First Corinthians 9:6 asks whether Paul and Barnabas, like the other apostles, have the same right as anyone else to be supported by the church while they do their work, or whether they must work with their own hands to pay their way. Paul is making the point that ministry is a legitimate form of labor that deserves material support, and he has no intention of giving up that right. He writes this to the church in Corinth, a city where some members were questioning his authority and his claim to be an apostle.
Or have only Barnabas and I no right to not work?
1 Corinthians 9:6 (WEB)
What 1 Corinthians 9:6 Means
The verse opens with “Or,” which tells you Paul is building an argument from a list of examples. He has just asked whether he and his companions have the right to eat and drink at the church’s expense and to bring a believing wife along on their travels, the way the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers do. Now he asks whether Barnabas and he alone lack the right to stop working for a living. The question assumes the answer is no: they do have a right to be supported.
The phrase “have only Barnabas and I” singles out Paul’s companion, who had traveled with him and was also known to the Corinthians. Paul is saying that this right is not reserved for the famous apostles like Peter, but applies to himself and Barnabas too. The question is rhetorical. He is pressing his readers to agree before he gives them the reasons, which come in the verses that follow.
What the verse does not do is command every Christian leader to live on donations, or claim that faithful workers will always be rewarded with money. It states a right and defends it. Paul goes on to say that he has chosen not to use this right in Corinth, so that the gospel would not be hindered, which shows that rights and freedom are held for the sake of love for others.
The Context of 1 Corinthians 9:6
First Corinthians was written by Paul, probably in the mid-50s AD, to a congregation he had founded in Corinth, a busy port city full of wealth, rivalry, and competing teachers. Some in the church were challenging his apostolic standing, and chapter 9 is one place where he defends himself. He begins chapter 9 by saying that his defense is aimed at those who question him, so the whole passage is a reply to critics rather than a general teaching on finances.
Just before verse 6, Paul lists the rights he could claim: food, drink, and a wife, as the other apostles have. Just after, in verses 7 through 9, he backs up his case with illustrations from soldiers, farmers, and shepherds, and a quotation from the law of Moses about not muzzling an ox that is treading grain. Read in that setting, verse 6 is the hinge of the argument. It turns a list of entitlements into a case that Paul and Barnabas, too, may expect support.
Key Phrases in 1 Corinthians 9:6
1 Corinthians 9:14
Even so the Lord ordained that those who proclaim the Good News should live from the Good News.
(WEB)
This verse follows directly from the argument Paul begins in verse 6. Having shown that the right to support is grounded in ordinary practice and in the law, he states the principle plainly: those who proclaim the gospel should get their living from the gospel. It shows that the question raised in verse 6 leads to a clear teaching about how the church should treat its workers.
1 Timothy 5:18
For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle the ox when it treads out the grain.” And, “The laborer is worthy of his wages.”
(WEB)
Paul’s protégé Timothy receives a similar teaching, drawing on the same kind of reasoning about the ox and the worker who deserves his wages. The passage shows that the principle Paul argues for in Corinth was also applied in the churches Timothy oversaw. Reading the two together helps you see the principle as a steady concern of Paul’s pastoral teaching.
A Short Prayer From 1 Corinthians 9:6
Lord, thank you that the work of your people is seen and valued by you. Help me to see those who serve in your church with gratitude and honesty, and to support them fairly and cheerfully. Where I have felt shame about my own needs, free me from that burden and remind me that you care for your workers. Teach me to use what I have with open hands, for the good of your gospel and the good of others. Amen.
