1 Coríntios 9
Albert Barnes · Citado em PreceptAustin
1 Coríntios 9:26
Barnes writes that adelos "occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It usually means, in the classic writers, obscurely. Here it means that he did not run as not knowing to what object he aimed. "I do not run at haphazard; I do not exert myself for naught; I know at what I aim, and I keep my eye fixed on the object; I have the goal and the crown in view." Probably also the apostle intended to convey this idea, ""I so live and act that I am sure of obtaining the crown. I make it a great and grand point of my life so to live that there may be no room for doubt or hesitancy about this matter. I believe it may be obtained; and that by a proper course there may be a constant certainty of securing it; and I so LIVE." Oh, how happy and blessed would it be if all Christians thus lived! How much doubt, and hesitancy, and despondency would it remove from many a Christian's mind! And yet it is morally certain that if every Christian were to be only as anxious and careful as were the ancient Grecian wrestlers and racers in the games, they would have the undoubted assurance of gaining the prize. John
1 Coríntios 9:26
Barnes has an excellent assessment of the meaning and practical application of the phrase not as beating the air… is taken from the habits of the pugilists or boxers, who were accustomed, before entering the lists, to exercise their limbs with the gauntlet, in order to acquire greater skill and dexterity. There was also, before the real contest commenced, a play with their fists and weapons, by way of show or bravado, which was called skiamacia, (skia = shadow, machomai = fight) a mock-battle, or a fighting the air. The phrase also is applicable to a missing the aim, when a blow was struck in a real struggle, and when the adversary would elude the blow, so that it would be spent in the empty air. This last is the idea which Paul means to present. He did not miss his aim; he did not exert himself and spend his strength for naught. Every blow that he struck told; and he did not waste his energies on that which would produce no result. He did not strive with rash, ill-advised, or uncertain blows; but all his efforts were directed, with good account, to the grand purpose of subjugating his enemy--Sin, and the corrupt desires of the flesh--and bringing everything into captivity to God. Much may be learned from this. Many an effort of Christians is merely beating the air. The energy is expended for naught. There is a want of wisdom, or skill, or perseverance; there is a failure of plan; or there is a mistake in regard to what is to be done, and what should be done. There is often among Christians very little aim or object; there is no plan; and the efforts are wasted, scattered, inefficient efforts; so that, at the close of life, many a man may say that he has spent his ministry or his Christian course mainly, or entirely, in beating the air. Besides, many a one sets up a man of straw, and fights that. He fancies error and heresy in others, and opposes that. He becomes a heresy-hunter; or he opposes some irregularity in religion that, if left alone, would die of itself; or he fixes all his attention on some minor evil, and devotes his life to the destruction of that alone. When death comes, he may have never struck a blow at one of the real and dangerous enemies of the gospel; and the simple record on the tombstone of many a minister and many a private Christian might be, "Here lies one who spent his life in beating the air." (1 Corinthians 9 - Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible) Not (3756) (ouk) signifies absolute negation. Paul absolutely was not aimless but incisively intentional in his life choices, words and deeds. Paul used his fists in the spiritual struggle like a boxer who did not miss his aim, but dealt his blows strategically, where they would do the most good for the kingdom of God and most damage to the kingdom of darkness. Beating (1194) (dero) literally meant to remove the skin (flay = strip off skin) and in the NT is used to depict the action of whipping, beating, thrashing or scourging in a manner calculated to take off the skin (Mt. 21:35; Mk 12:3, 5; Lk 20:10, 11; Ac 16:37; 22:19). Dero is used with its literal meaning once in the Septuagint (2Chr 29:34). Dero can refer either to striking someone on the face or the body (Luke 22:63; John 18:22; 2 Cor. 11:20) or to a total physical beating (Acts 5:40; 16:37; 22:19). Beat (Webster) - To strike repeatedly; to lay on repeated blows, with a stick, with the hand or fist, or with any instrument, and for any cause, just or unjust, or for punishment Flay (Webster) - to strip off the skin or surface of; To skin; to strip off the skin of an animal; as, to flay an ox. Dero - 15x in 15v in NAS - NAS = beat(5), beaten(1), beating(3), flogged(2), hits(1), receive(1), receive… lashes(1), strike(1). Matthew 21:35 "The vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third. Mark 12:3 "They took him, and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 5 "And he sent another, and that one they killed; and so with many others, beating some and killing others. Mark 13:9 "But be on your guard; for they will deliver you to the courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them. Luke 12:47 "And that slave who knew his master's will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes, 48 but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more. Luke 20:10 "At the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, so that they would give him some of the produce of the vineyard; but the vine-growers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 "And he proceeded to send another slave; and they beat him also and treated him shamefully and sent him away empty-handed. Luke 22:63 Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking Him and beating Him, John 18:23 Jesus answered him, "If I have spoken wrongly, testify of the wrong; but if rightly, why do you strike Me?" Acts 5:40 They took his advice; and after calling the apostles in, they flogged them and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them. Acts 16:37 But Paul said to them, "They have beaten us in public without trial, men who are Romans, and have thrown us into prison; and now are they sending us away secretly? No indeed! But let them come themselves and bring us out." Acts 22:19 "And I said, 'Lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another I used to imprison and beat those who believed in You. 1 Corinthians 9:26 Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; 2 Corinthians 11:20 For you tolerate it if anyone enslaves you, anyone devours you, anyone takes advantage of you, anyone exalts himself, anyone hits you in the face. Air (109)(aer) refers to the layer of atmosphere immediately surrounding the earth (Rev 9:2, Acts 22:23, 1Th 4:17, Re 16:17) In idioms: beat the air (1Cor. 9:26), speak into the air (1Cor. 14:9). In God’s judgments “the air” is also affected so that we see the smoke from the abyss darkens both it and the sun (Rev 9:12). One of the angels pours his bowl of wrath into the air (Rev 16:17). Friberg (Summary) - (1) as the space immediately above the earth air, atmosphere (1Cor 14.9, Acts 22:23, 1Th 4:17, Rev 16:17); (2) as a substance air; equivalent to nothing in 1Cor 9.26; (3) as the space between heaven and earth inhabited by spirit-beings sky, air (Eph 2.2) Classic Greek - According to classic concepts the aer, air, filled the space between the earth and the moon. The Greeks distinguished qualitatively between aer as the lower, impure air (vapor), and the upper, pure air, the ether. Since aer was the less pure element, it was the home of the spirits. This idea is already found in Pythagoras (c. 500 B.C.). Late Jud. also at times regarded the air as the home of the demons (Sl. Enoch 31; Asc. Isa. 11:23). (Colin Brown. New International Dictionary of NT Theology) BDAG - "beat the air from the language of the arena, of a gladiator who misses a stroke." Beating the air speaks of Paul's single minded focus, his specific aim and his desire for every action to count. Talk about "intense"!
1 Coríntios 9:27
Barnes on adokimos - The simple idea of Paul is, that he was afraid that he should be disapproved, rejected, cast off; that it would appear, after all, that he had no religion, and would then be cast away as unfit to enter into heaven. (Barnes NT Commentary) The renowned Presbyterian expositor Donald Grey Barnhouse wrote that… godly fear made him live like a runner in a race, hurling himself toward the goal with no thought of any other circumstance. His great anxiety was that he might be a castaway even though he had preached to others (1Co 9:27). He had not the slightest fear that he would be cast away from salvation, but he knew that it was possible for him to live in such a way that he would stand disapproved before the Judgment Seat of Christ. He might waste his time on secondary things; he might commit sin which, though confessed and forsaken, would cause him to lose opportunities and time which could never be regained. We must understand that everything we do, everything we say, everything we think, everything we are, has a relationship to God. Each act, each word, each thought, each moment of life contains the possibility of sin. Each sin, like a coin, has two sides. If a Christian tells a lie, the "heads" side is sin, the "tails" side is a work. The sin side has been dealt with forever by the death of our Lord, but the work side will face him at the Judgment Seat of Christ. "What shall I do?" may be the cry of the believer when these truths are borne in upon him. There is only one answer. God deals with us in the moment which we are living now. Look back over life in one hasty glance and cry out to the Lord that the whole tangled skein (a length of thread or yarn, loosely coiled and knotted) needs to be cut loose by Him and the threads freshly woven into His pattern. He will hand you fresh skeins whenever you desire them from Him. Then you can say, "This one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Php 3:13, 14). May we be thankful from the depths of our being that we deal with the God Who is the God of ever fresh beginnings. (Expositions of Bible Doctrines Taking the Epistle to the Romans As a Point of Departure – Volume 9: God's Discipline) Disqualified (castaway, disapproved) (96) (adokimos from a = without + dokimos = tested and thus reliable or acceptable) refers to that which is rejected after a trial or examination because it fails the test. It means to put to the test for the purpose of being approved, but failing to meet the requirements. Adokimos describes that which does not prove itself to be such as it ought and which is therefore disapproved and useless. For example, "sterile soil" (see Hebrews 6:8) is unfit for fulfilling its purpose. In short adokimos describes that which is worthless, spurious, unqualified, disqualified, corrupted, not approved. Adokimos was commonly used of metals that were rejected by refiners because of impurities (eg, Isa 1:22 uses adokimos to refer to dross [the scum or impurities floating on the top of heated metal]). The dross was discarded, and adokimos therefore came to convey the sense of worthlessness and uselessness. James Montgomery Boice describes an interesting secular use of adokimos that helps us understand the meaning… Silver and gold coins were made quite roughly in those days, not milled to exact sizes as our coins are, and people would often cheat with them by carefully trimming off some of the excess metal. We know they did this because hundreds of laws were passed against the practice. After people had trimmed away enough metal, they would sell it for new coins. When coins had been trimmed for a long time, they eventually got so light that the merchants would not take them anymore; then a coin was said to be adokimos, "disqualified." This is what Paul is referring to. He is saying that he does not want to be disqualified, but rather to be judged "fit" as a result of his sufferings and self-discipline. (An Expositional Commentary – Romans, Vol 2: The Reign of Grace Romans 5-8). Adokimos - 8x in 8v in the NAS - Ro1:28-note; 1Co 9:27; 2Co 13:5-note, 2Co 13:6; 2Ti 3:8-note; Titus 1:16-note; Heb 6:8-note. In the context of the Greek games the idea of "disqualified" implies that there was a judge who made the assessment that the runner (boxer, etc) did not deserve either to compete or did not deserve the prize. The parallel of course is the great judgment by the Righteous Judge at the believer's bema seat at which time Paul might be deemed unworthy of receiving the prize. The bema [word study] was the stand on which the judges stood to observe and evaluate the actions of athletes in the Olympic contests. If any athlete broke a rule, one or more of the judges (referees or umpires) would point to him and cry, “Adokimos!" (that is, “Disqualified!”). And thus he missed the prize (victor’s wreath -- see discussion of stephanos [word study]) regardless of the place he finished in the race or contest (see discussion of the necessity for athletes to compete according to the rules in 2Ti 2:5-note). Likewise, when an event was completed, the contestants stood before the bema to hear the judges’ announcement of the results, and to receive such reward as might properly be theirs. This is a uniquely fitting illustration to make clear to us the fact that service and life are to be evaluated by our Lord, with possible reward (cf Lk 16:2). The fear of the possibility happening at the end of his race, served as a strong negative motivator in Paul's life. To reiterate although clearly there is disagreement on the meaning of disqualified in this verse but most commentators I have consulted favor that disqualified does not equate with losing one's salvation. For example, even disqualified athletes did not lose their citizenship (cp the believer's citizenship… in heaven - Php 3:20). The athletes who failed to meet the requirements could not participate at all in the games and with it he lost the opportunity to win a prize. In context this suggests that a disqualified believer might be "put on the shelf" and no longer be useful to the Master (see 2Ti 2:21-note, note also that 2Ti 2:22-note parallels Paul's teaching on "self control" and "buffeting his body") for His good work, which would in turn lead to suffering loss of potential future eternal rewards! Irregardless of how we interpret disqualified, it is clear that Paul meant to paint a serious picture of the Christian's race. In light of that… May each of us meditate deeply on this solemn warning that we may not hear… DISQUALIFIED! Earlier in this same epistle Paul had alluded to the believer's appearance at the Bema Seat of Christ at which time they might be in potentially "disqualified" for a reward… According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. (1Co 3:10-15) Comment: This meaning of this passage is clear - If our works pass the test, we receive a reward. If they are burned up, we lose the reward, but we are still saved "yet so as by fire." Thomas Watson: As God will put a veil over his people's sins, so he will in free grace set a crown upon their works. J Vernon McGee… The translation "castaway" is unfortunate. The Greek word is adokimos, which means "not approved." Paul is thinking of the judgment seat of Christ where the rewards are given. In his Second Epistle to the Corinthians he will talk about the fact that we shall all appear before the judgment seat of Christ where awards are given. Paul says that he is out on that racetrack trying to run so that he will get a reward. That is the reason he preaches the gospel as he does. Paul has liberty. This is the choice that he has made. I think every Christian ought to work for a reward. We do not work for salvation; that is a gift given by the grace of God. My friend, if you are going to get a reward, you will have to work for it. If you are going to get a reward, then you had better get out on the racetrack and start moving… Paul's goal was to run the Christian race in such a way that the One who is at the end of the race -- the Lord Jesus -- would be able to reward him and be able to say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant" (Mt. 25:21). A child of God is to "strive"; God intends that he win the race. Every child of God needs to recognize this… In effect, Paul is saying, "When I come into His presence I don't want to be disapproved. I don't want the Lord Jesus to say to me, 'You have failed. Your life should have been a testimony but it was not.' " Oh, my friend, you are going to hear that if you are not living for Him! I know we don't want to hear these things, but we need to face the facts… Paul exercised himself -- that is, he didn't give in to the desires of his body -- because he did not want to come before God's presence some day and be disapproved. My friend, whoever you are or wherever you are, it is time to take your sitting-up exercises. C H