1 Corinthians 9:16

For if. preach the gospel,. have nothing to glory of; for necessity is laid upon me; for woe is unto me, if. preach not the gospel.

'I have nothing to glory of' -'Proclaiming the gospel gives me no ground of boasting.' (Mon) Paul here explains what his boast does not consist in.

'for necessity is laid upon me' -'for. am under compulsion' (NASV) Jesus had ordered Paul to preach (Acts 9:6; Acts 9:15; Acts 22:14; Acts 26:15 ***; Galatians 1:15 f; Romans 1:14). 'He finds no such ground for boasting in the fact that he preaches the gospel, any more than. slave would boast of his obedience to his master's commands.' (F.F. Bruce p. 85)

'for woe is unto me, if. preach not the gospel' -The Divine judgement resulting from disobeying. direct command of God. (Acts 26:19) Not only did Paul not teach "once saved, always saved", he realized that he could forfeit his own salvation!

'he expresses his feeling on preaching. He doesn't do it so much because he wants to, he does it because he must! He has seen something (Someone). He has heard something (Someone). If his heart can't get out through his mouth it will explode. If he doesn't preach what he has heard, not only will God not be pleased, not only will Christ be disappointed and rejected, Paul will feel his own soul rot! (Jeremiah 2:9)' (McGuiggan p. 129)