Paul's message to the Corinthians, and predominantly being, we are bought with a price. And he begins this ninth chapter. I believe that as you kind of pull back from this book and look at it, evidently according to some of the things that he had said, there had been some correspondence with him questions asked, things that were on people's minds in the church, and he was answering those questions as he's gone through this book and addressed problems that he saw in them. And so he comes here to the ninth chapter and he says, Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are not ye my work in the Lord? If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you. For the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord. Mine answer to them that do examine me is this, Have we not power to eat and to drink? Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord and Cephas? Or I only and Barnabas, have not we power to forbear working, or to refrain from working? Who goeth to warfare any time in his own charges? Who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? Or who feedeth the flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? Say I these things as a man, Or sayeth not the law the same also? For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? Or sayeth he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written, that he that ploughs should plough in hope, and he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things or material things? If others be partakers of this power over you, are not we rather? Nevertheless, we have not used this power, but suffer all things lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ. Do you not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? And they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar. Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel. But I have used none of these things, neither have I written these things, that it should be so done unto me. For it were better for me to die than that any man should make my glorying void. For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of, for necessity is laid upon me. Yea, woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel. For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward. But if against my will a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me, what is my reward then? Verily that when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel. For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews. To them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law. To them that are without law, as without law, being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ, that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak I became as weak that I might gain the weak. I made all things to all men that I might by all means save some. And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you. Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain, or that ye may win. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainty, so fide I, not as one that beateth the air, but I keep under my body and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." Or the word there that is used is reprobate. or one who is rendered disqualified. Now Paul begins here on a setting forth something that in some measures is difficult to talk about. but in others is a needful thing that we might understand what it is, how the Lord would have us to regard the preciousness of the delivery of the things of God to us. Now, one of the things that seems to be from some of the other things Paul has said that was there was some question about Paul's apostleship and as to whether or not he was one of the apostles. Paul didn't regard being an apostle like a badge of honor, but he spoke of being an apostle for one reason, that he believed God had sent him as an apostle. And so he would uphold being an apostle for that reason. Now some people like to be called certain things. You know, there's a lot of, and I'm not picking on anybody, but there's people that like titles. They like to be called Reverend so-and-so, or Doctor so-and-so, Elder so-and-so or Bishop so-and-so. And they like it. They like that title. And they hold themselves up when they introduce themselves to you. You need to always be careful of any man in religion who comes to you with a title and he says, I am Elder so-and-so or I am Bishop so-and-so. You need to start watching and you need to put your hand on your pocket. Okay? We're not interested in titles. And when we look in the Word of God, Paul never... He said, I am an apostle, but he didn't ever come saying, I'm the Apostle Paul. Now, there's a difference in saying, I'm an elder in the church than there is in saying, I'm elder so and so. I mean, there's a difference in how that comes across. And Paul was not interested in being an apostle of Paul. But he was not ashamed in any wise of being an apostle of the Lord because he believed it was a calling that was given to him. So he says, am not I an apostle? Evidently there had been some question about that. Some, you know, back biters and perhaps some sent in to stir up trouble among the saints of God, maybe some other jealous Guys that were trying to get a place of preeminence among people said, you don't need to listen to old Paul. There is nothing to him. And that is why he said, you know, when I came to you, I didn't come to you with great swelling words of vanity, but he said, I came to you preaching the truth. And he said, you will know when I preach to you that it is of the power of God, not because I came to you and said I am so and so, but because God bore witness with what I said. And so that's what it is that he is getting at here. But evidently, there was a question. So he says, I'm not an apostle. He says, I'm not a free. I mean, does anybody have any power over me? As he's saying, as the apostles, you see there's only twelve apostles. that the Lord has ever raised up according to what the Scripture indicates as far as I can see. I mean, the twelve apostles are mentioned more than one time, but Paul says, Am not I an apostle? Because this was a calling. It's a calling that I believe has passed away as far as the office of an apostle is concerned. Now, the work of an apostle is still going on, but the office of the apostle, as Paul was an apostle sent from the Lord as a special gift and calling from the Lord, sent with the Word of God. Now keep in mind that they didn't have this book as we have it. They had the Old Testament, but everybody didn't have an Old Testament in their house. The only place that these Scriptures were found was in the synagogues, and maybe some wealthy people had copies of them or whatever, but it wasn't a common thing as we have. And so in the formative days of the Lord's work in the earth, there was kind of what we might call a transition period between that which the Lord began teaching until the Word of God was set forth in written form and set forth in letters and the preaching, foundational preaching of the apostles. And they are mentioned as those foundational works that the church has built on the foundation of the apostles. Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone. Now, the Word of God is set forth in the New Testament by those who are called to be apostles by and large. And so that is what Paul is saying here, I am not I free. He says, I have been given a calling, God has spoken to me directly. Now we believe that the letters of the Apostle Paul are the Word of God. Why do we think that? Because he was an apostle. He was called of God and God gave him His Word directly. The first thing I did was I didn't confer with flesh and blood, but I went into the wilderness and the Lord taught me there. Now he says something here. He says, Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Now did he see Him like the other apostles did? Well, sure he did. Now, did he see him at the same time that the other apostles did? No, he didn't. But he did see him as a resurrected Christ, not in the upper room with the other apostles. But the Lord appeared to him. He met with him in the wilderness. He met with him on the Damascus road. And so Paul says, Have not I seen the Lord? He says in another place that I was caught up into the third heaven. He says I saw things and heard things spoken there that are unlawful to utter. It is not in the understanding of men. I mean the Apostle Paul was given a great gift and calling that was unlike that of the normal regular guy out here. He had a foundational work. And so he says, Am not I free? Have not I seen the Lord Jesus Christ? Are not ye my work in the Lord? Now is he boasting? Is he saying, Man, we got, you know, some more in last week? No, he's saying, Look, you're my epistle written in letters of love. I mean, I've given myself to bring the gospel to you, and you've heard the gospel and you've believed it. Not because of what I've done, but the Lord used me in laying a foundation. And now are you going to question whether or not I am sent by the Lord to do these things? Are you not my work in the Lord? Did anybody else come to you in the beginning preaching the gospel to you? Where did you hear the gospel, he said? You heard it from me. If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you. He said, if you say I'm not an apostle to anybody else in the world, he said, do you know for a fact I am to you because the Lord sent me to you with the gospel. You didn't hear it from the lips of somebody else. You heard it from me. And I came preaching to you the same thing that I'm preaching to you now. It hasn't changed and it won't change. If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you, for ye the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord." He said, the proof of the fact that I am an apostle sent with a foundational work is the fact that there is a church in Corinth. The Lord sent me to preach the gospel to you. And this church is raised up because of that very fact. He says, and you cannot deny that. My answer to them that do examine me is this." So see, evidently there were some that were saying, well, you know, I don't know if old Paul, if he really was sent by the Lord or not. Paul said, well, how did you come to the place where you're at now if it wasn't that the Lord sent me? My answer to them that do examine me is this. Do we not have power to eat and to drink? Don't we have the right to be supported? I mean, now what he's talking about here is material support. He's talking about money. He said, don't we have the right for you to pay us money for what we've done, the service we've done unto you? Isn't it worth something? I mean, that's what he's saying. Exactly, plainly what he's saying. Don't we have power to eat and drink? I mean, how are we going to eat and drink if we don't have something to eat and drink to get stuff to eat and drink with? And he said, how are we going to do it? He says, have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, just like other apostles? Now, Paul was not married, but he's saying, don't I have the right to do that? I mean, can you call me into question if I was to do that among you? Now the amazing thing is that he wasn't even doing this. But what he's doing is he's setting forth his apostleship and saying, I could do that. And you'd have to agree that it would be the right thing. He says, don't we have the right to do that as well as any of the other apostles? And as the brethren of the Lord in Cephas, speaking about Peter, talking about James, And Jude, or I only and Barnabas, have not we power to forbear working? I mean, if we wanted to just be supported by you, don't we have the power to expect? Don't we have the right to expect that you should support us? If we give of our time and our effort to help you, isn't it only proper that you should do that? I mean, he lays that out pretty plainly. Who goes to warfare at any time of his own charges? I mean, when the government gets ready to go to war, how do they get the money to do it? They up taxes, don't they? They say, we're going to have to pay for this. And you're going to have to pay for it. And that's always the way it is. I mean, just like we looked there about the benevolent works of the government of Egypt, how they were helping all these people. Well, how were they helping all these people? By getting the money from the people. That's how they helped the people. And that's because the government don't have any money. And that's the only way they've got to get it. So it says, who goes to warfare anytime is on charge. If the king is going to war, what he does, he goes around and he gathers up stuff from the countryside, doesn't he? I mean, in the Civil War, when the armies came through, buddy, and you had a farm, and you had some cows and stuff, guess what? If the army needed to be fed, and you had some nice fat cows, your cows got taken. And what could you say about it? Not a thing in the world, because that's just the way it is. Who planted the vineyard and eateth not of the fruit thereof? What's the purpose of planting the vineyard? You're going to gain something from it. Or who feedeth the flock and eateth not of the milk of the flock? Now say of these things, man, is that just simply a carnal thing that I'm talking about? He said no. He said it's even written in the law of God. It's set forth. For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn." Now, did the Lord put that in the law because He was an animal rights activist? Was He telling them they needed to feed the oxen because He just loved the oxen so much? Well, now, the Lord loves His creation and He provides for His creation. And surely there is an application that is an actual application of that. But the real reason, the real lesson He is saying that the Lord was teaching in that, "...thou muzzled the ox, it treaded out the corn," is that He said it all together for our sakes. For our sakes, no doubt, this is written, that he that plows should plow in hope, and he that thresheth in hope should he be a protector of his hope. The old ox is not going to go out and plow all day in the field, he says, and then come home and expect that he's not going to have any corn in the trough when he gets there. I mean, pretty soon he ain't going to be plowing the field, is he? Because he's going to be dead. He can't do anything. So you wouldn't expect that. That is just what the Lord has designed, that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal or material things? He said if we have expended ourselves for your benefit, would that be an odd thing for us to consider that you ought to do something to help us along the way? Wouldn't that be an unusual thing? Would that be an oddity? If others be partakers of this power over you, or not, we rather. Now evidently, there were some that came and they were given them support. I mean, I don't know what the factions were or what the situation was. I don't know, but he says if others do this, If others have done this, why shouldn't we? Because of all people who have ministered to you, we have, he says. Now listen to what he says, though. Nevertheless. Now you know it's an amazing thing that Paul builds all of this case for what the people of God should do, and then he says, But we didn't do it. He said, we had the right. And you couldn't have said anything whatsoever, but he said, we never sent you a bill. We never said, now we'll come down there and minister to you if you'll pay us. He never said that. He said, we didn't do it at all. Nevertheless, we have not used this power, but suffer all things lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ. Now there are two things at work here. Number one is he would speak, I believe, to those who are ministered to, and then he is also speaking in a fashion to those who would minister. And they have to have two different perspectives. I think Paul had the proper perspective. He did not make a charge for the gospel. But he did set forth that that was the reason he did that was his own choice, not because what he did was not worth being supported and paid for. And so that's what he says. So there's two things. You see, the man who's ministered to, he can't say, well, I don't owe him anything. I believe at the same time the man who is doing the ministry can't say, well, they owe me and I'm not going to do it if they don't. See, those are two things. They're just two different perspectives. And so a man can't come and say, well, I'll come and I'll minister to you for X number of dollars. I don't think that's taught anywhere in the Scripture. In fact, the Lord, Paul, speaks about it. He said there are some that go out preaching for filthy lucre. I mean, that's what they're doing. They're preaching to make money. Brethren, the preaching of the Gospel don't have anything to do with money. Now, that's the perspective of those who are preaching. Now I'm not necessarily saying that everybody that claims they're a preacher, he's talking about here. What he's primarily talking about is the work of the apostle in the establishment of churches. Now that's primarily what he's talking about here. We must keep that in mind. Do you not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? How did the priests get their food? Exactly. When the people brought the sacrifice to the temple, the priest, they had a hook. And when they stuck the old hook in the boiling pot of the sacrifice, they pulled out a hook. Whatever the hook pulled out was theirs. I mean, it was the meat that belonged to them. That's how they ate. So do you not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple, and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel." Now, he's not saying this by way of commandment in the sense that a preacher can say, Okay, I'm preaching, so you've got to pay me. No. He is speaking to the people who are ministered to. And he is saying the Lord has ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel. That is that what they are doing is of value to you, of some kind. If you don't think that it is, then you have got the wrong concept of what is being done when the Lord is pleased to send the gospel to you. Isn't that worth something? Isn't it? I think it is. I mean, I think it's valuable. Thank God that He sent the Word of God to us. Now, when He says they that preach the gospel should live of the gospel, I've heard a lot of guys over the years say, well, see there? I mean, we ain't going to go preach if they don't pay us. If a man is going to preach the gospel, he should live of the gospel. That's my right. No, it's not. You see, he's speaking to the people. He's saying that is what the Lord has ordained. That is how the Lord has said that you should have regard to it. But he says, I have used none of these things. Now he's back talking about himself. He's back talking about how the regard that a man who's been sent with the gospel is to have regard to it. I have used none of these things, neither have I written these things that it should be done unto me. He says, I'm not coming telling you these things so you'll get your checkbook out and write me a check. You've got it wrong if you think that's what I'm doing here. He says, I'm not trying to get money from you for preaching. He says, I'm wanting you to understand the value of it. If you think that somebody, if you go to a restaurant and you pay them for the food that they put on your table and pay the waitress that brings it to you, how much more ought you to have that same consideration, he says, of the man that brings to you the Word of God? How much more valuable is that? than that. And so that's what he's saying. Well, I've used none of these things, neither have I written these things, that it should be none unto me, for it were better for me to die. He said, I would rather die than I had to come and say to you, I'm making a charge to you for the things I'm giving to you. He said, I would rather die than that any man should make my glory void." Wait a minute, Paul, you shouldn't be glorying. Well, look at what he's glorying in. He's not glorying in himself. He's not saying, I want to have a place of glory. That's not what he's saying. He said, for though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of, for necessity is laid upon me. He said, it wouldn't make any difference. Just forget about everything I've said. He said, that doesn't have anything to do with what I'm doing. He said, I have to do what I'm doing. He said, necessity is laid on me. I don't have anything to glory of. I can't stand up and say, well, I'm this great preacher that the Lord has sent down here. And you know, you all need to pour out the corn here because I've come to town. He said, No, I don't want that. He said, I don't want you to take away that which I glory because of the glory. He said, I have nothing to glory of. Necessity is laid upon me. Yea, woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel. For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward. Now I've heard people talk about that. Oh well, you know if the preacher, he goes out here and he preaches willingly and he does all these things and what not, then he's going to have a reward in heaven. He's not talking about a reward in heaven. He's talking about a reward now. He's talking about that which is his reward once he says it is. He says, what is my reward then? Here's his reward. Right here, he said, this is how I'm rewarded. Verily when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge. He said, that's my glory. He says, I glory in the fact that I am given by the grace of God to this task and I give myself to it gladly. And if I should charge you for it, it would be the It would take that away. He says, I couldn't sleep at night thinking that I would come to you only if you paid me a certain way. Well, we'll come. Oh, brother, so and so will come, but he wants us to cover his expenses. Paul never asked anybody to cover his expenses, did he? He just did what he did. Now, I think it would be a shameful thing if somebody did something at their expense for my benefit and I didn't have any regard to that at the same time. Okay? For I do this thing willingly, I have a reward, but if against my will a dispensation of the gospel is committed to me. He said, now, if I preach this thing, if I do this willingly, I have the reward. In other words, if I go out and preach the gospel without charge, He says, I have a reward. But he says, if it's against my will, I can't help it. He says, a dispensation of the gospel is committed to me. That is, the dispensing of the gospel is put into my charge. I don't have a choice in the matter, whether I like it or not. He said, maybe in the flesh I'd like for somebody to pay me a bunch of money to do this. But he said, I'm not doing that. It doesn't make any difference. He said, the dispensing of the gospel is sent to me. A dispensation of the gospel is given to me. I don't have a choice in the matter. You see, preaching the gospel is not a career choice. It's not something somebody plans to do. It's something that they can't avoid. See, a man doesn't choose to be a preacher. of the gospel of Christ. He sent. And he can't help it. You remember Jeremiah, he said, I'm so sick and tired of the way the people have been treating me. He said, I decided I'm going to just sit down and shut up and I'm not going to say nothing else. I'm not going to say another word. And he said, the Word of God burned in my soul. And he said, I could not be silent. Now, dear brethren, that is what Paul is talking about here. He says the dispensing of the Gospel is committed to me whether I like it or I don't. There is nothing that makes anybody happier than to make people happy and people be their friend. But you see, if a man is sent to preach the gospel, he cannot be everybody's friend. He is going to make at least half of the people mad, and probably more than that. Because you see, that is just the way the truth is. It just goes forth and it cuts one way and the next. And we are not sent, he said, I am not sent to get money, What is my reward then, verily, that I may preach the gospel of Christ without charge? For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all that I might gain the more." I want to do what the Lord sent me to do, he said. I'm not interested in what somebody else says. I'm not interested in what somebody else does. He says, I'm just going to do what the Lord sent me to do. And what you do, he said, is what you do. And whatever that is, is what that is. But he says, I'm telling you this, I'm moving on. He said, this is what I'm going to do, one way or the other.