1 Corinthians 9:24 NIV

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - 1 Corinthians 9:24

1 Corinthians 9:24. They which run in a race, &c.— The Apostle here refers to the Isthmian games, so called from their being celebrated on the Corinthian Isthmus, or the neck of land which joins Peloponnesus to the continent. They are supposed to have been instituted in honour of Palaemon, or Melicertes, and Neptune. They were observed every third year, or rather every fifth, and held sacred and inviolable. When Corinth was sacked and totally destroyed by Mummius the Roman general, they... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - 1 Corinthians 9:24

24. Know ye not—The Isthmian games, in which the foot race was a leading one, were of course well known, and a subject of patriotic pride to the Corinthians, who lived in the immediate neighborhood. These periodical games were to the Greeks rather a passion than a mere amusement: hence their suitableness as an image of Christian earnestness. in a race—Greek, "in a race course." all . . . one—Although we knew that one alone could be saved, still it Would be well worth our while to run [BENGEL].... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - 1 Corinthians 9:24

The Corinthians were familiar with athletic contests. The Isthmian Games took place in a nearby town every two or three years. They were second only to the Olympic Games in importance in Greece. [Note: Morris, p. 139.] The Greek word translated "race" is stadion, the word used to describe the standard 600-foot Greek race. [Note: Bruce, 1 and 2 Corinthians, p. 89.] Paul’s emphasis in this verse was on the last statement. We should run our race so we will receive a reward from the Judge. In the... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Apostolic exhortation and example 9:24-27This passage is transitional, concluding Paul’s defense of his apostolic authority (1 Corinthians 9:1-23) and returning to the argument against participating in cultic meals (ch. 8). Metaphors from the athletic games fill the pericope. Philosophers and other orators in Paul’s world frequently used athletic metaphors to describe their labors. [Note: Keener, pp. 81-82.] read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Corinthians 9:1-27

(b) Food offered to Idols(ii) St. Paul’s own ExampleSt. Paul has appealed to the ’enlightened’ converts at Corinth to give up for the sake of others a practice which they might otherwise have had no hesitation in indulging. He now strengthens this appeal by pointing to his own example of self-denial. As an Apostle he had the right to maintenance from the Church, but had refrained from exercising it, lest he might be suspected of preaching for gain.Since his opponents declared that he maintained... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - 1 Corinthians 9:24

(24) Know ye not . . .—The illustration which follows refers to these Isthmian games (so called from their taking place in the isthmus where Corinth stood) with which his readers would be familiar. These, like the other games of Greece—the Olympian, Pythian, and Nemean—included every form of athletic exercise, and stood on an entirely different footing from anything of the kind in modern times. For the Greek, these contests were great national and religious festivals. None but freemen could... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - 1 Corinthians 9:1-27

1 Corinthians 9:15 You find these heroic words in 1 Corinthians 9:15 . I purposely cut the text short here, and leave every man to fill up the concluding sentence for himself. Paul tells us the reason, but Paul's reason may not be ours. We have a great principle laid down here, and it is for each man in his own sphere and in his own way to apply that principle. I want every man who is here to take this as a motto, a living principle, a perpetual rule of life. 'It were better for me to die than... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Chapter 14NOT ALL WHO RUN WININ the preceding part of this chapter Paul has proved his right to claim remuneration from those to whom he preached the Gospel, and he has also given his reasons for declining to urge this claim. He was resolved that no one should have any ground for misapprehending his motive in preaching the Gospel. He was quite content to live a bare, poor life, not merely that he might keep himself above suspicion, but that those who heard the Gospel might see it simply as the... read more

Arno Clemens Gaebelein

Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible - 1 Corinthians 9:1-27

6. Paul’s Gracious Example. CHAPTER 9 1. The Apostle’s rights. (1 Corinthians 9:1-14 ). 2. He waives his rights for the Gospel’s sake. (1 Corinthians 9:15-23 ). 3. The race-course and the crown. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27 ). The great principle laid down in the previous chapter to forego one’s Christian liberty, the Apostle Paul enforced by his own example. He was an Apostle and had seen the Lord Jesus, from whom he had received his apostleship (Galatians 1:1 ). From the second verse we learn... read more

John Calvin

Geneva Study Bible - 1 Corinthians 9:24

9:24 {11} Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.(11) He brings in another reason for this wrong, that is, that they were given to gluttony, for there were solemn banquets of sacrifices, and the loose living of the priests was always too much celebrated and kept. Therefore it was hard for those who were accustomed to loose living, especially when they pretended the liberty of the Gospel, to be restrained in these banquets. But... read more