What then is my reward? That when I preach the Good News, I may present the Good News of Christ without charge, so as not to abuse my authority in the Good News.
Parallel Translations
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What then is my reward? That when I preach the Good News, I may present the Good News of Christ without charge, so as not to abuse my authority in the Good News.
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What is my rewarde then? Verely that when I preache the gospell I make the gospell of Christ fre that I misvse not myne auctorite in the gospel
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What is my reward then? verely that when I preach the Gospel, I make the Gospel of Christ free, that I abuse not mine authoritie in ye Gospel.
Cross-references (10)
Passages linked to 1 Corinthians 9:18 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Corinthians 11:7-9 Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself that you might be exalted, because I preached to you God’s Good News free of charge? I robbed other assemblies, taking wages from them that I might serve you. When I was present with you and was in need, I wasn’t a burden on anyone, for the brothers, when they came from Macedonia, supplied the measure of my need. In everything I kept myself from being burdensome to you, and I will continue to do so.
- 1 Corinthians 8:9 But be careful that by no means does this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to the weak.
- 1 Thessalonians 2:6 nor seeking glory from men (neither from you nor from others), when we might have claimed authority as apostles of Christ.
- 2 Thessalonians 3:8-9 neither did we eat bread from anyone’s hand without paying for it, but in labor and travail worked night and day, that we might not burden any of you, not because we don’t have the right, but to make ourselves an example to you, that you should imitate us.
- 1 Corinthians 10:33 even as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of the many, that they may be saved.
- 2 Corinthians 12:13-18 For what is there in which you were made inferior to the rest of the assemblies, unless it is that I myself was not a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong. Behold, this is the third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be a burden to you; for I seek not your possessions, but you. For the children ought not to save up for the parents, but the parents for the children. I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If I love you more abundantly, am I loved the less? Even so, I myself didn’t burden you. “But, being crafty, I caught you with deception.” Did I take advantage of you by anyone of those whom I have sent to you? I exhorted Titus, and I sent the brother with him. Did Titus take any advantage of you? Didn’t we walk in the same spirit? Didn’t we walk in the same steps?
- 1 Corinthians 7:31 and those who use the world, as not using it to the fullest. For the mode of this world passes away.
- 1 Corinthians 9:6-7 Or have only Barnabas and I no right to not work? What soldier ever serves at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard, and doesn’t eat of its fruit? Or who feeds a flock, and doesn’t drink from the flock’s milk?
- 2 Corinthians 4:5 For we don’t preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake,
- Romans 14:15 Yet if because of food your brother is grieved, you walk no longer in love. Don’t destroy with your food him for whom Christ died.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 18. What then is my reward? He infers from…
18. What then is my reward? He infers from what goes before, that he has a ground of glorying; in this, that he labored gratuitously in behalf of the Corinthians, because it appears from this, that he applied himself willingly to the office of teaching, inasmuch as he vigorously set himself to obviate all the hindrances in the way of the gospel; and not satisfied with merely teaching, endeavored to further the doctrine of it by every method. This then is the sum. “I am under the necessity of preaching the gospel: if I do it not, wo is unto me, for I resist God’s calling. But it is not enough to preach, unless I do it willingly; for he who fulfils the commandment of God unwillingly, does not act, as becomes him, suitably to his office. But if I obey God willingly, it will in that case be allowable for me to glory. Hence it was necessary for me to make the gospel without charge, that I might glory on good ground.”
Papists endeavor from this passage to establish their contrivance as to works of supererogation. “Paul,” they say, “would have fulfilled the duties of his office by preaching the gospel, but he adds something farther over and above. Hence he does something beyond what he is bound to do, for he distinguishes between what is done willingly and what is done from necessity.” I answer, that Paul, it is true, went a greater length than the ordinary calling of pastors required, because he refrained from taking pay, which the Lord allows pastors to take. But as it was a part of his duty to provide against every occasion of offense that he foresaw, and as he saw, that the course of the gospel would be impeded, if he made use of his liberty, though that was out of the ordinary course, yet I maintain that even in that case he rendered to God nothing more than was due. For I ask: “Is it not the part of a good pastor to remove occasions of offense, so far as it is in his power to do so?” I ask again, “Did Paul do anything else than this?” There is no ground, therefore, for imagining that he rendered to God anything that he did not owe to him, inasmuch as he did nothing but what the necessity of his office (though it was an extraordinary necessity) demanded. Away, then, with that wicked imagination, that we compensate for our faults in the sight of God by works of supererogation. Nay more, away with the very term, which is replete with diabolical pride. This passage, assuredly, is mistakenly perverted to bear that meaning.
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The error of Papists is refuted in a general way in this manner: Whatever works are comprehended under the law, are falsely termed works of supererogation, as is manifest from the words of Christ. (Luke 17:10.)
When ye have done all things that are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done what we were bound to do.
Now we acknowledge that no work is good and acceptable to God, that is not included in God’s law. This second statement I prove in this way: There are two classes of good works; for they are all reducible either to the service of God or to love. Now nothing belongs to the service of God that is not included in this summary: Thou shalt love the Lord with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy strength There is also no duty of love that is not required in that precept — Love thy neighbor as thyself (Mark 12:30, 31.) But as to the objection that is brought forward by Papists, that it is possible for one to be acceptable, if he devotes the tenth part of his income, and infer from this, that if he goes so far as to devote the fifth part, he does a work of supererogation, it is easy to remove away this subtilty. For that the deeds of the pious are approved, is not by any means owing to their perfection, but it is because the imperfection and deficiency are not reckoned to their account. Hence even if they were doing an hundred-fold more than they do, they would not, even in that case, exceed the limits of the duty that they owe.
That I may not abuse my power. From this it appears, that such a use of our liberty as gives occasion of offense, is an uncontrolled liberty and abuse. We must keep, therefore, within bounds, that we may not give occasion of offense. This passage also confirms more fully what I just now touched upon, that Paul did nothing beyond what the duty of his office required, because it was not proper that the liberty, that was allowed him by God, should be in any way abused.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain By taking nothing of them to whom I preach…
By taking nothing of them to whom I preach it.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 18 What is my reward then? Verily that, when…
18 What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel.
Ver. 18. What is my reward then?] My merces mundi, reward of the world, all that I have here.
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That I abuse not] i.e. That I make no indiscreet use of it. Non opes, non gloriam, non voluptates quaesivi (said holy Melancthon). Hanc conscientiam aufero quocunque discedo. I never sought wealth, honour, or pleasure. This my conscience tells me, whatever becomes of me.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain What is my reward then? What then is the…
What is my reward then? What then is the ground of my expectation of a greater reward? Or wherein is the glorying I before mentioned? Not in the performance of the work, for as to that, I am under a necessity to do it, and under a penalty if I neglect it: but it lieth here,
that when I preach the gospel, I do it freely, and make it without charge; a thing which, as to the substance of the work, he was not by any law of God bound to do, yet was not this in Paul a work of supererogation; for circumstances might so rule, and, doubtless, Paul apprehended they did so, that it might be his duty so to do. For though the minister may lawfully take maintenance from the people, where he cannot support himself without their assistance; yet if the case be such, that he can subsist without it, and the people be so poor that they are not able to give it; or if he seeth it will hinder the gospel, keeping many from coming within the sound of what must be chargeable to them, and open the mouths of enemies; it is matter of duty to him, under such circumstances, to preach freely. Though, considering the thing in itself, separately from such circumstances, the minister may lawfully enough require and expect such maintenance.
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That (saith the apostle) I abuse not my power in the gospel. Some think that the word here translated abuse, might better have been translated use, as it signified, 1Co 7:31. But it generally signifies abuse, so as there is no reason to vary from the common usage of it; according to which it teaches us this remarkable lesson, that so to use a liberty which God hath left us as to actions, as that by our use of it the glory of God or the good of others is hindered, is to abuse it, that is, not to use it to that true end for which God hath intrusted us with it. For this is certain, that God hath intrusted us with no power or liberty to be used to the prejudice of his glory, which is the great end of our lives, or to the prejudice of the spiritual good and advantage of others. All such use of our liberty in any thing is indeed an abuse of it.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain The scene is, "This gives me hopes of a…
The scene is, "This gives me hopes of a reward extraordinary from God; namely, that I have preached the gospel to you, without being chargeable to any of you; for had I received maintenance from you, I found my reproaches would have brought an ill report upon me. To prevent which, I made use of my Christian liberty, and took nothing of you; which he calls, his not abusing his power in the gospel."
Learn hence, 1. That ministers, generally speaking, lawfully may expect, yea, require maintenance from their people, to whom they preach the gospel.
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Learn, 2. That although they may expect and demand maintenance for their ministry, yet in case people are so poor that they cannot give it; or enemies so malicious as to open their mouths against them for it; or if it will hinder the progress of the gospel, by keeping people from coming under the preaching of it, fearing it should be chargeable to them; under such circumstances, if the minister can subsist without it, ’tis his certain duty to preach freely, and for such extraordinary services he may expect a more than ordinary reward.
Learn, 3. That the liberty which God hath entrusted us with, must never be abused by us, to the prejudice of his glory, or the detriment of his gospel, or to the disadvantage of others. All such use of our liberty in any thing is indeed an abuse of it; therefore says the apostle here, I abuse not my power in the gospel.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain For though I be free from all men,.... As…
For though I be free from all men,.... As an apostle, being in the highest office in the church, he had none superior to him, that could exercise any power and authority over him, and was also independent of men for his maintenance, which he got by his own hand labour: though it may be observed, that the word "men" is not in the original text, and the word "all" may as well have respect to things as men; and the sense be, that he was free, as from the curse of the moral law, so from the yoke of the ceremonial law, and all the rituals of it, and might, if he would, make use of his Christian liberty; the following verses seem to incline to this sense, as the preceding ones do to the former:
yet have I made myself servant unto all; in faithfully and indefatigably preaching the Gospel to them; undergoing all manner of affliction and persecution for the sake of that and them; behaving towards them with all meekness and humility; condescending to their weakness, and accommodating himself to their capacities and customs:
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that I might gain the more; than other apostles have done, or than it could be reasonably thought he should, had he behaved in a more lordly and domineering manner: his end was not to amass wealth, to gain riches and treasures of good things to himself, but many souls to Christ, who otherwise must have been lost; but being brought to the knowledge of Christ, and salvation by him through his ministry, it was profit to them, and gain to Christ: the metaphor is taken from merchants, who spare no pains, but take every method to acquire gain and profit; the ministers of the word are spiritual merchants, their traffic lies in the souls of men, whom they are studiously and anxiously careful to bring to Christ.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain What then is my reward - That circumstance in…
What then is my reward - That circumstance in my conduct for which I expect a peculiar reward from my great Master? That I abuse not - Make not an unseasonable use of my power which I have in preaching the gospel.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 18. That I abuse not my power] I…
Verse 18. That I abuse not my power] I am inclined to think that καταχρησασθαι is to be understood here, not in the sense of abusing, but of using to the uttermost - exacting every thing that a man can claim by law. How many proofs have we of this in preachers of different denominations, who insist so strongly and so frequently on their privileges, as they term them, that the people are tempted to believe they seek not their souls' interests, but their secular goods. Such preachers can do the people no good. But the people who are most liable to think thus of their ministers, are those who are unwilling to grant the common necessaries of life to those who watch over them in the Lord. For there are such people even in the Christian Church! If the preachers of the Gospel were as parsimonious of the bread of life as some congregations and Christian societies are of the bread that perisheth, and if the preacher gave them a spiritual nourishment as base, as mean, and as scanty as the temporal support which they afford him, their souls must without doubt have nearly a famine of the bread of life.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain What is my reward then? - What is the…
What is my reward then? - What is the source of my reward? or what is there in my conduct that will show that I am entitled to reward What is there that will demonstrate that my heart is in the work of the ministry; that I am free and voluntary, and that I am not urged by mere necessity? Though I have been called by miracle, and though necessity is laid upon me, so that I cannot but preach the gospel, yet how shall I so do it as to make it proper for God to reward me as a voluntary agent? Paul immediately states the circumstance that showed that he was entitled to the reward, and that was, that he denied himself, and was willing to forego his lawful enjoyments, and even his rights, that he might make the gospel without charge.
I may make the gospel of Christ without charge - Without expense to those who hear it. I will support myself by my own labor, and will thus show that I am not urged to preaching by mere “necessity,” but that I love it. Observe here:
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(1) That Paul did not give up a support because he was not entitled to it.
(2) He does not say that it would be well or advisable for others to do it.
(3) It is right, and well for a man if he chooses and can do it, to make the gospel without charge, and to support himself.
(4) All that This case proves is, that it would be proper only where a “necessity” was laid on a man, as it was on Paul; when he could not otherwise show that his heart was in the work, and that he was voluntary and loved it.
(5) This passage cannot be urged “by a people” to prove that ministers ought not to have a support. Paul says they have a right to it. A man may forego a right if he pleases. He may choose not to urge it; but no one can demand of him that he should not urge it; much less have they a right to demand that he should give up his rights.
(6) It is best in general that those who hear the gospel should contribute to its support. It is not only equal and right, but it is best for them, We generally set very little value on that which costs us nothing; and the very way to make the gospel contemptible is, to have it preached by those who are supported by the state, or by their own labor in some other department; or by people who neither by their talents, their learning, nor their industry have any claim to a support. All ministers are not like Paul. They have neither been called as he was; nor have they his talent, his zeal, or his eloquence. Paul’s example then should not be urged as an authority for a people to withhold from their pastor what is his due; nor, because Paul chose to forego his rights, should people now demand that a minister should devote his time, and health, and life to their welfare for nothing.
That I abuse not my power in the gospel - Paul had a right to a support. This power he might urge. But to urge it in his circumstances would be a hinderance of the gospel. And to do that would be to abuse his power, or to pervert it to purposes for which it was never designed.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain What is my reward?--The answer is in Co1 9:19;…
What is my reward?--The answer is in Co1 9:19; namely, that by making the Gospel without charge, where I might have rightfully claimed maintenance, I might "win the more."
of Christ--The oldest manuscripts and versions omit these words.
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abuse--rather "that I use not to the full my power." This is his matter for "glorying"; the "reward" ultimately aimed at is the gaining of the more (Co1 9:19). The former, as involving the latter, is verbally made the answer to the question, "What is my reward?" But really the "reward" is that which is the ultimate aim of his preaching without charge, namely, that he may gain the more; it was for this end, not to have matter of glorying, that he did so.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 18. What… reward—Of this eager and self-sacrificing willingness, at…
18. What… reward—Of this eager and self-sacrificing willingness, at the expense of a livelihood, what is my reward? The answer to this question is not, as Stanley and others give it, “My reward is, that I have no reward!”
By no means. His reward is a gratis gospel to the people, with all the blessedness embraced in that glorious fact. His service is willingness for any sacrifice; his reward, his glory, dearer than life itself, is that unpaid yet priceless gospel. If Paul’s commentators cannot see that this is a reward, he could see it to be so; a reward pregnant with salvation to unnumbered souls, and with the richest blessings of his divine Master on his own soul. This view is confirmed by the entire following context, 19-22; where he declares that for various self-abnegations, the reward is that he might gain more, save some. An earnest will is the antecedent; the gospel’s rich success is the consequent reward. Not that he fails to include in this reward all the resultant blessedness to others and himself. Such inclusion is proved 23-27, where he claims, as in the result, the being partaker with you, the final prize an incorruptible crown. It is in the vigorous faith of the apostle to lump all the glory of this eternal future in the present and the future immediate.
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Make the gospel… without charge—Literally, I may present an expenseless gospel. Such an attainment Paul holds to be a glory and a reward.
That—To the end, or result, that. He makes the gospel expenseless, terminating in the fact that he has underused his power in the gospel.
In full accordance with the magnanimity with which St. Paul renounced pecuniary support did he also renounce his own preferences, tastes, and conveniences, in order that by conceding to others he might win them to Christ. That in this accommodation he never surrrendered the right and the true, he does not consider it necessary to say. That might be assumed as of course. The history of his own conduct on that point, as given by Luke, is a better statement of his most delicate discrimination on this point than any profession of his own. Note on Act_15:6; Act_21:24.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 18. What is my reward then?] Literally, wages (see…
18. What is my reward then?] Literally, wages (see last verse). Either (1) as in our version, the preaching the Gospel without charge, and the consciousness of having served God faithfully thus obtained; or (2) as some would interpret, suspending the construction until the end of 1Co_9:19, the satisfaction of having made more converts than any one else. But this involves (1) a harsh construction, and (2) a motive which appears foreign to the Christian character. For though St Paul in ch. 1Co_15:10 says, ‘I laboured more abundantly than they all,’ it is in no spirit of vain-glorious boasting. The translation ‘reward’ somewhat obscures the meaning. Christ had said, ‘The labourer is worthy of his hire,’ or wages, St Paul refers to this in 1Co_9:17. In this verse he asks what his wages are, and replies that they are the preaching the Gospel without charge.
without charge] This was St Paul’s usual ground of boasting. We find it in his earliest Epistle (1Th_2:9; cf. 2Th_3:8). It formed part of his appeal to the Ephesian elders (Act_20:33-34), and in the fervid defence of himself which we find in the Second Epistle to the Corinthians it occupies a prominent place. See 2Co_11:7-12.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (18) What is my reward then?—It seems better to…
(18) What is my reward then?—It seems better to omit the note of interrogation, and read the whole verse thus:—What reward then is to be mine, so that (i.e., which induces me) in preaching the gospel I make the gospel without charge (to my hearers), so that I use not my power in the gospel? The “power” being the right to support maintained in 1Co_9:6; 1Co_9:12.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain What is my reward then? The answer is that…
What is my reward then? The answer is that it was not such "wages" as would ordinarily be considered such, but it was the happiness of preaching the gospel without cost to any. I abuse not; rather, I use not to the full, as in 1Co_7:31. It may be said that this was a ground of boasting, not a reward. It was, however, a point to which St. Paul attached the highest importance (1Th_2:9; 2Co_11:7-12; Act_20:33, Act_20:34) and he might therefore speak of it, though almost with a touch of half unconscious irony, as his "fee." There is no need to adopt the construction suggested by Meyer: "What is my reward? none that I may preach gratuitously;" or that of Afford, who finds the reward in the next verse.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 18. What then is my reward? He had no…
18. What then is my reward? He had no earthly wages. What then? That he should have the satisfaction of knowing that, for the sake of the gospel, he gave up his right, and preached freely. If he was accused of mercenary motives it might interpose a hindrance.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain 18. “Then what is my reward?” It is not…
18. “Then what is my reward?” It is not simply for preaching the gospel, for no one deserves a reward for doing his duty, the reward being in the duty itself. “In order that preaching the gospel, I shall render it free from charge, so as not to use my privilege in the gospel.” You see here that there is a great premium in Heaven for those who preach the gospel without temporal support, on the Pauline plan of self-support. We are gratified to see hundreds and thousands in the present Holiness movement, preaching on the streets, in the missions and slums in the evening after their regular day’s work in their respective temporal employments, where God gives them their necessary material support and enables them to preach the gospel gratuitously, as Paul here certifies that he did. This is one of the most encouraging phenomena at the present day.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain What then is my reward? That, when I preach…
What then is my reward? That, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel without charge, so as not to use to the full my right in the gospel . [He found his reward in the happiness of preaching the gospel without charge, and in the feeling that as a steward he had not used his privileges to the full, and so was far from abusing them. Paul so loved those whom Christ called that he counted it a privilege to be permitted to serve them gratuitously. But such a course is not without danger to the church-- 2Co_12:13 ]
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 9:18 Paul’s satisfaction came from preaching the Good News…
9:18 Paul’s satisfaction came from preaching the Good News without charging anyone. This is another example of the way Christians must be willing to give up their rights out of consideration for others (cp. 8:13).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.