Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
- 1 Corinthians 9:19-23
In this section of his letter to the first-century church in Corinth, Paul has been talking about his rights as an apostle and how he has freedoms and rights that he doesn’t necessarily use. Here, he continues to address his freedom but also discusses how to relate to other people. He began this section previously in verse 1 by saying, “Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord?” He then talked about his apostleship, and now he gets back to that idea of freedom.
Paul is free, but he chooses to become a slave to everyone (verse 19). He has the freedom in Christ and in his lifestyle to make that choice. It is clear from the text that Paul has chosen this for himself, and he is not forced into this decision. Why would he choose to be enslaved rather than completely free? “To win as many as possible.” The word used there for “to win” can have meanings of gaining, making money, winning over, or even sparing someone. In this specific context, the idea is to figuratively acquire a person for God’s Kingdom – to help others know Jesus Christ. As Paul said right before this in verse 18, “What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make full use of my rights as a preacher of the gospel.” Paul chooses to be enslaved to everyone so that he may preach the gospel and help them discover the salvation and freedom that only come from Jesus Christ.
Then, Paul discusses three different groups of people that he has tried to make himself like in order to win them. First, in verse 20, he talks about the Jews. Paul was actually a Jew (see Philippians 3:4-6), so it was not that big of a stretch for him to become “like a Jew.” But, when Paul was living as a religious Jew, he persecuted Christians, so he has distanced himself from that life. However, what he means here is that on matters that are not essential for salvation, he would conform to the practices of Jewish law. Some examples of this can be found in Acts 16:3, Acts 18:18, and Acts 21:20-26.
Paul then mentions “those under the law,” but that is simply another way of saying “the Jews.” The Jews were God’s people who had received the Ten Commandments and all of the laws God gave them in the Old Testament. By saying that he is “not under the law,” Paul is simply saying that he is no longer bound to follow all of the ritualistic laws that no longer apply because of Jesus’ fulfillment of them.
The second group Paul addresses are the Gentiles - “those not having the law” (verse 21). Even though Paul was culturally a Jew, he entered into the non-Jewish culture in order to share the gospel with the Gentiles (see Galatians 2:11-21). Paul specifies that he is still under God’s law and more specifically under Christ’s law. He is still bound by what God commands him to do, even though he is no longer under the Jewish rituals from the Old Testament. Jesus Christ still has a “law” of sorts that Paul follows because he follows Jesus. Again, Paul’s goal is to win them to God’s Kingdom.
The third group Paul mentions is “the weak” (verse 22a). Here, he is referring those with a weak conscience, who he discussed at greater length in 1 Corinthians 8:9-12 (see this blog post for more on that). Even though there are certain things that Paul can do that will not weaken his faith or his Christian lifestyle, he knows that others may not be as mature in the faith as he is, and he does not want his actions to make anyone fall away from following Jesus.
Even though Paul has already addressed all people, even simply by stating the two groups of Jews and Gentiles, he emphasizes that point by saying, “I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some” (verse 22b). While Paul has freedom, he often chooses not to exercise it for the sake of others.
Verse 23 summarizes this entire thought: “I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.” Everything that Paul does, especially not acting on the freedoms that he has, is for the sake of the gospel message of Jesus Christ. Everything in Paul’s life is all about the gospel message!
Why does Paul have such a strong sense of purpose? He states that it is so he “may share in its blessings.” That may sound a bit selfish to us from that English translation, like Paul is only sharing the gospel so he can personally receive benefits. But first of all, we must look at Paul’s life as a whole; he was constantly put in prison, persecuted, beaten, shipwrecked, etc. for the sake of the gospel! Those don’t exactly sound like great personal benefits to the lifestyle of preaching the gospel.
But the Greek word used there has the idea of “communion” or “fellowship.” It’s not just about Paul; it’s about all people who may share in the faith! Paul is clearly not making himself a slave to everyone and giving up his freedoms for his own benefit but for the benefit of all who become believers and enter into the fellowship of faith.
While God does not always call us to live the lifestyle that Paul did, what are you doing in your life to reach those who do not yet know Jesus? How are you reaching them with the gospel so that they may share in our Christian community?
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