1 CORINTHIANS 9:17 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
“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.”
If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. — The paradox: voluntary service merits reward; involuntary service (under compulsion) is stewardship of a trust (oikonomia = dispensation, entrusted task). Paul opts for the latter interpretation: his preaching is an office entrusted by God, not an achievement for which he expects gratitude.
Church Fathers on 1 Corinthians 9:17
“For if I preach the Gospel, I have nothing to glory of; for necessity is laid upon me; for woe is unto me, if I preach not the Gospel! For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward: but if not of my own will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me. What then is my reward? That when I preach the Gospel, I may make the Gospel of Christ without charge, so as not to use to the full my right in the Gospel.” What do you say? Tell me. “If you preach the Gospel, it is nothing for…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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