1 Corinthians 9:26Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

This is what "not as uncertainly" means. But tell me, why do you eat in the temples? You cannot present any sound reason. Food does not bring you nearer to God. If you eat, you gain nothing. If you do not eat, you lose nothing. Therefore you go in vain and without purpose. This is what "uncertainly" means. "I fight not as one who merely beats the air." By these words he also expresses that he does not act vainly and without purpose. I have an enemy, he says, whom I strike, namely the devil. But you do not strike him. You simply exhaust your strength. He speaks thus because he spares them. Having earlier given them a severe rebuke, here he softens the reproach, postponing the stronger blow to the end of the discourse. Now he says that they do this vainly and to no purpose. Later he proves that by such conduct they bring destruction upon their own heads and, besides harming the brethren, themselves become guilty.

If condescension, it is for them. If superiority by taking nothing, it is so that they may not be scandalized. If humiliation beyond all, by cutting my hair and accepting purification, it is so that they may not stumble. This is what "not as uncertainly" means. But tell me, why do you eat in the temples? You cannot present any sound reason. Food does not bring you nearer to God. If you eat, you gain nothing. If you do not eat, you lose nothing. Therefore you go in vain and without purpose. This is what "as uncertainly" means.

Otherwise everything is lost, as the labor of an intemperate fighter is lost when he does not know how to strike his enemy accurately and often strikes not the enemy but the air. A fighter carefully prepared for the contest does not act in this way. He knows the ways and means of dealing accurate and terrible blows to the enemy. Such a man will certainly conquer the enemy. In the same way Christian ascetics conquer the enemies of salvation by abstaining from everything that hinders success in the struggle against the flesh, the world, and the devil. St. John Chrysostom asks: "What does 'abstains from all things' mean?" And he answers: "That is, not that he abstains from one thing while sinning in another, but that he abstains from gluttony, sensuality, drunkenness, and from all passions generally. By abstaining completely from all things, they, the participants in the contests, occupied themselves only with their contest. If this happens in external contests, how much more must it happen here, where the generosity is greater and the rewards themselves are far higher than the contests." Then, turning attention to the Apostle's words, "I discipline my body and bring it into bondage," he presents the Apostle as saying this: "I endure everything. But besides this, I also take upon myself that great labor of living temperately. Do not think that I succeed in this without toil. No, for me this is a contest, abstinence, and a struggle with nature, which constantly rises up and seeks freedom. But I do not yield. I tame it and subject it with great effort. He did not say, 'I destroy' or 'I torture,' because the flesh is not an enemy. Rather, 'I discipline,' that is, I strike it, and 'I bring it into bondage.' This belongs to a master, not to an enemy; to a teacher, not to a criminal; to a guardian, not to an adversary." Do not think that it is enough for your salvation that you have believed. If it is not enough for me, who preached, taught, and converted thousands of people, unless I conduct myself blamelessly, how much more is this true for you?

At this, outsiders may often say to him: he is striking the air and pounding water. But he knows firmly that he is not running toward uncertainty. "I look," he says, "to the good things hoped for, because the crown is not unknown to me" (Theodoret). St. Chrysostom takes this in application to the disorder of the Corinthians and says: "What does 'not as uncertainly' mean? I have in view, he says, a definite goal. I do not struggle vainly and to no purpose, as you do. What benefit is there for you in entering idol temples and, as it were, displaying your perfection? None. I am not so. Everything I do, I do for the salvation of my neighbors. If I display perfection, it is for them. If condescension, it is for them. If superiority by taking nothing, it is so that they may not be scandalized. If humiliation beyond all, by cutting my hair and accepting purification, it is so that they may not stumble. This is what 'not as uncertainly' means. But tell me, why do you eat in the temples? You cannot present any sound reason. Food does not bring you nearer to God. If you eat, you gain nothing. If you do not eat, you lose nothing. Therefore you go in vain and without purpose. This is what 'uncertainly' means. 'So I fight, not as one beating the air.' By these words he also expresses that he does not act vainly or without purpose. I have an enemy, he says, whom I strike, namely the devil. But you do not strike him. You merely exhaust your strength in vain." Blessed Theodoret expresses this thought more clearly: "I do not labor in vain, beating the air, but I deal blows to invisible adversaries. The Apostle took this figure of speech from wrestlers in training. For when they practice, they commonly move their hands against the air instead of an opponent."