Paul Surrenders His Rights

1 Am I not free? Am I not an ⁱapostle? ^jHave I not seen Jesus our Lord? ^kAre not you my workmanship in the Lord? 2 If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you, for you ^lare the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

3 This is my ^mdefense to those who would examine me. 4 ⁿDo we not have the right to eat and drink? 5 ^oDo we not have the right to take along a ^pbelieving wife,¹ as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and ^qCephas? 6 Or is it only ^rBarnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? 7 Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? ^sWho plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk?

8 Do I say these things ^ton human authority? Does not the Law say the same? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses, ^u“You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? 10 Does he not certainly speak ^vfor our sake? It was written for our sake, because ^wthe plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. 11 ^xIf we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? 12 If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more? Nevertheless, ^ywe have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an ^zobstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.

13 Do you not know that ^athose who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? 14 In the same way, ^bthe Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.

15 But ^cI have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision. For I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ^dground for boasting. 16 For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. ^eFor necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still ^fentrusted with a ^gstewardship. 18 What then is my reward? That in my preaching I may present the gospel ^hfree of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.

19 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a ⁱservant to all, that I might ^jwin more of them. 20 ^kTo the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those ^lunder the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one ^moutside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the ⁿlaw of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the ^oweak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become ^pall things to all people, that by all means I might ^qsave some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the ^rprize? So ^srun that you may obtain it. 25 Every ^tathlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable ^uwreath, but we an ^vimperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control,¹ lest after preaching to others I myself should be ^wdisqualified.