1 Corinthians 9:1-6 - Support Paul & Barnabas

1 Corinthians 9:1-6
1 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord?
2 If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you; for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.
3 My defense to those who examine me is this:
4 Do we not have a right to eat and drink?
5 Do we not have a right to take along a believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?
6 Or do only Barnabas and I not have a right to refrain from working?

Am I An Apostle?

V. 1 - “Am I not free?” - It appears that Paul is under attack. I don’t know the details. Interpreting the next few sentences give the impression there were people in the Corinthian church that objected to supporting Paul in his missionary work. His credentials are being questioned. He starts with his status as a “free man”.
Paul was a Roman citizen and a Jew. He asserts his natural Roman citizenship in Acts 22:-29 when he asks, “Is it okay for you to flog a Roman citizen who has not been found guilty?” (paraphrased.) Panic ensues! He was not the member of some conquered, subjugated country. His status was even higher than the Roman commander to whom he asked the question. That Roman soldier was ‘naturalized’ - he had purchased citizenship. Paul was Roman by birth. He has rights and privileges others do not.

On the other hand, Paul is free in Christ. No longer a slave to sin. Paul is reminding them of Christ’s teaching: “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.” (John 8:31-38).
The Jews were self-deluded - they were under Roman rule, not an autonomous nation. (Need proof: The Jews had to appeal to Pontius Pilate when trying Jesus Christ.) They were self-deluded - refusing to recognize that sin had control of their lives; they were not free from sin, nor the penalty of sin.

“Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord?” - This is the next line defense - his apostleship. From Easton’s Bible Dictionary, an apostle “is, however, generally used as designating the body of disciples to whom he (Jesus) entrusted the organization of his church and the dissemination of his gospel, ‘the twelve,’ as they are called (Mat 10:1-5; Mar 3:14; 6:7; Luk 6:13; 9:1)… It was characteristic of the apostles and necessary (1) that they should have seen the Lord, and been able to testify of him and of his resurrection from personal knowledge (Jhn 15:27; Act 1:21,22; 1Cr 9:1; Act 22:14,15). (2.) They must have been immediately called to that office by Christ (Luk 6:13; Gal 1:1).” Paul meets these criteria. He met Christ on the road to Damascus, and was taught by Jesus. (See Acts 9:1-19; Gal. 1:12)

“Are you not my work in the Lord?” - Next, Paul appeals to his personal involvement in their lives. He was called to be a missionary to the Gentiles. Many believers in Corinth (and elsewhere) were saved by their faith in Jesus Christ because Paul preached, witnessed to them and taught them. He was in Corinth for an extended period of time, not just an itinerant preacher. They are the living proof that Paul was called to spread the gospel.

V. 2 - “If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you” - He is saying, “Hey, you guys! I understand that other people may not think I am an apostle. But you you know better. You have accepted Christ as Lord and Savior - you heard it from me. You are living your life as a believer - as you learned from me.”

“you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord” - You are all the proof anyone needs. Important documents, legal documents may have a ‘seal’ - whether it is a inked stamp, or a wax seal, or an impression embossed into the page - which is verification that the document is official.

V. 3-6 - “My defense…” - IF all the other apostles - Peter, James, John (to name the famous ones) - are able to devote their time and effort to the gospel, THEN Paul and Barnabas should have the same privilege to be full-time servants of Christ.

“A right to eat and drink… to take along a believing wife… refrain from working?” - Early in the beginning of the church, it was decided that the apostles needed to be teaching and preaching the gospel. This was not just the twelve making a decision, but the congregation came to the apostles to urge them to devote themselves (the apostles) to study, teaching and preaching the Word of God. (See: Acts 4:31-35; 6:1-5) From that time on, the leaders of the church - preachers, teachers, evangelists - did not work at a secular job to support themselves or the groups of believers. (Note: It is believed that Paul worked as a tentmaker on one of his extended stays in his missionary journeys. See: Acts 20:34). After initial reticence to Paul (Can you blame them, after all he was rounding them up to be imprisoned or killed for their belief in Christ? See: Acts 7:58-8:3.), and after a council in Jerusalem in which Barnabas and Paul presented their case for reaching the Gentiles, it was decided that Paul was legitimately an apostle. Paul lived Peter’s admonition, “But in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.Yet do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that when you are accused, those who disparage your good conduct in Christ will be put to shame.” (1 Pet. 3:15-16)

It may have been outsiders urging the church to reject Paul - hadn’t he persecuted believers; how do they know he isn’t setting them up for arrest, etc. It may have been jealousy of local believers, or others who didn’t want to support a preacher/teacher who wasn’t serving the local church.
I don’t know if Paul was married, but earlier in this letter he advises the unmarried to remain as he is. (See: 1 Cor. 7:6-8) He did not command them, but reminded them they would have more time for the ministry and church if they weren’t spending time on family matters. He did not denigrate Peter (Cephas) or others for being married.
That being said, if Peter as an apostle was supported by the church, then Paul and Barnabas were equally worthy of support.

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1 Corinthians 9 - Introduction

Outline: Chap. 9
9:1-6 - Support Paul & Barnabas
9:7-11 - Soldiers & Oxen
9:12-18 - My Reward
9:19-23 - For Gospel’s Sake
9:24-27 - Discipline to Win
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Up to this point, Paul has answered questions about:

•   Living harmoniously with other Christians (Ch. 6), 
•   Marriage (Ch. 7), 
•   Christian behavior and concern for other believers (Ch. 8). 

Next he turns to the validity of his ministry and financial support for him and Barnabas. It seems odd to me that he would need to defend himself to the Corinthian church. On the other hand, he had his own past to live down - starting with the stoning of Stephen and other acts of persecution. See Acts 7:57-8:3, in which the NASB reads “Paul began ravaging the church…” That is quite a reputation to live down. After the Lord accosted Paul on the road to Damascus and he gave himself and his life to Jesus, Paul witnessed for Jesus Christ with the same verve as when he was persecuting believers. Understandably, some Christians were skeptical. Perhaps they were thinking Paul was faking it in order to identify believers. Getting names and addresses of believers would be an easy way to round them up.

Add the confused Jewish leaders to the Christian skeptics. The man who had been vocal and committed to eliminating Christians was now behaving like one of them. They were confounded (Acts 9:22). He was so successful as an apologist, the Jews decided to kill Paul! (Acts 9:24) The church acted, sending Paul away from Jerusalem to Caesarea and Tarsus - which is about 600 miles north of Jerusalem. This is perhaps the actual beginning of Paul’s missionary work. The persecution of the church lessened - a little - since there seemed to be a short period of peaceful co-existence with the Jews. As the gospel spread throughout the region due to the dispersion of believers, more and more Gentiles heard the Gospel and believed. Barnabas goes to Tarsus to get Paul, bringing him back to Antioch, where believers are first called “Christians”. (Acts 11:26) Paul and Barnabas work and learn together in Antioch. They are commissioned to spread the Gospel “throughout the world”, and also go to Jerusalem to received the commission from the other apostles.

This is a head-snapping change in direction! What’s this all about? Paul, who had persecuted Jews when they converted to Christianity, was now taking the Gospel to Gentiles. Gentiles! This caused some consternation among the Jewish believers. Now Paul is asking for money and support for the church in Jerusalem. Reading through verse 18 of this chapter we can deduce that some people in the Corinthian church were objecting to sending money and supplies to support Paul. Most Biblical scholars think Paul wrote this letter during his stay in Ephesus, near the end of his second missionary journey. Two major churches were established on that journey - Corinth and Ephesus. This letter may have been written between two and four years after he left Corinth, and is perhaps the second letter written. (We do not have any copies of that letter, but it is referenced in this letter. I don't think 2 Corinthians is the second letter, but is the third and just the second letter preserved or saved. ).