1 Am I not an Apostle? am I not free? haue I not seene Iesus Christ our Lord? are ye not my worke in the Lord? 2 If I be not an Apostle vnto other, yet doutlesse I am vnto you: for ye are the seale of mine Apostleship in the Lord. 3 My defence to them that examine mee, is this, 4 Haue we not power to eat and to drinke? 5 Or haue we not power to lead about a wife being a sister, as well as the rest of the Apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas? 6 Or I only and Barnabas, haue not we power not to worke? 7 Who goeth a warfare any time at his owne coste? who planteth a vineyarde, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flocke, and eateth not of the milke of the flocke? 8 Say I these thinges according to man? saith not the Lawe the same also? 9 For it is written in the Lawe of Moses, Thou shalt not mussell the mouth of the oxe that treadeth out the corne: doeth God take care for oxen? 10 Either saith hee it not altogether for our sakes? For our sakes no doubt it is written, that he which eareth, should eare in hope, and that he that thresheth in hope, should be partaker of his hope. 11 If wee haue sowen vnto you spirituall thinges, is it a great thing if we reape your carnall thinges? 12 If others with you bee partakers of this power, are not we rather? neuerthelesse, we haue not vsed this power: but suffer all things, that we should not hinder the Gospel of Christ. 13 Doe ye not knowe, that they which minister about the holy things, eate of the things of the Temple? and they which waite at the altar, are partakers with the altar? 14 So also hath the Lord ordeined, that they which preach ye Gospel, should liue of the Gospel. 15 But I haue vsed none of these things: neither wrote I these things, that it should be so done vnto me: for it were better for me to die, then that any man should make my reioycing vaine. 16 For though I preach the Gospel, I haue nothing to reioyce of: for necessitie is laid vpon me, and woe is vnto me, if I preach not the Gospel. 17 For if I do it willingly, I haue a reward, but if I do it against my will, notwithstanding the dispensation is committed vnto me. 18 What is my reward then? verely that when I preach the Gospel, I make the Gospel of Christ free, that I abuse not mine authoritie in ye Gospel. 19 For though I bee free from all men, yet haue I made my selfe seruant vnto all men, that I might winne the moe. 20 And vnto the Iewes, I become as a Iewe, that I may winne the Iewes: to them that are vnder the Lawe, as though I were vnder the Lawe, that I may winne them that are vnder the Lawe: 21 To them that are without Lawe, as though I were without Lawe, (when I am not without Lawe as pertaining to God, but am in the Lawe through Christ) that I may winne them that are without Lawe: 22 To the weake I become as weake, that I may winne the weake: I am made all thinges to all men, that I might by all meanes saue some. 23 And this I doe for the Gospels sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you. 24 Knowe ye not, that they which runne in a race, runne all, yet one receiueth the price? so runne that ye may obtaine. 25 And euery man that proueth masteries, abstaineth from all things: and they do it to obtaine a corruptible crowne: but we for an vncorruptible. 26 I therefore so runne, not as vncertainely: so fight I, not as one that beateth the ayre. 27 But I beate downe my body, and bring it into subiection, lest by any meanes after that I haue preached to other, I my selfe should be reproued.
Rights and Duties of an Apostle
1 Am I not a free man? Am I not an apostle? Haven't I seen Jesus our Lord? And aren't you the result of my work for the Lord? 2 Even if others do not accept me as an apostle, surely you do! Because of your life in union with the Lord you yourselves are proof of the fact that I am an apostle.
3 When people criticize me, this is how I defend myself: 4 Don't I have the right to be given food and drink for my work? 5 Don't I have the right to follow the example of the other apostles and the Lord's brothers and Peter, by taking a Christian wife with me on my trips? 6 Or are Barnabas and I the only ones who have to work for our living? 7 What soldiers ever have to pay their own expenses in the army? What farmers do not eat the grapes from their own vineyard? What shepherds do not use the milk from their own sheep?
8 I don't have to limit myself to these everyday examples, because the Law says the same thing. 9 We read in the Law of Moses, “Do not muzzle an ox when you are using it to thresh grain.” Now, is God concerned about oxen? 10 Didn't he really mean us when he said that? Of course that was written for us. Anyone who plows and anyone who reaps should do their work in the hope of getting a share of the crop. 11 We have sown spiritual seed among you. Is it too much if we reap material benefits from you? 12 If others have the right to expect this from you, don't we have an even greater right?
But we haven't made use of this right. Instead, we have endured everything in order not to put any obstacle in the way of the Good News about Christ. 13 Surely you know that the men who work in the Temple get their food from the Temple and that those who offer the sacrifices on the altar get a share of the sacrifices. 14 In the same way, the Lord has ordered that those who preach the gospel should get their living from it.
15 But I haven't made use of any of these rights, nor am I writing this now in order to claim such rights for myself. I would rather die first! Nobody is going to turn my rightful boast into empty words! 16 I have no right to boast just because I preach the gospel. After all, I am under orders to do so. And how terrible it would be for me if I did not preach the gospel! 17 If I did my work as a matter of free choice, then I could expect to be paid; but I do it as a matter of duty, because God has entrusted me with this task. 18 What pay do I get, then? It is the privilege of preaching the Good News without charging for it, without claiming my rights in my work for the gospel.
19 I am a free man, nobody's slave; but I make myself everybody's slave in order to win as many people as possible. 20 While working with the Jews, I live like a Jew in order to win them; and even though I myself am not subject to the Law of Moses, I live as though I were when working with those who are, in order to win them. 21 In the same way, when working with Gentiles, I live like a Gentile, outside the Jewish Law, in order to win Gentiles. This does not mean that I don't obey God's law; I am really under Christ's law. 22 Among the weak in faith I become weak like one of them, in order to win them. So I become all things to all people, that I may save some of them by whatever means are possible.
23 All this I do for the gospel's sake, in order to share in its blessings. 24 Surely you know that many runners take part in a race, but only one of them wins the prize. Run, then, in such a way as to win the prize. 25 Every athlete in training submits to strict discipline, in order to be crowned with a wreath that will not last; but we do it for one that will last forever. 26 That is why I run straight for the finish line; that is why I am like a boxer who does not waste his punches. 27 I harden my body with blows and bring it under complete control, to keep myself from being disqualified after having called others to the contest.