Here Paul’s primary point has to do with how one runs the race.

The athletic metaphor was widespread among philosophers in the ancient world and would have been especially relevant to Paul’s audience since Corinth hosted the biennial Isthmian games, which was second only to the famed Olympic games. Here Paul employs both the image of the runner and the boxer. Paul found athletic metaphors useful on a number of occasions in his letters.115 We should exercise caution, however, in overinterpreting any given metaphor by seeking to apply every detail of the analogy to the Christian life. In this present example it would be absurd to suggest that only one believer receives the prize out of all those who enter the race. Here Paul’s primary point has to do with how one runs the race.

In Paul’s example only one receives the prize, but obviously he is urging all believers to run like the well-trained athlete who exercises self-control in all things in order to achieve a greater goal. The analogy also effectively accentuates the contrast between the victor’s wreath, which is of only temporal value, and the believer’s crown of permanent worth. In context, the overall argument has to do with putting others before self in order to maximize one’s effectiveness for the gospel, which requires rigorous self-discipline.

The sacrifices that athletes in training make call to mind as well that Paul’s “evangelistic principle” should permeate all of our lives and order all of our priorities. From time to time we verbally share our faith and explain our moral commitments, but all of life involves modeling for a fallen world the balance of freedom and restraint that Paul articulates here. Whether at work or at play, at church or in the world, we are never “off-duty” with respect to the tasks of exhibiting the values of a balanced Christian life or of identifying with our culture for the sake of redeeming it.

This is the first use of the term “gospel” in chap. 9, which occurs nine times in its noun or verb form in 9:12b–23, thus establishing these verses as a unit. The parallel statements of 9:12 and 9:23 regarding enduring/doing all things for the gospel succinctly capture the main theme of 8:1–11:1.

This is the first use of the term “gospel” in chap. 9, which occurs nine times in its noun or verb form in 9:12b–23, thus establishing these verses as a unit. The parallel statements of 9:12 and 9:23 regarding enduring/doing all things for the gospel succinctly capture the main theme of 8:1–11:1.

On the one hand, the gospel brings glorious freedom in Christ for all believers, but on the other hand, the very nature of the gospel is radically others-centered and thereby restricts freedom and the use of so-called rights in relation to other believers. The key question for all Christian decision making is what brings glory to God and esteems the gospel in a manner that seeks to win as many as possible to Christ.

The great appeal of Jesus was rarely based on penalty and punishment. It was based on the declaration: ‘Look what you are missing if you do not take my way.’ The goal is life, and surely it is worth anything to win that.

(1) Life is a battle. As the American philosopher William James put it, ‘If this life be not a real fight, in which something is eternally gained for the universe by success, it is not better than a game of private theatricals from which one may withdraw at will. But it feels like a fight—as if there were something really wild in the universe which we, with all our idealities and faithfulnesses, are needed to redeem.

But if we look a little closer, we’ll find that’s not the case. Verse 23 literally reads, “I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I might share with them in it.” Not in its blessings, but in the gospel itself, in its nature. But what does that mean? What is the nature of the gospel? The gospel foundationally is about a witness who came to us by becoming one of us—an insider who felt our deepest hopes and aspirations, who learned the questions we were asking and the things that troubled us. It’s about a witness who immersed himself deeply in our fallen world, speaking and giving, living and loving in ways we could understand—sharing everything with us, but even more, giving his life away for us and our sin, becoming weak, losing it all—because he had a goal that kept him going. That goal was you. It was me.

Obviously this points to something of enduring value, but what the crown is, in this context, Paul does not say. On two occasions Paul applies the crown image to other believers (Phil 4:1; 1 Thess 2:19), and once he refers to a crown of righteousness that the Lord awards to all who long for his appearing (2 Tim 4:8). Other New Testament passages refer to a crown of life and a crown of glory (Jas 1:12; 1 Pet 5:4; Rev 2:10). The only other place that Paul refers to the “prize” is Phil 3:14, which Paul specifies as the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

He does not want any of the members of his church to fail to get their spiritual and incorruptible crowns. Because this is an analogy, we must not press the correspondence too far. Paul scarcely imagines that there will be only one faithful Christian on Judgment Day! But he is aware that some who begin the race of fulfilling their commission may not complete it and thereby be disqualified (v. 27). So too he likens his struggle to a boxer who dare not shadow box or miss too many punches if he intends to knock out his opponent (v. 26b).

Corinth itself hosted major games for all Greece every two years on the isthmus; these were the best-attended Greek festivals next to the Olympic games, which were held every four years. The pine garland was awarded at these Isthmian games (wild olive at the Olympic, parsley at the Nemean, etc.).

The clause “but only one receives the prize” (a wreath for the head, which would eventually rot) emphasizes how hard one had to work to win the race. (A long period of intense discipline was mandatory for any who planned to participate in the events. For instance, participants for the Olympic games had to swear by Zeus to follow ten months of strict training beforehand.)

The source of such selflessness is the transforming power of love for Christ, who gave up so much to become a servant for our sake (Mark 10:45; Phil. 2:7; 2 Cor. 8:9). When we are gripped by such love, a focus on personal comfort gives way to a focus on advancing the gospel and the blessings it brings. As the athletic images in 1 Corinthians 9:24–26 remind us, passion for Christ fuels sustained, intense effort. The grace we have already received gives us strength and motive to complete our “race,” where the final victory of resurrection life in Christ awaits us (v. 25; cf. 15:50–57).

9:18. Did he then not have any reward? Yes; two, in fact. First, he had his boast (v. 15) that he offered the gospel free of charge, and no one could deny that (cf. 2 Cor. 11:9–10). Second, he had the opportunity to see the gospel at work among those to whom he preached (1 Cor. 9:19, 23), and these results, the believers themselves, were his reward (cf. 2 Cor. 7:3–4). The word translated “reward” (misthos) may also refer to a wage. Paul had shunned material recompense, but he was not without a reward or return for his labor. He had the joy of reaping. To widen that harvest he would gladly give up certain rights, among them the right to material support, in order to enjoy both the integrity of his boast about his ministry and the results of his ministry (cf. John 4:36).

Athletes who competed in the games in Olympia had to swear an oath confirming that they had abstained from wine, meat, and sexual intercourse in the previous ten months. Runners focus on winning the prize, which in the games in Olympia and in Isthmia was a crown, a wreath made of foliage (in the games in Isthmia, controlled by the city of Corinth, the wreath was made of celery). See 2 Tim 4:8; Jas 1:12; 1 Pet 5:4; Rev 2:10. The goal of winning determines an athlete’s lifestyle.

9:25 crown that will last forever. Eternal life in an imperishable new body (15:42, 50, 53–54). Christians must avoid anything that could jeopardize reaching the goal. Self-control is part of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:23).

Every one of them should run as these runners do, with all-out effort to get the prize. By the words “strict training,” Paul refers to the athlete’s self-control in diet and his rigorous bodily discipline. He observes that the athletes train vigorously for a “corruptible crown”—a laurel or celery wreath that would soon wither away. But the Christian’s crown, eternal life and fellowship with God, will last forever (Rev 2:10).

For “proving/testing” language in Paul, see also 2 Cor 13:3–5. In terms of the language and the notion of human striving in 1 Cor 9:24–27, compare the striking parallels in Phil 3:7–21; Paul speaks of counting all things as loss and “gaining” Christ, pressing on for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ (3:14). Yet Paul clearly does not have in mind a works righteousness or human striving as a means of securing an eternal inheritance. Righteousness comes by faith (Phil 3:9). In Phil 3:17, as in 1 Cor 11:1, Paul urges others to follow his example. See also 2 Tim 2:5; 4:6–8.

“The clearest example of what Paul means by becoming ‘as a Jew’ and as ‘one under the law’ is his description of the thirty-nine lashes he suffered at the hands of the Jews (2 Cor. 11:24).… He bowed to synagogue discipline to maintain his Jewish connections (Harvey 1985: 93).… Paul accepted these penalties to keep open the option of preaching the gospel message in the synagogue. For Paul to submit to this punishment five times testifies not only to his mettle but also to his extraordinary sense of obligation to his people” (David E. Garland, 1 Corinthians, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament [Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2003], p. 430).

he was under compulsion. The Lord stopped him short one day on the road to Damascus, as he was on his way there to persecute Christians. At that time he was set apart as the apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 9:3–6, 15; 26:13–18; cf. Rom. 11:13). Paul chose God’s call in the sense that he was not “disobedient to the heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19), but he really had no choice. He was under compulsion.

When frustrated and despondent because of rejection and ridicule, Jeremiah tried to stop preaching but could not. “But if I say, ‘I will not remember Him or speak anymore in His name,’ then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire shut up in my bones; and I am weary of holding it in, and I cannot endure it” (Jer. 20:9).

for he is compelled to preach (cf. Jer. 20:9)

9  If I say, “I will not mention him,

or speak any more in his name,”

there is in my heart as it were a burning fire

shut up in my bones,

and I am weary with holding it in,

and I cannot.

For discharging the trust (oikonomia) see the note on ‘those entrusted’ (oikonomos) in 4:1. The thought is that Paul is responsible to God; he must discharge the commission God has given him.

The preachers are also those entrusted with the secret things of God. Those entrusted with translates oikonomoi, a term which refers to the person who supervised a large estate (‘administrators’, Héring; ‘managers’, Goodspeed). Unless he was to be a slave to his slaves, a rich landowner had to find someone to do the routine work of running the estate. This deputy was called an oikonomos (cf. Luke 16:1). He held a responsible position; he was set over others and directed the day-to-day affairs. But he was subject to a master and was often a slave. Then in relation to the master he was a slave, but in relation to the slaves he was the master.

The Old Testament taught that one must submit to God’s call, even if (as in the case of Moses, Gideon, Isaiah and Jeremiah) one felt unprepared or inadequate for it.

In fact, though he has many rights (“I am free from all”), Paul lives as though he has none (“a servant to all”; v. 19). For the sake of the gospel (v. 23), he has become “all things to all people” (v. 22)—that is, he has adopted many customs and cultural practices that are not his own preferences, so that he might honor Christ and bless others by sharing the gospel with as many different kinds of people as possible. Even those of us who are not apostles are called to show such zeal for “building up” our neighbors (8:1; 10:23).

9:16. Of course Paul’s “call” to the ministry was unique. Others have responded voluntarily to the call to follow Christ (Mark 3:13; John 1:37–39), but Paul was flattened by it (Acts 22:6–10). Like Jonah, Paul was compelled to preach (cf. 1 Cor. 1:17), and like that prophet, woe to him if he shirked his task.

His concern to win them was not in the preliminary sense of justification as in the case of unbelieving Jews and Gentiles (9:20–21) but to win the Corinthians in terms of sanctification and maturity in Christ (cf. Matt. 18:15)—and so to save them for God’s ongoing work in their lives (cf. 1 Cor. 5:5; 8:11). Paul’s condescension to the scruples and customs of all men (cf. “everyone” in 9:19) found application on a momentary case-by-case basis since it would be impossible to satisfy simultaneously the penchants of both Jews and Gentiles alike.

Within the bounds of God’s Word, he would not offend the Jew, Gentile, or those weak in understanding. Not changing Scripture or compromising the truth, he would condescend in ways that could lead to salvation.

beats the air. Paul changes the metaphor to boxing to illustrate the point that he was no shadow boxer, just waving his arms without effect (cf. 1 Tim. 1:18).

9:27 discipline. From a term lit. meaning to hit under the eye. He knocked out the bodily impulses to keep them from preventing him from his mission of winning souls to Christ.

He states that he aims his blows against his own body, beating it black and blue (hypōpiazō; see the same word in Luke 18:5). The picture is graphic: the ancient boxers devastatingly punishing one another with knuckles bound with leather thongs. And so by pummeling his body, Paul enslaves it in order to gain the Christian prize. The ancient kēryx was the herald in the Greek games who announced the rules of the contest, but the Christian herald—i.e., preacher—not only announces the rules but “plays” in the game as well. Paul had not only to preach the gospel but also to live the gospel. As Hodge has said (in loc.), Paul here acts on the principle that the righteous can scarcely be saved, though he also stresses that nothing can separate the Christian from God’s love (Rom 8:38, 39). The Christian, confident of God’s sovereign grace, is nevertheless conscious of his battle against sin.

Paul is not promoting pure situation ethics. These verses form part of his larger discussion of morally neutral matters (8:1–11:1). So we dare not apply his strategy of “all things to all people” to issues of fundamental morality or immorality. Paul would never have said “to the thief I become like a thief,” or “to the adulterer I become an adulterer.” Conversely, he would never have stopped practicing those virtues that are always right, for example, the fruit of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Gal. 5:22–23).

Paul does not elaborate concerning how he became like Jews and those under the law, but the Lukan narratives in Acts reference Paul’s occasional accommodation to Jewish practice in order to open doors of evangelism (Acts 16:1–3; 21:23–26). Garland suggests that the best commentary on Paul’s becoming as a Jew and one under the law is found in 2 Cor 11:24, where Paul describes his submission to synagogue discipline five times. In other words, Paul submitted to the discipline of the community in order to maintain connections and to keep open opportunities for preaching in the synagogue.

Garland thinks that Paul means partnership in an active sense, namely, participation in the gospel enterprise of winning others (2 Cor 8:23; Phil 1:5; Phlm 17).

In his personal life, Paul so lived that he did not offend either the Jews or the Gentiles. He did not parade his liberty before the Jews, nor did he impose the Law on the Gentiles.

In his personal life, Paul so lived that he did not offend either the Jews or the Gentiles. He did not parade his liberty before the Jews, nor did he impose the Law on the Gentiles.

The Christian does not run the race in order to get to heaven. He is in the race because he has been saved through faith in Jesus Christ. Only Greek citizens were allowed to participate in the games, and they had to obey the rules both in their training and in their performing. Any contestant found breaking the training rules was automatically disqualified.

the believer is ‘not under law, but under grace’ (Rom. 6:14). But in approaching Jews he conformed to practices that would enable him to win those under the law. The sort of thing in mind is his circumcision of Timothy (Acts 16:1–3) and his joining in Jewish ‘purification rites’ (Acts 21:23–26). He always respected Jewish scruples. He asked Jews not so much to give up the practice of the law as their confidence in it (Phil. 3:3ff.). Their trust must be in Christ.

24. A foot race yielded but one winner. Therefore the runners must make every effort. Winning is more than simply starting in the race. The parallel with the Christian way is not complete, for many are saved, not just one winner. Paul’s point is that, like the runner, the Christian must give of his best.

“How did Paul become without the law? He is not simply talking about forsaking distinctively Jewish practices such as Jewish food laws or Sabbath celebrations … nor is he talking about his presentation of the gospel, using arguments that would be more persuasive to the Gentile world.… He did not become a pagan sinner, but … like a Gentile, as one without heritage, without the merit of the fathers, without works of law to set him apart from others or to justify his salvation. Paul lived among the Galatians simply as a Christian, not as a Jew or a Pharisee of Pharisees (see Betz 1979: 223)” (ibid., pp. 431, 432).

It’s so much easier for a Christian to retreat to his safe enclave instead of staying in the world. It takes a lot of work and intentional focus to know one’s neighbors and the broader culture—to feel their hopes and to discern their questions. It’s even harder to be able to do all of that without the safety net of our subcultural jargon. It takes work and intentional focus. It requires discipline. Paul compares it to the rigorous training to which an athlete would subject himself. A Christian can’t expect to witness well without a tremendous amount of effort, any more than he could expect to be an effective athlete without that

Under the Mosaic law every Hebrew who was enslaved by another Hebrew had to be offered his freedom after six years. But if he loved his master and preferred to remain in that household, he could become a permanent slave, and his ear was pierced as a sign of his voluntary enslavement (Ex. 21:2–6).

In a figurative way Paul made himself such a slave to other men. I have made myself a slave is only two words in Greek (edoulōsa, “I enslave,” and emauton, “myself”). That word for enslavement is very strong. It is used to describe Israel’s 400-year experience in Egypt (Acts 7:6), the marriage bond (1 Cor. 7:15), addiction to wine (Titus 2:3), and the Christian’s new relationship to righteousness (Rom. 6:18).

It was not a small or easy thing that Paul enslaved himself to all. But his Lord had taught that “whoever wishes to be first … shall be slave of all” (Mark 10:44).

25. Competes in the games renders agōnizomai, which gives us words like ‘agony’ and ‘agonize’. It does not mean a half-hearted effort. Every competitor had to undergo strict training for ten months, during which he was ‘temperate in all things’ (AV). After all this, his reward if he won was a crown that will not last (in the Isthmian Games it was a pine wreath at first, later celery was used, and towards the end of the first century, pine again; SPC, p. 101). The Christian has before him something much more worthwhile, a crown that will last for ever (cf. 2 Tim. 4:8).

The strenuous self-denial of the athlete as he sought a fleeting reward is a rebuke to half-hearted, flabby Christian service. The athlete denies himself many lawful pleasures and the Christian must similarly avoid not only definite sin, but anything that hinders spiritual progress.

disqualified. Another metaphor from the athletic games. A contestant who failed to meet basic training requirements could not participate at all, much less have an opportunity to win. Paul may be especially referring to such fleshly sins that disqualify a man from preaching and leading the church, particularly being blameless and above reproach in the sexual area, since such sin is a disqualification (see notes on Ps. 101:6; Prov. 6:33; 1 Tim. 3:2; Titus 1:6).

woe. God’s severest chastening is reserved for unfaithful ministers (Heb. 13:17; James 3:1).

Paul’s life could be cut short by the disciplinary disapproval of God. God had disciplined in the past (10:6–10), was disciplining in the present (11:30–32), and would discipline in the immediate future (5:5). Paul was concerned that some might not be able to say with him one day, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race” (2 Tim. 4:7), but would find themselves cut off in the midst of the contest by the disciplinary action of God.

Five advantages were enjoyed by Israel. First, all the liberated Israelites enjoyed the supernatural guidance (Ex. 13:21) and protection (Ex. 14:19–20) of the pillar of cloud in their Exodus from Egypt. The Corinthians had similarly experienced God’s guidance (cf. Luke 1:79) and protection (cf. 1 Peter 1:5). Second, all Israelites passed through the sea and experienced a miraculous deliverance from those who sought to take their lives (Ex. 14:21–28). So too had the Corinthians experienced a miraculous deliverance—salvation (cf. Heb. 2:14–15; Gal. 1:4).

10:2. Third, the Israelites were all baptized into Moses, that is, united with their spiritual head, God’s servant, who became the object of their trust (Ex. 14:31; cf. John 5:45). The Corinthians had been baptized into the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13) of which He is the Head (Eph. 1:22) and in whom they trusted (Matt. 12:21; Eph. 1:12).

10:3. As a fourth privilege, the Israelites all enjoyed spiritual food, the supernatural bread from heaven (Ex. 16:4, 15). The Corinthians too had eaten bread from heaven (cf. John 6:31–34).

10:4. As a fifth advantage, Paul listed the spiritual drink enjoyed by Israel in the desert (Ex. 17:6). According to Paul, Christ was the source of this supernatural water. Since the incident of the rock which produced water marked the beginning of Israel’s wilderness wanderings (Ex. 17:1–7) and happened again near the ending of their wanderings (Num. 20:1–13), Paul concluded that Christ accompanied them. Christ too was the source of supernatural water for the Corinthians (cf. John 4:10–14).

It is possible that these five blessings were intended by Paul to reflect the two ordinances of baptism (1 Cor. 10:1–2) and the Lord’s Supper (vv. 3–4) which the Corinthians may have thought communicated a magical protection like similar rites in some of the mystery religions. The Corinthians did seem to have a distorted view and practice of both of these ordinances (cf. 11:17–34; 15:29) which required correction.

10:5. The presence of supernatural privileges in the lives of Old Testament Israelites did not produce automatic success. On the contrary, in spite of their special advantages, most of them (in fact, all but two members of one generation, Joshua and Caleb) experienced God’s discipline, were disqualified, and died in the desert (Num. 14:29). In light of this, Paul’s avowed need for personal self-discipline (1 Cor. 9:27) was genuine since even Moses was disqualified for the prize (Num. 20:12).

10:6. Since this was so, the Corinthians’ complacency in matters of self-discipline and their corresponding penchant for self-indulgence required immediate remedial action. Christian freedom was not meant to lead to self-indulgence but to selfless service (cf. Gal. 5:13), as the behavior of past Israelites illustrated.

Paralleling the fivefold blessings enjoyed by Israel in their newfound freedom from Egypt, Paul proceeded to recount a fivefold failure experienced by Israel during this time. He began with the Israelites’ craving for the pleasures of Egypt, summarized in their plaintive cry, “Give us meat to eat!” (Num. 11:4–34, esp. v. 13) God gave them what they wanted but while the meat was still between their teeth, He struck them with a plague. The Israelites named the cemetery for those who were killed “Kibroth Hattaavah” (“graves of craving”; Num. 11:34). The application to the Corinthian situation was obvious (cf. 1 Cor. 8:13).

10:7. Second, many in Israel failed by participating in idolatry (Ex. 32:1–6) and paid for it with their lives (Ex. 32:28, 35). Apparently some Corinthians were interested in more than meat in the pagan temples (1 Cor. 8:10; 10:14). For those who thought they as Christians could take part in idolatry with impunity, Paul intended, with illustrations like this, to knock out the false props which supported their behavior (v. 12) before God intervened and took their lives.

10:8. A third failure among the privileged Israelites was in the area of sexual immorality. In the Israelites’ case the immorality was associated with idolatry (Num. 25:1–2), which also characterized much pagan worship in the first century. But the Corinthians indulged in immorality in contexts other than idolatry, as the instances of rebuke in 1 Corinthians 5:1 and 6:18 illustrate. As God had brought death to the immoral among the Israelites (Num. 25:4–9), He could do in Corinth (e.g., 1 Cor. 5:5), a sobering thought for the libertines who said, “Everything is permissible” (6:12; 10:23).

A possible solution to the apparent discrepancy in the death count found in Numbers 25:9 (24,000) and Paul’s figure of 23,000 may reside in the phrase one day. Moses and most of Israel were mourning the death of those who had been executed by the judges (Num. 25:5) or killed by an ongoing plague. Meanwhile Phineas was dispatching an Israelite man and Moabite woman in their last act of immorality (Num. 25:6–8), which brought to completion God’s discipline of the immoral Israelites and ended the death toll by plague at 24,000, a number probably intended as a summary figure.

Another explanation of the 24,000 in Numbers (contra. Paul’s 23,000) is that the former included the leaders (cf. Num. 25:4), whereas the latter did not.

10:9. The Israelites’ fourth failure was the presuming of some to question the plan and purpose of God on their trek to Canaan. As a result they were killed by snakes (Num. 21:4–6). Did the Corinthians think that they knew better than God the path that would bring them to heaven? (cf. 1 Cor. 1:18–3:20)

10:10. Israel’s fifth failure, which God disciplined with death, occurred when they spoke rebelliously against God’s appointed leaders, Moses and Aaron (Num. 16:41–49). Was Paul facing a similar situation as an outgrowth of the Corinthians’ party spirit? (cf. 1 Cor. 1:11; 4:18–19) It is possible that each of these failures found expression in the Corinthian issue of eating food sacrificed to idols.

10:11. God’s dealings with Israel were more than a matter of historical curiosity for Paul. They were examples (cf. v. 6) and warnings for the Corinthians that the God with whom they had to deal, who was bringing His interaction with people to a close in this fulfillment of the ages, was the same God who disciplined the Israelites with death and would do so again (cf. 11:30).

10:12. If the Corinthians believed their standing in Christ and corresponding freedom could be exercised in sin with impunity, they were wrong, possibly dead wrong.

The meaning of “unapproved” is contextually determined and depends on what is being tested. The immediate context has to do with subordinating everything to the gospel. To infer that “disqualification” in this context means the ultimate loss of salvation is to push the analogy a bit far. An important consideration in this regard is what Paul has said already regarding the “testing” of the Day of the Lord (3:5–17), which will show the quality of one’s works. The end result is the loss of reward, but the individual himself is saved yet only as through fire (3:15). This is followed by the dire warning that God will destroy those who destroy the temple of God (3:17). Destruction, albeit severe, does not necessarily entail eternal damnation. Likewise, in 4:1–5 Paul reminds the Corinthians that he himself is not capable of rendering a final verdict concerning his own ministry and motives. Rather, it is the Lord who brings to light the secrets of darkness and reveals the desires of men’s hearts. God alone bestows praise on his servants. It seems reasonable, therefore, to conclude that the primary intent of the term “disqualified/unapproved” in this context has more to do with God’s final verdict on his people for which there will be both reward and loss.

The word castaway (1 Cor. 9:27) is a technical word familiar to those who knew the Greek games. It means “disapproved, disqualified.” At the Greek games, there was a herald who announced the rules of the contest, the names of the contestants, and the names and cities of the winners. He would also announce the names of any contestants who were disqualified.

“The word [translated as ‘disqualified’] is much stronger than [that]. It means ‘proven false,’ as with coinage, ‘to be shown as counterfeit.’ Hebrews 6:8 contains a vivid picture of what ‘failing the proof’ entails: ‘But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned’ ” (Garland, 1 Corinthians, p. 445).

The word translated “disqualified” literally means “to be shown counterfeit.” And this is precisely what will become of our love if we’re not willing to do the hard work of training ourselves. Our love will be shown counterfeit, a charade, a façade if we don’t discipline ourselves to stay in.

Witness that is intrusive, that tries to box another person into a corner to win the argument, or that treats him as a prize to be won rather than a person to be loved, shouldn’t happen. Any form of witness marked by imperialism like that runs counter to the very nature of the gospel, which tells believers that the God of Christianity wins not by conquering but by dying, not by bringing the sword but by bearing the cross. And any witness that calls itself Christian has to do the same.

I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I might share with them in it.” Not in its blessings, but in the gospel itself, in its nature. But what does that mean? What is the nature of the gospel? The gospel foundationally is about a witness who came to us by becoming one of us—an insider who felt our deepest hopes and aspirations, who learned the questions we were asking and the things that troubled us. It’s about a witness who immersed himself deeply in our fallen world, speaking and giving, living and loving in ways we could understand—sharing everything with us, but even more, giving his life away for us and our sin, becoming weak, losing it all—because he had a goal that kept him going. That goal was you. It was me.

Speaking of his fellow Jews, Paul said, “My heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation” (Rom. 10:1). Even if preaching to the Gentiles caused some Jews to accept Christ out of jealousy, that would be good (11:14). Earlier in that same letter he said, “For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh” (9:3).

If he was willing to do that for the sake of his fellow Jews, he could surely abide by their ceremonial regulations, observe a special day, or refrain from eating certain foods—if doing those things would help win those who are under the Law. When Paul wanted to take Timothy with him in his ministry he had him circumcised, “because of the Jews who were in those parts” where he intended to go (Acts 16:3). Timothy’s circumcision was of no benefit to him and certainly not to Paul. But it could be of great benefit to their ministry among Jews and was a small price for the prospect of winning some of them to the Lord.

At the advice of James and other leaders of the Jerusalem church, Paul willingly paid for and participated in a Jewish purification ceremony with four other Jewish Christians. He took part in the ritual in order to prove to the Jewish critics of Christianity that he was not teaching Jews to completely abandon Moses and the Old Testament law (Acts 21:20–26). The special Jewish vow Paul took in Cenchrea (Acts 18:18) may have been for the sake of some Jews.

Because Jews were still under the Law, Paul would himself act as under the Law when he worked among them. He did not believe, teach, or give the least suggestion that following the law was of any spiritual benefit. It could not gain or keep salvation, but it was a way of opening doors to work among the Jews

If a person is offended by God’s Word, that is his problem. If he is offended by biblical doctrine, standards, or church discipline, that is his problem. That person is offended by God. But if he is offended by our unnecessary behavior or practices—no matter how good and acceptable those may be in themselves—his problem becomes our problem.

Paul therefore counsels all believers to run in such a way that you may win, by setting aside anything that might hinder the reception of the gospel.

In the Isthmian games the prize was a pine wreath. The contestants competed for more than that, of course. The wreath represented fame, acclaim, and the life of a hero. Winners were immortalized, much as they are today. But that “immortality” was just as mortal as the wreath itself, and lasted little longer. Both were perishable.

Paul put his body into subjection, into slavery to his mission of winning souls for Christ.