1 Corinthians 9


1 Corinthians 9 is the ninth chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It is authored by Paul the Apostle and Sosthenes in Ephesus. Paul defends himself as an apostle.

Text

The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 27 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:
This chapter is devoted to Paul's apologia: "a defence of the Apostolic authority of St Paul". Paul opens this section of his letter with four rhetorical questions:
He acknowledges that he may not be treated as apostle by others, but asserts that he is an apostle to the churches he has founded and the Corinthian church is the "seal of apostleship in the Lord". In he speaks of τοῖς ἐμέ ἀνακρίνουσίν, tois eme anakrinousin, "those investigating me, whether I am a true apostle". "The word used here, ἀνακρίνω, is properly a forensic term, and is usually applied to judges in courts; to those who sit in judgment, and investigate and decide in litigated cases brought before them". The "others" who do not recognise Paul as an apostle may have been emissaries from Jerusalem or the Petrine party, those associated with the slogan "I am for Cephas" in, or possibly " to some who may have arrived at Corinth subsequent to St. Paul’s departure, and who, not recognising his Apostleship in relation to themselves, stirred up some of the Corinthians to repudiate it also".

Verse 5

Cross reference: