1 Corinthians 9:1-14

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TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

Financial Support of Christian Workers

Believers involved in Christian ministry have the right to financial remuneration.

What issue does Paul address in the previous chapter, 1 Corinthians 8?
How does this chapter relate to Christian liberty?
How were some of the Corinthians trying to undermine Paul’s authority as an apostle?
How is the principle of financial support of the Lord’s servants taught in the Old Testament law?
Give at least two biblical principles to guide your giving to Christian ministries.

Christian liberty. The Corinthians had questions about eating meat which had been offered to pagan idols.
Paul gives an illustration from his own life of the principle of giving up one’s rights and restricting oneself in the interest of other believers, and for the sake of the Lord and the gospel.
They claimed that Paul was not a true apostle because he was not being supported financially by the Corinthian church.
Deuteronomy 25:4 gives a principle that is not only for oxen. Also, just as the priests and Levites were supported by the people in the Old Testament, so the Lord’s servants today should be supported by the Lord’s people.
a. Give to ministries that have been a blessing in your own life. b. Give to ministries that emphasize the gospel.

Discuss the right that believers in Christian ministry have to financial remuneration. Think of the Christian ministries you are involved in. Do they have a proper attitude toward supporting the workers?

“Who ever goes to war at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit?” 1 Corinthians 9:7
“'You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.’ Is it oxen God is concerned about?” 1 Corinthians 9:9
“Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.” 1 Corinthians 9:14