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Artwork for Run That Ye May Obtain

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Run That Ye May Obtain

Lyrics · 1 Corinthians

Run That Ye May Obtain

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Lyrics

About this song

About this song

This song belongs to the 1 Corinthians collection. One recording is available to play here, with the complete lyrics below.

Bible book
1 Corinthians
Collection
1 Corinthians
Musical styles
Electronic
[Intro] A right can be carried; a right can be laid down. The gospel must travel without a chain. [Verse 1] The soldier eats from the road he defends, the keeper tastes fruit where the vineyard bends, the ox is not muzzled while treading the grain, yet I will bear cost if the message gains way. [Refrain] Run that you may obtain, not for a wreath that withers in rain. Run with a purpose, strike at the true; an incorruptible crown is waiting for you. [Verse 2] Free from all, I became servant to all; near to the weak without making them small. To those under law, I walked where they stood; to those far outside, still under Christ's rule. [Bridge] All things for the gospel, not all things for pride. By every faithful road, let some come alive. I will not preach freedom and live without rein; I discipline flesh for the end of the race. [Refrain - final] Run that you may obtain. Let every footfall make purpose plain. Not with uncertain air in your view, an incorruptible crown is waiting for you. [Outro] The lane opens forward. Run true.

About the passage

1 Corinthians 9: An apostle's right not to insist on his rights

Paul now turns his own apostleship into the working example of the freedom he has just described. He carefully establishes that gospel workers possess a real right to material support, drawing on ordinary labor, the law, temple service, and the Lord's own direction. Only after proving the entitlement does he explain why he has chosen not to use it in Corinth. His preaching is a stewardship laid upon him; his distinctive freedom is to offer it without charge rather than convert authority into maximum personal advantage. That same pattern governs his flexibility among different groups. He becomes servant to all without surrendering his allegiance to Christ. Finally, runners and fighters replace legal language with discipline. Freedom does not mean aimlessness, and announcing the contest does not exempt the herald from running it. Paul places himself under the same examination he urges on everyone else.

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