Those who proclaim the gospel get their living from the gospel...God shall supply all...

1 Corinthians 9:1-18 (NASB) from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Paul’s Use of Liberty

Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? ² If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you; for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

³ My defense to those who examine me is this: ⁴  Do we not have a right to eat and drink? ⁵  Do we not have a right to take along a believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? ⁶ Or do only Barnabas and I not have a right to refrain from working? ⁷ Who at any time serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat the fruit of it? Or who tends a flock and does not use the milk of the flock?

⁸ I am not speaking these things according to human judgment, am I? Or does not the Law also say these things? ⁹ For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing.” God is not concerned about oxen, is He? ¹⁰ Or is He speaking altogether for our sake? Yes, for our sake it was written, because the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops. ¹¹ If we sowed spiritual things in you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? ¹² If others share the right over you, do we not more? Nevertheless, we did not use this right, but we endure all things so that we will cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ. ¹³ Do you not know that those who perform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share from the altar? ¹⁴ So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel.

¹⁵ But I have used none of these things. And I am not writing these things so that it will be done so in my case; for it would be better for me to die than have any man make my boast an empty one. ¹⁶ For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel. ¹⁷ For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me. ¹⁸ What then is my reward? That, when I preach the gospel, I may offer the gospel without charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.

In this chapter, Paul is justifying those who work full time in ministry, receiving compensation for their work. Verse 14 says:  So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel. Unfortunately, as with most things, there are those who will abuse this. Ministry should be first and foremost a calling, based on a desire to serve the Lord,  not a career choice, based on financial opportunity.

Jesus Himself says: "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. 26"It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, 27and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave;…(Matthew 25-27)   The pay scale for servants and slaves would not be one that would attract some one for the financial opportunity.

Jesus does say though that He came to give us life abundantly. He wants all of us to have all that we need. Philippians 4:19 says: And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. The promise is to supply for our need not our greed. He gives us what we need, not everything we want. This principle does not change whether we work for an employer or we work for the Lord. Regardless of who writes the check for our wages, it is the Lord who provides. Jesus says:  Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ ³² For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:31-32)  

To me the bigger problem that exists in the church today is not that there are some who abuse the privilege of the high calling of ministry, God will judge those. The bigger problem that exists in the church today is that because we pay full time ministers, pastors, teachers, administrators, whatever the job description may be, there is a tendency for the body to sit back and expect those people to do all the ministry. We have too often become a consumer oriented church where the majority of the people come to be served rather than to serve.  That is not what God wants for His church.

Ephesians 4:11-16 describes how the body should function together.     And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, ¹² for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; ¹³ until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. ¹⁴  As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; ¹⁵ but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, ¹⁶ from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

Each individual part works together. Those who are full time ministers along with those who work other jobs, working together,  until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.  Jesus says: "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.(John 14:12) Jesus prayed for His disciples, His followers then and all of us that would come afterward, in John 17.

 “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; ²¹ that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. ²² The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; ²³ I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. ²⁴ Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

²⁵ “O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; ²⁶ and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:20-26)

We, the church, cannot accomplish all that we are to do for the Lord, we cannot do the things Jesus did, if we are not unified in Him. If we will be unified in Christ, each one operating in the gifts and calling the Lord has given, we can and will do the things He did and greater things.

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit, for giving Your church leaders, who You have gifted and called. Bless those who You called to ministry abundantly. But also Lord stir and awaken Your church, Your body, all those who are called by Your name to rise up into the fullness of their calling. May we see the glory and the power of the unified body of Christ in our day.     Amen.