Article Directory :: Religion & Faith Articles

Necessary Freedom

By Phillip Ross

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 22Nov2009 Word count: 932 Viewed: 322 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

Paul said that "necessity" (1 Corinthians 9:16) was laid upon him. He was talking about preaching the gospel, and the gist of his words suggest that he preached not out of desire, but out of necessity. It was necessary for him to preach the gospel. He could not do otherwise. What is necessary is required. What is necessary is not optional.

"Woe to me," he said, "if I do not preach the gospel!" (1 Corinthians 9:16). To not preach would put him under God's woe, God's curse. For Paul not to preach would be an act of disobedience, and act of unfaithfulness, and would open him to God's chastisement.

To love God is to live in obedience to His Word. "Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him" (John 14:21). "And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments" (1 John 2:3). "Whoever keeps his commandments abides in him, and he in them" (1 John 3:24). "And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments" (2 John 1:6).

1 Corinthians 9:16 tells us that Paul understood that God had commanded him to preach, and he could not do otherwise. This raised the question that Paul answered in verse 17. Was he acting freely or out of necessity? Was he acting out of his own free will? Or was he being constrained by God's will? His answer was, "For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship" (v. 17).

He was talking about his call to preach the gospel. He was saying that if his preaching issued from his own will, he would receive a reward. The Greek word literally means wages. Jesus said, "the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages (misthos) and gathering fruit for eternal life" (John 4:35-36). Paul was saying that if he was preaching out of his own desire, out of his own willingness to obey God's call, then he would receive a just reward. And that is good. He would be rewarded for his obedience.

However, if Paul did not preach out of his own will -- but wait a minute! What does that mean? How can someone do something if they don't will to do it?

There are two possible meanings here. One, that Paul was preaching unwillingly, as in begrudgingly. We all know that obedience can be done begrudgingly. We can do something even if we really don't want to do it. We can do something when our hearts are not in it. It's a attitude thing. Is that what Paul meant? I don't think so because Paul doesn't have a begrudging attitude. That's not what we find in Paul's preaching or anywhere in his writings.

The second possible meaning is that Paul was preaching, not out of his own will, but out of God's will, or in response to God's will. Note that Paul doesn't understand these two wills to be in opposition, but in harmony. And what is more, he seems to be saying that it is not his own will that is taking the lead in his cooperation with God, but that it is God's will that is in the lead and his own will that is following. It was not that God was helping him to preach (though surely He was), but rather that he -- Paul -- was engaged in service to the will of God, in the cooperation of his will with God's will.

It wasn't so much that God was helping him, but that he was helping God. God's will was in the superior position. God was leading. God was dominant. Paul was subservient. He was following, but he wasn't following begrudgingly. He was following in willing obedience, gladly following. If you ask me to do something, and I do it willingly, whose will is accomplished? Yours. My will would be involved through my compliance, but doing the thing was not my idea. It was your idea. I would be doing your will. And I would not be doing it of my own accord, but in response to your request.

Paul understood himself to be a steward, a manager of someone else's property. He had a stewardship entrusted to him. He had an obligation to properly care for and to properly invest the gospel, which was not his own but God's. He was preaching out of obligation, out of duty -- yes! But that does not mean that he was doing it unwillingly or begrudgingly. Rather, it was for Paul a source of great joy, though it caused him much trouble, much difficulty and pain.

It was a labor of love. It was hard work, and he would be rewarded for his labor. But that was not why he did it. He didn't preach so that he would receive a personal reward. He preached because he was compelled to preach. He was obligated to preach, called to preach. He could do no other. It was his duty to invest his Master's talent, his Master's possessions, to increase his Master's holdings. Though he would be rewarded for his efforts, he was not motivated by his own reward, but by the obligation of his stewardship of the gospel. He put aside his former concerns and took the concerns of his Master to be his own. He put aside his own priorities and took up God's priorities.

EasyPublish™ this article - publishers click here

More articles by Phillip Ross

Free Report!
Ten Essential Secrets Of Article Marketing ... Grab Your Free
Copy Now:

Need Content?
Regular Top Quality Content for your Blog, Ezine or Website ...
Delivered Direct,
For Free!
Click For Details