Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
1 Corinthians 9:5 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 5. 5Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas?
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse names the right to travel with a believing wife without demeaning either state.
The ox is not muzzled, and the worker is not a lord.
This verse is one part of that explanation in 1 Corinthians 9:1–14. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- 1 Corinthians 9:1–14
Read 1 Corinthians 9:5 with 9:1–14. This verse names the right to travel with a believing wife without demeaning either state. The complete unit establishes: Paul defends genuine apostolic rights to food, family accompaniment, and material support through ordinary labor analogies, Torah, temple practice, and Jesus's instruction, while the Corinthians themselves serve as the seal of his ministry.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The rights argument makes renunciation meaningful: love does not deny legitimate provision but chooses how and when not to claim it. At 9:5, this verse names the right to travel with a believing wife without demeaning either state.
Follow the Context
- Paul's questions assert freedom, apostleship, encounter with Jesus, and the Corinthian seal.
- Food, spouse, and labor questions establish ordinary rights.
- Soldier, vineyard, and flock workers share in their work.
- Torah's ox command is applied to hopeful labor.
- Spiritual service can warrant material support.
- Temple practice and the Lord's command confirm gospel-worker provision.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as”
In plain language: This verse names the right to travel with a believing wife without demeaning either state.
It contributes specifically to Apostolic Rights Are Real and Accountable inside 1 Corinthians 9:1–14.
Why it matters: The verse carries enough interpretive or pastoral weight to require the full unit and its explicit limits.
How certain? probableWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
1 Corinthians 9:5 does not turn the fact that it names the right to travel with a believing wife without demeaning either state into a standalone universal rule. The right to a spouse does not promise marriage or turn a woman into ministry support staff.
What Remains True
This verse names the right to travel with a believing wife without demeaning either state. This supports the unit's enduring conclusion: Those who serve may receive transparent material support without converting a right into domination.
Teach It Back
Explain 1 Corinthians 9:5's contribution to 1 Corinthians 9:1–14. Include the surrounding argument, the named interpretive uncertainty, and one use the verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read 1 Corinthians 9:1–14 — Apostolic Rights Are Real and AccountableSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
The identity of the Lord's brothers and the exact form of Jesus's support command are debated less than the main point: gospel workers may receive material provision.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: 1 Corinthians 9:1–14, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording, clause relationships, repeated terms, and original-language discussion.
Exact location: SBLGNT official text file 1Cor.txt, 9:1–14
Open the 1 Corinthians Greek text file ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible - 1 Corinthians with translators' and textual notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005-2026 online edition
Supports: Verse-level syntax, KJV-era wording, textual variants, and interpretive alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible 1 Corinthians 9:1–14 print view with translator, study, and textual notes
Open the official NET 1 Corinthians PDFLexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Independent morphology and lexical-range cross-check for material Greek claims.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data repository morphology and lexical records for 1 Corinthians 9:1–14
Open source ↗modern open commentary
1 Corinthians
Eric C. Redmond
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, 2023
Supports: Whole-letter movement, Corinthian setting, bibliography, major alternatives, and verse-level interpretation.
Exact location: Redmond, The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary: 1 Corinthians, introduction and section on 9:1–14
Open source ↗modern open access doctoral dissertation
Emotional Rescue: Idolatry and Affective Conversion in 1 Corinthians 8-10
Marshall McKee Evans
University of California, Santa Barbara, 2020
Supports: Relation of idol-food instruction, Israel's Scriptures, worship, rights, and neighbor-directed freedom.
Exact location: Evans, Idolatry and Proper Worship: Paul's Use of the Old Testament in 1 Corinthians 8:1-11:1, UC dissertation (2020), repository abstract and chapter description
Open source ↗