1 Corinthians 9:1-3

Paul's Defense of His Apostleship

Apparently false teachers had come to Corinth. It seems they were trying to discredit Paul as an apostle. First, they wanted to know why he refused pay, perhaps asserting it was because he knew he was not an apostle and did not deserve an apostle's pay. All freed men are entitled to wages for work. Apostles would have been entitled to more pay as more qualified teachers.

One qualification of an apostle was seeing Jesus. So, second, someone questioned whether Paul had seen Jesus. Of course he had (Acts 1:22; Acts 26:15-18; 1 Corinthians 15:5-8). The Corinthians were further proof of Paul's apostleship since they were the fruits of his labors. A seal vouches for the validity of a document. In the same way, the Corinthian church's existence vouched for Paul's validity as an apostle. If he was a fake, so were they. Paul's defense of his apostleship was, as above, that he had seen Jesus and his labors were being rewarded with a fruitful return. This argument had satisfied the apostles (1 Corinthians 4:15; 1 Corinthians 9:1-3; Galatians 2:6-10).