1 Corinthians 9:27Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

I do not surrender to this passion, but strive in every way not to be carried away by it. 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 efforts. He says this so that no one may despair in the contests of virtue because of the difficulty of the matter. Therefore he says: "I discipline and bring into bondage." He did not say, "I destroy" or "I cut off," because the flesh is not an enemy. Rather, "I discipline" (υπωπιαζω, I strike the face) and "bring 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. "Lest, having preached to others, I myself should become disqualified." If Paul, the teacher of so many, feared this, and feared it after he had spread the preaching, become an evangelist, and gained authority over the whole world, what should we say? Do not think, he says, 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?

Some think that ύποπιέζω is used in a narrower sense, meaning "I wear down with hunger." But this opinion is incorrect, for then the word would have had to be ύποπιάζω. Through this he urges them to greater sobriety. For if preaching and teaching are not enough for my salvation, he says, but I must also present myself blameless in all things, how can you be saved by faith alone, when you serve so many passions?

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?

Therefore he rightly strikes this disease in many places. Here also he restrains it by his own example. I endure everything, but besides this I also take upon myself that great labor of living temperately. Although it is difficult to overcome the passion and desire of the belly, nevertheless I restrain it. I do not surrender to this passion, but strive in every way not to be carried away by it. 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 efforts. He says this so that no one may lose heart in the contests of virtue because of the difficulty of the matter. Therefore he says, 'I discipline and bring into bondage.' He did not say, 'I destroy' or 'I torture,' because the flesh is not an enemy. Rather, 'I discipline' (υπωπιαζω, to blacken the eyes, to strike until bruised) and 'I bring 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." "Lest, having preached to others, I myself should become disqualified." Indulgence of the body is the path to disqualification. There is a measure beyond which, when indulgence of the body in food, sleep, and every kind of rest proceeds, spiritual life begins to die. Zeal weakens, sobriety departs, and coldness embraces the soul. If some passion is aroused, it is no wonder that a fall follows. There is disqualification. So that this may not happen, St. Paul gives the lesson: discipline and enslave the body. "If Paul, the teacher of so many, feared this, and feared it after he had spread the preaching, become an evangelist, and appeared as intercessor for the whole world, what should we say? Do not think, he says, 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?" (St. Chrysostom).