Paul's Defense of His Apostleship Apparently false teachers had come to Corinth. It seems they were trying to discredit Paul as an apostle. First, they wanted to know why he refused pay, perhaps asserting it was because he knew he was not an apostle and did not deserve an apostle's pay. All freed m... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul's Rights As An Apostle The church should feed its workers. As an apostle, Paul claimed the right to receive food and drink for his labors. It would seem most of the apostles were married. Paul and Barnabas had a right to support for themselves and a family as much as any other apostle, or one s... [ Continue Reading ]
Physical Rewards for Spiritual Service Spiritual blessings are beyond value, so paying the laborer who brought such was a good exchange. Other cases of spiritual debt being repaid with material goods could have been listed by the apostle (Romans 15:25-31; 1 Peter 4:15-17; Acts 11:27-30). Paul remin... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul Sacrificed To Serve Paul was commanded to preach the gospel (Acts 26:16-20). As one who had obtained mercy, he had to proclaim mercy. He was not able to glory in simply being a faithful steward. Since he was commanded to preach the gospel, there was no reward in being simply faithful in keepin... [ Continue Reading ]
Controlling Self To Receive The Prize All the talk about sacrifice reminded Paul of the sacrifice and self-control necessary to reach the heavenly goal. He used the illustration of runners who sacrifice many hard hours of training devoting themselves to the single purpose of winning. Likewise, Chris... [ Continue Reading ]