1 Coríntios 9
Leon Morris · Citado em PreceptAustin
1 Coríntios 9
Morris - The Greek for "castaway" (adokimos) means literally "disapproved," but does not suggest being discarded altogether. Paul had just written about losing all rewards, but still being saved (1 Corinthians 3:15), and he realized that this could become possible even for him. Hampton Keathley - The disqualification mentioned in 1 Corinthians 9:27 means disqualified from rewards, not loss of salvation. This is clear from the context and the analogy to the Greek athletic games. W E Vine - The word adokimos, “rejected,” does not mean a castaway, as in the A.V., but disapproved as a result of not standing the test, and here it means disapproved, and so rejected from present testimony, with loss of future reward. Such a possibility should be so appalling and abhorrent to any servant of Christ, that he should follow the apostle’s example, which is here given, not simply as a record of his own life, but as a guide to us in all our circumstances. We need to remember also that the apostle is here speaking of the responsibility and joy of winning souls for Christ. To save others should be the pursuit of our lives. The conflict and its issues are so tremendous, that we should never forgo any means of spiritual strength. ESVSB - Disqualified (Gk. adokimos, “not approved, not standing the test”) in this context means “disqualified from receiving rewards” NIVSB - not be disqualified for the prize. Paul realizes that he must with rigor serve the Lord and battle against sin. If he fails in this, he may be excluded from the reward (cf. 2 Ti 4:8). Alan Redpath - I do not think for moment that Paul was concerned that he should be lost, but he was desperately concerned that God might remove his testimony and take him from his place of opportunity and witness because deep down in his heart he had been failing to contend with the enemy. Perhaps this is the greatest battle any child of God has to face. (The Road to Heaven) Jack Arnold on disqualified - So that after I have preached to others, Paul was very concerned that his life should not be hypocritical, for he preached to thousands and knew that he could be disqualified from the spiritual race God had called him to run. It seems like monthly I hear of some famous preacher or well-known Christian who has fallen into adultery, or stolen from the church funds, or left the ministry out of disgust. These men and women have preached to thousands but their ministry ends in disgrace because of sin. I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. The Greek word for “disqualified” is adokimos which means to test and disapprove or reject It can mean either “to disapprove” or “to reject.” The King James Version uses “castaway,” favoring the idea of rejection. The New English Bible says “rejected” or “reprobate.” Since the context is about rewards, I believe Paul is referring to loss of rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ. How might a runner get disqualified from a race? He first of all could be disqualified if he failed to keep the rules. Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules (II Tim. 2:5). If we, as Christians or as ministers of the gospel, choose, by an act of our own will, to go against God and His revealed will for us in the Bible, we must be ready to suffer the consequences. Sin can disqualify a Christian from winning the race. If we choose to sin, God may bring heavy discipline upon us in this life. If we refuse to repent God just may take our lives because we are of no use to Him down here. We would not lose our salvation but our opportunity to serve Him, and our lives would be wasted in this world. What motivated Paul was the godly fear that he might lose his ministry, lose his opportunity to serve, lose his chance to gain rewards to throw at Christ's feet. A second way an athlete may be disqualified is if he receives an injury while running and is unable to finish the race. Because of laziness, indifference, coldness of heart, lack of discipline, a Christian may give in to the indulgences of the flesh. The indulgence of the so-called “good life” may so entrap him that he will fall into temptation, receiving a spiritual injury that may put him on the shelf spiritually. God may disqualify him temporarily by putting him on the shelf or permanently taking him home to heaven. When the Christian life is dry, mechanical and ritualistic, with no power of joy, the Christian is in danger of being disqualified, not from salvation but from life and service for Jesus Christ. When Christians refuse to deny themselves, to exercise discipline, to undergo self-control, then the spiritual power goes and a person’s life may be wasted. There will be a going through the motions, a charade, a ritual of futility, but there will be no power. Some spiritual injury has set in to disqualify from the race. A Christian cannot lose his salvation but he can lose his reward at the Judgment Seat of Christ, and he can lose his only purpose for living which is to please Jesus Christ. There is a third way an athlete may be disqualified. He can quit the race. He may begin strong, but if he quits he cannot win. A person who claims to be a Christian and then quits altogether running the race, showing absolutely no interest at all in spiritual things, may experience total rejection that is, he may be tested and rejected, finding out he is a reprobate, having never really known Christ’s salvation. This person was not saved and then lost. He was never saved at all. He may have looked saved externally, but time and the cares of the world choked out his interest in Christ This sounds much like the second and third kinds of soil in the Parable of the Sower The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy, But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful (Matt. 13:20-22). This person completely stops running, turning from the faith once for all delivered to the saints and goes back into the world. The reprobate is different from a Christian who may falter, may stumble, my go backward for awhile, but he does win the race. A mere professing, unsaved Christian quits and refuses to run the race. All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved (Mali. 10:23). Someone has put it this way, “Quitters never win and winners never quit.” Frank Barker, pastor of Brierwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama puts it well when he says, “He who fizzles before the finish was faulty from the first.” Christian, God wants you to finish the race. The race is difficult, taxing and challenging and it may zap you of every ounce of strength at times. But your goal must be to cross the finish line with arms stretched high and a shout of joy and victory! Then you can fall to the ground in total exhaustion. But you will know you have finished the race. Where you finish in the race is not nearly as important as that you finish the race. If you are a Christian who is running the race poorly, if you have broken God’s rules or have some spiritual injury due to sin, God says that you must repent. You must come to grips with your life before a holy God lest He put you on the shelf and you become useless to Him. Remember, Christian, God is loving, compassionate and merciful and He is ready to forgive any Christian who has gone astray. He wants you to run the race with power, freedom, liberty and joy. If anything is keeping you from running and winning the spiritual race, deal with it today. Hunter - Paul’s biggest enemy is "my body". By this he means the power of sin in his life. The body is not the seat of sin as is so often said. The seat of sin lies in the will. The body is the medium through which sin operates. Paul is determined that "sin will not reign" there ("Therefore do not let sin reign [present imperative with a negative see our need to depend on the Holy Spirit to obey] in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts. " - Rom 6:12+). To "keep under" is to discipline so as to stop the ready obedience to sin. The strongest measures are so necessary. He buffets it, beats it (lit. "I give it a black eye") and thus "brings it into subjection". He makes it his slave, so that he is in complete control. How salutary is all this. How many have failed just here. If any one of us fails to do this there is the danger of being disqualified, being set aside now in this life, and losing reward at the Judgment Seat. Salvation is not in view, but service. (What the Bible Teaches) Related Resource: What Does Disqualified Mean? - see discussion of the three main interpretations which have quite different eternal consequences Jerry M. Hullinger This investigation leads to two notable conclusions regarding the Christian life. First, the dedicated Christian life consists not in a passive "letting go and letting God." Instead it requires an earnest, consistent striving, fueled by the grace of God. Second, being disqualified from reward is a real possibility for every believer. Thus the child of God must be careful to strive according to the rules (2 Ti 2:5) in order to receive rewards from the Lord. (Article) Discipline (buffet, batter, beat my body black and blue) (5299) (hupopiazo from hupo = under + ops = eye) means literally to strike under the eye a description of an "uppercut" to use modern pugilistic parlance. To strike in this manner was generally considered to be a "knockout" punch by the ancient Greek boxers. The idea then is to strike hard and heavy on one's face, rendering it "black and blue." Recall that (apparently not in the first rounds but only in later rounds according to some sources) the boxers wore gloves (the "cestus") made of leather bands and tied into knots in addition to being embedded with metallic objects composed of lead and iron! It is not surprising that these gloves obtained the nickname of "limb-breakers!" Make it my slave (only use in the NT)(1396) (doulagogeo from doulos = servant, slave + ago = to lead, bring) means literally to bring into a state of servitude, to make a salve, to bring into a state of subjection. Used only here in the Bible. Note that while the body per se is not evil, it is the "base of enemy operations", the camp from which Sin launches its missiles of anti-God impulses and desires that if not deflected by the shield of faith always result in death and destruction to our spiritual life. Paul could hardly give us a more vivid picture of his willingness to severely discipline his own body than the picture invoked by the verb hupopiazo! Preached (2784) (kerusso from kerux = a herald - one who acts as the medium of the authority of one who proclamation he makes; kerugma = the thing preached or the message) means to proclaim (publicly) or to herald or act as a public crier, the town official who would make a proclamation in a public gathering. Kerusso in the Corinthians letters - 1 Co. 1:23; 1 Co. 9:27; 1 Co. 15:11; 1 Co. 15:12; 2 Co. 1:19; 2 Co. 4:5; 2 Co. 11:4; 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. 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). ILLUSTRATION OF DISQUALIFICATION - You may have heard the story of the American Indian, Jim Thorpe. In the 1912 Olympics, Thorpe won both the decathlon and pentathlon. King Gustaf V of Sweden said to Thorpe, “You, sir, are the greatest amateur athlete in the world today.” After he had received his gold metals, it was discovered a few months later that Jim Thorpe had played for a professional baseball team, making him no amateur. The King of Sweden asked him to return his metals and it nearly broke Thorpe’s heart. He sent the awards back to the King with a letter which read, "I hope your majesty will not think too hard of me. Please remember that I am only a poor, ignorant Indian boy. I did not know that taking five dollars a week for playing ball on the village baseball team made me a professional. I never meant to deceive.” The greatest athlete in the world, at that time, perhaps the greatest athlete of all time was disqualified because he broke the rules. Laser Eye Surgery (Living Water - James Scudder) 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. 1 Corinthians 9:27 David Rittenhouse of Pennsylvania was a great astronomer. He was skillful in measuring the sizes of planets and determining the position of the stars. But he found that because of the distance of the stars, a silk thread stretched across the glass of his telescope would entirely cover a star; and thus a silk fiber appeared to be larger in diameter than a star. Our sun is 886,000 miles in diameter, and yet, seen from a distant star, our sun could be covered, hidden behind a thread when that thread was stretched across the telescope. There are those who let sin do the same thing to their spiritual lives. Someone might direct your eyes to the Star of Bethlehem through the telescope of faith; but, there is a secret thread, a silken fiber, which, holds you to subservience to the world. Laser eye surgery is a relatively new technique that is bringing renewed vision to thousands of people. Throughout her whole life, my wife, Linda has had glasses or contacts. But a year or so ago, she experienced this radical surgery and now has almost perfect vision. We need to let Jesus Christ do laser eye surgery on us. It is important that we keep sin out of our life, and that we never open the door to temptation. The Apostle Paul kept his body under subjection. In other words, he worked to keep sin out of his life, so that he could continue to be used of God, which was his greatest joy. Sin enough and you will soon be unconscious of sin! Oswald Chambers Train To Finish Strong I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. — 1 Corinthians 9:27 Today's Scripture: 1 Corinthians 9:19-27 Eighty years ago, Eric Liddell electrified the world by capturing an Olympic gold medal in the 400 meters—a race he was not expected to win. Liddell was the favorite at 100 meters, but he had withdrawn from that race after learning the qualifying heats would be on Sunday, a day he observed as one of worship and rest. Instead of lamenting his lost chance in the 100, he spent the next 6 months training for the 400—and set a new Olympic record. Paul used a sports metaphor to emphasize the Christian’s need for spiritual discipline. “Everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things” (1 Corinthians 9:25), that is, goes into strict training. “Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.” Paul longed to remain faithful to Christ because he wanted to bring the message of salvation to others (vv.19,27). Throughout Liddell’s life, he disciplined himself spiritually each day by spending time in God’s Word and in prayer. He remained faithful until he died of a brain tumor in a Japanese internment camp during World War II. To win the race of life in Christ, This must become our daily goal: To trust in God for grace and strength, For discipline and self-control. —Sper In the race of life, it takes discipline to finish strong. Brian Bell - Disqualified – Rejected as unusable. 1. Used of metals & coins which were rejected for not standing the test. (RWP) 7. Paul’s one great desire was to win the lost, & that governed his every decision!” 8. Someone once defined real failure as: "...living without knowing what life is all about, feeding on things that do not satisfy, thinking you have everything, only to find out in the end you have nothing that matters." 9. So...what are you going to strive for? Winning your Rights, or your Race? Jon Courson -Newer translations correctly render the word ‘castaway’ as ‘disqualified.’ Thus, Paul is saying, ‘I let go of my liberty in order that I might win people to Jesus. Why? Because I’m in a race for a prize which will affect who I am and what I do in the ages to come. Therefore, even though I am free to do all things, I can be disqualified if I don’t keep my flesh under control, if I cause another to stumble...’ Favored to win the 1,500-meter Olympic event, Mary Decker was in excellent shape and running her best times. But after the gun went off, another talented runner, Zola Budd of South Africa, leaned into Mary Decker on the first curve, causing Decker to trip and fall—and herself to be disqualified. This is the reason Paul was determined to keep his body under control. Before you were saved, your body was not under. Your body was on top. That is, your flesh was that which governed both your soul—your mind and emotions—and your spirit—the real you which lives forever. To see how true this is, all you have to do is listen to the conversations which take place at work or on the campus, wherein you’ll hear the average person talk only about his body—about his financial concerns and recreational pursuits, his occupational goals and physical needs. But when the natural man gets saved, suddenly everything is different. The flesh no longer dominates him. The spirit is now on top, and suddenly there’s peace in his heart and life makes sense. But because the flesh hates the basement, as time goes on, it demands to be on top again. And when it is, the new believer’s life is a mess, for to be carnally-minded is death (Romans 8:6). So eventually, he gets to the place where he says, ‘Lord, forgive me. I’ve given in to the flesh again.’ He confesses his sin, turns his life back over to God, and his body is ‘under’ once more/ Does this war have to go on daily, hourly, constantly? Paul says here’s the key: ‘I keep my body under. I will not allow my body to determine what I watch, read, listen to, or think about. I will keep my body in the basement.’ How can this be accomplished? Let me suggest to you one very practical way: how long has it been since you’ve said ‘No’ to your stomach? How long has it been since you’ve said, ‘I’m going to use the hour I would have spent feeding my growling, demanding stomach in order to pull away and pray for my family, for the community, and for myself because I’m struggling with this temptation or that addiction’? That’s called fasting. And I find it interesting that Jesus didn’t say, ‘If you fast...’ but, ‘When you fast...’ (Matthew 6:16). When you say ‘No’ to your stomach regularly, you’ll be amazed how much easier it will be to say ‘No’ to the other temptations which plague you. Fasting from food is only one of the many disciplines the Bible teaches—not to be weird, but to be free. Another is saying ‘No’ when your body says, ‘Hit the snooze bar.’ It’s saying, ‘See, body, you’re under. You’re not ruling me. I’m out of bed. I’m on my knees. I’m in the Word.’ It’s following the example of Jesus who rose up a great while before morning to seek His Father. ‘I keep my body under,’ Paul says. ‘I’m tired of my body ruling over me and the death it brings inevitably. Therefore, my spirit, ruled by God’s Spirit, will be that which controls my soul—my will, my personality, my emotions.’ You’ll never regret knocking fleshly pursuits out of your life, gang. I promise you, you’ll never regret the things you let go which would have tripped others and disqualified you; those things which would have wiped out your spiritual stamina and affected your endurance. Are you as disciplined in your spiritual life today as you were a year or five years ago? Or has your appreciation for the finished work of the Cross and your understanding that your salvation is secure apart from anything you do or don’t do skewed your thinking? Yes, you’re free, but have you used that liberty in a way that’s tripping others and disqualifying yourself? Use your liberty wisely, precious people. Keep your body under, for to be carnally-minded is death, but to be spiritually-minded brings abundant life and perfect peace. Jerry Bridges - True holiness includes control over our physical bodies and appetites. If we are to pursue holiness we must recognize that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit and that we are to glorify God with them. Michel Quoist, in his book The Christian Response, says, “If your body makes all the decisions and gives all the orders, and if you obey, the physical can effectively destroy every other dimension of your personality. Your emotional life will be blunted and your spiritual life will be stifled and ultimately will become anemic.” Over 200 years ago Susannah
1 Coríntios 9:27
Morris - Disqualified translates adokimos, which means ‘which has not stood the test’; it was used of disqualification in the Games. Paul’s fear was not that he might lose his salvation, but that he might suffer loss through failing to satisfy his Lord (cf. 3:15). (Morris, L. Vol. 7: 1Corinthians: An introduction and commentary. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press) The KJV Bible Commentary notes that "disqualified" - must not be construed to suggest that Paul was afraid of losing his salvation. His subject is still Christian liberty, and his point is that sometimes the mature Christian will have to restrict himself in order to accomplish the ultimate task. (Dobson, E G, Charles Feinberg, E Hindson, Woodrow Kroll, H L. Wilmington: KJV Bible Commentary: Nelson ) Kenneth Wuest paraphrases the last half of 1Co 9:27 as "I myself should be disqualified [from further Christian service]." Henry Morris writes that "The Greek for "castaway" (adokimos) means literally "disapproved," but it does not suggest being discarded altogether. Paul had just written about losing all rewards but still being saved (1Corinthians 3:15), and he realized that this could become possible even for him. (Defender's Study Bible Online Notes) Baker - Disqualification for this prize would come only from Paul’s not doing his Christ-ordained job as an apostle in the rigorous, self-denying way he chose to do it—and ultimately failing to win converts to Christ. (Cornerstone Bible Commentary) W A Criswell observes that "Paul's assurance of salvation (cf. 2Ti 1:12) and his confidence in the security of the believer (cf. Ro 8:30, 31) go hand-in-hand with self-discipline and watchfulness (1Co 10:12). There is no hint of any possible loss of salvation in the text. Paul disciplines himself rigorously so that he will not become "disqualified." This final word is adokimos (Gk.), suggesting the idea of "disapproved." Paul does not fear loss of salvation, but rather loss of his work and influence as a minister of Christ. (Believer's Study Bible: New King James Version. 1991. Thomas Nelson) Vine says that adokimos "does not mean a castaway, as in the authorized version., but disapproved as a result of not standing the test, and here it means disapproved, and so rejected from present testimony, with loss of future reward. Such a possibility should be so appalling and abhorrent to any servant of Christ, that he should follow the apostle’s example, which is here given, not simply as a record of his own life, but as a guide to us in all our circumstances. We need to remember also that the apostle is here speaking of the responsibility and joy of winning souls for Christ (Context = 1Co 9:22, 23). To save others should be the pursuit of our lives. The conflict and its issues are so tremendous, that we should never forgo any means of spiritual strength. (Vine, W. Collected writings of W. E. Vine. Nashville: Thomas Nelson ) Everett Harrison writes that "The emphasis in the NT falls rather on self-discipline as the key to dedicated usefulness in the kingdom of God (1Co 9:24-27) (Colossians: Christ All Sufficient. Everyman's Bible Commentary). Scofield writes that in using adokimos "The apostle is writing of service, not of salvation. He is not expressing fear that he may fail of salvation but of his crown. Henry Alford on "rejected" "from the prize, not, as some commentators, from the contest altogether. An examination of the victorious combatants took place after the contest, and if it could be proved that they had contended unlawfully, or unfairly, they were deprived of the prize and driven with disgrace from the games. So the Apostle, if he had proclaimed the laws of the combat to others, and not observed them himself, however successful he might apparently be, would be personally rejected as adokimos as unqualified in the great day. And this he says with a view to shew them the necessity of more self-denial, and less going to the extreme limit of their Christian liberty. (The New Testament for English Readers) Alan