Dwell in the Word 1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Contemplate these questions as you dwell in 1 Corinthians 9:1-27:

1. Paul addresses the issue of food offered to idols in the Corinthian church. While this may not directly apply to us today, what broader principle can we glean from his teaching about considering the spiritual well-being of fellow believers in our actions and conversations?

2. Paul emphasizes the importance of not causing others to stumble in their faith, even if it means refraining from activities that are not inherently sinful. How can we apply this principle in our modern context? Can you think of any situations where this might be relevant in your own life?

3. The underlying message in this passage centers around love and concern for the spiritual growth of others. How can we actively cultivate a mindset of building up our fellow believers and being sensitive to their spiritual needs? Can you share an example from your own experiences where this principle played a significant role in your interactions with others?

Transcript:

 So, we have, again, a big chunk of text, but it's all driving to the point at the end of this chapter. So we read this one big chunk as we see that it moves us towards this idea at the end. Paul is willing to do anything to be able to preach the gospel. He is willing to go to all kinds of people and try to understand the world as they do in order to be able to preach to them.

The message of the cross. And so, what do we see Paul doing here? He, he has all this stuff where he's talking about all the things that they should be doing regarding, you know, whether or not he can take a wife or whether or not he should work. But the whole thing is that he wants people to understand his mission is the gospel.

That's the big point. And so, in verse 19, we see that. Paul says that he's free from all this stuff, but yet he makes himself a servant to everybody. He wants to serve others, that he might be able to share the gospel with them, that they might see his servant heart. To the Jews, he, he tells them about how he is a Jew and how he understands the law so that he can tell them about Christ and how he fulfills the law, right?

To those outside the law, he, He lives as one who is outside the law. Now, he isn't saying here that he lives however he wants, that, you know, maybe he goes to some immoral, uh, pagan ritual and, and does all the bad stuff that happens there that, so that he can preach the gospel to him. That's not what he means by being outside the law.

He's saying when he is with those who are under the law, he follows the dietary restrictions. When he's with Greeks who don't have the dietary restrictions, he eats as they do. Okay, his idea is that the idea here is that he wants to be able to preach the gospel of them Then he says in verse 22 to the weak.

I became weak. In other words, he's saying For those who struggle with these things. I I don't Eat the things that they struggle with eating, or I don't do the things that even though I have freedom in Christ I don't do those things so that I don't cause them to stumble I want to be able to win them. I want to be able to win the week, he says.

And so, what does he say the purpose of this is? Verse 23, I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings. He wants to have an opportunity to spread the truth of the gospel with them. And so, this is to be our focus look at what he says in verse 24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run but only one receives the prize?

He's saying we have to run hard run that we might obtain this prize if people train Themselves in order to win a wreath, you know that the wreaths that they used to wear as their prize for a for winning an athletic contest if they worked and disciplined their bodies to get that wreath that will that will fade and wilt and  Shouldn't we discipline ourselves and run strong that we might receive this prize that doesn't fade?

Our prize in Christ is imperishable. And so, Paul says he doesn't run aimlessly. He isn't boxing at the air. He's working with a purpose. He's disciplined for a purpose. He is living his life in such a way so that he has the opportunity to share the gospel with as many people as possible. And this is difficult.

But he does this in such a way and with such a passion that it is what is going on in his life. It is what he is striving after. That is the goal that he wishes to reach. He doesn't want them to not be able to hear the gospel because he has done something that they don't understand and they step back.

When he is with people, he is disciplined that they might hear the message that their ears might not be closed to it because of something that he has done or misunderstood about the way they understand things. That's what it means when it says, to the weak, I became weak. These people misunderstood the freedom that Paul had in Christ and so he was careful around them.

And so, he disciplined himself to be able to do this.  As we think about what this means for us, I think the important thing that we need to think about with this is all that, all that we've seen that Paul is doing is obviously important. We want to have the opportunity to share the gospel with them. We need to make sure that we are not sinning in doing that, but we, we want to, you know, be a part of people's lives.

And if they don't understand something, we want to make sure that we don't do something to confuse them, right? But the big point here is to run the race. We need to allow ourselves to be involved in the lives of other people that we might be able to share the mercy and grace of God. Now this isn't, um, I don't mean here that we're going to have some elaborate evangelistic speech that we give them.

That may be the case. But we live our lives in such a way that we're interacting with the people around us and we're understanding where they're coming from and we're sharing. The grace of God with them, how it has impacted us, how we are able to have freedom in Christ, how we are able to have peace and joy because of it.

And so, we want to discipline ourselves to be the type of people who are running after this prize, who are running after being able to share the gospel with others. And so, we do that by As I said, embedding ourselves in the lives of others and making the gospel of Jesus Christ and the freedom that we have and the peace that we have, something that is on our lips, that we might be sharing it with those around us.

May we have a passion for the gospel that others may hear, and the Holy Spirit uses it to bring them to faith.