Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Corinthians 9:17
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.
17. For if I do this thing willingly ] Whether St Paul did his work willingly or unwillingly, he could not escape his responsibility. He had been chosen (Act 9:15; Act 13:2; Rom 1:5; Rom 15:16; Gal 1:15-16; 1Ti 2:7; 2Ti 1:2) to bear the good tidings to the Gentiles, and ho man can disobey God and be guiltless. If he willingly obeyed God, he had a reward in the consciousness of having done his duty (1Co 9:18); if not, he still had been entrusted with the task. Cf. St Luk 17:10.
reward ] Rather, wages. Cf. St Joh 4:36; St Mat 20:8, and St Luk 10:7, where the same word is used.
dispensation ] Literally, stewardship, the work of one who has to dispense provisions or stores. The original meaning of the word dispensation, which is akin to spend, is the giving forth, as out of a store. So Dr Woodward, in his Natural Philosophy, writes, “This perpetual circulation is constantly promoted by a dispensation of water promiscuously to all parts of the earth.” And Latimer writes, “I pray you, what is to be looked for in a dispensour? This, surely; that he be found faithful, and that he truly dispense and lay out the goods of the Lord.” Sermon on the Unjust Steward, preached before Convocation, June 6th, 1536. Hence it came to have the meaning of a course, or order, of God’s providence, distributed or appointed by Him to man. But this is not the meaning here. Wiclif renders dispending is bitaken to me. Tyndale, office.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
For if I do this thing willingly – If I preach so as to show that my heart is in it; that I am not compelled, If I pursue such a course as to show that I prefer it to all other employments. If Paul took a compensation for his services, he could not well do this; if he did not, he showed that his heart was in it, and that he preferred the work to all others. Even though he had been in a manner compelled to engage in that work, yet he so acted in the work as to show that it had his hearty preference. This was done by his submitting to voluntary self-denials and sacrifices in order to spread the Saviours name.
I have a reward – I shall meet with the approbation of my Lord, and shall obtain the reward in the world to come, which is promised to those who engage heartily, and laboriously, and successfully in turning sinners to God; Pro 11:30; Dan 12:3; Mat 13:43; Mat 25:21-23; Jam 5:20.
But if against my will – ( akon). If under a necessity 1Co 9:16; if by the command of another (Grotius); if I do it by the fear of punishment, or by any strong necessity which is laid on me.
A dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me – I am entrusted with ( pepisteumai) this dispensation, office, economy ( oikonomian) of the gospel. It has been laid upon me; I have been called to it; I must engage in this work; and if I do it from mere compulsion or in such a way that my will shall not acquiesce in it, and concur with it, I shall have no distinguished reward. The work must be done; I must preach the gospel; and it becomes me so to do it as to show that my heart and will entirely concur; that it is not a matter of compulsion, but of choice. This he proposed to do by so denying himself, and so foregoing comforts which he might lawfully enjoy, and so subjecting himself to perils and toils in preaching the gospel, as to show that his heart was in the work, and that he truly loved it.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
1Co 9:17-19
For if I do this thing willingly I have a reward.
Purity of motive required in every Christian minister
I. Wherein it consists.
1. A willing service.
2. Without respect to fee or reward.
3. He may receive but must not bargain for it.
II. Its importance.
1. If pure, Christ will reward him.
2. If impure, his service is merely professional and has its reward.
III. Its present recompense.
1. Freedom from all imputation of mercenary motives.
2. The free dispensation of the gospel.
3. The consciousness of his own integrity. (J. Lyth, D. D.)
Aspects of St. Pauls ministry
His preaching was no ground of boasting (1Co 9:16). If he preached willingly, i.e., if it were optional with him to preach or not to preach, then it would be a ground of boasting; but if he did it unwillingly, i.e., if it were not optional with him (as was in fact the case), he was only discharging an official duty, and had nothing to boast of. That Paul preached the gospel willingly, that he esteemed it his highest joy and glory, is abundantly evident (Rom 1:5; Rom 11:13; Rom 15:15-16; 1Co 15:9-10; Gal 1:15-16; Eph 3:8). The difference, therefore, here expressed between willing and unwilling, is not the difference between cheerfully and reluctantly, but between optional and obligatory. He says he had a dispensation or stewardship committed to him. Stewards were commonly slaves. There is a great difference between what a slave does in obedience to a command, and what a man volunteers to do of his own accord. And this is the difference to which the apostle refers. So Paul was commanded to preach the gospel, and he did it with his whole heart; but he was not commanded to refuse to receive a support from the churches. The former, therefore, was not a ground of boasting, not a thing for which he could claim the reward of special confidence; the latter was. He could appeal to it as a proof, not only of his obedience, but of the purity of the motive which prompted that obedience. A physician may attend the sick from the highest motives, though he receives a remuneration for his services. But when he attends the poor gratuitously, though the motives may be no higher, the evidence of their purity is placed beyond question. Pauls ground of glorying, therefore, was not preaching, for that was a matter of obligation; but his preaching gratuitously, which was altogether optional. He gained something by it. He gained the confidence even of his enemies. But as preaching was not optional but obligatory, he did not gain confidence by it. The principle on which the apostles argument is founded is recognised by our Lord in Luk 17:10. (C. Hodge, D. D.)
Ministers and wealth
Rev. T. Hancocks, of Chatham, formerly a Pastors College student, relates the following reminiscence of Mr. Spurgeon, introduced by the late president into one of his lectures to his students, and which is particularly interesting in the light of his last will and testament: Men sometimes say, Spurgeons making a good thing of it. To which I reply, You are perfectly right, for I serve a Master who is no niggard, but who rewards me daily with both hands. But if they mean that I am saving money–well, they will know when Im gone. I give away all I can get, and could wisely use more.
For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.—
True ministerial independence
I. Its nature. Freedom–
1. As far as possible from personal obligation.
2. In the declaration of Divine truth.
3. In the conscientious discharge of duty.
II. Its use. In the service of all–
1. By patient toil.
2. By forbearance.
3. By Christian compliances.
III. Its motive.
1. Christs honour.
2. In the gain of souls. (J. Lyth, D. D.)
The highest service of man earth
The services of men on earth embrace a large variety. There is the service of the agriculturist, the mechanic, the mariner, the merchant, the scientist, the legislator, the king, &c. Men esteem these services as differing widely in respectability and honour; but the service referred to in the text stands infinitely above all. Four thoughts are suggested concerning this service.
I. It is a service for the gaining of men. That I might gain the more. The more what? Not the gaining the more wealth, fame, or pleasure; but the gaining of men. Christ says, Thou hast gained thy brother. There is a way of winning a man. Morally man is lost. No work in the universe is higher than this–to gain a man, to recover him to the true spirit and mission of life.
II. It is a service independent of men. Though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all. Oh, how this high service has been degraded by the crowds of craven and mercenary souls that have pushed themselves into it! I am free from all men, says Paul. I made myself servant. I was not made by human authority, I was not pushed into it by others, I made myself. A man by Gods grace must make himself for the work.
III. It is a service for universal man. Unto all. All men, not to any particular tribe, sect, or nation, but to all, rich and poor, high and low, cultured and rude. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 17. For if I do this thing willingly] If I be a cordial co-operator with God, I have a reward, an incorruptible crown, 1Co 9:25. Or, if I freely preach this Gospel without being burthensome to any, I have a special reward; but if I do not, I have simply an office to fulfil, into which God has put me, and may fulfil it conscientiously, and claim my privileges at the same time; but then I lose that special reward which I have in view by preaching the Gospel without charge to any.
This and the 18th verse have been variously translated: Sir Norton Knatchhull and, after him, Mr. Wakefield translate the two passages thus: For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if I am intrusted with an office without my consent? what is my reward then? to make the Gospel of Christ, whilst I preach it, without charge, in not using to the utmost my privileges in the Gospel.
Others render the passage thus: But if I do it merely because I am obliged to it, I only discharge an office that is committed to me, 1Co 9:18. For what then shall I be rewarded? It is for this, that, preaching the Gospel of Christ, I preach it freely, and do not insist on a claim which the Gospel itself gives me.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward; if I who have a liberty to take a maintenance for my labour in the gospel, yet notwithstanding preach it freely, out of a free and cheerful mind, desirous to promote the honour and glory of Christ, I then may expect a reward:
but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me; but if I only preach the gospel because there is a necessity laid upon me, all that can be said of me is, that there is such a dispensation committed to me. The strength of the apostles argument seems to lie here: That no man can reasonably expect thanks, or any extraordinary reward, for doing what he is obliged by his snperiors command under a great penalty to do. The apostle was obliged by such a precept, and under such penalties, to preach the gospel; therefore he desired not only to do it, but to do it willingly and readily, a greater testimony of which could not be, than for him to do it without desiring or expecting any reward for his pains, but what God of his free grace should give him; this made this matter of glorying to him, which he desired might not be in vain. So that though the word here be truly translated
willingly, and opposed to , which is as truly translated unwillingly, yet it seems to comprehend without charge, and taking nothing for his pains, as a demonstration of his willingness to and cheerful performance of his work; which being a thing as to which God had laid him under no necessity by any precept, was matter of glorying to him against the false apostles, who did otherwise; and also a ground for him to expect a greater reward from God, than those who, though they did the same work, yet did it not from the like free and cheerful spirit.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
17. Translate, “If I bedoing this (that is, preaching) of my own accord (which I am not, forthe ‘necessity’ is laid on me which binds a servant to obey hismaster), I have a reward; but if (as is the case) involuntarily(Act 9:15; Act 22:15;Act 26:16); not of my own naturalwill, but by the constraining grace of God; (Rom 9:16;1Ti 1:13-16), I have had adispensation (of the Gospel) entrusted to me” (and so can claimno “reward,” seeing that I only “have done that whichwas my duty to do,” Lu 17:10,but incur the “woe,” 1Co9:16, if I fail in it).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For if I do this thing willingly,…. That is, not freely and without receiving anything for preaching, without seeking any temporal profits and advantages; nor in pure love to Christ, and the good of souls, without any fear of punishment, or hope of reward; but the apostle supposes a case which was not, and his sense is, that supposing no necessity had been laid upon him, or any injunction or command given him to preach the Gospel, but he had entered on it without any obligation upon him, then, says he,
I have a reward; or should have one, or might expect one; so the Jews q say, that a reward is given to him, who does anything unbidden:
but if against my will, or unwillingly,
a dispensation of the Gospel is committed to me; which was his case; the Gospel was committed to his trust, as anything is to the trust and charge of a steward by his lord, who is obliged to take care of it, and is accountable for it, and of whom faithfulness is required; he did not undertake this economy, or dispensation of the Gospel of himself, of his own mind and will, but it was enjoined him by one that had the command over him, and could and did oblige him to take the charge of it; though he made him willing, as well as able to do it: and therefore since this was the case, that it was not at his own option whether he would preach the Gospel or not, but he was obliged to it by one, that had a superior power and influence over him; hence, though he performed it ever so well, and with never so much faithfulness and integrity, he asks in the following verse,
q Maimon. apud Hammond in loc.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Of mine own will ()
–not of mine own will (). Both common adjectives, but only here in N.T. save , also in Ro 8:20. The argument is not wholly clear. Paul’s call was so clear that he certainly did his work
willingly and so had a reward (see on Mt 6:1 for ); but the only
reward that he had for his willing work (Marcus Dods) was to make the gospel
free of expense (, verse 18, rare word, here only in N.T., once in inscription at Priene). This was his . It was glorying (, to be able to say so as in Ac 20:33f.).
I have a stewardship intrusted to me ( ). Perfect passive indicative with the accusative retained. I have been intrusted with a stewardship and so would go on with my task like any (steward) even if (unwilling).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
For if l do this thing willingly, etc. The exact line of Paul ‘s thought is a matter of much discussion, and must be determined if we are to understand the force of the several words. It appears to be as follows : He has been speaking of the fact that he preaches at his own cost. He so glories in this that he would rather die than surrender this ground of boasting Compare 2Co 11:7 – 12; 2Co 12:13 – 16. For it is the only ground of boasting that is possible to him. The preaching of the Gospel in itself furnishes no such ground, for one cannot boast of what he needs must do; and the necessity to preach the Gospel is laid on him under penalty of a “woe” if he refuse. He goes on to show, in two propositions, why and how there is no cause for boasting in preaching under necessity. 1 Supposing there were no necessity, but that he preached of free will, like the twelve who freely accepted the apostleship at Christ ‘s call, then he would rightfully have a reward, as a free man entering freely upon service; and so would have some ground of glorying. 2. But supposing I became an apostle under constraint, as was the fact, then I am not in the position of a free man who chooses at will, but of a slave who is made household steward by his master’s will, without his own choice, and consequently I have no claim for reward and no ground of boasting. What, then, is my reward ? What ground of boasting have I? Only this : to make the Gospel without charge. In this I may glory.
Willingly – against my will [ – ] . These words are not to be explained of the spirit in which Paul fulfilled his ministry; but of his attitude toward the apostolic charge when it was committed to him. He was seized upon by Christ (Phi 2:12); constrained by His call on the way to Damascus. Rev., of mine own will – not of mine own will. Reward. Correlative with the second kauchma something to glory of, in ver. 16.
A dispensation is committed unto me [ ] . Lit., I am entrusted with a stewardship. For a similar construction see Rom 3:2. Stewards belonged to the class of slaves. See Luk 12:42, 43, and note oijkonomov steward in ver. 42, and doulov ejkeinov that bond – servant in ver. 43. Paul is not degrading the gospel ministry to a servile office. He is only using the word to illustrate a single point – the manner of his appointment.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “For if I do this thing willingly “ (ei gar ekon touto prasso) “For if I do this thing (or practice this thing continually) and willingly.” The ministry of gospel tidings is not a spasmodic ministry, but to be pursued continually Ecc 11:1-6; 1Ti 4:15; 2Co 8:9. Willing service is accepted.
2) “I have a reward. (misthon echo) “A pay for service or reward I have, hold, or contain.” Dan 12:3; 1Co 3:14. As our Lord faltered not in His ministry of good tidings until He cried “it is finished,” neither did Paul desire to do so Luk 4:18-19; Luk 2:10; Joh 19:30.
3) “But if against my will. (ei de ekon) “But if unwillingly …. .. If in rebellion,” or out of a sense of duty, or fear only – that is from, or for, the wrong motive.
4) “A dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.” (oikonomian pepisteumai) “I have been entrusted with a stewardship” of the gospel. The Greek term “oikonomian” means “house-law or rule” of dispensing the gospel. Paul thus recognized that as a steward in the church of the Lord he would one day be required in honor or shame to give account to the Master of the House, the Church. See Mar 13:34; 1Ti 3:15; 2Co 5:9-13.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
17. For if I do this thing willingly By reward here is meant what the Latins term operae pretium , recompense for labor, (495) and what he had previously termed glorying Others, however, interpret it otherwise — as meaning that a reward is set before all who discharge their duty faithfully and heartily. But, for my part, I understand the man who does this thing willingly, to be the man who acts with such cheerfulness, that, being intent upon edifying, as his one object of desire, he declines nothing that he knows will be profitable to the Church; as, on the other hand, he terms those unwilling, who in their actings submit, indeed, to necessity, but act grudgingly, because it is not from inclination. For it always happens that the man who undertakes any business with zeal, is also prepared of his own accord to submit to everything, which, if left undone, would hinder the accomplishment of the work. Thus Paul, being one that acted willingly, did not teach in a mere perfunctory manner, but left nothing undone that he knew to be fitted to promote and further his doctrine. This then was his recompense for labor, (496) and this his ground of g lorying — that he did with readiness of mind forego his right in respect of his applying himself to the discharge of his office willingly and with fervent zeal.
But if unwillingly, a dispensation is committed to me. In whatever way others explain these words, the natural meaning, in my opinion, is this — that God does not by any means approve of the service done by the man who performs it grudgingly, and, as it were, with a reluctant mind. Whenever, therefore, God has enjoined anything upon us, we are mistaken, if we think that we have discharged it aright, when we perform it grudgingly; for the Lord requires that his servants be cheerful, (2Co 9:7,) so as to delight in obeying him, and manifest their cheerfulness by the promptitude with which they act. In short, Paul means, that he would act in accordance with his calling, only in the event of his performing his duty willingly and cheerfully.
(495) “ Ce que nous appelons chef-d’oeuvre;” — “What we call a masterpiece.” The idiomatic phrase, operae pretium , is ordinarily employed by the classical writers to mean — something of importance, or worthwhile. Thus Livy, in his Preface, says: “ facturusne operae pretium sim;” — “whether I am about to do a work of importance,” and Cicero (Cat. 4. 8) says: “ Operae pretium est;” — “It is worth while. ” Calvin, however, seems to make use of the phrase here in a sense more nearly akin to its original and literal signification — recompense for labor — what amply rewarded the self-denial that he had exercised — consisting in the peculiar satisfaction afforded to his mind in reflecting on the part that he had acted. The term made use of by him in his French Translation — chef-d ’ oeuure ( masterpiece) corresponds with the Latin phrase operae pretium in this respect, that a masterpiece is a work, which the successful artist, or workman, sets a value upon, and in which he feels satisfaction, as amply recompensing the pains bestowed. — Ed.
(496) “ Son chef-d’oeuure;” — “His masterpiece.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(17) For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward.The previous words, Yea, woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel, are a parenthesis; and now the writer proves the truth of his assertionthat the necessity of preaching the gospel deprives the mere act itself of any grounds of boastingby showing that if there were no necessity there would be a ground of boasting. The argument is this:Suppose it to be otherwise, and that there is no such necessity, then, by voluntarily undertaking it, I have a reward. The undertaking it of my own free will would entitle me to a reward. But if (as is the case) not of my free will, but of necessity, then I am merely a stewarda slave doing his duty (1Co. 4:1; Luk. 17:7-10).
A dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.Better, I am entrusted with a stewardship.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
17. For Literally translated For if willing I do this, I have a reward; if unwilling, with a stewardship am I intrusted.
By willing, here, is meant a willingness not enforced by the necessity and the woe, but free and enterprising, ready to sacrifice rights and perquisites. By unwilling, is meant a reluctant and obligated consent from fear of penalty.
A reward For the heartiness and the sacrifices resulting.
A dispensation A stewardship; an obligation sustained by penalty to discharge the sacred office remains, with a correspondent low blessing upon him.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward. But if not of my own will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me. What then is my reward? That, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel without charge, so as not to use to the full my right in the gospel.’
So he is bound to preach the Gospel. If he does it of his own will, as a free man, without receiving any payment for it, he has a reward. And that reward is that he can provide the Gospel without charge, not claiming his rights to support under the Gospel. On the other hand, if he does not do it of his own will (as he has just suggested), but as a slave, it is because the stewardship of the Gospel has been entrusted to him. But either way he is rewarded in that he can make the Gospel without charge, and thus not use to the full his right in the Gospel to claim maintenance.
Thus will all see that it is his very life, that he is genuine in what he is doing. They will see that he does not preach in order to earn a living, as did so many of the preachers, teachers and philosophers who went around teaching in order to do so. Rather they may know that he does it because it is his trust, his calling, his life work, a demand that God makes on him, for which he seeks nothing but the glory of God.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
1Co 9:17-18. But if against my will, &c. But if I do it merely because I am obliged to it, I only discharge an office which is committed to me: 1Co 9:18. For what then shall I be rewarded?It is for this, that preaching the Gospel of Christ, I preach it gratis; and do not insist upon [or use] a claim, which the Gospel itself gives me. See Heylin, Wall, chap. 1Co 2:12 and 1Co 7:31. Some read the last clause,That I use not the power I have in the Gospel.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
1Co 9:17 f. The sentence immediately preceding this verse, ., was merely a thought interposed, a logical parenthesis, to the contents of which Paul does not again refer in what follows. In 1Co 9:17 f., accordingly, with its , the reference is not to this preceding sentence . . [1473] , so as to establish it by way of dilemma (which was my former interpretation), but to , 1Co 9:16 (comp de Wette, Osiander, Hofmann), and that indeed in so far as these latter words were set down to confirm the previous assertion , , . The correctnesss of this reference of the which introduces 1Co 9:17 f., is confirmed by the fact that the leading conceptions in the argument of 1Co 9:17 f., to wit, and , are correlative to the conception of in 1Co 9:16 . The in 1Co 9:17 thus serves to justify the second in 1Co 9:16 , as we often find, both in Greek writers and in the N. T., repeated in such a significant correlation as we find here (see Fritzsche, a [1475] Rom. II. p. 110 f.). In order to prove that he has rightly established his previous statement by adding , the apostle argues, starting now from the opposite of that , and therefore e contrario , as follows: “ For supposing that I carry on my preaching ( ) of free self-determination, then I have a reward , of which, consequently, I can glory; but if I do it not of my own free will (and this, in point of fact, was the case with the apostle), then it is a stewardship with which I am entrusted , which therefore (this is the purport of the interrogatory clause whitch follows, . . [1476] ) involves no reward for me.”
From this simple course of thought in which the refers to the certain possession hereafter of the Messianic reward, [1477] and is conceived as the more specially defined contents of the in 1Co 9:16 , it will be seen that the apodosis of the second half of 1Co 9:17 is , that these words, consequently, should neither be put in a parenthesis nor attached to the protasis (so Knatchbull, Semler, Hofmann comp also his Schriftbeweis , II. 2, p. 332) by reading . together, to which . . [1479] would then become the apodosis; [1480] a view under which the significant bearing of the purposely chosen phrase . is entirely lost sight of. Billroth, failing to recognise how essential , . . is to the argument, makes it parenthetical, and understands (with Bengel, Zachariae, and Schulz) as meaning non gratis , which is contrary to the signification of the word. Many expositors render and by “ with joy and gladness ” and “ with reluctance ” (so Calovius, Piscator, Estius, Kypke, Rosenmller, Flatt, Pott, al [1481] ; comp also Ewald); but this runs counter to the fact that, as shows, the apostle’s own case is not the first, but the last of the two cases supposed by him, and that he found himself indeed in the official position of a preacher without having chosen it of his own free will, being rather apprehended (Phi 2:12 ), and, through his call (Act 9:22 ; Act 9:26 ), as it were constrained by Christ ( , Plato, Legg. v. 734 B), but, notwithstanding, pursued his work with heart and hand.
.] . has significant emphasis; as to the construction, comp Rom 3:2 ; Gal 2:7 . If I preach , so Paul holds, then the apostleship, with which I am put in trust, stands in the relation of the stewardship of a household (1Co 4:1 ); for that, too, a man receives not from his own free choice, but by the master’s will, which he has to obey; and hence it follows ( ) that no reward awaits me (this being the negative sense of ; comp Mat 5:46 ; Rom 6:21 ; 1Co 15:32 ); for a steward conceived of as a slave [1485] can but do his duty (Luk 17:10 ), whereas one who works of his own free will does more than he is bound to do, and so labours in a sense worthy of reward. The meanings which some expositors find in . . are inserted by themselves; thus Pott explains, “nihilosecius peragendum est,” comp Schulz, Rosenmller, Flatt, Schrader, Neander, and older interpreters; while Grotius makes it, “ratio mihi reddenda est impositi muneris.” The words convey nothing more than just their simple literal meaning. What, again, is inferred from them, Paul himself tells us by beginning a new sentence with . To suppose a middle clause omitted before this sentence (with Neander, who would insert, “How am I now to prove that I do it of my own free will?”) is to make a purely arbitrary interruption in the passage.
] the befitting reward . Neither here nor in the first clause is the same as (Pott, Rckert, Ewald, al [1487] ); but it is viewed as standing in the relation of the inducing cause to that , supposing the latter to take place. This also applies against Baur in the theol. Jahrb. 1852, p. 541 ff., who, moreover, pronounces the apostle’s argument an unsound one. The distinction which Paul here makes is, in his opinion, at variance with the absolute ground of obligation in the moral consciousness, and is either purely a piece of dialectics, or has for its real basis the idea of the opera supererogationis . In point of fact, neither the one nor the other is the case; but Paul is speaking of the apostolic reward hereafter, concerning which he was persuaded that it was not to be procured for him by his apostolic labour in itself, seeing that he had not, in truth, come to the apostleship of his own free will; rather, in his case, must the element of free self-determination come in in another way, namely, by his labouring without receiving anything in return. In so far, accordingly, he must do something more than the other apostles in order that he might receive the reward. He had recognised this to be his peculiar duty of love, incumbent upon him also with a view to avert all ground of offence, but not as implying surplus merit. The latter notion is discovered in the text by Cornelius a Lapide and others.
[1473] . . . .
[1475] d refers to the note of the commentator or editor named on the particular passage.
[1476] . . . .
[1477] On , comp. Mat 6:1 . It is the opposite of , and hence cannot mean the reward which lies in the very action itself, namely, the self-satisfaction to which it gives rise (Hofmann).
[1479] . . . .
[1480] As regards the of the apodosis, see on Rom 2:17-24 . It would have been exceedingly uncalled for after such a short and perfectly simple protasis as that in the text. In Herodotus ix. 48, which Hofmann adduces (also Hartung, Partik. II. p. 22), it is otherwise ( . . .). Moreover, it is a special peculiarity of Herodotus to put before the apodosis; whereas, with Paul, it occurs only in Romans loc. cit. , where it comes in after an accumulated series of protases and, as an epanalepsis, was quite appropriate.
[1481] l. and others; and other passages; and other editions.
[1485] This is not an arbitrary assumption (as Hofmann objects), since it is well enough known that the were, as a rule, slaves.
[1487] l. and others; and other passages; and other editions.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
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.
Ver. 17. I have a reward ] Yet not earned, but of free grace, God crowning his own works in us. He was a proud Papist that said, Caelum gratis non accipiam, I will not have heaven for nought. (Vega.) And he another, that said, Opera bona mercatura regni caelestis, Good works are the price of heaven. (Bellarm.) God will cast all such merit merchants out of his temple.
But if against my will ] Virtus nolentium, nulla est. God will strain upon no man. All his servants are a free people, Psa 110:3 . All his soldiers volunteers. They fly to their colours as the doves to their windows, Isa 60:8 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
17. ] For (illustration and confirmation of . . . above) if I am doing this (preaching) of mine own accord (as a voluntary undertaking , which in Paul’s case was not so , as Chrys., . : not, as E. V., al., willingly , for this was so ), I have a reward (i.e. if of mine own will I took up the ministry, it might be conceivable that a might be due to me. That this was not the case, and never could be , is evident, and the therefore only hypothetical): but if involuntarily (which was the case, see Act 9:15 ; Act 22:14 ; Act 26:16 ), with a STEWARDSHIP ( . emphatic) have I been entrusted (and therefore from the nature of things, in this respect I have no for merely doing what is my bounden duty, see Luk 17:7-10 ; but an , if I fail in it. Chrys. observes well: , , , . . , , , . . p. 194).
The above interpretation, which is in the main that of Chrys., Theophyl., cum. (altern.) al., Meyer, and De Wette, is the only one which seems to me to satisfy, easily and grammatically, all the requirements of the sentence, and at the same time to suit the logical structure of the context. The other Commentators go in omnia alia , and adopt various forced and arbitrary constructions of the verse.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
1Co 9:17 completes a chain of four explanatory s ( cf. 1Co 1:17-21 ). To make his position clearer, P. puts two further contrasted hypotheses, the former imaginary, the latter suggesting the fact: ( a ) “For if I am engaged on this (work) of my own free will ( ), I have reward ( mercedem habeo )” sc . the supposed of 1Co 9:16 , the right to credit his work to himself ( cf. Rom 4:2 ; Rom 4:4 ); not the future Messianic reward (so Mr [1360] and others), for implies attained possession (see parls.), much as ) in Mat 6:2 , etc. For , see note on 1Co 9:2 . ( b ). “But” the contrasted matter of fact “if against my will ( = , 1Co 9:16 ), with a stewardship I have been entrusted”; cf. 1Co 4:1 f., 1Ti 1:12 , etc. The (see note, 1Co 4:1 ), however highly placed, is a slave whose work is chosen for him and whose one merit is faithful obedience. In Paul’s consciousness of stewardship there mingled submission to God, gratitude for the trust bestowed, and independence of human control ( cf. 1Co 9:19 , 1Co 4:3 f). The use in pass [1361] with personal subject and acc [1362] of thing (imitating vbs. of double acc .), is confined to Paul in N.T.; see Wr [1363] , pp. 287, 326. To one tacitly adds, from the contrasted clause, : “Christ’s bondman, I claim no hire for my stewardship; God’s truth is enough for me”.
[1360] Meyer’s Critical and Exegetical Commentary (Eng. Trans.).
[1361] passive voice.
[1362] accusative case.
[1363] Winer-Moulton’s Grammar of N.T. Greek (8th ed., 1877).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
do = practise. Greek. prasso. See Joh 3:20.
willingly = being willing. Greek. hekon. Only here and Rom 8:20.
against my will = being unwilling. Greek. akon. Only here.
a dispensation, &c, = I have been entrusted with (Greek. pisteuo. App-150.) a stewardship. I am therefore in duty bound to fulfill it.
dispensation = stewardship, or administration, the work of an oikonomoa (1Co 4:1). Elsewhere, Luk 16:2, Luk 16:3, Luk 16:4. Eph 1:10; Eph 3:2. Col 1:25. 1Ti 1:4.
is committed. App-150.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
17.] For (illustration and confirmation of … above) if I am doing this (preaching) of mine own accord (as a voluntary undertaking, which in Pauls case was not so, as Chrys., . : not, as E. V., al., willingly, for this was so), I have a reward (i.e. if of mine own will I took up the ministry, it might be conceivable that a might be due to me. That this was not the case, and never could be, is evident, and the therefore only hypothetical): but if involuntarily (which was the case, see Act 9:15; Act 22:14; Act 26:16), with a STEWARDSHIP (. emphatic) have I been entrusted (and therefore from the nature of things, in this respect I have no for merely doing what is my bounden duty, see Luk 17:7-10; but an , if I fail in it. Chrys. observes well: , , , . . , , , . . p. 194).
The above interpretation, which is in the main that of Chrys., Theophyl., cum. (altern.) al., Meyer, and De Wette, is the only one which seems to me to satisfy, easily and grammatically, all the requirements of the sentence, and at the same time to suit the logical structure of the context. The other Commentators go in omnia alia, and adopt various forced and arbitrary constructions of the verse.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
1Co 9:17. , willingly) This is here used instead of gratuitously, whence I have a reward makes an oxymoron;[76] moreover he defines the reward and gain in the following verses. Paul often, when speaking of his own affairs, uses increase and diminution [ and ], not unlike a catachresis, and suitable to express his self-abnegation. He might have willingly preached the Gospel, and yet have received a reward from the Corinthians; but if he should receive a reward, he considers that as equivalent to his preaching unwillingly; so in the following verse the use of his legitimate power might be without abuse; but he considers in his case the former in the light of the latter;[77] comp. Rom 15:15; 2Co 11:8-9; 2Co 1:24; 2Co 2:5; 2Co 7:2-3.- , a dispensation of the Gospel is committed to me) I cannot withdraw myself, although I should fail of my reward. Again, the language is exclusive, as in 1Co 9:16.
[76] See Appendix. The pointed combination of contraries. Gratuitously, yet I have a reward.-ED.
[77] i.e. He would regard his using his power as if it were an abuse.-ED.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
1Co 9:17
1Co 9:17
For if I do this of mine own will, I have a reward:-If he preached cheerfully and willingly without support, a reward would be given him.
but if not of mine own will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me.-The stewardship was the responsibility of being an apostle to the Gentiles. And if he should fail to fill it, the responsibility of the Gentiles dying without having the gospel preached to them would be his. And what a woe would have rested upon him had he failed in the discharge of his duty, [Since a steward was a slave, there is a great difference between what he did in obedience to a command and what a man volunteers to do of his own accord. And this is the difference to which Paul refers. The slave may feel honored by the command of his master, and obey him gladly, still it is but service. So Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ (Rom 1:1), was commanded to preach the gospel (Act 26:16-21), and he did it with his whole heart; but he was not commanded to refuse support from those to whom he ministered while so doing.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
if I: 1Ch 28:9, 1Ch 29:5, 1Ch 29:9, 1Ch 29:14, Neh 11:2, Isa 6:8, 2Co 8:12, Phm 1:14, 1Pe 5:2-4
have: 1Co 3:8, 1Co 3:14, Mat 10:41
against: Exo 4:13, Exo 4:14, Jer 20:9, Eze 3:14, Jon 1:3, Jon 4:1-3, Mal 1:10
dispensation: 1Co 9:16, 1Co 4:1, Mat 24:25, Luk 12:42, Gal 2:7, Eph 3:2-8, Phi 1:17, Col 1:25, 1Th 2:4, 1Ti 1:11-13
Reciprocal: Exo 6:30 – uncircumcised Exo 35:29 – whose heart Jdg 5:2 – when 2Ch 15:7 – your work Mat 6:1 – otherwise Luk 12:48 – For Luk 17:10 – General Act 4:20 – we cannot Act 20:24 – and the Rom 1:15 – I Rom 3:2 – committed 1Co 3:5 – even 2Co 8:3 – beyond Col 3:24 – ye shall 2Ti 1:14 – good Tit 1:3 – which Rev 22:12 – and my
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Co 9:17. However, if he preaches independent of his fixed duty, there was a special favor offered to him. If he does not do it under a free motive, then the woe mentioned in the preceding 1 Corinthians 9 :, here called dispensation, would be upon him.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
1Co 9:17. For if I do this of mine own will, I have a rewardthe reward of serving gratuitously (as the next verse shews to be the meaning), and being able thus triumphantly to vindicate the purity of my motives.
but if not of mine own will, I have a stewardship entrusted to methe yoke of Heaven is upon me, even should I dislike it.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Vv. 17. For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, it is a dispensation which is committed unto me.
The , for, signifies that the second part of 1Co 9:16 really proves the affirmation enunciated in the first, to wit, that Paul has no cause of glorying in the act of preaching, if he does so by constraint.
The first of the two propositions contains a simple supposition, stated in passing to form a contrast with the second, which alone expresses the real fact. As Heinrici well says: If I preach the gospel willinglywhich is not the case
I have a reward. The second proposition signifies, on the contrary: But if I do so by constraintas is really the caseit is a dispensation committed… In the first proposition the apostle could have used the optative : If I should do so of good-will…He has preferred the indicative , if I do so, probably because he knows that this case, denied so far as he is concerned, is in fact realized in the case of others: If, like those who freely became preachers (the Twelve, 1Co 9:5), I preach of my own good-will. The words signify: I have right in this case to a recompense. This term recompense, , is correlative to , cause of glorying. The second denotes Paul’s action, whereby he can give to his work a character of freedom; the other, the advantage which should accrue to him from it. We shall see in 1Co 9:18 what this advantage is.
The two terms and (willing and unwilling) do not refer, as some have thought, to the subjective disposition with which the apostle usually filled this ministry: If I preach with ardour…or if I preach against my will. Thus understood, the two propositions of the verse would not fall into the context where the subject is preaching gratuitously. Paul is speaking of the manner in which he was charged with the apostleship. As the term alludes to an apostleship freely accepted, the term refers to the constraint which characterized the origin of his, the of 1Co 9:16.
The last words, , literally: it is a stewardship with which I am charged, signify: I must by all means fulfil it. The construction is the same as Rom 3:2. These words contrast the situation of a slave with that of the freeman. Among the ancients, stewards belonged to the class of slaves (Luk 12:42-43). Now a slave, after completing his task, has no recompense to expect; he would simply have been punished had he not done it. The sense is therefore: I do slave’s work, nothing more. Such was the position made for Paul by the mode of his calling to the apostleship; and it would remain what it is, servile, if he were content to preach the gospel like the other apostles. But this is precisely the position which he will not have, and to which he would prefer death itself. He would feel himself related to his Lord, not as a slave, but as a freeman, a friend; and hence it is that because this element of free-will had been lacking in the origin of his apostleship, he introduces it afterwards; how? This is what is explained in 1Co 9:18.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
For if I do this of mine own will, I have a reward: but if not of mine own will, I have a stewardship intrusted to me. [He was commanded to preach the gospel. He could not glory therefore in doing it, for he did not do it of his own free will or choice (however cheerfully and willingly he might do it), but because it was a stewardship which he was obliged to discharge (Luk 17:10). Had he been free to preach the gospel or not, he might have gloried in preaching it. But as it was, he had to seek glory elsewhere.]
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
17. For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if involuntarily, I am entrusted with a dispensation. This verse settles the problem of gospel preaching. It is no human enterprise, to be taken up as a desirable and lucrative employment. It is not a profession, it is a calling. We have no right to enter upon it, pursuant to our own choice or volition. If God does not call us, and put us in the work, we have no right to embark in evangelistic enterprises. The present condition of a hireling ministry presents a wide- open door of temptation to young men, to enterprise the pulpit precisely as they would the bar, or the medical profession. This is all out of harmony with the Divine economy. God distinctly calls the true preacher of the gospel, causing him to realize, Woe is unto me if I preach not.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 17
A dispensation of the gospel; a commission to preach the gospel.–Is committed unto me; remaining with me; that is, the obligation still rests upon me. I cannot be released from it.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
If he preached the gospel willingly, he would receive a reward (pay) from the Lord. If he did so unwillingly, he would not receive a reward but would be simply doing his duty as a steward (manager of a household; cf. 1Co 4:1-2; Luk 17:7-10).