There are very few things in life that are not corruptible. We hear often how our government is corrupt, businesses are corrupt, etc. For something to be incorruptible, it cannot be susceptible to death or decay. It must be honest, honorable, trustworthy, unbribable, moral, ethical, good, and virtuous. It must be imperishable, indestructible, enduring, and everlasting. That pretty much sums up what it means to be incorruptible.
Paul talks about this incorruptible crown in I Corinthians 9:25, but he starts this section by comparing the life of a Christian to a race. We are to run to receive the prize. Run, not walk, or stroll, but run! We are to give all the effort possible to win the prize. How much of life do you just go through the motions? Almost like a robot programmed to perform a task. You’ve been a Christian so long that you have made a habit of it, and your efforts are merely memorized habits. Paul teaches us we are to run with purpose.
I Corinthians 9:24 “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.”
We are to run with patience, putting off anything that would slow us down. Therefore, we must examine ourselves and put off anything that would impede our forward progress for Christ. It may not be something that is a sin. It could be something that we do that takes too much of our time, and it does not yield fruit for the kingdom. This verse also tells us that “one” receives the prize, therefore, we are to run to “obtain.” The word obtain in Greek means to seize with eagerness. We are to fix our eyes and our hearts on the race with an anticipation that consumes us. We should seize the opportunity as the greatest opportunity that has ever been before us.
Hebrews 12:1 “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,”
In verse 25 he turns our attention to the purpose, the incorruptible crown. To help us understand a little more he begins by telling us about the ones who run for a corruptible crown.
I Corinthians 9:25 “And every man that strives for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.”
In Paul’s time, those who competed for a crown were competing for a garland of greenery to be placed around the neck. It would soon fade and dry up and be of no value. However, it was highly sought after. Athletes would deny themselves of common pleasures of life and live a rigid disciplined life to obtain a crown that was going to dry up and crumble in a few short days. The phrase “every man that strives for the mastery,” is a translation of one Greek word in English. It is our word agony. Not only does it speak of competing, but competing to the degree that every muscle and every nerve is strained to the point of breaking. It was not to be a game for the sake of playing a game. Sometimes games were played where the life of the player was dependent on the victory! Those of us who are Christians should be ashamed of our lack of discipline and our complacency. Instead, we are to strive for excellence. Pushing forward in this game of life, as if our life, and the life of those watching, depend on our winning! We are running for an incorruptible crown!
This is a crown that is won by self-denial and temperance, or rather self-control. We can only exhibit this kind of self-control by yielding ourselves to the control of the Holy Spirit. It is a daily submission, sometimes a minute-by-minute submission. We must constantly train ourselves to yield. Paul was no exception to this. In Romans 7:19, he said, “For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.” We are born with a sinful nature and if we are to strive and persevere we must fight until the end just as the gladiators of Rome.
One day we will stand before the judgment seat of Christ, and our works will be judged and rewards will be given. Have you sought to deny yourself of things that will hinder your relationship with Christ? Are you the kind of Christian who seeks to seize with eagerness the opportunity to be all God wants us to be? Do you set your sites on the finish line not allowing anything to deter you from the prize?
