In I Cor. 9 Paul, evidently responding to criticism, argues forcefully and at length, that as an apostle he has a right to material support for his preaching.
3 This is my defense to those who would examine me. 4 Do we not have the right to our food and drink? 5 Do we not have the right to be accompanied by a wife, as the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? 6 Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? 7 Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Who tends a flock without getting some of the milk?
8 Do I say this on human authority? Does not the law say the same? 9 For it is written in the law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? 10 Does he not speak entirely for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of a share in the crop. 11 If we have sown spiritual good among you, is it too much if we reap your material benefits? 12 If others share this rightful claim upon you, do not we still more?
. . . 13 Do you not know that those 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, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.
But he then denies that he ever made use of this right, and indeed that he would rather die than give up this point of boasting.
But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing this to secure any such provision. For I would rather die than have any one deprive me of my ground for boasting. 16 For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For 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 entrusted with a commission. 18 What then is my reward? Just this: that in my preaching I may make the gospel free of charge, not making full use of my right in the gospel.
My question is whether he is claiming in this passage (a) that he is, as a point of pride, materially self-sufficient and does not accept any money from his churches for his preaching, or (b) that, though he is happy to accept free-will offerings from the churches, but doesn’t strictly demand anything of them for his preaching.
It seems to me that the first possibility makes more sense–he is able to boast because he has undertaken the spreading of the gospel at his own expense, and by so doing he has refrained from placing any obstacle to the gospel (insofar as, if he is not gaining money from preaching, insofar as he is entirely self-funding, this is purely volunteer work, and no one can accuse him of having any ulterior motive).
Moreover, it would explain his rhetoric in 2 Cor. 11:
Did I commit a sin in abasing myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached God’s gospel without cost to you? 8 I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you. 9 And when I was with you and was in want, I did not burden any one, for my needs were supplied by the brethren who came from Macedo′nia.
This response makes a lot of sense to me, rhetorically, if Paul had previously claimed to be entirely self-sufficient, not making any money off his work as a missionary, and then it came to light that he had been getting substantial material support from other communities the whole time. As if he means to say, “Sure, my critics are right, I’m a robber, I’m a sinner: I took money from other churches so I could preach to you for free. If not for their help, you all would have let me starve. Are you seriously going to complain about that?”
I think you’re on the right track, Porphyry. Paul was a tetchy guy. It’s easy to lose track of the span of years it must have taken for Paul to establish any kind of ministry. In a hardscrabble, hand to mouth world Paul must have had to navigate as best he could.
The verse that jumps out of course is I Cor 9 v14.
In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.
Now even assuming this was an authentic saying, what does it actually mean? Is Jesus merely calling for total commitment? From the gospels we get the impression that Jesus had a support network of sorts in some of the villages of Galilee. Can’t help but be curious about the precise context for such a “commandment”.
BDEhrman
FreedomBen
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Robert
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