Do I say this from a human perspective? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing?
Parallel translations
- WEB Do I speak these things according to the ways of men? Or doesn’t the law also say the same thing?
- KJV Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also?
- NKJV Do I say these things as a mere man? Or does not the law say the same also?
- NASB I am not just asserting these things according to human judgment, am I? Or does the Law not say these things as well?
- NLT Am I expressing merely a human opinion, or does the law say the same thing?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Paul asks whether he argues only from human custom, or whether the Law itself says the same. He grounds his case not merely in common practice but in Scripture.
Overview
Anticipating the objection that he relies on mere human reasoning, Paul appeals to the higher authority of God's Law. This shows his conviction that the principle of supporting gospel workers is not a human convenience but a divine ordinance. He thereby strengthens his case and models how Christian ethics rests ultimately on the authority of Scripture rather than on social custom alone.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- 1 Th 4:8Anyone, then, who rejects this command does not reject man but God, the very One who gives you His Holy Spirit.
- 1 Cor 7:40In my judgment, however, she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have the Spirit of God.
- Rom 3:31Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Certainly not! Instead, we uphold the law.
- Rom 6:19I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to escalating wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness.
- 1 Th 2:13And we continually thank God because, when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as the true word of God—the word which is now at work in you who believe.
- Isa 8:20To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.
- 1 Cor 14:34Women are to be silent in the churches. They are not permitted to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God; he is our Passover sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of resurrection, the foundation on which everything is built.
How 1 Corinthians 9:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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