(1Co 9:1 -14) 1 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord? 2 Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. 3 This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me. 4 Don’t we have the right to food and drink?

It appears that the people in Corinth were questioning Paul’s apostleship. They were asking, “Is he genuine? Is he really an apostle?” If so, then Paul is saying to them that support from the church at Corinth is his right.

5 Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas?

I don’t fully understand the issue here, except that if Paul had a wife (which it appears he did not at this point in his life), that he would expect support for both he and his wife. Peter did it. He was getting help. He took his wife with him as other apostles did. Paul is saying that he had the right as well.

6 Or is it only I and Barnabas who must work for a living?

This is why I tie the wife issue with the finances. Paul and Barnabas worked to make ends meet. But they had the right to receive support.

Three illustrations are given here, the illustration of the soldier, the farmer and the shepherd.

7 Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk?

Would we expect our soldiers to go to war and pay their own way? No. We want them to be the best soldiers they can be. Adding a job would make them inefficient.

Would we expect that a farmer would not eat from the harvest? No, we would think that if he put in that work to till the ground, plant the seed and water the soil that he would be entitled to eat from the corn stock.

The same idea is behind the shepherd. If a person had a flock of goats, would you expect them to buy goats milk or take some from their own goats?

8 Do I say this merely from a human point of view? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it about oxen that God is concerned? 10 Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he? Yes, this was written for us, because when the ploughman ploughs and the thresher threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest.

Don’t muzzle the ox. A businessman might. The ox is eating the grain which is reducing the income. But the ox will die for the person’s gain. God said, “Don’t muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.”

Is this about the ox? Paul sees in it a spiritual principle. Those who minister spiritually among us have the right to support from those to whom they minister.

11 If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?

Again in Gal 6:6 Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.

What Paul is saying to us is that it is right for us to help those who minister to us. We have a responsibility to help. It is an extension of our Christian love. Helping in a material way with those who help us is just the right thing to do.

12 If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more?

Paul is arguing for fairness in this passage. If the church at Corinth believed it was right to support the apostles, then Paul believed that he had the right for financial support from the church.

But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.

Paul is arguing for a right that he has not used. The issue with Paul is not, “how much can I get” but rather he asks the church at Corinth, “What is your attitude towards supporting those who minister among you?”

13 Don’t you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? 14 In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.

I would like to point out that Paul finishes this section with two arguments. The first is that the priests in the temple received their food from the temple. Read the Old Testament law and you will find that each tribe gave land for housing for the Levites and that priests were able to keep some of the sacrifices brought to the temple for their own use.

The second is that the Lord is the one who commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.

This is why Paul says what he says in 1 Timothy 5:17-18. 17 The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honour, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.”

A question that many ask is, “How much should a teaching elder, a pastor, receive?”

I will give you two answers. These are hinted at in the Bible, though not specifically taught.

The attitude of the person in the congregation towards the issue of supporting their pastors is of utmost importance. The question is this: “Do you hold their ministry in high esteem? Do you want your spiritual leaders to have the means to feed, house and clothe their families? Do you want them to be able to do what you are able to do?”

One church prayed, “Lord, you keep our pastor humble and we’ll keep him poor!”

Attitude is so important. When I came to this church in the early 80’s I was given about $12,000 a year. Out of that we paid housing, food, heating costs, one hundred percent of our social security, taxes and our medical bills. I came to the leadership of the church and explained to them that we were not making it. The leadership responded with great understanding and we received a significant raise, considering the size of the congregation at that point. What struck me was the attitude of the leadership was, “We want to support you as you minister among us.” I have never forgotten that moment.

This is what Paul is facing the church in Corinth about, their attitude toward him and other servants of the Lord. He wants them to embrace the principle that “those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.”

In his second letter to Corinth, he contrasts them by giving his assessment of the churches in Macedonia. (2Co 8:1 -5) 1 And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2 Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. 5 And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will.

What a wonderful example. They gave with overflowing joy out of their extreme poverty.

Which leads to the second answer to the question, “How much should a pastor receive?” The attitude of the congregation is of great importance, but second, the church should give out of their ability.

The church in Macedonia gave out of their poverty as much as they could and even beyond their ability (vs. 3).

So how much is this church able to give? In 1984, the ability of this church was different than it is in 2008. The answer to the question of how much this church is able to give to pastors, to missionaries, to ministries is answered by asking one more question: How much do you give?

There are many in the church who tithe. Our family follows the practice of giving of ten percent of our income to the Lord through this local church. If we are giving elsewhere, it becomes for us an offering above our commitment to support this church. We have done it since we were first married, in every church in which we have been a part of. That is our practice.

We believe in giving to the Lord first. Our own desire for things or for saving would leave little left over for God. When we give to the Lord first, it causes us to be more careful with what is left over. We have had to say “no” to material things in order to say “yes” to God. That tradeoff is worth it.

We believe the church’s bills are our bills. We are part of this family. As we make decisions as a family, we believe it is our responsibility to support financially what God is doing among us. If the church doesn’t pay its bills, it reflects poorly on Christ. We don’t want to see that happen. If we have a good reputation as a church in meeting our obligations, we share in the joy, because we have had a part. When a missionary leads someone to Christ, when our deacon’s help someone in need, when a child is born again in Sunday school, we are part of the team that provided financial support so that these needs could be met.

What God can do through our church is only limited by what we as people are willing to give. Beyond the finances, are we also willing to give of our time, our talents, our resources for the Lord?

The early church saw the need. They helped the poor, they took care of their families, and they provided financial support for those who preached and taught the word of God.

They did it with joy. And the church grew. Selah!