 |
| Bishop Noel Jones & The City Of Refuge |
1 Corinthians 9
New King James Version (NKJV)
A Pattern of Self-Denial
1 Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? 2 If I am not an apostle to others, yet doubtless I am to you. For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.
3 My defense to those who examine me is this: 4 Do we have no right to eat and drink? 5 Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, as do also the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas? 6 Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working? 7 Who ever goes to war at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk of the flock?
8 Do I say these things as a mere man? Or does not the law say the same also? 9 For it is written in the law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.”[a] Is it oxen God is concerned about? 10 Or does He say it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written, that he who plows should plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope. 11 If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your material things? 12 If others are partakers of this right over you, are we not even more?
Nevertheless we have not used this right, but endure all things lest we hinder the gospel of Christ. 13 Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar? 14 Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.
15 But I have used none of these things, nor have I written these things that it should be done so to me; for it would be better for me to die than that anyone should make my boasting void. 16 For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship. 18 What is my reward then? That when I preach the gospel, I may present the gospel of Christ[b] without charge, that I may not abuse my authority in the gospel.
Serving All Men
19 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; 20 and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law,[c] that I might win those who are under the law; 21 to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God,[d] but under law toward Christ[e]), that I might win those who are without law; 22 to the weak I became as[f] weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. 23 Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.
Striving for a Crown
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.
Footnotes:
- 1 Corinthians 9:9 Deuteronomy 25:4
- 1 Corinthians 9:18 NU-Text omits of Christ.
- 1 Corinthians 9:20 NU-Text adds though not being myself under the law.
- 1 Corinthians 9:21 NU-Text reads God’s law.
- 1 Corinthians 9:21 NU-Text reads Christ’s law.
- 1 Corinthians 9:22 NU-Text omits as.
1 Corinthians 9
New King James Version (NKJV)
A Pattern of Self-Denial
1 Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? 2 If I am not an apostle to others, yet doubtless I am to you. For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.
3 My defense to those who examine me is this: 4 Do we have no right to eat and drink? 5 Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, as do also the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas? 6 Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working? 7 Who ever goes to war at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk of the flock?
8 Do I say these things as a mere man? Or does not the law say the same also? 9 For it is written in the law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.”[a] Is it oxen God is concerned about? 10 Or does He say it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written, that he who plows should plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope. 11 If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your material things? 12 If others are partakers of this right over you, are we not even more?
Nevertheless we have not used this right, but endure all things lest we hinder the gospel of Christ. 13 Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar? 14 Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.
15 But I have used none of these things, nor have I written these things that it should be done so to me; for it would be better for me to die than that anyone should make my boasting void. 16 For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship. 18 What is my reward then? That when I preach the gospel, I may present the gospel of Christ[b] without charge, that I may not abuse my authority in the gospel.
Serving All Men
19 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; 20 and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law,[c] that I might win those who are under the law; 21 to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God,[d] but under law toward Christ[e]), that I might win those who are without law; 22 to the weak I became as[f] weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. 23 Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.
Striving for a Crown
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.
Footnotes:
- 1 Corinthians 9:9 Deuteronomy 25:4
- 1 Corinthians 9:18 NU-Text omits of Christ.
- 1 Corinthians 9:20 NU-Text adds though not being myself under the law.
- 1 Corinthians 9:21 NU-Text reads God’s law.
- 1 Corinthians 9:21 NU-Text reads Christ’s law.
- 1 Corinthians 9:22 NU-Text omits as.
~~~~
Tao Te Ching (The Way)
by Lao-tzu
translated by: J. Legge
5
Heaven and earth do not act from (the impulse of) any wish to bebenevolent; they deal with all things as the dogs of grass are dealt
with. The sages do not act from (any wish to be) benevolent; they
deal with the people as the dogs of grass are dealt with.
May not the space between heaven and earth be compared to a
bellows?
'Tis emptied, yet it loses not its power;
'Tis moved again, and sends forth air the more.
Much speech to swift exhaustion lead we see;
Your inner being guard, and keep it free.
~~~~~
 |
| Pir Zia Inayat-Khan |
Commentaries on the "Silver Rules"
of Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan
by Pir Zia Inayat-Khan
Silver Rule 5
My conscientious self, have regard for the feelings of every soul.
Now that sounds very challenging! Wouldn't it incapacitate us? It is difficult enough to bear the burden of our own hopes and fears. We might not be able to stand the strain of accommodating those of others. And because we have that concern, because we fear to be overwhelmed, we refrain from extending our sympathy unreservedly.
And yet if one reads the rule closely, it does not say subordinate yourself to the feelings of every soul. The rule doesn’t require us to change our mind or submit to anyone’s wishes. It asks us just to listen, to sympathize, and to seek to understand – to step momentarily into another person’s shoes and look through his or her person’s eyes. That person’s story is as compelling as one’s own, in its way.
Our story, which we think so highly of, is only one of many myriad fields of vision, all interpenetrating, all included in the divine sight. Yet we have a special responsibility to represent our self. We have a duty to fulfill our purpose. One need not serve another’s purpose. But by simply acknowledging others, one’s willingness strikes a note of harmony.
We might take this as a contemplation: to make an intention for a week or month that every day we will choose a person, animal, plant, or other being and return again and again to identify with him, her or it. This has an expansive effect on one’s capacity for sympathy and understanding.
My conscientious self, have regard for the feelings of every soul.
Printed with permission of the Sufi Order International
~~~~~
Father, thank You we seek to listen, sympathize and seek to understand each other. We are grateful to cultivate harmony among us, and thereby know You in a deeper way in Jesus name, amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment