1 Corinthians 9:12Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

They not only take from you, but do so with great insistence and boldness. Then he continues, “do not we even more?” He would not have said this if he were speaking here of the Apostles. Clearly, he is alluding to certain harmful men and deceivers. Therefore, besides the Law of Moses, he says, you yourselves have established the rule of providing support to teachers. Having said, “do not we even more,” he does not prove why this is so. He leaves it to the judgment of their conscience. At the same time he wishes to frighten and shame them still more. “Nevertheless we have not used this authority.” That is, we did not take. See how, after so many proofs that taking is not unlawful, he finally says, “We do not take.” He does this so that they would not think he abstains from it as from something forbidden. I do not refrain from taking because it is not permitted, he says. It is permitted, as we have proved by many examples: by the Apostles, and by ordinary examples such as the soldier, the farmer, and the shepherd. It is proved by the Law of Moses, by the very nature of the matter, since “we have sown spiritual things among you,” and finally by what you yourselves do toward others. Yet he says this for two reasons. On the one hand, he does not want them to think he condemns the Apostles who did take. He wants to shame the Corinthians and show that he abstains not as from something forbidden. On the other hand, after many arguments and many examples proving the right to receive, he does not want them to think that he himself wishes to take. He forestalls this suspicion also. Later he expressed this more clearly in the words, “I have not written these things that it should be so with me” (1 Cor 9:15). Here he says, “we have not used this authority.” And what is still more important, no one can say that we did not do this because we lived in abundance. No, even while in need, we did not yield to need. He says the same in the second epistle: “I robbed other churches, receiving support from them in order to minister to you. And when I was with you and in want, I burdened no one” (2 Cor 11:8). Likewise in the present epistle he says, “We hunger and thirst, and are poorly clothed and beaten” (1 Cor 4:11). Here again he hints at the same by saying, “but we endure all things.” The expression “we endure all things” means hunger, great need, and all other afflictions. Yet all this, he says, did not compel us to violate the rule which we had established for ourselves. Why? “Lest we place any hindrance to the gospel of Christ” (1 Cor 9:12). The Corinthians were weak. Therefore, he says, lest we scandalize you by receiving payment from you, we resolved rather to do more than was commanded. We would not place any hindrance before the gospel, that is, before your instruction. If we did not do even what was permitted to us, though we endured great need and had the Apostles’ example in our favor, it was “lest we place any hindrance.” He did not say, “destroy. ” but “place a hindrance.” Nor did he simply say “a hindrance,” but “any hindrance.” That is, he would not cause even the slightest delay or stoppage in the spread of the word. If, he says, we showed such zeal, then you must abstain all the more. You are very far from the Apostles. You cannot point to a law permitting this. On the contrary, you touch what is forbidden and causes great harm. It causes not merely a delay in the preaching of the gospel. Besides, you do not have pressing need in view. He said all this to those who, by eating things sacrificed to idols, scandalized the weaker brethren.

"But we endure all things, lest we place any hindrance in the way of the Gospel of Christ." Lest someone say, "You had no needs and therefore did not receive," he says: although we are in great distress, nevertheless we endure all things: hunger, thirst, and nakedness. We do this lest there be any hindrance, that is, any delay for the Gospel and the preaching.

What edifying lesson should each of us draw from the apostolic reading explained above and apply to our private life?

1. We must always fulfill our duties honestly, even when our labor is not fully valued.

2. Sometimes we must renounce even our private rights, so that greater evil and harm may not come to the common work.

3. We must be patient and cautious when we see malice and envy toward our position.

4. We must never judge other people or calculate their means of livelihood. We must never envy the prosperity of others who labor honestly. Let everyone try to labor honestly and zealously, and to guard his hard-earned coin. Then he will learn the value of labor, the importance of earnings, and the benefit of thrift. We must assist our neighbor's well-being by every lawful means.

5. We must strive to pay worthily and without offense for the labor of those who work for our benefit. For Christ said, "The laborer is worthy of his food" (Mt 10:10).

Therefore he did not say, "they receive," but, "they partake of authority over you." That is, they lord it over you and demand from you by force. From these words he draws another conclusion. If certain other false teachers and deceivers receive from you with authority and violence what they demand, how much more should we, your true Apostles and teachers, receive from you all that is necessary?

Having said this, he immediately explains with what intention he did not receive from them. He says: although I am a true Apostle, although I have the right to receive everything from you, and although others take by force, nevertheless I did not wish to use this lawful right.

But lest someone say that he did not receive from the Corinthians what was due because he had no need of it, he adds this also: "But we endure all things." That is, I endure hunger, thirst, nakedness, the labors of handwork, and every other hardship. I endure them, he says, "lest we cause any hindrance to the Gospel of Christ."

Why would the preaching of the Gospel have met an obstacle and been hindered if he had received from the Corinthians what was necessary for life? Although he did not demand a wage for the labor of preaching, he accepted what was freely offered to him, knowing that through this he not only scandalized no one, but also benefited those who offered.

This is clear from what he wrote to the Philippians: "Even in Thessalonica you sent once and again for my need. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your account. I am filled, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent by you, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God" (Phil 4:16-18).

It is likewise clear from what he wrote to the same Corinthians. From other Churches, he says, "I took wages, receiving support for your service" (2 Cor 11:8). We see that he joyfully accepted the table of the jailer (Acts 16:34), and blessed Onesiphorus for the service he rendered him (2 Tim 1:16).

But many Jews, pagans, philosophers of various sects, and sophists lived in Corinth. All of them were given over to earthly and fleshly reasonings. Therefore Paul did not wish to receive from the Corinthians what he needed, so that he might not give them even the slightest occasion for scandal.

He knew that if he accepted it from them, they, being crafty, would find an occasion to slander him. They would say that he preached the Gospel for his own profit. This could have scandalized those who heard, and so the spread and increase of the Gospel faith would have been cut off.

Naturally, in such a grievous case they diminish, and even entirely lose, their right to aid and material support from those shepherded by them. To live at the expense of those shepherded, while taking no care for their intellectual enlightenment and moral development, is not shepherding but hireling service.

This, of course, is shameful in the highest degree and is joined to a heavy responsibility before the Lord God.

It is also worthy of note that the Apostle did not receive support from the Corinthians despite his poverty (see 4:11; cf. 2 Cor 11:8). This abstinence of the Apostle was conditioned by local circumstances. In Corinth, as in all Greece, almost all teachers generally lived at their disciples' expense, and some even virtually enslaved them.

Yet the Apostle Paul also had special grounds for this abstinence. Not all are bound to such abstinence, as is evident from the Savior's instructions to His disciples.

Chrysostom understands here certain false teachers, about whom St. Paul wrote in the second epistle: “they devour you, take from you, exalt themselves, and strike you in the face” (2 Cor 11:20). Still, there is no pressing need to define strictly who these others are. The force does not lie in their quality, but in the fact that they received support and certain benefits from the Corinthians. Yet they could not be compared with the Apostles. The words “authority over you” mean authority over you, or over what is yours, or one’s right to what is yours. “Partake” means “make use of.” Authority means right, as above: “Do we not have authority to lead about a sister, a wife?” or, “Do we not have authority not to work?” St. Chrysostom sees in this a reference to the boldness, violence, and greed of those who used this authority. “They rule over you, display authority over you, and deal with you as with slaves. They not only take from you, but do so with great insistence and boldness. Clearly he is alluding to certain harmful men and deceivers. But however this may be, this circumstance in any case produced the following point. You yourselves have established among yourselves and have as a rule that support should be provided. Are we not even more? Would you not even more have provided it to us, if we had wished?” “Nevertheless we did not use this authority.” “That is, we did not take. See, after so many proofs that taking is not unlawful for them, he finally says, ‘We do not take.’ He does this so that they would not think he abstains from it as from something forbidden. I do not refrain from taking because it is not permitted, he says. It is permitted, as I have proved by many arguments: by the example of the Apostles, by examples from ordinary life, such as the soldier, the farmer, and the shepherd, by the Law of Moses, by the very nature of the matter, since we sowed spiritual things for you, and finally by what you yourselves do toward others. It is permitted. But we did not use this authority. Of our own will we abstained from it, and not as from something forbidden. Later he expressed this more clearly in the words, ‘I have not written these things that it should be so with me’ (1 Cor 9:15). Here he says, ‘we did not use this authority.’ And what is still more important, no one can say that we did not use it because we lived in abundance. No, being in need, we did not yield to need. He says the same thing in the second epistle: ‘When I came to you and was in want, I was a burden to no one’ (2 Cor 11:8). He says likewise in the present epistle, ‘We hunger and thirst, are poorly clothed, and are beaten’ (1 Cor 4:11). Here again he hints at the same thing by the words, ‘but we endure all things.’ For the expression ‘we endure all things’ means hunger, need, and all other afflictions. Yet all this, he says, did not compel us to violate the rule which we had established for ourselves. Why? ‘Lest we give any hindrance,’ egkopen, that is, any obstruction, ‘to the gospel of Christ.’ The Corinthians were weak. Therefore, he says, lest we scandalize you by receiving recompense from you, we resolved rather to do more than was commanded. We would not place any barrier before the gospel, that is, before your instruction. He did not say destruction, but hindrance, obstruction, barrier. Nor did he simply say hindrance, but any hindrance. That means that he would not cause even the slightest delay or stoppage in the spread of the word” (St. Chrysostom). The fifth argument is from the ordinance concerning the Old Testament priesthood, verse 13.