Did Paul really mean that church workers should "make their living from the gospel" in 1 Cor. 9:14?

I had the privilege of presenting some of my research findings on how pastors were paid in the New Testament at the Free Methodist Church in Canada's General Conference Toronto, ON this weekend. My presentation focused on answering the question posed in the title of this blog post. My short answer is no, the text does not mean what we have assumed. 

In short, here is how I supported my conclusion:

The text says, "In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel." (1 Cor. 9:14 NIV)

1. The Greek text is better translated, "from the gospel, live." In other words, Paul was not saying that gospel workers were supposed to be paid to preach. Rather, they were to be sustained by the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Dr. Jay Mowchenko

2. The surrounding verses and chapter are about eating and drinking. In those texts Paul specifically addresses the consumption of food sacrificed to idols. Therefore, I propose that Paul writes to clarify about receiving food and drink, and hospitality generally, not wages in this section of 1 Cor.

3. Referring to "the Lord's command," to which Paul refers, is somewhat unclear in it origins.  It could be oral tradition but it likely refers to Jesus' statement in Matt 10:10 or Luke 10:7. While these two texts vary somewhat, including the term used for "wages," the context appears to be related to receiving hospitality, including food and drink, for itinerant preachers. Whether Paul's Corinthian text is only related to itinerant pastors is a mystery to me right now. 

There is much more to unpack here; I'll save it for a future presentation. The conference was the first time I had the chance to expound on my tentmaking and multivocational ministry research for pastors and non-academics. I'm looking forward to future opportunities.      

Special thanks to my friend and Briercrest Seminary colleague, Dr. Jay Mowchenko with whom I had the honour of presenting. Our workshop was called CoVo: A History and Invitation to Thriving in CoVocational Ministry.