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1 Corintios 9

VBL · Chapter 9/16

1¿No soy libre? ¿No soy un apóstol? ¿No he visto a Jesús, nuestro Señor? ¿Acaso no son ustedes fruto de mi obra en el Señor?

2Incluso si no fuera apóstol para los demás, al menos soy apóstol para ustedes. ¡Ustedes son la prueba de que soy apóstol del Señor!

3Esta es mi respuesta a los que me cuestionan sobre esto:

4¿Acaso no tenemos el derecho a que se nos provea alimento y bebida?

5¿No tenemos el derecho a que nos acompañe una esposa cristiana, como el resto de los apóstoles, los hermanos del Señor, y Pedro?

6¿Acaso somos Bernabé y yo los únicos que tenemos que trabajar para mantenernos?

7¿Acaso qué soldado alguna vez tuvo que pagar su propio salario? ¿Quién planta una viña y no come de sus frutos? ¿Quién alimenta un rebaño y no consume su leche?

8¿Acaso hablo solo desde un punto de vista humano? ¿No dice la ley lo mismo?

9En la ley de Moisés está escrito: “No le pongan bozal al buey cuando está desgranando el trigo”. ¿Acaso pensaba Dios solo en los bueyes?

10¿No se dirigía a nosotros? Sin duda alguna esto fue escrito para nosotros, porque todo el que ara debe arar con esperanza, y todo el que trilla debe hacerlo con la esperanza de tener parte en la cosecha.

11Si nosotros sembramos cosas espirituales en ustedes, ¿es importante si cosechamos algún beneficio material?

12Si otros ejercen este derecho sobre ustedes, ¿no lo merecemos nosotros mucho más? Aun así, nosotros no ejercimos este derecho. Por el contrario, estaríamos dispuestos a soportar cualquier cosa antes que retener el evangelio de Cristo.

13¿No saben que los que trabajan en los templos reciben sus alimentos de las ofrendas del templo, y los que sirven en el altar reciben su porción del sacrificio que está sobre él?

14De la misma manera, Dios ordenó que los que anuncian la buena noticia deben vivir de las provisiones que dan los seguidores de la buena noticia.

15Pero yo no he hecho uso de ninguna de estas provisiones, y no escribo esto para insinuar que se haga en mi caso. Preferiría morir antes que alguien me quite la honra de no haber recibido ningún beneficio.

16No tengo nada por lo cual jactarme en predicar la buena noticia, porque es algo que hago como deber. ¡De hecho, para mí es terrible si no comparto la buena noticia!

17Si hago esta obra por mi propia elección, entonces tengo mi recompensa. Pero si no fuera mi elección, y se me impusiera una obligación,

18¿qué recompensa tendría? Es la oportunidad de compartir la buena nueva sin cobrar por ello, sin exigir mis derechos como trabajador en favor de la buena nueva.

19Aunque soy libre y no soy siervo de nadie, me he puesto a servicio de todos para ganar más.

20Para los judíos me comporto como judío para ganarme a los judíos. Para los que están bajo la ley, me comporto como si estuviera bajo la ley (aunque no estoy obligado a estar bajo la ley), para poder ganar a esos que están bajo la ley.

21Para los que no obran conforme a la ley, me comporto como ellos, (aunque sin ignorar la ley de Dios, sino obrando bajo la ley de Cristo), para poder ganar a los que no observan la ley.

22Con los que son débiles, comparto en su debilidad para ganar a los débiles. ¡He terminado siendo “como todos” para todos a fin de que, usando todos los medios posibles, pueda ganar a algunos!

23¡Hago esto por causa de la buena noticia para yo también ser partícipe de sus bendiciones!

24¿Acaso no concuerdan conmigo en que hay muchos corredores en una carrera, pero solo uno recibe el premio? ¡Entonces corran de la mejor manera posible, para que puedan ganar!

25Todo competidor que participa en los juegos mantiene una disciplina estricta de entrenamiento. Por supuesto, lo hacen para ganar una corona que no perdura. ¡Pero nuestras coronas durarán para siempre!

26Es por eso que me apresuro a correr en la dirección correcta. Peleo teniendo un blanco, no golpeando al aire.

27Y también soy severo con mi cuerpo para tenerlo bajo control, porque no quiero de ninguna manera estar descalificado después de haber compartido la buena noticia con todos los demás.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Paul defends his right as an apostle to receive support from the church, but explains that he voluntarily gave up that right so as not to be an obstacle to the gospel. He describes how he adapts to different audiences in order to win as many people as possible for Christ.

Explanation

Paul uses several examples — soldiers, farmers, temple priests — to prove that it is right for those who work for the gospel to live by it. Even so, he himself chose to work (as a tentmaker) so as not to burden anyone and to avoid any suspicion of financial interest in his ministry. The famous passage about 'becoming all things to all people' does not mean abandoning convictions, but adjusting cultural and personal approaches to remove unnecessary barriers to the gospel. The final image of the race and the athletic contest reinforces the idea of constant spiritual discipline. Today's application is clear: flexibility in methods, but firmness in purpose, and a willingness to give up legitimate rights for the greater good.

Fun facts

  • The athletic competitions Paul mentions (running and boxing) recall the Isthmian Games, held near Corinth every two years, an event as famous as the Olympic Games — an image his readers knew very well.
  • The citation of the law of Moses about 'not muzzling the ox that treads out the grain' (v.9) comes from Deuteronomy 25:4, and Paul reapplies it allegorically to the support of gospel workers.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 1 Corintios 9:1Paul opens the chapter defending himself: he truly is an apostle, he saw the risen Jesus Himself, and the existence of the Corinthian church is living proof of his work — which is why he has the same rights as the other apostles.
  2. 1 Corintios 9:2Even if others question his apostleship, the Corinthians cannot: they themselves, converted through Paul’s preaching, are the “seal” that confirms he is truly an apostle.
  3. 1 Corintios 9:3He introduces the chapter as a formal defense, an answer to critics who held against Paul the fact that he did not charge the church for his support, as if that proved he was not a “real” apostle.
  4. 1 Corintios 9:4The first rhetorical question of his defense: Paul does indeed have the right to be supported (to eat and to drink) through his apostolic work, just as any other worker does.
  5. 1 Corintios 9:5Several apostles, including the brothers of Jesus and Peter, traveled accompanied by their believing wives, supported by the community. Paul mentions this to show he had the same right to support, but chose to give it up.
  6. 1 Corintios 9:6He asks whether he and Barnabas alone, among all the apostles, would not have the right to stop working with their hands and live off the gospel — showing that they gave up a real right.
  7. 1 Corintios 9:7He uses three everyday examples — a soldier, a farmer, a shepherd — to show that it is natural for those who work to live off the fruit of their own labor; the same should hold true for apostolic work.
  8. 1 Corintios 9:8He asks whether this principle is merely human common sense or whether it rests on something stronger — an answer that comes in the next verse, citing the law of Moses.
  9. 1 Corintios 9:9Paul quotes a law of Moses that forbade muzzling an ox while it trod out the grain, letting the animal eat a little while it worked: “thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn.” He uses this agricultural law to argue that whoever works in the gospel also has the right to live from it.
  10. 1 Corintios 9:10He interprets the law about the ox treading out the grain (v. 9) as also applying to those who work in the gospel: whoever plows and reaps should be able to expect a share in the harvest.
  11. 1 Corintios 9:11A direct argument: if Paul sowed spiritual things (the gospel) among the Corinthians, it would not be too much to reap material things (support) from them in return.
  12. 1 Corintios 9:12Other preachers were already receiving support from the Corinthians; Paul had even more right to it, but chose not to use that right, enduring everything so as not to create any obstacle to the gospel.
  13. 1 Corintios 9:13He compares it to the temple system: those who work at the sacred things receive their food from the offerings — another argument in favor of the right of those who serve the gospel to live from it.
  14. 1 Corintios 9:14He arrives at the direct conclusion: the Lord Jesus Himself ordained that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel — this is not Paul’s invention, it is Christ’s instruction.
  15. 1 Corintios 9:15Even with this right firmly established, Paul says he never used it in Corinth and would rather die of hunger than let anyone take away this ground for his boasting — refusing support was a deliberate choice.
  16. 1 Corintios 9:16Preaching the gospel itself is no ground for boasting for Paul, because it is an obligation laid upon him; the problem would be not preaching — that is where there would be reason for “woe is unto me.”
  17. 1 Corintios 9:17If he preached willingly, he would earn a reward; even preaching out of obligation (a stewardship entrusted to him), he remains in charge of the task either way.
  18. 1 Corintios 9:18He explains his true reward: preaching free of charge, without billing for it, is Paul’s way of not abusing the right he has — his very renunciation of support becomes his kind of “reward.”
  19. 1 Corintios 9:19Even though free from any human authority, Paul chooses to make himself “servant unto all,” adapting to different groups in order to reach as many people as possible with the gospel.
  20. 1 Corintios 9:20A practical example of the strategy: with Jews, he acted as a Jew; with those living under the law of Moses, he adapted to that law — all to win more people, without giving up the truth.
  21. 1 Corintios 9:21With the Gentiles, who had no Jewish law, Paul adapted as if he too were without that law — but he makes clear he is not free from all law, but rather under the “law to Christ.”
  22. 1 Corintios 9:22Paul describes his missionary strategy: adapting to the customs of Jews, of Gentiles, of people with a weak conscience, without giving up the truth of the gospel, simply to build bridges that help more people hear the message.
  23. 1 Corintios 9:23He sums up the reason for all this flexibility: doing all of it for the gospel’s sake, in order to share together with others in the blessings it brings.
  24. 1 Corintios 9:24The image comes from the Isthmian Games, famous athletic competitions held near Corinth, where the winner of the race received a pine wreath that withered within a few days. Paul contrasts that fleeting prize with the eternal reward that motivates Christian effort.
  25. 1 Corintios 9:25He compares the Christian’s effort to the training of an athlete in the Isthmian Games near Corinth: the athlete disciplines himself for a wreath that withers within days; the Christian trains for a reward that never fades.
  26. 1 Corintios 9:26Paul says he runs and fights with a clear purpose, not aimlessly — he knows exactly the target, unlike someone beating the air without hitting anything.
  27. 1 Corintios 9:27That is why he disciplines his own body rigorously, like an athlete, fearing that after preaching to others, he himself might end up disqualified for not living out what he teaches.

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