First Corinthians 9 Part 4 The Pauline Model Of Ministry Is One Of Selfless Sacrifice

Paul had a commission from Christ and a burden to preach the gospel. 

1 Corinthians 9:16-17  For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel! 17)  For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me. 

Paul could have boasted that he was preaching the gospel of Christ at his own expense but that was not his motivation for preaching the gospel.

Paul had a clear commissioning from the Lord Jesus Christ and a burden laid upon him by the Holy Spirit to preach the gospel. 

The apostle Paul was always faithful to his calling to preach the gospel of Christ. 

He faithfully preached it when the churches supported him as they ought to and when they did not help defray his expenses.

Paul resolved to preach the gospel whenever and wherever he could do so. 

The idea of a "woe" upon him means that Christ would judge him if he failed to faithfully discharge his commission from the Lord. 

Paul would receive a special reward from the Lord Jesus Christ for faithfully discharging his duties as an apostle. 

Even if his heart was unwilling to preach it, he still received a great burden to preach the gospel. The idea is that the commission from Christ was an inescapable calling. 

If Paul only preached the gospel with a heart of just doing his duty, then he would lose that special reward from the Lord. 

Of course, we know that Paul loved the Lord Jesus with all of his being and that he served Christ faithfully until his martyrdom. 

Paul was willing to preach the gospel whether he was supported or not. 

If God calls you into ministry, then serve Him with all your being.

Colossians 4:17  And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it. 

This text is an illustration of what Paul means by facing judgment if he refused to do what Jesus saved him to do. 

A man named Archippus was born again at Laodicea. He was called to serve the Lord and Paul knew about it. 

He specifically wrote to remind Archippus that he must faithfully fulfill his ministerial calling.

We previously read where Jesus called and commissioned Paul for apostolic ministry. What was it like for Paul to receive such a heavy and honorable task?

Isaiah and Paul saw life changing visions and received a commission from God.

Isaiah 6:1-8  In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2)  Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3)  And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. 4)  And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. 5)  Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. 6)  Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 7)  And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. 8)  Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. 

Like Saul on the road to Damascus, the prophet Isaiah also saw a vision of Jehovah. Like Saul, he fell down to the earth and recognized his sinfulness before the thrice holy God. 

He cried out because both he and his people were a nation of unclean lips. 

Yet, Jehovah sent a seraphim with a live coal from His altar in heaven and purified the prophet. 

Next, Isaiah heard the voice of the Lord, just as Saul heard the voice of the Lord speak to him. Saul asked "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" 

In like manner, Isaiah heard the Lord ask "whom shall we send and who will go for us?" Isaiah immediately responded saying "Here am I; send me."

Thus, the calling and commissioning of these two men by Jehovah, was life altering for each of them.

Isaiah prophesied for about forty years and he ministered to five different kings of Judah. 

Saul, who was later renamed Paul, faithfully preached the gospel for about 35 years until he was beheaded by the Romans. 

Paul traveled more than ten thousand miles planting churches and preaching the gospel of Christ. 

Paul will do without support to preach so that the gospel is not hindered.

1 Corinthians 9:18  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. 

It is an abuse of power to use the gospel against the very ends for which it is given. 

Paul was speaking of false teachers who saw ministry to the church as an opportunity to enrich themselves. 

Paul would never use his power, or privilege as an apostle to demand support for his ministry. 

God loves a cheerful giver and those who give liberally shall be blessed abundantly. 

Paul would bear the costs of his support if need be, because he did not want to force anyone to do something that they did not want to do.

The Spirit of God must do the heart work in a person's soul, so that they are happy and willing to financially support Paul, in this case, or support pastors in the case of a local church.

Paul's fear was that if he demanded support from the church as he was entitled to do,  that this would hinder the Gospel of Christ. 

In Paul's day, some of the best wages earned were made by polished orators who attracted disciples, and initiated them into their doctrines.

Paul was resolved he should never be mistaken for an eloquent orator or a false teacher seeking to deceive anyone. 

The success of Paul's ministry was partly due to the fact that men recognized that his teaching was a labour of love. 

Paul was pressed by the Holy Spirit to preach the gospel of Christ.

Acts 18:1-5  After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; 2)  And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them. 3)  And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers. 4)  And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks. 5)  And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. 

Paul was compelled by the Spirit to preach the gospel of Christ. There was an internal pressure built up in Paul to preach the Word of God. He must preach it and cannot do otherwise.

We have an example of the burden to preach the Word of God from Paul's first visit to the city of Corinth. 

He worked with his own hands making tents alongside Aquila and Priscilla. He preached in the synagogue each sabbath.

After Silas and Timothy arrived, Paul was pressed in the Spirit to preach the gospel strongly to the Jews. 

The word "pressed" means to be squeezed from all sides. The word is used of a cattle "squeeze" that forces a cow into a tight, confined space where it cannot move. 

Paul's ministry was one of constantly being pressed by the Holy Spirit to preach the gospel of Christ to a lost and dying world.

What have we learned from Paul with regard to serving and loving God?

He was willing to go anywhere to preach the gospel to anyone who would listen. 

Paul was willing to preach the gospel at his own expense, rather than demanding that the local church support him. He did not want anything to compromise preaching of the gospel. 

As a member of a local church, you and I must pray for the Lord to make us cheerful givers who are happy and willing to support our pastors. 

Paul was a model of selfless sacrificial living when it came to gospel ministry. 

May we pray to our Lord, asking Him to give us the same heart for Christ and the same passion for the gospel, that Paul had.

Bob