Paul
the apostle told the church members in Corinth, “I
have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me”,
and he added, “woe is me, if I preach
not the gospel!”.
In chapter nine and verse seventeen of
First Corinthians, Paul told
the Corinthians what happens if he does, “this
thing willingly” where
we read:
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.
The
verse begins, “For
if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward:”
Paul began
with the words, “For”
which means “even as, indeed, no doubt, seeing then, verily and
therefore” “if I do” or
“whether Paul exercises, practices and performs” “this
thing” which
means “the sharing of the gospel”
willingly”
which means “unforced, voluntarily and of his own accord”, “I
have a reward”
or “Paul had dues for work, wages and hire”. Paul knew when he
voluntarily shared the “gospel of
Jesus Christ”
he received “wages” for it .
The
verse goes on to say, “
but if against my will, a dispensation of
the gospel is committed unto me.”
Paul
continued with the word, “but”
which is a
disassociation conjunction that means what is about to be written
takes precedence over what was just stated “if
against”
which means “whether in opposition to” “my
will”
which means “Paul's own volition and intent”, “a
dispensation”
or “the management, oversight, administration and stewardship”
“of the gospel is committed unto me”
which is all one Greek word “pisteuō”
which means “the good news of Jesus Christ was entrusted to Paul”.
Even if Paul shared the “gospel”
against his own will, he was “constrained by the grace of God” to
do so.
When
we think through these words from Paul, we realize his deep passion
for sharing the “gospel of Jesus Christ”. He knew he would
receive a “reward” if he shared it with a “willing”
heart, but even if he was compelled to do so, “the gospel” was
“committed” to him, and he would receive a “reward”
for his work at a later time. Jesus Christ desires for his “good
news” to be shared with the world, and those who share it shall be
“rewarded” for it. There are few people like Paul who
“against their will” share the “gospel”, but if they
do, they shall not lose their “rewards” from the Lord
Jesus.
Next
time Paul shares with the church members how he presented, “the
gospel of Christ without charge”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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