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Run to Win
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
July 8, 2018
Lord’s Day Worship
Sean Higgins
Download the bulletin.
Download the Kids’ Korner.
The sermon starts at 15:20 in the audio file.
Or, Three Ways to Lose the Race
Marathons can be brutal. Even for those in peak physical condition, if they run to win, they will finish exhausted. I’ve run three marathons in my life, though I only really trained for two, and I was spent by the end though I was running more than twice as slow as the winners. The race is grueling, grinding, as much a test for the mind as for the body.
Most people I talk to don’t like to run at all, let alone long distances. Running certainly isn’t the only exercise, but it’s one that doesn’t require too much equipment or expertise. What it does require is discipline to get out of bed or off the couch, discipline to complete the mileage, and discipline before and after in rest and diet or else the run itself will feel miserable.
Paul knew about running, as in, actual, foot-racing contests. Whether he himself laced up his track sandals, athletic competition was popular in his day throughout the Roman Empire, and he used sports illustrations regularly in his writing, and presumably his preaching. He talked often of wrestling, boxing, and running. He commanded the Corinthian Christians: Run to win. It wasn’t just a motivational poster, it was a call to focused and fervent effort for every believer, not just the Christian Professionals or All-Star Team.
Run, run until the finish, run to finish in first place. This running is imperative, not optional, and there are at least a few ways to lose. It is a lot easier to quit, it’s even easier to sit in the stands and watch.
The final four verses in chapter 9 transition from Paul’s exhortation to give up their rightful rights for the sake of others, to a reminder about Israel’s failure of worship in the next chapter.
The Command: Run (verse 24)
There are two parts in this first verse of the paragraph, the starting point and the command itself.
The Starting Point
With his most used phrase in 1 Corinthians Paul begins with a shared assumption. Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Of course they know this, or if they didn’t, they should have.
To call this a race is fine, but the Greek word is stadio (σταδίῳ, referring to an arena or stadium. It’s a race track with seating for spectators. There were four, well-known Games, with the Olympic Games being most popular and the Isthmian Games (on the Isthmus of Corinth in Greece) the second most popular (there were also the Pythian and Nemean games). Documents show that the Isthmian Games took place in AD 49 and 51 which would be around the time of Paul’s writing. Documents also show that the city of Corinth sponsored and organized those games, including “the renovation of buildings and the provision of banquets” (Thiselton). Perhaps Paul even made tents for some of the athletes or attendees. The Corinthians knew about the games, even if they didn’t attend them, like a modern day citizen of Seattle knows about the Seahawks even if he doesn’t know the difference between a tight end and loose end.
The starting point is not that there are races. The fact of runners running around a track is not what’s important. The shared assumption is that in a race, only one receives the prize. Who knows how much longer it will continue, but even today, unless there is a tie, only one gold medal is given and one national anthem is played. Sno-cones and participation trophies are a modern invention for envious kids raised by parents suckled at the self-esteem bottle. There are lots of runners, only one winner. The winner goes and gets it.
The Command
We could be tempted to edit Paul, or at least be surprised by his exhortation. So run that you may obtain it. Or, “Run in such a way that you may win”[...]
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By Trinity Evangel Church1 Corinthians 9:24-27
July 8, 2018
Lord’s Day Worship
Sean Higgins
Download the bulletin.
Download the Kids’ Korner.
The sermon starts at 15:20 in the audio file.
Or, Three Ways to Lose the Race
Marathons can be brutal. Even for those in peak physical condition, if they run to win, they will finish exhausted. I’ve run three marathons in my life, though I only really trained for two, and I was spent by the end though I was running more than twice as slow as the winners. The race is grueling, grinding, as much a test for the mind as for the body.
Most people I talk to don’t like to run at all, let alone long distances. Running certainly isn’t the only exercise, but it’s one that doesn’t require too much equipment or expertise. What it does require is discipline to get out of bed or off the couch, discipline to complete the mileage, and discipline before and after in rest and diet or else the run itself will feel miserable.
Paul knew about running, as in, actual, foot-racing contests. Whether he himself laced up his track sandals, athletic competition was popular in his day throughout the Roman Empire, and he used sports illustrations regularly in his writing, and presumably his preaching. He talked often of wrestling, boxing, and running. He commanded the Corinthian Christians: Run to win. It wasn’t just a motivational poster, it was a call to focused and fervent effort for every believer, not just the Christian Professionals or All-Star Team.
Run, run until the finish, run to finish in first place. This running is imperative, not optional, and there are at least a few ways to lose. It is a lot easier to quit, it’s even easier to sit in the stands and watch.
The final four verses in chapter 9 transition from Paul’s exhortation to give up their rightful rights for the sake of others, to a reminder about Israel’s failure of worship in the next chapter.
The Command: Run (verse 24)
There are two parts in this first verse of the paragraph, the starting point and the command itself.
The Starting Point
With his most used phrase in 1 Corinthians Paul begins with a shared assumption. Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Of course they know this, or if they didn’t, they should have.
To call this a race is fine, but the Greek word is stadio (σταδίῳ, referring to an arena or stadium. It’s a race track with seating for spectators. There were four, well-known Games, with the Olympic Games being most popular and the Isthmian Games (on the Isthmus of Corinth in Greece) the second most popular (there were also the Pythian and Nemean games). Documents show that the Isthmian Games took place in AD 49 and 51 which would be around the time of Paul’s writing. Documents also show that the city of Corinth sponsored and organized those games, including “the renovation of buildings and the provision of banquets” (Thiselton). Perhaps Paul even made tents for some of the athletes or attendees. The Corinthians knew about the games, even if they didn’t attend them, like a modern day citizen of Seattle knows about the Seahawks even if he doesn’t know the difference between a tight end and loose end.
The starting point is not that there are races. The fact of runners running around a track is not what’s important. The shared assumption is that in a race, only one receives the prize. Who knows how much longer it will continue, but even today, unless there is a tie, only one gold medal is given and one national anthem is played. Sno-cones and participation trophies are a modern invention for envious kids raised by parents suckled at the self-esteem bottle. There are lots of runners, only one winner. The winner goes and gets it.
The Command
We could be tempted to edit Paul, or at least be surprised by his exhortation. So run that you may obtain it. Or, “Run in such a way that you may win”[...]