1 Corinthians 9:1-12

Am I not completely free and unrestrained? Absolutely! Am I not an apostle? Of course! Haven’t I had a personal encounter with our Jesus face-to-face—and continue to see him? Emphatically yes! Aren’t you all the proof of my ministry in the Lord? Certainly! If others do not recognize me as their apostle, at least you are bound to do so, for now your lives are joined to the Lord. You are the living proof, the certificate of my apostleship. So to those who want to continually criticize my apostolic ministry, here’s my statement of defense. Don’t we apostles have the right to be supported financially? Don’t we have the right to travel accompanied by our believing wives and be supported as a couple, as do the other apostles, such as Peter the Rock and the Lord’s brothers? Of course we do! Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to stop working for a living? Who serves in the military at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not enjoy the grapes for himself? Who would nurture and shepherd a flock and never get to drink its fresh milk? Am I merely giving you my own opinions, or does the Torah teach the same things? For it is written in the law of Moses: You should never put a muzzle over the mouth of an ox while he is treading out the grain. Tell me, is God only talking about oxen here? Doesn’t he also give us this principle so that we won’t withhold support from his workers? It was written so that we would understand that the one spiritually “plowing” and spiritually “treading out the grain” also labors with the expectation of enjoying the harvest. So, if we’ve sowed many spiritual gifts among you, is it too much to expect to reap material gifts from you? And if you have supported others, don’t we rightfully deserve this privilege even more? But as you know, we haven’t used that right. Instead, we have continued to support ourselves so that we would never be a hindrance to the spread of the gospel of Christ.