Devotional 7 January 2026

January 07, 2026 • Steve Torres

1 Corinthians 9:7.jpg

“For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.” (1 Corinthians 9:19–23, ESV)

Paul declares that he is “free from all,” yet immediately says he has made himself “a servant to all” (1 Cor 9:19). This is not a contradiction but a redefinition of freedom. Christian liberty is not the right to insist on self-expression; it is the power to lay oneself down in love. Paul’s freedom is not surrendered unwillingly, nor is it taken from him. It is willingly offered so that others might be won to Christ.

Throughout this passage, Paul describes adapting himself to different people: Jews, those under the law, those outside the law, and the weak (1 Cor 9:20–22). Yet Paul carefully establishes boundaries. Though he becomes “as one under the law,” he clarifies that he himself is not under the Mosaic law (v. 20). Though he becomes “as one outside the law,” he insists he is not outside “the law of God” but is under “the law of Christ” (v. 21). His flexibility is never moral compromise. The gospel defines the limits of his adaptability.

This pattern reflects the life of Christ Himself. Jesus did not cling to His rights but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, and humbling Himself to the point of death (Phil 2:5–8). Yet Christ never abandoned obedience to the Father. In the same way, Paul reshapes his life, not the message, so that the gospel may be heard clearly. His ministry is cruciform, shaped by self-giving love rather than personal comfort or recognition (Mark 10:44–45).

Paul’s stated goal is unambiguous: “that I might save some” (1 Cor 9:22). His concern is not approval, relevance, or cultural success, but salvation. This echoes his earlier warning that Christian freedom must not become a stumbling block to the weak (1 Cor 8:9–13) and his later exhortation to seek the good of many, “that they may be saved” (1 Cor 10:33).

Christian freedom, then, is not license but vocation. We are free in Christ so that we may love without self-protection, serve without fear, and live under the law of Christ for the sake of others. To belong to Christ is to belong to His mission, even when it costs us our rights.