1 Coríntios 9
Adam Clarke · Citado em PreceptAustin
1 Coríntios 9
Clarke notes that adelos can mean "ignorantly; I do not run like one ignorant of what he is about, or of the laws of the course; I know that there is an eternal life; I know the way that leads to it; and I know and feel the power of it. I (present tense - continually) box (pukteuo) in such a way, as not beating (dero) the air (aer)- No "shadow boxing" for Paul (See picture)! Boxing (see also note below) was one of the events in the Isthmian Games and was considered the most brutal of all the events. Paul had very likely witnessed boxers engaged in this violent (and sometimes deadly) sport as they strapped their knuckles with leather strips in order to make the blows more punishing. Jack Arnold - He would not live his life like a boxer who was constantly throwing punches at his opponent but never landing a punch. For Paul, every punch was to be meaningful, everyone landed on its mark, every one counted. Paul so lived his life that everything he did counted for eternity. As Christians, we must not miss spiritual punches and waste energy. Every blow is to strike its object We are not to waste energy on that which will produce no results. We are not to fight with rash, ill-advised or uncertain blows, but all efforts are to be directed towards subjugating the body to make it do the will of God. Do you have a plan? Are you wasting effort on things that do not count for eternity? Are you giving up rights? Are you given to holiness of life? Are you involved in reaching a lost world for Christ? Will you come up to the Judgment Seat and have to admit to Christ that you spent most of your time spinning your wheels? Will you be able to tell Christ that you struck definite blows for Him against the enemy in this life? Will the inscription of your tombstone say, “Here lies one who spend his life beating the air"? Rod Mattoon - If you are going to be a champion for Christ, then you need to keep your focus on God's purpose for your life. Champions make wise use of their time. They take advantage of the good opportunities that come their way. Champions are focused on their tasks, fervent in their trials, firm in their training, and fierce in their tournaments. They are people with a purpose. Paul expressed this sentiment here. Paul did not run for the Lord aimlessly or without any purpose. That is what he was saying here. He was not a time-waster. He was not like a boxer who did shadow-boxing, swinging at the air and wasting his energy. He used his strength for a purpose. Paul was a champion for Christ because he had spiritual goals. Brian Bell - Not w/uncertainty – Eyes fixed on the goal. 1. Note: he moves to “I” (not “we”) Paul doesn’t stop to sightsee, window shop, or pick flowers in his spiritual race of life. 2. When Paul was in the ring w/sin, he’d cock back his arm & plant his fist square on the chin of sin. 3. J.B.Phillips translation of this, I am no shadow-boxer, I really fight! I am my body’s sternest master, for fear that when I have preached to others I should myself be disqualified. Here are 10 "running tips" for those who seek to run in light of eternity… 1. Invest in the lives of those who minister the word. (Gal 6:6, 7) 2. Minister to those in need. (Lk 10:42) 3. Sacrifice to follow Christ. (Lk 19:27, 28, 29) 4. Give without fanfare. (Mt 6:1, 3, 4) 5. Be willing to suffer for the sake of Christ. (Mt 5:11, 12) 6. Pray in Secret (Mt 6:5, 6) 7. Engage in spiritual activity without fanfare. (Mt 6:16, 17, 18) 8. Love your enemies by being willing to help them. (Lk 6:35) 9. Give hearty service to the Lord and not just to please men. (Col 3:23, 24) 10. Entertain those who cannot repay you. (Lk 14:12, 13, 14) (from Going for the Gold - Joe, L Wall- Recommended) J Oswald Sanders - The Force of Self-Discipline 1 Corinthians 9:26–27 Leaders are able to lead others only because they discipline themselves. The person who does not know how to bow to discipline imposed from without, who does not know how to obey, will not make a good leader—nor will the one who has not learned to impose discipline within his or her own life. Those who scorn scripturally or legally constituted authority or rebel against it rarely qualify for high leadership positions. Paul imposed on himself a rigorous inner discipline in two areas: He waged war with his body. “I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body to make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:26–27). Here Paul was expressing a genuine fear, a real possibility. He had not yet completed the course. Even his vast experience and great successes did not make him immune to the subtle temptations of the body. In order that his ministry should not be short-circuited, he was willing to bring his bodily appetites under self-discipline as strict as that of the Spartan athletes in the arena. The Christian leader is open to the danger of being defeated through overindulgence of physical appetites or through laziness. Such an acute danger calls for stern self-discipline. At the other end of the scale is an excess of physical activity, which can lead to fatigue and exhaustion. Leaders must be prepared to work even harder than their colleagues. But an exhausted person easily falls prey to the adversary. We should be alert to guard against both of these dangers. He waged war with his thoughts. “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:4–5). (PL) 1 Corinthians 9:27 but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified. Amplified -But [like a boxer] I buffet my body [handle it roughly, discipline it by hardships] and subdue it, for fear that after proclaiming to others the Gospel and things pertaining to it, I myself should become unfit [not stand the test, be unapproved and rejected as a counterfeit]. NLT - I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.
1 Coríntios 9
Clarke has an important word for the modern church) - Let those who plead for the system of accommodation on the example of St. Paul, attend to the end he had in view, and the manner in which he pursued that end. It was not to get money, influence, or honour, but to save SOULS! It was not to get ease but to increase his labours. It was not to save his life, but rather that it should be a sacrifice for the good of immortal souls!”
1 Coríntios 9:24
Clarke - It is sufficiently evident that the apostle alludes to the athletic exercises in the games which were celebrated… on the isthmus or narrow neck of land, which joins the Peloponnesus (Click map of Isthmus of Corinth)… to the main land; and were thence termed the Isthmian Games. Know (1492) (eido/oida only in perfect tense) means in general to know by perception. Eido/oida suggests fullness of knowledge, absolute knowledge, a beyond a shadow of doubt knowledge. The perfect tense speaks of an experience in the past in which the readers had received an understanding which persists to present. Paul is saying in essence to his Corinthian readers "You've been to the games and you know that when you go to the foot races, there are a number of athletes running but only one wins the prize." Run (5143)(trecho from dremo = to run or walk hastily) means literally to move faster than a walk, making rapid linear movement. Webster says to run is "to go steadily by springing steps so that both feet leave the ground for an instant in each step." Trecho therefore describes someone in haste (Mt 28:8, Mk 5:6, Jn 20:2, 4, Lk 24:12). Figuratively trecho describes rapid propagation of doctrine, spreading without restraint (2Th 3:1). It also pictures one exerting effort, striving hard, spending strength to attain a goal (Ro 9:16-note, Gal 5:7, 2:2, Php 2:16-note, He 12:1-note). In Gal 5:7 trecho describes the course of the conduct. Here in 1 Cor 9:24 Paul uses trecho to emphasize the preparation and effort necessary to run spiritually. He is not using running in the sense of defeating an opponent in a race as in the actual Olympics. BDAG characterizes the figurative use of trecho as "to make an effort to advance spiritually or intellectually." Race (4712) (stadia from histemi = to stand) had two basic meanings (1) a measure of distance of about 192 meters, stade, one-eighth mile = with allowance for variations according to locale, 600 Greek (625 Roman; circa 607 English) feet = 192 meters. It was used as a measure of distance in Mt 14:24; Lk 24:13 Jn 6:19; Jn 11:18; Rev 14:20; Rev 21:16. (2) an area for public spectacles, arena, stadium on or in which foot-races and other public athletic contests were held and used with this meaning only in 1 Cor 9:24. It was generally a long parallelogram about 200 yards long and 30 yards wide and was surrounded by tiers of seating for the spectators. Stadia - 7v in the NT - distance(1), miles(5), race(1). Matt. 14:24; Lk. 24:13; Jn. 6:19; Jn. 11:18; 1 Co. 9:24; Rev. 14:20; Rev. 21:16
1 Coríntios 9:26
Clarke notes that adelos can mean "ignorantly; I do not run like one ignorant of what he is about, or of the laws of the course; I know that there is an eternal life; I know the way that leads to it; and I know and feel the power of it. In other words, Paul does in fact attend to the prescribed marks that outline his "lane". He is determined to stay in the lane which God appointed for him. From the beginning Jesus made it very clear what was to be Paul's "lane" declaring "Go, for he is a chosen instrument (empty vessel for containing things, an implement) of Mine (First note: Paul was not his own), to bear My name (Note second: It was not Paul's ministry but the Lord's ministry) before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name's sake. (Acts 9:15, 16) In his last communication with Timothy Paul reiterated this principle of single minded focus writing "For this reason (2Ti 1:10, 11-note - because he preaches the gospel) I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know Whom (Note it was not "what" he believed as important as that is, but Who he believed - Jesus!) I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day. (2Ti 1:12-note) (Play "Single Heart" by Craig Smith - old song but listen carefully to the poignantly powerful lyrics) Kistemaker "Paul is saying to the Corinthians who seemed to be lax in their spiritual pursuit, “Emulate me as you see me running toward the goal to win the prize.”
1 Coríntios 9:27
Clarke - The apostle considers his body as an enemy with which he must contend; he must mortify it by self-denial, abstinence, and severe labor; it must be the slave of his soul, and not the soul the slave of the body, which in all unregenerate men is the case. John MacArthur is probably correct when he writes that "Most people, including many Christians, are instead slaves to their bodies. Their bodies tell their minds what to do. Their bodies decide when to eat, what to eat, how much to eat, when to sleep and get up, and so on. An athlete cannot allow that. He follows the training rules, not his body. He runs when he would rather be resting, he eats a balanced meal when he would rather have a chocolate sundae, he goes to bed when he would rather stay up, and he gets up early to train when he would rather stay in bed. An athlete leads his body; he does not follow it. It is his slave, not the other way around. (MacArthur, J: 1Corinthians. Chicago: Moody Press) HOW DOES ONE MAKE THEIR BODY A SLAVE? Men cannot "master" their body in their own natural strength. They must put to death sins (and lusts) under the control and empowerment of the Spirit. Writing to the Romans Paul warns his readers… if you are living (present tense = continually) according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death (KJV = "mortify") (present tense = continually) the deeds of the body, you will live. (Ro 8:13 see commentary) Kenneth
1 Coríntios 9:27
Clarke has an interesting note on doulagogeo alleging it was a term used in wrestling and "which signifies to trip, and give the antagonist a fall, and then keep him down when he was down, and having obliged him to acknowledge himself conquered, make him a slave. Jerome Bible Commentary says that "make it my slave" is "perhaps an allusion to the custom of humiliating the vanquished boxer. The winner of a boxing match would throw a rope about his vanquished opponent and drag him about the arena to the cheers and jeers of the crowd. Spurgeon also has an interesting remark noting that doulagogeo "according to some, implies getting his body into the same position as a man does, when, in a pugilistic encounter, he gets his adversary’s head under his arm, and smites him with all his might, So Paul says concerning his body, “I bring it into subjection and take care that it feels the full force of my will.” According to other interpreters, the verse may be read, “I drag my body off as a cave;” just as in some of those ancient fights, the victors dragged away their antagonists as slaves, Paul accounted his body to be as a slave to his soul, and dragged it behind him in chains. David Lowery writes that "Paul would not let his body master him (cf. 1Co 6:12); sometimes he denied even its demand for rightful privileges and pleasures (1Co 8:9) for a greater good (1Co 10:33). (Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., et al: The Bible Knowledge Commentary. 1985. Victor) Someone has written that "The body is a bad master though it may be a good servant." Yes, if you truly make it your slave as did Paul. J C
1 Coríntios 9:27
Clarke says "To prevent this (rejection, disqualification), he ran, he contended, he denied himself, and brought his body into subjection to his spirit, and had his spirit governed by the Spirit of God. Had this heavenly man lived in our days, he would by a certain class of people have been deemed a legalist; a people who widely differ from the practice of the apostle, for they are conformed to the world, and they feed themselves without fear. Lowell