Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of 1 Corinthians
Chapter 9: All Things to All Men
1 Corinthians 9 is Paul's living example of the love that lays down its rights. He proves he has every right of an apostle, 'have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord?', including the right to material support, for 'the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.' Yet he refuses it: 'I have used none of these things,' preaching 'without charge,' because 'necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!' His freedom he spends on others: 'though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all,' becoming 'all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.' And he disciplines himself like an athlete: 'I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection,' lest he himself become 'a castaway.' The chapter shows us a minister who surrenders his rights, spends himself to save the lost, and runs the race with holy discipline.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of 1 Corinthians chapter 9. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Greek words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Here Paul shows how he laid down his own apostolic rights, spent his freedom to win the lost, and disciplined himself like an athlete, all for the gospel's sake. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
Live of the Gospel
The Lord ordained that gospel preachers be supported by the gospel.
Without Charge
Paul refused his right, preaching freely so as not to hinder the gospel.
All Things to All Men
He made himself servant of all, to by all means save some.
I Keep Under My Body
Like an athlete, he disciplined himself to finish the race.
They Which Preach the Gospel Should Live of the Gospel (1 Corinthians 9:1-14)
Paul establishes his full rights as an apostle, including material support, from reason, the law, and the Lord's own ordinance.
Have I Not Seen Jesus Christ Our Lord?
"Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord? If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you: for the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord. Mine answer to them that do examine me is this, Have we not power to eat and to drink? Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas? Or I only and Barnabas, have not we power to forbear working? Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things? If others be partakers of this power over you, are not we rather? Nevertheless we have not used this power; but suffer all things, lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ. Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel."
Word Study
"power," Greek exousia (ἐξουσία). The word means authority, right, the freedom to act. It is not raw strength but rightful liberty. Paul repeatedly asks, "have we not power?", have we not the right, to eat and drink at the church's expense, to be supported in ministry? His whole argument establishes that as an apostle he possesses this exousia in full. He proves it from common sense (a soldier, farmer, and shepherd all live from their labor), from the law ("thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn"), and from the Lord's own ordinance ("they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel"). Yet the whole point of naming his right is that he freely refused to use it: "Nevertheless we have not used this power." True liberty is proven not by insisting on every right but by the freedom to lay a right down for love's sake. Paul had every exousia, and surrendered it, so that nothing would "hinder the gospel of Christ."
Explanation
Paul defends both his apostleship and the right of gospel workers to material support. Have not apostles the right "to eat and to drink," to be accompanied by a wife, to be sustained by those they serve? He argues from everyday life (soldiers, farmers, shepherds), from the law ("Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox"), and from the temple, concluding: "they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel." The laborer deserves his keep. Paul establishes the right fully — precisely so that his choice to waive it will carry weight.
Gospel Focus
Some at Corinth questioned Paul's apostleship, perhaps because he took no pay from them. He answers first by affirming his credentials: "Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord?" He had seen the risen Lord and been sent by Him, and the Corinthians themselves, converted through his preaching, were "the seal of mine apostleship." Then he builds an airtight case that an apostle has every right to material support. Reason says so: no soldier serves "at his own charges," no farmer plants a vineyard without eating its fruit, no shepherd tends a flock without its milk. The law says so: "thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn", written not merely for oxen but for the principle that the worker shares in the harvest. And the temple says so: those who "minister about holy things live of the things of the temple." Paul crowns the argument with the Lord's own decree: "Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel." A church rightly supports its ministers; that is God's own arrangement. Yet in the middle of proving his right, Paul reveals that he never used it: "we have not used this power; but suffer all things, lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ." Paul establishes the right precisely so that his refusal of it will be seen as a free choice of love, not a lack. The principle stands, the laborer is worthy of his hire, but so does Paul's example: a right held is not always a right that must be used, when the gospel is better served by laying it down.
Necessity Is Laid Upon Me (1 Corinthians 9:15-18)
Paul refuses his right to support, preaching without charge, because he is under a divine compulsion to preach the gospel.
Woe Is Unto Me, If I Preach Not the Gospel
"But I have used none of these things: neither have I written these things, that it should be so done unto me: for it were better for me to die, than that any man should make my glorying void. 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! 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. 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."
Word Study
"necessity," Greek anagke (ἀνάγκη). The word means compulsion, constraint, a binding necessity laid upon a person. "Necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!" Paul does not preach as an option he could take or leave; he is gripped by a divine compulsion, like Jeremiah, who found the word "in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones" (Jeremiah 20:9). To preach is not Paul's boast but his stewardship, "a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me." A man does not brag for doing what he is bound to do. So Paul finds his "reward" not in wages but in the joy of preaching Christ "without charge," giving freely what he was freely given. This anagke is the mark of a true calling: not a career chosen for gain, but a holy constraint that would make silence unbearable, "woe is unto me, if I preach not."
Explanation
Having proven his right to support, Paul startlingly declares, "I have used none of these things." He would rather die than lose his boast of preaching free of charge. Preaching itself is no ground for boasting — "necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!" It is a trust he must discharge. His reward, then, is not pay but the joy of offering "the gospel of Christ without charge," foregoing his rights so that nothing would hinder the message.
Gospel Focus
Paul now makes his refusal of support unmistakably clear: "I have used none of these things." And he is not hinting that they should start paying him, "neither have I written these things, that it should be so done unto me." So strongly does he feel it that he says "it were better for me to die, than that any man should make my glorying void." His "glorying" was that he preached the gospel free of charge, and he would rather die than lose that ground of joy. But lest anyone think he is boasting in his sacrifice, he explains that preaching itself gives him no room to boast: "necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!" He is a man under divine compulsion; to preach is simply to obey, and there is no credit in doing what one is bound to do. A "dispensation," a stewardship, "is committed unto me," and a steward does not congratulate himself for handling his master's goods. Where, then, is his reward? "That, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel." His reward is the joy of giving the gospel away for nothing, so that no one could ever say he preached for money. Paul turned his very right into an offering, surrendering pay so that the free grace of the gospel would be matched by the freeness of its preaching. Here is a heart captured by Christ: not asking how much it can claim, but how freely it can give, constrained by a love that makes preaching a necessity and a joy.
That I Might by All Means Save Some (1 Corinthians 9:19-23)
Free from all, Paul made himself the servant of all, adapting himself to every person to win them to Christ.
I Am Made All Things to All Men
"For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you."
Word Study
"gain," Greek kerdaino (κερδαίνω). The word means to gain, to win, as one gains a profit; here it is used of winning people to Christ. Paul repeats it like a refrain: "that I might gain the Jews... gain them that are under the law... gain the weak." His whole flexibility has one aim: to win souls. He "became as a Jew" to the Jews, kept himself "as without law" among the Gentiles (though "not without law to God, but under the law to Christ"), and made himself "weak" to the weak, "that I might by all means save some." This is not compromising the truth but removing every needless barrier, becoming whatever he lawfully could, to bring men to Christ. The one thing gained is not money or comfort but people, souls won for the Lord. Paul counted every right and preference well spent if by it he could kerdaino, gain, even one more soul for Christ.
Explanation
Paul's freedom is expressed not in self-indulgence but in self-surrender: "though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more." To Jews he became as a Jew, to those under the law as under the law, to the weak "weak, that I might gain the weak." His summary is famous: "I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some." Not compromising the gospel, but adapting himself endlessly to remove every needless barrier — "for the gospel's sake," that he might share its blessing with those he wins.
Gospel Focus
Here is the principle behind Paul's whole life: "though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more." His freedom was real, but he made himself everyone's servant, not from weakness but from love, to win as many as possible. He explains how: "unto the Jews I became as a Jew," keeping their customs when among them, to gain the Jews; among Gentiles "without law" he lived "as without law," not bound by the ceremonies of Moses, "that I might gain them that are without law." Yet Paul guards against misunderstanding: he was never lawless before God, "being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ." His flexibility never touched the moral will of God or the gospel itself; he simply refused to let secondary matters, customs, foods, cultural forms, stand between people and Christ. "To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak." Then the summary: "I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some." Paul would adapt in every lawful way, surrender every comfort and preference, if only some might be saved. This is missionary love: not demanding that people come to us on our terms, but going to them, meeting them where they are, becoming all we lawfully can, for the sake of their souls. "And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you." The gospel that saved Paul made him a servant of all, and the same gospel calls every believer to lay down comfort and preference to reach the lost.
I Keep Under My Body (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)
Paul runs the Christian life like a disciplined athlete, mastering his own body lest, having preached to others, he himself be disqualified.
So Run, That Ye May Obtain
"Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway."
Word Study
"I keep under my body," Greek hupopiazo (ὑπωπιάζω). The word is a boxing term, meaning to strike under the eye, to beat black and blue; figuratively, to treat one's body with rigorous severity. "I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection." Paul pictures himself as a boxer who, rather than throwing wild punches into the air, lands his blows on his own flesh, disciplining his appetites and mastering his body so it serves the spirit instead of ruling it. This is not hatred of the body, which is the temple of the Holy Ghost, but the refusal to let its cravings govern him. The stakes are high: "lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway", disqualified, like an athlete ruled out for breaking the rules. Even the great apostle would not presume; he ran with holy discipline to the end. The Christian life is a race and a fight that calls for temperance "in all things," an ordered, self-controlled life aimed at an "incorruptible" crown that never fades.
Explanation
Paul pictures the Christian life as an athletic contest: "they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize. So run, that ye may obtain." A competitor "is temperate in all things," disciplining himself for a fading wreath; how much more for "an incorruptible crown. So Paul runs with purpose and "fight[s]" with aim, and adds a sobering line: "I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest... when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." Even the apostle disciplines himself, lest his life betray his message.
Gospel Focus
Paul closes with the image of the games so familiar to the Corinthians, whose region hosted the famous Isthmian races. "They which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain." The Christian life is not a stroll but a race to be run with everything in us, aiming to win. And winning demands discipline: "every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things." An athlete in training denies himself many lawful things to gain the prize; how much more the believer, whose prize is not "a corruptible crown", the withering wreath of the games, "but... an incorruptible," an eternal reward that never fades. Paul applies it to himself: "I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air." He runs with clear aim and fights with real blows, not aimlessly. And the sharpest blows fall on himself: "I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection." He masters his own appetites so that the body serves the mission rather than sabotaging it. The reason is sobering: "lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." Paul knew that preaching to others is no guarantee of one's own faithfulness to the end; even he must run with discipline lest he be disqualified. This is not the fear of losing salvation lightly held, but the holy seriousness of a man who refuses to presume, who spends his whole strength to finish well. The gospel that frees us from sin also calls us to a disciplined life, mastering the body, running with purpose, and pressing on to the incorruptible crown.
Chapter 9 in Review
1 Corinthians 9 is Paul's own example of laying down rights for the gospel. He proves he is a true apostle who has "seen Jesus Christ our Lord" and possesses every right of one, including material support, for "the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel." Yet he refused that right, preaching "without charge," because "necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!" His freedom he spent as a servant: "though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all," becoming "all things to all men, that I might by all means save some." And he ran the race with an athlete's discipline: "I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection," lest, having preached to others, he "should be a castaway."
For the Apostolic reader this chapter models a ministry, and a life, poured out for Christ and others. Paul had rights and refused them; he had freedom and made himself a servant; he had strength and disciplined it. The driving force was the gospel and the salvation of souls: he would surrender pay, comfort, custom, and preference, and master his own body, if by any means he might save some. The same Lord Paul saw and served calls every believer to hold rights loosely, to become a servant of all for the sake of the lost, and to run the Christian race with holy discipline toward the incorruptible crown. Freedom in Christ is not freedom to please ourselves but freedom to spend ourselves in love, that others may be won and we ourselves may finish faithful.
- "The Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel" (9:14).
- Paul laid down his right to support, lest he "hinder the gospel of Christ" (9:12, 15).
- Preaching is a necessity laid on the called: "woe is unto me, if I preach not" (9:16).
- Free from all, Paul made himself "servant unto all" to win the more (9:19).
- "I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some" (9:22).
- The Christian life is a race run with discipline: "I keep under my body" (9:27).
Questions for Reflection
- Are there rights or comforts you should lay down for the sake of the gospel?
- Do you sense a holy "necessity" to share Christ, or is it merely optional to you?
- How could you become "all things" to those around you to win them to Christ?
- What does it look like for you to "keep under" your body and run with discipline?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. The right of the minister to support: 1 Corinthians 9:1-14; Deuteronomy 25:4; Luke 10:7; 1 Timothy 5:17-18; Galatians 6:6. The compulsion to preach; the gospel without charge: 1 Corinthians 9:15-18; Jeremiah 20:9; Acts 18:3; 2 Corinthians 11:7-9. Becoming all things to all men to save some: 1 Corinthians 9:19-23; 1 Corinthians 10:33; Romans 15:1-2; Acts 16:3; 21:23-26. The race, discipline, and the incorruptible crown: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27; Philippians 3:13-14; 2 Timothy 4:7-8; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 5:4. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- An apostle's right to support, laid down for the gospel: 1 Corinthians 9:1-18; Luke 10:7; 1 Timothy 5:17-18.
- All things to all men, to by all means save some: 1 Corinthians 9:19-23; Romans 15:1-2; Acts 16:3.
- The race run with discipline toward the incorruptible crown: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27; 2 Timothy 4:7-8; Hebrews 12:1-2.