1 Corinthians 9:1-18
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 theseal of myapostleship 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 abelieving wife, even as the rest of the apostles and thebrothers of the Lord andCephas?
6 Or do only Barnabas and I not have a right to refrain from working?
7 Who at any time servesas a soldier at his own expense? Whoplants a vineyard and does not eat the fruit of it? Or who tends a flock and does notuse the milk of the flock?
8 I am not speaking these thingsaccording tohuman judgment, am I? Or does not the Law also say these things?
9 For it is written in the Law of Moses, You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing. God is not concerned aboutoxen, is He?
10 Or is He speaking altogether for our sake? Yes,for our sake it was written, becausethe plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops.
11  If we sowed spiritual things in you, is it too much if we reap material things from you?
12 If others share the right over you, do we not more? Nevertheless, wedid not use this right, but we endure all thingsso that we will cause no hindrance to thegospel of Christ.
13  Do you not know that those whoperform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their sharefrom the altar?
14 So alsothe Lord directed those who proclaim thegospel toget their living from the gospel.
15 But I haveused none of these things. And I am not writing these things so that it will be done so in my case; for it would be better for me to die than have any man makemy boast an empty one. 16 For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, forI am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preachthe gospel.
17 For if I do this voluntarily, I have areward; but if against my will, I have astewardship entrusted to me.
18 What then is myreward? That, when I preach the gospel, I may offer the gospelwithout charge, so asnot to make full use of my right in the gospel.
Theme: Two important features of personal rights so you might know when to surrender them for the good of others
I. Paul’s Apostolic Ministry served as an example of personal rights vv. 1-12a
A. Apostles belonged to an elite group vv. 1-2
The Proof of Paul’s Apostleship Asserted
B. Apostles had equal rights comparable to all other Christians vv. 3-6
The Rights of Paul’s Apostleship Asserted
C. Apostles had equal rights compared to other common occupations of that time vs. 7
The Rights of Paul’s Apostleship Illustrated
D. Apostles had a Biblical basis for receiving support vv. 8-10
The Rights of Paul’s Apostleship Defended with Scripture
E. Apostles formed unique bonds with those to whom they ministered vv. 11-12
The Rights of Paul’s Apostleship Applied
II. The gospel is the highest priority and reason to surrender one’s rights vv. 12a-18
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