Apostle

“Am I not as free as anyone else? Am I not an apostle? Haven’t I seen Jesus our Lord with my own eyes? Isn’t it because of my work that you belong to the Lord? Even if others think I am not an apostle, I certainly am to you. You yourselves are proof that I am the Lord’s apostle.”
1 Corinthians 9:1-2 NLT

Paul is still referring to the issue about meat offered to idols, even though we have started a new chapter in 1 Corinthians. He now refers to his authority, rights, and freedom as an Apostle. He suggests that he is no one special, even though he has “seen Jesus our Lord with [his] own eyes”. However, Paul claims that he is just as “free” as anyone else, implying that with such freedom, he can make the right choices. Paul also makes the point that the Corinthians are living proof of his status as “the Lord’s Apostle”, even if he isn’t to other churches that someone else founded. Perhaps he detected that there were some, even in the Corinthian church, who perhaps thought that, as he wasn’t one of Jesus’ original disciples, then he wasn’t a “proper” apostle, but from the Acts 9 account, we know that this wasn’t true. Paul was very aware of his origins, as he wrote later in 1 Corinthians 15:9, “For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church“. What a memory this must have been for Paul to carry for the rest of his life. Those times when he arranged for the arrest of the new believers in Jesus, tearing families apart, putting people in jail, sowing despair and anguish everywhere he went. Thankfully, Jesus intervened directly in his life and commissioned him to take the Gospel to the Gentiles. There was a man called Ananias in Damascus, and he received a word from Jesus about Saul, who was blind and probably suffering from shock after the encounter with Jesus just a few days before. We read what Jesus said to Ananias in Acts 9:15-16, “But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake””. Suffer Paul did, but he remained firm in his faith and ministry right until the executioner’s axe descended, ending his life. 

Paul claimed, rightfully, that through Jesus he had been set free from the shackles of sin and death. He knew that it didn’t matter what happened to him, because one day, sooner or later, he would leave this life and be with the Lord. In fact, he wrote to the Philippians, saying, “I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me” (Philippians 1:23). But while present on this earth, Paul highlighted that through the freedom he had, he could make right choices, and one of them was that he would never eat meat again if it made a fellow believer stumble in their faith. 

We pilgrims, too, are in a position of freedom, but not freedom as the secular world around us believes. If we asked a random person in the street if they were free, they would probably look at us very strangely, and if we received a response at all, it would be something along the lines of “Of course I am”. However, an unbeliever often fails to understand what real freedom truly means. In Paul’s day, slavery was common, and the slaves were owned by someone, with no freedom to do what they wanted. They would be at the beck and call of their master or mistress, with severe penalties for those who disobeyed. 

There were some Pharisees present one day when Jesus was teaching the people. He had just made the claim that He was the Light of the World, and during His teaching we read what He said: “Then many who heard him say these things believed in him” (John 8:30). Then we read in the next two verses, “Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free””. The Pharisees objected to this statement because they claimed that they were free because they were descendants of Abraham. Still, Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free” (John 8:34-36). A sinful person is not truly free because they are constrained by their sinful nature and therefore cannot make the right choices. 

In this life, our physical freedom is taken for granted because we have not been locked up in a prison somewhere with our liberty restricted. But Paul was not talking about this kind of freedom because he was referring to freedom in the spirit, the sort of freedom that can only be received through Jesus. One day, everyone will leave this life and will lose the opportunity to be free from the clutches of sin and death. Unless we believe in Jesus, we face a disastrous future, because one day our freedom will be taken away from us, and we will find that the reality of a life spent in sin will bring about a situation from which we will have no choice. Paul wrote in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord”. 

So Paul lived his life of freedom, making right choices, and the one he referred to in his letter to the Corinthians concerned his freedom to decide not to cause a fellow believer to stumble and fall into sin. We pilgrims have the same choice, and we prefer the needs of those around us over our own. In 1 Corinthians 9:22, Paul wrote, “When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some”. Sound advice from the Apostle, and advice that we would do well to follow.

Dear Lord Jesus, we thank You that You have set us free from the spectre and consequences of sin and death. Please lead us in Your ways because we have chosen to follow You forever. Amen.