1 Corinthians 9:22 ESV

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 9:19-23

The principle of accommodation. Paul's resolve to preach the gospel without charge was but one instance of the general rule which guided his life. Though under obligation to none, he yet became the servant of all—"all things to all men." He accommodated himself to the Jews ( 1 Corinthians 9:20 ), as when he circumcised Timothy ( Acts 16:3 ) and purified himself in the temple ( Acts 21:26 ). He accommodated himself to the Gentiles ( 1 Corinthians 9:21 ), by refusing to impose the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 9:22

To the weak. His whole argument here is a plea for condescension to the infirmities of weak converts. A similar condescension to their prejudices might be necessary to win them to Christianity at all ( 1 Corinthians 8:13 ; "We that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves," Romans 15:1 ). St. Paul often touches on our duties to weak brethren ( 1 Corinthians 8:7 ; Romans 14:1 ; 1 Thessalonians 5:14 ; Acts 20:35 ). All things to all men. ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 9:22

Soul saving. The great apostle of the Gentiles was a singular man and lived a strange life. Some looking at him pronounced him to be a fool; others, a madman. He seemed, indeed, strangely destitute of that wisdom which places self interest in the front, and incites to the pursuit of position, power, and the praise of men. When brought to a knowledge of the truth, the future apostle relinquished the course which he had mapped out, and his association with Gamaliel and the great teachers. He... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 9:22

"By all means save some." Two points present themselves for our consideration here— I. THE END . "To save some." What does he mean by this? What to him was the salvation of men? 1. It certainly means deliverance from a dread future calamity. "The wrath to come," "the perdition of ungodly men," was to St. Paul no dream, but an awful reality. It was worth all possible effort and self sacrifice to save men from it. If he had no other impulse than that of mere human sympathy to... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 9:22-23

Moral identification with others a qualification of the evangel. These verses and the context are sometimes taken as expressive of the accommodating spirit of the apostle in his endeavours to save men. Hence he is regarded as acting in a somewhat Jesuitical way, pretending to be what he was not, coming down to the prejudices of men, and taking them as it were by guile. Such a view of the apostle is utterly untrue. From his very constitution, to say nothing of his Christianity, he could... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Corinthians 9:22

To the weak; - See the note at Romans 15:1. To those weak in faith; scrupulous in regard to certain observances; whose consciences were tender and unenlightened, and who would be offended even by things which might be in themselves lawful. He did not lacerate their feelings, and run counter to their prejudices, for the mere sake of doing it.Became I as weak - I did not shock them. I complied with their customs. I conformed to them in my dress, habits, manner of life, and even in the services of... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 1 Corinthians 9:20-23

1 Corinthians 9:20-23. To the Jews I became as a Jew Conforming myself in all things to their manner of living, so far as I could with innocence. And, inasmuch as in the preceding chapter the apostle directed the Corinthians to comply with the prejudices of their weak brethren, in the affair of meats sacrificed to idols, and declared his own resolution, that if his eating meat occasioned others to sin, he would not eat flesh while he lived; it is therefore probable that his becoming to the... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 1 Corinthians 9:1-23

Paul’s example (9:1-23)The principle Paul has been teaching in the previous chapter is that no matter what rights Christians may have, they should be willing to sacrifice those rights for the sake of others. He now demonstrates that principle with a number of personal examples.Paul has the same rights as others, and in fact more, since he is an apostle. But he does not always exercise his rights. Some people have misunderstood this and think that he is not an apostle at all. Paul points out... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - 1 Corinthians 9:22

made = become. some . App-124 . read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - 1 Corinthians 9:22

To the weak I became weak, that I might gain the weak: I am become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some.David Lipscomb's comment on this is:Paul accommodated himself to the prejudices and preferences of men so far as he could without sacrificing truth and righteousness, in order to win them to Christ ... He did this not that he might be personally popular with any man, but that by doing so he might throw no obstacle in the way of their giving the gospel a fair... read more

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 9:19-23

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 9:22

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 9:22

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 9:22

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 9:22-23

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Corinthians 9:22

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 1 Corinthians 9:20-23

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 1 Corinthians 9:1-23

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - 1 Corinthians 9:22

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - 1 Corinthians 9:22

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