I have become all things to all men

1 Corinthians 9:22
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.

Paul has given himself totally to serving God. There was no prejudice in him nor choosing the way he wanted to serve God. He did not plan to preach to a certain group of people, in fact he would have preferred to preach to his own people, but God had appointed him to preach to the Gentiles. So as God calls us, all we need is to obey, instead of telling God to bless us once we have made all the plans for ministry.

Woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!

1 Corinthians 9:16
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!

Paul described his supernatural call by God to bring the Gospel to the world, first the Jews, then the gentiles. The call is an overwhelming force that Paul recognized and submits to it, in order for God to work powerfully through him. God chooses people according to His will, not based on people's merit or history. God will align circumstances to work out the calling and the mission. For the people, they still need to yield and surrender to God's will, so that God can make use of them.

And he said, Who are You, Lord?

Acts 9:5
And he said, “Who are You, Lord?”

Paul was at the point of knowing the true Lord Yshua. Yshua never forces people to convert. He makes Himself known to people so they understand who He really is. When people come to believe and follow Yshua, the Spirit convicts them of their sins and they change their way of life to follow Yshua. It is not something that is forced on believers since that would not be true conversion. Asking the question "Who are you, Lord" is the beginning for many people in coming to Messiah.

And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power

1 Corinthians 2:4
And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.

Paul wants his reader to understand that  it should not be his words and skills as a preacher and speaker to turn people to Yshua. That also holds true for any of the well gifted preachers. They should always divert the glory back to Yshua. It is God, through the Holy Spirit, who moves people's hearts to true conversion into followers of Yshua. We must not rely on any particular preacher for our salvation.

I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise.

Romans 1:14
I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise.

This is how Paul views himself. He was totally set free by the bondage of the Law. With his new found freedom, he knew that Yshua paid the price for him which he can never repay. On his own free will, he chose to be a bondservant to Yshua and devoted his life to tell others about the Kingdom of God, so that they too can be set free. Clearly not every believer do what Paul did, and there is no condemnation on others. Paul has set an example which is pleasing to God - it is something for us to be reminded of from time to time even if we don't exactly follow in his footsteps.

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected

Philippians 3:12
Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 

Paul started this verse recognizing the reality that we will never be perfect in this life, although we are in the process of sanctification. It is humbling and it is the reality, that God does not call on perfect people to do His work. God is using us the way we are and it is God who calls us for His work. Our own abilities may or may not be a factor, after all it is God who gives us all of our abilities. But we are never qualified in ourselves, for it is God who chooses any of us to do His work for His glory, not ours.

I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men

Acts 24:16
I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.

Paul was in defense in the presence of Felix the Governor. His ministry would have no doubt caused offense to many. Yet his purpose was not to offend but sometimes we cannot please God and men at the same time. His actions are guided by his conscience as guided by the Holy Spirit. Wherever possible, he would not offend others and God. But where there is a difference, that Paul would choose not to offend God ahead of not offending others.

that our old man was crucified with Him

Romans 6:6
knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.

We have heard the expression "crucified with Christ". While we know that our Lord Yshua do not mean for all of us to face the same crucifixion he went through, He does mean for us to crucify ourselves in another way. This way is suppose to be the crucifixion of our own sinful lifes. We have to put that sinful life to death deliberately, to put it on the cross, so that we can have the new transformed life waiting for us. Only in this way can we be free from sin, even in this life.

Jesus has sent me that you may receive your sight

Acts 9:17
... the Lord Jesus ... has sent me that you may receive your sight ....

Paul was blinded following his encounter with the Risen Lord. In this passage, a servant was God was directed to pray for Paul and his blindness was removed. This physical blindness extraordinarily symbolizes the spiritual blindness of Paul before he met the Lord.

Once he received his sight, Paul was changed forever. The only thing he sees after that is Christ and all his life from then on was fully devoted to Christ. His life became a mission to tell others about the good news of Jesus. He lived a genuine life pointing others to the true Lord and nothing else distracted him.

For you are still carnal

1 Corinthians 3:3
For you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?

Paul is speaking to fellow believers in this message about being carnal. To provide a brief definition, being carnal means to be influenced or acting or desiring the things of this world, which are usually in opposition to God's will.

The opposite to living a carnal life would be to live and walk in the Spirit. Since none of the believers are perfect while living on earth, there will be times when the carnal nature has its way. If so, then the believer who walks in the Spirit would admit and confess their sins and allow God to deal with that sin. To rationalise away the sin or wrongdoing only leads to a deeper carnal life.

I have been crucified with Christ

Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

When Paul made the statement that he has been crucified with Christ, he was not physically crucified yet at that point in time, though he would faced a similar fate later. Yet what Paul said was for than just identifying with Christ in suffering. It was a reality to him, that he lived a life of persecution by others, as well as crucifying his own sinful nature.

It is perhaps more of the second point of crucifying oneself that we can take for ourselves. There is a battle between our old selves which is carnal in nature, aiming to satisfy our own needs with no regards to God. On the opposite, there is the will to surrender ourselves with God. Only by deliberately crucifying our sinful nature can we fully surrender to the will of God.

Therefore we make it our aim .... to be well pleasing to Him

2 Corinthians 5:9
Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.

There are many things we can do for God. Indeed, there are many He asks us to do for Him. However, in doing so, there can be a human tendency to lose focus from God to other things including pleasing the people, being pleased at our own work or just overly focused on the actual work. This leads to losing focus on the Lord Himself, who should be our prime focus.

Of course there is a practical need to be focused on the physical thing we are doing, whether serving others in church or community, etc. Hence it is all the more important to set aside time to have with God alone. At the start or end or in the middle of the day, make a break from the daily routine and call out to God.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ

2 Corinthians 5:10
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

Paul is speaking to believers in saying that we all will appear before the judgment seat of Christ. We know that we are saved by faith in Jesus, not by our own moral standards. Yet we do give an account even though we are saved. So this is a good reminder for us to keep in mind when we deliberately or unconsciously drift away. Though we do fail and sin from time to time, another thing to keep in mind is that we also have an Advocate as our Defender in the person of Jesus Himself.

You are that one’s slaves whom you obey

Romans 6:16
Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?


The word slaves and obey are not exactly liked in popular literature. In particular slaves have a negative association about human rights. However, Paul used the word slaves to refer as being totally surrendered to the one or the thing that we are obeying. We can be slaves to various earthly things, slave to ourselves or slaves to God, as indicated by our obedience to any of these.

Only one of the above options is beneficial to us, that is obeying God and being a slave to Him. In fact this is the most liberating of all, since only in obeying God, can the slavery to all other addictions be broken.

I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision

Acts 26:19
"I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision"

Paul explained to king Agrippa about his vision in his first encounter with Jesus. After seeing that vision, Paul believed it and changed his life according to what God revealed to him in the vision.
It is also written that when we receive the Spirit, we also are able to see visions. The question to ourselves is how far do we obey the visions from God. Of course we are suppose to test them first. Our obedience to any messages from God, will show how much we have actually surrendered to Him.

In much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses

2 Corinthians 6:4
But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses.

This is a good encouragement for ministry work. There will be times in our service that will stretch our patience. Sometimes there will be trials which makes things very difficult to serve. Other times there will be distresses. Paul urges his fellow workers to persevere through. The only way to do this is to keep our eyes and hearts on our Lord which is the reason for our service in the first place.

So that I may finish my race with joy

Acts 20:24
so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

There is satisfaction in completing a task or mission we are assigned. How much more satisfaction if that task or mission is appointed by God. This is what Paul speaks about when he mentions completing the race. The mission is none other than doing what Yshua has appointed us to do. The details of the task may differ for each one of us, but the end goal is the Great Commission in bringing the gospel to the world. If we have experience satisfaction in completing our worldly assigned tasks, try pursuing God's task and see the rewards roll in.

But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself

Acts 20:24
But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself.

Paul was describing his reasons to go to Jerusalem, after being warned that it may be dangerous for him to do so. The Ephesians believers were greatly concerned for his welfare. So Paul revealed his motives and what is driving him. This has been consistent of what we know of Paul's ministry. He is not "moved" or influenced by external factors, including dangers to himself. He had one purpose which is to serve our Lord Yshua. His determination was such that he did not put his own safety as more important than his work for Yshua.

Though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved

2 Corinthians 12:15
though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved.

Continuing on Paul's explanation about service, he declares that the more he loved others, the less he is loved. This could be in terms of his service to others. Besides preaching the gospel, he willingly serves them without demand for anything in return. When he preaches in various places, he ends up living in the community for a certain period of time. He did not just go to preach for a few days and then leave. Instead he lived with the people for some time and assisted them in understanding how to live out the gospel. While doing this, there would be physical demands on himself such as financial and labour costs. Paul bears most of this himself and served others out of his abundant love.

I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls

2 Corinthians 12:15
I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls

Here Paul is candidly telling the people that he served, that he did not want to be a burden for them. He made his own income and did not depend on those whom he served. His life is an example of dedication to serve others without any earthly compensation. His whole motivation was to serve Christ by serving His children. His conduct was such that there was nothing that could be spoken against him, so that his work in winning people to Christ cannot be compromised.