1 Corinthians 9:17-19 For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed to me.… The services of men on earth embrace a large variety. There is the service of the agriculturist, the mechanic, the mariner, the merchant, the scientist, the legislator, the king, &c. Men esteem these services as differing widely in respectability and honour; but the service referred to in the text stands infinitely above all. Four thoughts are suggested concerning this service. I. It is a service for the GAINING OF MEN. "That I might gain the more." The "more" what? Not the gaining the more wealth, fame, or pleasure; but the gaining of men. Christ says, "Thou hast gained thy brother." There is a way of winning a man. Morally man is lost. No work in the universe is higher than this — to gain a man, to recover him to the true spirit and mission of life. II. It is a service INDEPENDENT OF MEN. "Though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all." Oh, how this high service has been degraded by the crowds of craven and mercenary souls that have pushed themselves into it! I am "free from all men," says Paul. "I made myself servant." I was not made by human authority, I was not pushed into it by others, "I made myself." A man by God's grace must make himself for the work. III. It is a service for UNIVERSAL MAN. "Unto all." All men, not to any particular tribe, sect, or nation, but to all, rich and poor, high and low, cultured and rude. (D. Thomas, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me. |
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