John Calvin Commentary 1 Corinthians 9:16

"For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of; for necessity is laid upon me; for woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel." — 1 Corinthians 9:16 (ASV)

For if I preach the gospel. To show how very important it was not to deprive himself of that basis for glorying, he indicates what would have happened if he had simply carried out his ministry—that he would in this way have done nothing more than what the Lord had commanded him by a strict necessity. By doing that, he says, he would have had no reason for glorying, as it was not in his power to avoid it. It is asked, however, what glorying he refers to here, for he glories elsewhere in exercising the office of teaching with a pure conscience (2 Timothy 1:3). I answer, that he speaks of a glorying that he could bring forward against the false apostles when they tried to find a pretext for slander, as will become clearer from what follows.

This is a remarkable statement. From it, we learn, in the first place, the nature and closeness of the tie involved in the calling of ministers. Furthermore, we learn what the pastoral office entails. Therefore, let not the man who has once been called to it imagine that he is any longer free to withdraw when he chooses, even if he is harassed by troublesome events or weighed down by misfortunes. For he is devoted to the Lord and to the Church, and bound by a sacred tie, which it would be criminal to break.

Regarding the second point, he says that a curse was ready to fall upon him if he did not preach the gospel. Why? Because he has been called to it and is therefore constrained by necessity. How, therefore, will anyone who succeeds to his office avoid this necessity? What sort of successors to the Apostles, then, are the Pope and the other mitered bishops, who think that nothing is more unbecoming their station than the duty of teaching!