24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. 25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. 26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. 27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.
Commentary
Preamble: Here the Apostle Paul describes Christian discipleship with common athletic metaphors that were well known to ancient Corinthians.
Vs. 24-25 24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. 25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.
In this journey of Christian discipleship all run in a race so to speak, yet not all will finish, or will finish well. And so the Apostle Paul draws his first metaphor for us from the ancient stadium games races where though all the competitors run in it, only one receives the prize. Paul's point is not that only one will receive a prize, rather it is so that we will see that the one who receives the prize is the one who runs his race well enough to win. And so just as that person would've spent much time and effort training for that race, to be the best they could be while running it. So each and every believer should also realize that Christian discipleship and Spiritual growth doesn't just happen by osmosis. For having been born-again by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ there must now be a concerted effort put forth by us to grow in our faith and knowledge of God, which is definitely furthered by our ongoing study, and application of the Word of God in our lives (consider 1 Peter 2:2; 2 Peter 1:1-11, Vs. 5-11). And so just as the ancient competitors would've daily trained their bodies and lived disciplined and sacrificial lives in their pursuit of that prize; which here is described as a perishable crown, being a garland of pine, though it wasn't the crown per say, rather it was the accolades and privileges that went with being crowned that they raced for; so we also must be temperate in all things if we hope to attain to an imperishable crown (2 Tim 4:8; James 1:12; 1 Peter 5:1-5; Rev. 3:10-13).
Vs. 26-27 26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. 27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.
And so just as the ancient racer would line up for his race with the absolute certainty of the finish line, knowing that if he runs well enough he would win. Or the ancient fighter would throw many intentional punches during his match, knowing that that just one could bring him victory, so each and every Christian should know that the efforts they put into their own spiritual disciplines and growth will reap positive fruit in their lives (vs. 26). Finally the Apostle sums it all up by saying that he disciplines his own body and brings it into subjection, (which literally means having it "tempered" and or subdued, by striking. Like a boxer whose body has been hardened through extensive training and sparing so that he might be fit to fight), so the Apostle Paul drew a metaphor from that to describe his disciplining his own body and bringing it into subjection, lest when he preached to others, he himself would become disqualified. That is disqualified first and foremost by Christ Himself as being either unfit or unprepared for His true ministry work, by living lawlessly, or self-indulgently. And so each one of us who aspires to be a worker for the Lord Jesus Christ, in whatever ways we desire to do that, must also discipline our bodies so that when we preach, teach, lead, or evangelize, we ourselves do not become disqualified (consider 2 Tim. 2:20-21).
Scripture Quotations
The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.
And so just as the ancient racer would line up for his race with the absolute certainty of the finish line, knowing that if he runs well enough he would win. Or the ancient fighter would throw many intentional punches during his match, knowing that that just one could bring him victory, so each and every Christian should know that the efforts they put into their own spiritual disciplines and growth will reap positive fruit in their lives (vs. 26). Finally the Apostle sums it all up by saying that he disciplines his own body and brings it into subjection, (which literally means having it "tempered" and or subdued, by striking. Like a boxer whose body has been hardened through extensive training and sparing so that he might be fit to fight), so the Apostle Paul drew a metaphor from that to describe his disciplining his own body and bringing it into subjection, lest when he preached to others, he himself would become disqualified. That is disqualified first and foremost by Christ Himself as being either unfit or unprepared for His true ministry work, by living lawlessly, or self-indulgently. And so each one of us who aspires to be a worker for the Lord Jesus Christ, in whatever ways we desire to do that, must also discipline our bodies so that when we preach, teach, lead, or evangelize, we ourselves do not become disqualified (consider 2 Tim. 2:20-21).
Scripture Quotations
The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.
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