:18. Others preached the gospel also in common with them, it might be a source of joy to him that he preached the gospel; but it was not the source of his special joy, for he had been called into the apostleship in such a manner as to render it inevitable that he should preach the gospel. his glorying was of another kind.
For necessity is laid upon me. – My preaching is in a manner inevitable, and cannot therefore be regarded as that in which I especially glory. I was called into the ministry in a miraculous manner; I was addressed personally by the Lord Jesus; I was arrested when I was a persecutor; I was commanded to go and preach; I had a direct commission from heaven. There was no room for hesitancy or debate on the subject Gal 1:16, and I gave myself at once and entirely to the work; Act 9:6. I have been urged to this by a direct call from heaven; and to yield obedience to this call cannot be regarded as evincing such an inclination to give myself to this work as if the call had been in the usual mode, and with less decided manifestations. We are not to suppose that Paul was compelled to preach, or that he was not voluntary in his work, or that he did not prefer it to any other employment, but he speaks in a popular sense, as saying that he could not help it; or that the evidence of his call was irresistible, and left no room for hesitation.
He was free; but there was not the slightest room for debate on the subject. The evidence of his call was so strong that he could not but yield. Probably none now have evidences of their call to the ministry as strong as this. But there are many, very many, who feel that a kind of necessity is laid on them to preach. Their consciences urge them to it. They would be miserable in any other employment. The course of Providence has shut them up to it. Like Saul of Tarsus, they may have been persecutors, or revilers, or injurious, or blasphemers 1Ti 1:13; or they may, like him, have commenced a career of ambition; or they may have been engaged in some scheme of money-making or of pleasure; and in an hour when they little expected it, they have been arrested by the truth of God, and their attention directed to the gospel ministry. Many a minister has, before entering the ministry, formed many other purposes of life; but the providence of God barred his way, hemmed in his goings, and constrained him to become an ambassador of the cross.
Yea, woe is unto me … – I should be miserable and wretched if I did not preach. My preaching, therefore, in itself considered, cannot be a subject of glorying. I am shut up to it. I am urged to it in every way. I should be wretched were I not to do it, and were I to seek any other calling. My conscience would reproach me. My judgment would condemn me. My heart would pain me. I should have no comfort in any other calling; and God would frown upon me. Hence, learn:
(1) That Paul had been converted. Once he had no love for the ministry, but persecuted the Saviour. With the feelings which he then had, he would have been wretched in the ministry; with those which he now had, he would have been wretched out of it. His heart, therefore, had been wholly changed.
(2) All ministers who are duly called to the work can say the same thing. They would be wretched in any other calling. Their conscience would reproach them. They would have no interest in the plans of the world; in the schemes of wealth, and pleasure, and fame. Their heart is in This work, and in this alone. In this, though amidst circumstances of poverty, persecution, nakedness, cold, peril, sickness, they have comfort. In any other calling, though surrounded by affluence, friends, wealth, honors, pleasures, gaiety, fashion, they would be miserable.
(3) A man whose heart is not in the ministry, and who would be as happy in any other calling, is not fit to be an ambassador of Jesus Christ. Unless his heart is there, and he prefers that to any other calling, he should never think of preaching the gospel.
(4) People who leave the ministry, and voluntarily devote themselves to some other calling when they might preach, never had the proper spirit of an ambassador of Jesus. If for the sake of ease or gain; if to avoid the cares and anxieties of the life of a pastor; if to make money, or secure money when made; if to cultivate a farm, to teach a school, to write a book, to live upon an estate, or to enjoy life, they lay aside the ministry, it is proof that they never had a call to the work. So did not Paul; and so did not Pauls Master and ours. They loved the work, and they left it not till death. Neither for ease, honor, nor wealth; neither to avoid care, toil, pain, or poverty, did they cease in their work, until the one could say, I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith (2Ti 4:7; and the other, I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do; Joh 17:4.
(5) We see the reason why people are sometimes miserable in other callings. They, should have entered the ministry. God called them to it; and they became hopefully pious. But they chose the law, or the practice of medicine, or chose to be farmers, merchants, teachers, professors, or statesmen. And God withers their piety, blights their happiness, follows them with the reproaches of conscience, makes them sad, melancholy, wretched. They do no good; and they have no comfort in life. Ever man should do the will of God, and then every man would be happy.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 16. For though I preach the Gospel] I have cause of glorying that I preach the Gospel free of all charges to you; but I cannot glory in being a preacher of the Gospel, because I am not such either by my own skill or power. I have received both the office, and the grace by which I execute the office, from God. I have not only his authority to preach, but that authority obliges me to preach; and if I did not, I should endanger my salvation: yea, wo is unto me, if I preach not the Gospel. As every genuine preacher receives his commission from God alone, it is God alone who can take it away. Wo to that man who runs when God has not sent him; and wo to him who refuses to run, or who ceases to run, when God has sent him.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of; though I do preach the gospel, yet I have no reason at all to glory; all that I have to glory in is, that I have preached it freely (which your false apostles and teachers do not); for the preaching of the gospel, considered without that circumstance, I have no reason to glory in that, for I am in it but a servant.
For necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel! I am under the necessity of a Divine precept to do that, and exposed to dreadful penalties and woes if I do not do that; there is therefore no thanks I can claim upon that account; all that I can glory in is, that I do it without charge to those to whom I preach it. Some make a doubt, whether there lieth the same necessity upon ministers now to preach the gospel, and they be liable to the same dangers and penalties, if they do it not. I see no reason at all to doubt it; for what necessity lay upon Paul, or any of the apostles, but a necessity of precept, that is, they were obliged to obey the command of God in the case, and liable to such penalties in case of neglect, as men are subject to that obey not the command of God, in fulfilling the duties of their relations? The same necessity, the same danger, is yet incumbent upon every minister; or else we must say, that the precepts commanding ministers to preach concerned the apostles only, or that there is now no such order of men as ministers (both which are indeed said by Socinians). If there be such an ordinance of God as the ministry, ministers are under the precepts given to ministers, one of which is to preach: if they be under the same precepts, there is the same necessity upon them of obeying them, that was upon Paul, and they are, in case of disobedience, subjected to the same woes and penalties. Indeed, every minister is not bound to go up and down the world to preach, his relation is to a particular flock; that travelling to carry the gospel about the world was peculiar to the apostles, for the first plantation of the gospel; but so was not preaching; if it had: Timothy and Titus would have had no such charge as to that work. It is true, ministers are not bound to preach in others houses without their leave; therefore we read very little of the apostles preaching in the temple and synagogues, nor without the leave of the Jews. But Paul judged himself bound to preach in the school of Tyrannus, Act 19:9, and in his own hired house at Rome, Act 28:30,31. For the circumstance of numbers, to which they are bound to preach, the Holy Scripture hath no where determined, and ministers are left to be guided by their own prudence according to circumstances; but preach they must, if they be called of God; he hath sent them to it, fitted them for the work, and they have taken it upon them, and woe will be to every minister, so called and sent of God, if he doth not fulfil his ministry, as he hath opportunity and wisdom, considering circumstances, in order to the end which he is to aim at and to act for.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
16. though I preach . . . I havenothing to glory ofthat is, If I preach the Gospel, and do sonot gratuitously, I have no matter for “glorying.” For the”necessity” that is laid on me to preach (compare Jer20:9, and the case of Jonah) does away with ground for”glorying.” The sole ground for the latter that I have, ismy preaching without charge (1Co9:18): since there is no necessity laid on me as to the latter,it is my voluntary act for the Gospel’s sake.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For though I preach the Gospel, I have nothing to glory of,…. The sense is not, that if he preached the Gospel in order for a livelihood, and to serve his private advantage, he should have no room for glorying; since, if this was the case, he should be obliged to do it, or perish for want: but his meaning is, that though he preached the Gospel ever so well, or ever so freely, and might glory before men, and against the false teachers, who insulted him in his character and office; yet not before God, from whom he received all his gifts, abilities, and qualifications, to preach the Gospel; all his light and knowledge in it; all his enlargements in meditation, and liberty in expression; all his faithfulness and integrity, courage and intrepidity, in the discharge and performance of his work, were by divine grace and assistance; and his success in it owing to the power and Spirit of God, so that he had nothing to glory of on any of these accounts: hence these words are a correction, or rather an explanation of the preceding:
for necessity is laid upon me; not of getting a livelihood by preaching, for he could have got, and did get this another way, even by labouring with his hands; nor of force and compulsion, for no one more readily engaged in it, or more cheerfully performed it; but of obligation from the divine call to this work, and from his own conscience, in which he knew it to be an heavenly one, and from the nature of the trust committed to him, and because of the good of immortal souls, and the honour of Christ; all which lay with weight upon him, and obliged him in duty, love, and gratitude, to attend to it:
yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the Gospel; which is to be understood, not of any temporal affliction, as reproach, persecution, famine, nakedness, sword, c. for such sort of woes frequently attend those that do preach the Gospel but of the wounding of his conscience, and exposing himself, through the neglect of his calling, and contempt of the divine will, to the wrath and curse of God for ever; not that the apostle feared this would be his case, or that it possibly could be; but he thus speaks, to show what he or any other minister of the Gospel would deserve, at the hand of God, who having abilities to preach, should not make use of them; or should preach, but not the Gospel; or only a part of it, and not the whole; or should entirely desist from it, through self-interest, or the fear of man, or through being ashamed of Christ and his Gospel, or as not able to bear the reproach and persecution attending it.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
For if I preach ( ). Third class condition, supposable case. Same construction in verse 16 ( ).
For necessity is laid upon me ( ). Old verb, lies upon me (dative case ). Jesus had called him (Acts 9:6; Acts 9:15; Gal 1:15; Rom 1:14). He could do no other and deserves no credit for doing it.
Woe is me ( ). Explaining the (necessity). Paul had to heed the call of Christ that he had heard. He had a real call to the ministry. Would that this were the case with every modern preacher.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “For though I preach the gospel. (ean gar evangelizomai) “For even when I preach the gospel…”
2) “I have nothing to glory of.” (ouk estin moi kauchema) “I have not to, for, or of my own behalf or accord a boast, an occasion for a boast.” The ministry he had, he received from the Lord, and his services in the ministry were enabled of the Lord: this excluded his glorying or boasting. 1Ti 1:12; 1Co 15:10.
3) “For necessity is laid upon me. (anagke gar moi epikeitai) “For necessity is laid on me.” Paul considered the weight of the gospel ministry to be, irrevocable, to death, and that he had a race to run that could not be delegated to any other, 2Ti 4:7.
4) “Yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!” (ouai gar moi estin ean me evangelisomai) “For woe is to me if I do not declare good tidings of the gospel.” To such he was called and he believed chastisement awaited the rebellious servant or steward of God, 1Co 4:2; Luk 12:47; Act 26:16-18; Isa 6:11-12.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
16. For if I preach the gospel. To show how very important it was not to deprive himself of that ground of glorying, he intimates what would have happened, if he had simply discharged his ministry — that he would in this way have done nothing else than what the Lord had enjoined upon him by a strict necessity By doing that, he says, he would have had no occasion for glorying, as it was not in his power to avoid doing it. (493) It is asked, however, what glorying he here refers to, for he glories elsewhere in his exercising himself in the office of teaching with a pure conscience (Tit 1:3.) I answer, that he speaks of a glorying that he could bring forward in opposition to the false apostles, when they endeavored to find a pretext for reviling, as will appear more fully from what follows.
This is a remarkable statement, from which we learn, in the first place, what, as to ministers, is the nature, and what the closeness of the tie that is involved in their calling, and farther, what the pastoral office imports and includes. Let not the man, then, who has been once called to it, imagine that he is any longer at liberty to withdraw when he chooses, if, perhaps, he is harassed with vexatious occurrences, or weighed down with misfortunes, for he is devoted to the Lord and to the Church, and bound by a sacred tie, which it were criminal to break asunder. As to the second point, (494) he says that a curse was ready to fall upon him, if he did not preach the gospel Why? Because he has been called to it, and therefore is constrained by necessity How, therefore, will any one who succeeds to his office avoid this necessity ? What sort of successors, then, have the Apostles in the Pope and the other mitred bishops, who think that there is nothing that is more unbecoming their station, than the duty of teaching!
(493) “ Veu qu’il y estoit contraint, et ne pouuoit euiter telle necessite;” — “Inasmuch as he was constrained to it, and could not avoid such a necessity.”
(494) That is, the duty which the pastoral office involves. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(16) For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of.Better, For though I preach the gospel, I have no ground of boasting. St. Paul proceeds now to show how his maintenance by the Church would deprive him of his right to boast or glory in his work. The mere preaching of the gospel supplies no ground of boasting; it is a necessity; Gods woe would await him in the judgment-if he did not so. A man can have no ground of boasting in doing that which he must do.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
16-18. St. Paul here declares that a simple preaching of the gospel, as being a duty, on the lower plane of moral compulsion yields no glory; it has not the special higher reward he courts. His reward, the result of renouncing his rights, consists in this very conferring of a gratis gospel, embracing all the good which that is sure to include.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
16. For necessity woe A divine requisition, enforced by a penalty of woe, obligated him to preach the gospel. But this was upon the level plane of absolute duty, while his holy ambition aspired to a Christian glory from higher self-denial and emprise. Barely to escape the woe did not suffice.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of, for necessity is laid on me. For woe is to me, if I preach not the gospel.’
But that is not to suggest that he has anything to glory of in doing so. He will not even glory in the fact that he preaches the Gospel. He will not take any credit for it. For he has nothing to glory of, in respect of himself, when he preaches the Gospel. He has no reason to feel proud or pleased with himself. Rather it is to him a divine necessity. If he did not preach the Gospel continually it would be a woe to him, something which would cause him grief and make him deserving of judgment, for it is his destiny, the very purpose for which he was born, and to which he was called (Act 9:15), and he probably felt as Jeremiah did when he spoke of his message as being like a fire within him (Jer 20:9 compare Amo 3:8). Thus he preached the Gospel because he had to, under divine command, and as a result of divine urgency within.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
His boasting is not of his preaching:
v. 16. For though I preach the Gospel, I have nothing to glory of; for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me if I preach not the Gospel!
v. 17. For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, a dispensation of the Gospel is committed unto me.
v. 18. What is my reward, then? Verily that, when I preach the Gospel, I may make the Gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the Gospel. Paul here again obviates a possible misunderstanding. He was far too humble to feel himself worthy of preaching the Gospel, much less would he have his preaching made a subject of boasting: For if I preach the Gospel, that is no reason for me to boast. His advantage lay in this, that he renounced his right to support and preached without remuneration. For in the matter of preaching necessity was laid upon him, he was pressed into the service of the Gospel, the sovereign will of God determined his apostle-ship and, in addition, he was under immeasurable obligations to the Lord for His pardoning grace. But if service is rendered under such conditions, there can be no question of boasting. And more: For woe is me if I do not preach the Gospel! He was bound in the spirit, he was pledged, as a servant of Christ, and to the limit of his powers and abilities, to praise God through the ministry of the Gospel. And he must expect the judgments of the Lord to fall upon him if he ventured to disobey the heavenly call. Paul’s attitude was utterly unlike that of many preachers and teachers in our days that welcome every excuse to leave the service of the Lord.
The apostle explains his attitude: For if willingly I perform this, if I am engaged in this work of my own free will, I have reward. The very fact that a person is engaged in the glorious ministry of teaching and saving souls for Christ makes it worthwhile and constitutes a reward; but, in addition, there is the reward of grace, Mat 19:28-29, which the Lord has intended for them that abide faithful in the performance of their office to the end. But if, on the other hand, he does his work unwillingly, under constraint, he has yet been entrusted with the stewardship. The steward occupied a position of trust in the master’s house; but no matter what his attitude toward his work was, it was chosen for him, and faithful obedience was expected of him. See 1Ti 1:12-13. He could expect no reward of merit for work faithfully performed, for that would never go beyond his duty, but he might look for punishment in case of failure. Incidentally, the thought seems included, as one commentator has it: “Christ’s bondman, I claim no hire for my stewardship; God’s trust is enough for me.”
Paul explains wherein his reward consists: Since this is the situation, what is my reward, the reward of mercy, the reward that makes the work worthwhile at all times? And he answers: That, in preaching the Gospel, I may set the Gospel forth free of charge. The gratification which he feels at rendering a real service and the satisfaction of giving this service free of charge, of offering salvation without money and without price to all whom he addresses, that in itself is a reward. And he does this in order not to abuse his right in the Gospel, that right which is connected with proclaiming the Gospel. It was a matter of joy and honor to him, not only to be counted worthy of preaching the Gospel, but also to do this work free of charge. The Corinthians have spent nothing on him, but he spent everything, including himself, on them. Such an attitude of unselfish devotion to the cause of Christ may well inspire all pastors and all Christians at all times.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
1Co 9:16 . Why Paul has every reason ( ) to hold his thus fast. For the preaching of the gospel, taken by itself, does not put him in a position to boast himself . All the less, therefore, can he afford to give up the only thing that does place him in such a position, namely, his preaching without recompense.
] sc [1470] , as is proved by what goes before. Comp Homer, Il. vi. 458: , and the common phrase in the classics: .
] Comp LXX. in Hos 9:12 . Woe betides him, i.e. God’s threatened judgment will fulfil itself upon him (in the coming day of judgment), if he shall not have preached the gospel ( , see the critical remarks); from this is evident ( ) how the arises, namely, that he must preach; he cannot give it up, without incurring eternal destruction.
[1470] c. scilicet .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
DISCOURSE: 1965
PREACHING THE GOSPEL
1Co 9:16. Woe is unto me, if I preach not the Gospel!
RESPECTING mens call to the ministerial office, it would be difficult to speak with any degree of certainty. That of the Apostles was clear and unquestionable: that of individuals, amongst ourselves, must be judged of by many circumstances, known only to the persons themselves, and but indistinctly known even to them. But the obligation to discharge the office with fidelity, when once it has been undertaken, is as manifest in relation to us, as it was in reference to St. Paul himself: a dispensation having been committed to us, we may every one of us say, Woe is unto me, if I preach not the Gospel!
In discoursing on these words, I will endeavour to explain,
I.
The office of ministers
This, in one word, is to preach the Gospel. And here let us distinctly mark,
1.
What is meant by the Gospel
[The Gospel imports glad tidings; and it is particularly to be understood of the glad tidings which are brought to men respecting a salvation provided for them, a salvation through the blood and righteousness of our incarnate God. Such a salvation has been effected for us by our Lord Jesus Christ, who expiated our guilt upon the cross and now lives in heaven to complete the work which he began on earth and offers salvation to all who will believe in him This is the Gospel: nor does any thing but this deserve the name ]
2.
The duty of ministers in relation to it
[They must preach it, as Gods heralds and ambassadors: they must preach it fully, in all its parts; freely, without any mixture of self-righteous conceits; and constantly, making it the one subject of all their ministrations. If they preach the law, it must be in order to prepare men for the reception of the Gospel. If they preach obedience, as doubtless they must, is must be as flowing from the united influence of faith and love. They must speak to men nearly in the same strain as they would if they had received a commission to preach to those who are already suffering the penalty due to their sins. They should not flatter men with any conceits about their own goodness, or the ability which they possess to deliver themselves; but should offer them mercy through the atonement made for them upon the cross, and call them to accept it as the free gift of God for Christs sake ]
Supposing us to have undertaken this office, let us notice,
II.
The indispensable necessity of discharging it with fidelity
Woe is unto us if we preach not this Gospel faithfully. For if, from any consideration whatever, we forbear to do so, what account shall we give,
1.
To God, who has committed this office to us?
[If we have neglected it, through the fear of man, or the love of this present evil world, or through mere indolence, what shall we say, when summoned to give an account of our stewardship? Should we have loved any thing in comparison of Him? or feared any besides Him? or counted any thing too much to do for Him? How vain will all our excuses appear in that day!]
2.
To the souls whom, by our unfaithfulness, we have betrayed?
[Men may now say to us, Prophesy unto us smooth things; prophesy deceits; and they may be pleased with our compliance. But when they meet us in judgment, how bitter will be their reproaches, and how loud their complaints against us! The very persons whose favour we courted when on earth, will be among the first to cry out for vengeance on our souls.]
3.
To the Saviour, whose dying love we should have made known?
[What shall we say, when the Saviour shall remind us of all that he has done for the salvation of our souls? Is it thus that we should have requited him? Did he come from heaven for us, and die upon the cross for us, and confer on us the honour of being his ambassadors to a ruined world; and have we felt no more regard for him, and his interests in the world? How shall we call on the rocks and mountains to cover us from his merited indignation!]
4.
To ourselves, who have trifled thus with our own salvation?
[Now any foolish excuse will satisfy us: but how will our conduct appear in that day? Methinks our self-reproach will be the bitterest ingredient in that cup of bitterness which we shall have to drink for ever.]
But let us not close the subject without reflecting on what is evidently implied in it
1.
The woe which awaits those who embrace not the Gospel
[If we are bound to preach it, no doubt you also are bound to receive it with all humility of mind, and with the gratitude which such tidings call for at your hands. You must not think that you have discharged your duty, when you have merely heard the word: you must receive it as the word of God to your souls: you must embrace it, as suited to your necessities, and sufficient for your wants. You must contemplate it, and rely upon it, and glory in it, and get your souls poured, as it were, into the very mould of the Gospel; that so it may have its perfect work upon you. This you must do: and if you do it not, it will prove to you, not a savour of life unto life, but a savour of death to your heavier condemnation. Remember, then, your own responsibility: and, whilst you pray for your minister, that he may be found faithful, be exceeding urgent with God in prayer, that the word ye hear may take effect, and prove the power of God to the salvation of your souls.]
2.
The blessedness of those who discharge their ministry aright
[They may meet with much opposition from an ungodly world: but they are truly happy, in the hope that they shall both save themselves and those who hear them. Sweet is the thought which a faithful minister has in looking forward to the time of meeting his people at the judgment-seat of Christ. The sight of many whom he shall then have to present to God as his spiritual children, saying, Here am I, and the children whom thou hast given me; and the prospect, that, to all eternity, he shall have them as his joy and crown of rejoicing before his God; say, is not this delightful? Will not this be a rich reward for all his labours, and for all that he had suffered in the discharge of his high office? Yes, verily, if he had died a thousand deaths for them, this would be an abundant recompence: and this blessedness assuredly awaits the laborious minister, the faithful servant of his God [Note: If this were the subject of an Ordination or Visitation Sermon, here, of course, would be the place for encouraging ministers to labour diligently in their high and holy calling.].]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
16 For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!
Ver. 16. I have nothing to glory of ] My glorying is, that I preach it gratis, and thereby stop an open mouth, 2Co 12:16-18 , give them the lie that falsely accuse me that I make a prize of you.
Yea, woe is unto me ] It was death for the high priest to enter the tabernacle without his bells. Preach, man, preach; thou wilt be damned else, said one to his friend. Be instant, or stand over the work in season, out of season, . See Jacob’s diligence,Gen 31:40Gen 31:40 . And Paul’s, Act 20:20-28 , &c., which one rightly calleth St Paul’s trumpet, the voice whereof may be to every minister, like that trumpet in Mount Sinai, that hath both clangorem et horrorem: or as Samuel’s message, making Eli’s two ears to tingle and his heart to tremble. (Barlow.) Let him give good heed to it, and then say with the civilian (Ulpian), Perquam durum est: sed ita lex scripta est. Hard or not hard it must be done, or I am utterly undone. Preach I must, or perish.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
16 ff.] The reason why he made so much of this materies gloriandi: viz. that his mission itself gave him no advantage this way, being an office entrusted to him , and for which he was solemnly accountable: but in this thing only had he an advantage so as to be able to boast of it, that he preached the gospel without charge .
explains the . On , see ref. Hos.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
1Co 9:16-18 . Paul goes on to explain, by two contrasted suppositions (in actual and conceivable matter), that this is a point of honour with him. Forced as he had been into the service of the Gospel, in a manner so diff [1353] from the other App., unless he might serve gratuitously his position would be too humiliating.
[1353] difference, different, differently.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
1Co 9:16 . The fact of his preaching supplies in itself no : “For if I be preaching the good news ( ), it is no (matter of) boasting to me; for necessity is imposed on me”. For , see notes on 1Co 7:26 ; 1Co 7:37 ; also Phm 1:14 , where it contrasts with as with here. is virtually pass [1354] to (see parls.), “to lay” a task, by authority, “upon” some one: P. was, in the Apostolic ranks, a pressed man , not a volunteer, “laid hold of” (Phi 3:12 ) against his previous will; he entered Christ’s service as a captive enemy ( cf. 1Co 15:8 , 2Co 2:14 ). While a gift of Divine mercy (1Co 7:25 , 2Co 4:1 , etc.), his commission was a determination of the Divine sovereignty (1Co 1:1 ., etc.). For service rendered upon this footing there can never be any boasting; cf. Luk 17:10 . That all glorying in this direction was excluded, is sustained by the exclamation, “For woe is to me if I should not preach the Gospel!” , (Or [1355] ). (contrast the pr [1356] , of former clause), aor [1357] sbj ., of comprehensive fut [1358] ref [1359] , from the standpoint of the original “necessity imposed”; cf. , for the construction, 1Co 8:8 , 1Co 15:36 . The interjection is here a quasi-substantive, as in Rev 9:12 . Had P. disobeyed the call of God, his course from that time onwards must have been one of condemnation and misery. To fight against “Necessity” the Greeks conceived as ruin; their was a blind, cruel Fate, Paul’s is the compulsion of Sovereign Grace.
[1354] passive voice.
[1355] Origen.
[1356] present tense.
[1357] aorist tense.
[1358] future tense.
[1359] reference.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
1 Corinthians
THE SIN OF SILENCE
1Co 9:16 – 1Co 9:17
The original reference of these words is to the Apostle’s principle and practice of not receiving for his support money from the churches. Gifts he did accept; pay he did not. The exposition of his reason is interesting, ingenuous, and chivalrous. He strongly asserts his right, even while he as strongly declares that he will waive it. The reason for his waiving it is that he desires to have somewhat in his service beyond the strict line of his duty. His preaching itself, with all its toils and miseries, was but part of his day’s work, which he was bidden to do, and for doing which he deserved no thanks nor praise. But he would like to have a little bit of glad service over and above what he is ordered to do, that, as he ingenuously says, he may have ‘somewhat to boast of.’
In this exposition of motives we have two great principles actuating the Apostle-one, his profound sense of obligation, and the other his desire, if it might be, to do more than he was bound to do, because he loved his work so much. And though he is speaking here as an apostle, and his example is not to be unconditionally transferred to us, yet I think that the motives which actuated his conduct are capable of unconditional application to ourselves.
There are three things here. There is the obligation of speech, there is the penalty of silence, and there is the glad obedience which transcends obligation.
I. First, mark the obligation of speech.
For that commandment is permanent. It is exactly contemporaneous with the duration of the promise which is appended to it, and whosoever suns himself in the light of the latter is bound by the precept of the former. ‘Lo! I am with you alway, even to the end of the world,’ defines the duration of the promise, and it defines also the duration of the duty. Nay, even the promise is made conditional upon the discharge of the duty enjoined. For it is to the Church ‘going into all the world, and preaching the Gospel to every creature,’ that the promise of an abiding presence is made.
Let us remember, too, that, just because this commission is given to the whole Church, it is binding on every individual member of the Church. There is a very common fallacy, not confined to this subject, but extending over the whole field of Christian duty, by which things that are obligatory on the community are shuffled off the shoulders of the individual. But we have to remember that the whole Church is nothing more than the sum total of all its members, and that nothing is incumbent upon it which is not in their measure incumbent upon each of them. Whatsoever Christ says to all, He says to each, and the community has no duties which you and I have not.
Of course, there are diversities of forms of obedience to this commandment; of course, the restrictions of locality and the other obligations of life, come in to modify it; and it is not every man’s duty to wander over the whole world doing this work. But the direct work of communicating to others who know it not the sweetness and the power of Jesus Christ belongs to every Christian man. You cannot buy yourselves out of the ranks, as they used to be able to do out of the militia, by paying for a substitute. Both forms of service are obligatory upon each of us. We all, if we know anything of Christ and His love and His power, are bound, by the fact that we do know it, to tell it to those whom we can reach. You have all got congregations if you would look for them. There is not a Christian man or woman in this world who has not somebody that he or she can speak to more efficiently than anybody else can. You have your friends, your relations, the people with whom you are brought into daily contact, if you have no wider congregations. You cannot all stand up and preach in the sense in which I do so. But this is not the meaning of the word in the New Testament. It does not imply a pulpit, nor a set discourse, nor a gathered multitude; it simply implies a herald’s task of proclaiming. Everybody who has found Jesus Christ can say, ‘I have found the Messiah,’ and everybody who knows Him can say, ‘Come and hear, and I will tell what the Lord hath done for my soul.’ Since you can do it you are bound to do it; and if you are one of ‘the dumb dogs, lying down and loving to slumber,’ of whom there are such crowds paralysing the energies and weakening the witness of every Church upon earth, then you are criminally and suicidally oblivious of an obligation which is a joy and a privilege as much as a duty.
Oh, brethren! I do want to lay on the consciences of all you Christian people this, that nothing can absolve you from the obligation of personal, direct speech to some one of Christ and His salvation. Unless you can say, ‘I have not refrained my lips, O Lord! Thou knowest,’ there frowns over against you an unfulfilled duty, the neglect of which is laming your spiritual activity, and drying up the sources of your spiritual strength.
But, then, besides this direct effort, there are the other indirect methods in which this commandment can be discharged, by sympathy and help of all sorts, about which I need say no more here.
Jesus Christ’s ideal of His Church was an active propaganda, an army in which there were no non-combatants, even although some of the combatants might be detailed to remain in the camp and look after the stuff, and others of them might be in the forefront of the battle. But is that ideal ever fulfilled in any of our churches? How many amongst us there are who do absolutely nothing in the shape of Christian work! Some of us seem to think that the voluntary principle on which our Nonconformist churches are largely organised means, ‘I do not need to do anything unless I like. Inclination is the guide of duty, and if I do not care to take any active part in the work of our church, nobody has anything to say.’ No man can force me, but if Jesus Christ says to me, ‘Go!’ and I say, ‘I had rather not,’ Jesus Christ and I have to settle accounts between us. The less men control, the more stringent ought to be the control of Christ. And if the principle of Christian obedience is a willing heart, then the duty of a Christian is to see that the heart is willing.
A stringent obligation, not to be shuffled off by any of the excuses that we make, is laid upon us all. It makes very short work of a number of excuses. There is a great deal in the tone of this generation which tends to chill the missionary spirit. We know more about the heathen world, and familiarity diminishes horror. We have taken up, many of us, milder and more merciful ideas about the condition of those who die without knowing the name of Jesus Christ. We have taken to the study of comparative religion as a science, forgetting sometimes that the thing that we are studying as a science is spreading a dark cloud of ignorance and apathy over millions of men. And all these reasons somewhat sap the strength and cool the fervour of a good many Christian people nowadays. Jesus Christ’s commandment remains just as it was.
Then some of us say, ‘I prefer working at home!’ Well, if you are doing all that you can there, and really are enthusiastically devoted to one phase of Christian service, the great principle of division of labour comes in to warrant your not entering upon other fields which others cultivate. But unless you are thus casting all your energies into the work which you say that you prefer, there is no reason in it why you should do nothing in the other direction. Jesus Christ still says, ‘Go ye into all the world.’
Then some of you say, ‘Well, I do not much believe in your missionary societies. There is a great deal of waste of money about them. A number of things there are that one does not approve of. I have heard stories about missionaries being very idle, very luxurious, and taking too much pay, and doing too little work.’ Well, be it so! Very probably it is partly true; though I do not know that the people whose testimony is so willingly accepted, to the detriment of our brethren in foreign lands, are precisely the kind of people that should talk much about self-sacrifice and luxurious living, or whose estimate of Christian work is to be relied upon. I fancy many of them, if they walked about the streets of an English town, would have a somewhat similar report to give, as they have when they walk about the streets of an Indian one. But be that as it may, does that indictment draw a wet sponge across the commandment of Jesus Christ? or can you chisel out of the stones of Sinai one of the words written there, by reason of the imperfections of those who are seeking to obey them? Surely not! Christ still says, ‘Go ye into all the world!’
I sometimes venture to think that the day will come when the condition of being received into, and retained in, the communion of a Christian church will be obedience to that commandment. Why, even bees have the sense at a given time of the year to turn the drones out of the hives, and sting them to death. I do not recommend the last part of the process, but I am not sure but that it would be a benefit to us all, both to those ejected and to those retained, that we should get rid of that added weight that clogs every organised community in this and other lands-the dead weight of idlers who say that they are Christ’s disciples. Whether it is a condition of church membership or not, sure I am that it is a condition of fellowship with Jesus Christ, and a condition, therefore, of health in the Christian life, that it should be a life of active obedience to this plain, imperative, permanent, and universal command.
II. Secondly, a word as to the penalty of silence.
‘Woe is me if I preach not the Gospel.’ If you are a dumb and idle professor of Christ’s truth, depend upon it that your dumb idleness will rob you of much communion with Jesus Christ. There are many Christians who would be ever so much happier, more joyous, and more assured Christians if they would go and talk about Christ to other people. Because they have locked up God’s word in their hearts it melts away unknown, and they lose more than they suspect of the sweetness and buoyancy and assured confidence that might mark them, for no other reason than because they seek to keep their morsel to themselves. Like that mist that lies white and dull over the ground on a winter’s morning, which will be blown away with the least puff of fresh air, there lie doleful dampnesses, in their sooty folds, over many a Christian heart, shutting out the sun from the earth, and a little whiff of wholesome activity in Christ’s cause would clear them all away, and the sun would shine down upon men again. If you want to be a happy Christian, work for Jesus Christ. I do not lay that down as a specific by itself. There are other things to be taken in conjunction with it, but yet it remains true that the woe of a languid Christianity attaches to the men who, being professing Christians, are silent when they should speak, and idle when they should work.
There is, further, the woe of the loss of sympathies, and the gain of all the discomforts and miseries of a self-absorbed life. And there is, further, the woe of the loss of one of the best ways of confirming one’s own faith in the truth-viz. that of seeking to impart it to others. If you want to learn a thing, teach it. If you want to grasp the principles of any science, try to explain it to somebody who does not understand it. If you want to know where, in these days of jangling and controversy, the true, vital centre of the Gospel is, and what is the essential part of the revelation of God, go and tell sinful men about Jesus Christ who died for them; and you will find out that it is the Cross, and Him who died thereon, as dying for the world, that is the power which can move men’s hearts. And so you will cleave with a closer grasp, in days of difficulty and unsettlement, to that which is able to bring light into darkness and to harmonise the discord of a troubled and sinful soul. And, further, there is the woe of having none that can look to you and say, ‘I owe myself to thee.’ Oh, brethren! there is no greater joy accessible to a man than that of feeling that through his poor words Christ has entered into a brother’s heart. And you are throwing away all this because you shut your mouths and neglect the plain commandment of your Lord.
Ay! but that is not all. There is a future to be taken into account, and I think that Christian people do far too little realise the solemn truth that it is not all the same then whether a man has kept his Master’s commandments or neglected them. I believe that whilst a very imperfect faith saves a man, there is such a thing as being ‘saved, yet so as through fire,’ and that there is such a thing as having ‘an abundant entrance ministered unto us into the everlasting kingdom.’ He whose life has been very slightly influenced by Christian principle, and who has neglected plain, imperative duties, will not stand on the same level of blessedness as the man who has more completely yielded himself in life to the constraining power of Christ’s love, and has sought to keep all His commandments.
Heaven is not a dead level. Every man there will receive as much blessedness as he is capable of, but capacities will vary, and the principal factor in determining the capacity, which capacity determines the blessedness, will be the thoroughness of obedience to all the ordinances of Christ in the course of the life upon earth. So, though we know, and therefore dare say, little about that future, I do beseech you to take this to heart, that he who there can stand before God, and say, ‘Behold! I and the children whom God hath given me’ will wear a crown brighter than the starless ones of those who saved themselves, and have brought none with them.
‘Some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship, they all came safe to land.’ But the place where they stand depends on their Christian life, and of that Christian life one main element is obedience to the commandment which makes them the apostles and missionaries of their Lord.
III. Lastly, note the glad obedience which transcends the limits of obligation.
And so it is in the Christian life. There are many of us whose question seems to be, ‘How little can I get off with? how much can I retain?’-many of us whose effort is to find out how much of the world is consistent with the profession of Christianity, and to find the minimum of effort, of love, of service, of gifts which may free us from obligation.
And what does that mean? It means that we are slaves. It means that if we durst we would give nothing, and do nothing. And what does that mean? It means that we do not care for the Lord, and have no joy in our work. And what does that mean? It means that our work deserves no praise, and will get no reward. If we love Christ we shall be anxious, if it were possible, to do more than He commands us, in token of our loyalty to the King, and of our delight in the service. Of course, in the highest view, nothing can be more than necessary. Of course He has the right to all our work; but yet there are heights of Christian consecration and self-sacrifice which a man will not be blamed if he has not climbed, and will be praised if he has. What we want, if I might venture to say so, is extravagance of service. Judas may say, ‘To what purpose is this waste?’ but Jesus will say, He ‘hath wrought a good work on Me,’ and the fragrance of the ointment will smell sweet through the centuries.
So, dear brethren, the upshot of the whole thing is, Do not let us do our Christian work reluctantly, else it is only slave’s work, and there is no blessing in it, and no reward will come to us from it. Do not let us ask, ‘How little may I do?’ but ‘How much can I do?’ Thus, asking, we shall not offer as burnt offering to the Lord that which doth cost us nothing. On His part He has given the commandment as a sign of His love. The stewardship is a token that He trusts us, the duty is an honour, the burden is a grace. On our parts let us seek for the joy of service which is not contented with the bare amount of the tribute that is demanded, but gives something over, if it were possible, because of our love to Him. They who thus give to Jesus Christ their all of love and effort and service will receive it all back a hundredfold, for the Master is not going to be in debt to any of His servants, and He says to them all, ‘I will repay it, howbeit I say not unto thee how thou owest unto Me even thine own self besides.’
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
though = if. App-118.
preach the gospel. App-121.
nothing to glory of = no (Greek. ou) (cause of) boasting (as in 1Co 9:15).
necessity. Gr. ananke. Compare 1Co 7:37.
is laid = lies. Greek. epikeimai. See Act 27:20.
yea. The texts read “for”.
if. App-118.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
16 ff.] The reason why he made so much of this materies gloriandi: viz. that his mission itself gave him no advantage this way, being an office entrusted to him, and for which he was solemnly accountable: but in this thing only had he an advantage so as to be able to boast of it, that he preached the gospel without charge.
-explains the . On , see ref. Hos.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
1Co 9:16. , for) He now states, in what this glorying consists.- [if], I preach) This must be taken in the exclusive sense; if I preach, and do so not gratuitously; if I do nothing besides.-, necessity) Owing [duty] takes away glorying.- , but [yea] woe) but intensive; not only have I nothing, whereof I may glory, but even woe [to me, if I do not], Jon 1:4; Exo 4:14; Jer 20:9.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
1Co 9:16
1Co 9:16
For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of; for necessity is laid upon me;-He had been a sinner in persecuting the church. God chooses men to do work because of their fitness to do it. Pauls persecution of the church continually reminded him how he should as much as he could compensate for the injury he had done to it. So he felt in preaching and suffering all he could preach and suffer only what he ought to do to undo the former evil work. As he had made others suffer for it, he felt that he ought to bear and suffer to convert the world. Pauls conscience was always tender, quick, alert to lead him to suffer as he had made others suffer.
for woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel.-As he had received mercy from God, he must proclaim the terms of mercy to others; hence he felt that woe would be unto him, if, after receiving so great mercy, he did not preach the mercy to others.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Under Bondage to All
1Co 9:16-27
Pauls one aim was to gain men. He uses the words repeatedly. To gain one more for his Lord, he would forego comfort, emolument, and well-earned repose. He would allow no competitor for an earthly prize to supersede himself in his sacrifices for this crown of rejoicing. He points to the denials, the hard training, and the severe discipline to which men who took part in the games subjected themselves. No one thought it strange that they should sacrifice so much for the chance of winning; why, then, should he be counted eccentric, who sought the certain reward of gaining new lovers of his Masters cross?
He tells us that he lived in constant dread of becoming a castaway. He had no fear of being rejected from Gods love; but he feared lest God, who had used him so wonderfully, should cease to do so, and should cast him aside in favor of someone more unselfish, more pliant, more free from that which would excite prejudice. If Paul was so eager to surrender his rights and bruise his body that he might attain the prize of soul-winning, the question arises whether for our failure in these respects God may not be obliged to cast us on the rubbish-heap!
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
I have: Rom 4:2, Rom 15:17
for: Jer 1:17, Jer 20:7, Jer 20:9, Amo 3:8, Amo 7:15, Act 4:20, Act 9:6, Act 9:15, Act 26:16-20, Rom 1:14
woe: Isa 6:5, Luk 9:62, Col 4:17
Reciprocal: Exo 6:30 – uncircumcised Jer 4:31 – Woe Eze 13:3 – Woe Jon 1:3 – to flee Mat 25:16 – went Luk 9:60 – but Luk 17:10 – General Joh 15:16 – ordained Act 6:4 – give 1Co 4:1 – the ministers 1Co 9:17 – dispensation Phi 1:17 – that 1Pe 5:2 – not by
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Co 9:16. Regardless of all other considerations, it was the duty of Paul to preach the Gospel, else the woe or condemnation of the Lord would be on him.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
1Co 9:16. For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of. To glory in preaching without charge is reasonable enough, but to boast of preaching the Gospel itself were shameful.
for necessity is upon me; for woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel. Shut up to it by the call of Heaven, it is at my peril if I shrink from it.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
That which the apostle glories in, is not his bare preaching of the gospel, but his preaching of it freely and without maintenance: “For, says he, though I preach the gospel, that has nothing singular in it, others do it as well as myself, and I am bound to do it as well as others; for necessity is laid upon me, by special call and command from Christ, so to do; yea, woe is unto me for my disobedience to Christ in the heavenly vision, Act 26:12-18 if I preach not the gospel.
Now if I do this thing willingly, that is, freely, without demanding any thing of you for my pains, which I might do, I have a reward: that is, a special reward from God, and may glory in it: but if I preach unwillingly, (demanding a maintenance for my pains, and refusing to preach without it,) all that can be said is this, that a dispensation of the gospel is committed to me; and so in preaching I only discharge a trust of which I cannot boast or glory.”
The strength of the apostle’s argument lies here: “No man can reasonably boast of, glory in, or expect an extraordinary reward for, the doing of that under a command from his superior to do, and that under a penalty too.”
Now this was his case: necessity was laid upon him to preach the gospel, but no necessity but what he laid upon himself to preach it freely; therefore for him to do it without demanding any reward from them for doing it, this made it matter of glorying to him, which he declares he had rather die than any should take from him.
But was it the apostle’s own glory that he was thus fond of, and concerned for, that he had rather lose his life, than lose?
No, it was the glory of God, the honour of the gospel, that was so inexpressibly dear unto him: the great apostle did, upon pure principles of faith and love from his heart and soul, design the glory of God, pursuant to which he did cheerfully and willingly apply himself to the preaching of the gospel, waiting upon God for his acceptance and reward, without expecting any wages (as he might) from them his Corinthian converts; and this was the matter of his boasting and glorying in the face of the false apostles, who insinuated that he preached the gospel for filthy lucre’ sake.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Paul Sacrificed To Serve
Paul was commanded to preach the gospel ( Act 26:16-20 ). As one who had obtained mercy, he had to proclaim mercy. He was not able to glory in simply being a faithful steward. Since he was commanded to preach the gospel, there was no reward in being simply faithful in keeping that command. If he had done it without being commanded, he might have had reason to glory. Paul did not want to misuse his right, so he did not accept any money. This gave him a reward for his labors. Later Paul apologized because this seemed to have hurt the church ( 1Co 9:16-18 ; 2Co 12:13 ).
Paul gladly gave up his right to support so that he might convert more. In fact, he was willing to give up anything so long as it was not sinful. McGarvey says, “Paul observed the Jewish distinction as to meat ( 1Co 8:13 ); and honored their feasts ( Act 20:16 ); and classed himself among their Pharisees ( Act 23:6 ); and even had circumcision administered ( Act 16:3 ), where it did not interfere with the liberty of Gentiles. ( Gal 2:3-5 .) All of these were innocent concessions to and harmless compliance with the law.” He was unbending in his strict compliance with gospel requirements, however.
Next, Paul explained that he could live as one outside the law of Moses, or a Gentile, in order to win Gentiles to the Lord Jesus ( Rom 2:12-16 ). He did not force the law of Moses upon them. Lipscomb writes, “Paul adapted himself to the habits and modes of thought of the Gentiles; quoted their poets ( Act 17:23 ) and did not urge on them the ceremonies and ‘works of the law’ but ‘by the hearing of faith’ ( Gal 3:9 ).” He goes on to explain the sense in which Paul was without law, stating, “The death of Jesus on the cross had made him free from the law of Moses ( Colossians 2:24 ), and brought him under the ‘law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus’ ( Rom 8:2 .)” The previous chapter explained how he avoided hurting the weak. Paul would have yielded to anyone’s wishes, so long as they were not sinful, in order to gain the hearing of another soul ( 1Co 10:33 ; 2Ti 2:10 ). He sacrificed all this to save others and himself ( 1Co 9:19-23 ; 1Ti 4:16 ).
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Vv. 16. For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; for woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!
Many have taken the first proposition as a general maxim. Paul would say, that in itself the act of preaching is not a cause of glorying to the preacher, whoever he may be. But why not, if he discharges this task with all his heart and in love to his Lord? For we shall immediately see what in Paul’s sense is to be understood by a ground of glorying. Besides, in a passage of so personal a character as this, the first person singular can only designate Paul himself. If to him personally the act of preaching the gospel is not a ground of glorying, it is because this is a task which he is forced to discharge. In fact, if he does not do it, the threatening of a terrible condemnation hangs over his head. When dictating these words: Woe to me if I do not…, the apostle is no doubt thinking of the Lord’s threatening: It would be hard for thee (it would cost thee dear) to kick against the pricks (Act 9:5). What a difference between an apostleship thus conferred and that of the Twelve, who had become attached to Christ by an act of free faith! Their call, with such a preparation and ground, and the ministry which followed it, were a work of free will; while he, Paul, had been, as it were, seized with living force in the way of obstinate unbelief, and constrained by threatening to obey the call. Such an apostleship in itself offers nothing satisfying to the heart of him who is invested with it. By , a cause of glorying, we are not here to understand a cause of boasting; such a thought would belie the apostle’s entire evangelical conception. The word is well explained by Heinrici: the joyous feeling of the moral worth of one’s own action. This is not the Pharisaical pride of merit connected with the work. It is the grateful heart which needs to feel that it is doing something freely to correspond to the love of which it has been the object. The reading , favour, in the Greco-Lat. and the Sinat., would only have meaning if we understood it in the same sense as Luk 6:32-33 : a title to Divine favour. But the close relation between this verse and the preceding speaks for the received reading and demands the term .
Though the after (but woe…) may be logically defended, the , for, being better supported and offering a simpler logical connection, should be preferred: No ground of glorying, for there is constraint; and there is constraint, for damnation awaits me if I withdraw from the task.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of; for necessity is laid upon me; for woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel.
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
16. In this verse he certifies that he deserves no credit simply for preaching the gospel, because he does it under a woe, involving the forfeiture of his salvation in case of delinquency; but he does deserve especial credit for supporting himself by tent-making while preaching the gospel, in consideration of the fact that he has a right to his material support, as he has so clearly above shown from the Word of God.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
1Co 9:16-17. Reason for this steadfast purpose, viz. that this is Paul’s only ground of exultation. For, that he merely preached the Gospel is no ground of special inward elevation and joy.
For necessity etc.: proof of this.
For woe etc.; explains the necessity which compels him to preach.
Woe: calamity, in this case, eternal death. So explicit and solemn was Christ’s commission that Paul could not retain His favor if he refused to obey it. 1Co 9:17 shows how this impending woe, and the necessity it laid on Paul, make the mere fact of his preaching no ground of exultation.
Reward: as in 1Co 3:8; 1Co 3:14 : not necessarily eternal life (which is God’s free gift to all who believe,) but the special reward to be given to all who have done work for Christ.
Have a reward: Mat 6:1; Luk 6:23.
Stewardship: cp. 1Co 4:1. If in preaching the Gospel Paul had acted of his own prompting, and without the necessity of 1
Corinthians 9:16, his preaching would have moral worth, (a worth, however, wrought in him by God’s free undeserved favor,) and would be followed by reward in the great Day. But the compulsion under which he preaches, i.e. the woe which awaits him if he do not preach, deprives it of moral worth, and places him in the position of one (with the Greeks, usually a slave) to whom his master has entrusted the oversight of an establishment, and who under pain of punishment disposes properly of goods committed to his charge. Cp. Luk 17:10. Consequently, Paul’s preaching is to him no ground of exultation, whereas it would be if it had the moral worth which God will reward.
Fuente: Beet’s Commentary on Selected Books of the New Testament
He could not take justifiable pride in the fact that he preached the gospel, however. Even though it involved sacrificing for the benefit of others, he had made those sacrifices in obedience to the Lord (Act 26:16-18; cf. Mat 28:19-20). He had no choice about preaching the gospel as he did about how he would live while he did so. Preaching was his divine destiny. Indeed he would be in serious trouble with his Lord if he did not preach the gospel. (And so will we.)